If you are creative in some way then you have a talent that can be capitalized on. No matter whether it is writing or designing, there are plenty of people out there who need things written or designed and who can’t do it themselves.
This is where you come in. If you can promote your services to the people who need them, you can bring in a lot of work. You just need to know what you have to offer so you can target the right people.
Luckily there are plenty of ways to do that both on and offline.
Okay so first off, where do your talents lie? I don’t just mean what area they are in, I mean what aspects of your talent mark you out from your competition when it comes to showing off your skills to the people who might just want to pay you for them?
The answer to this question will help you decide how and where to promote yourself. Having your own website is almost essential if you are to look professional; if your talents lie in web design then you should have no problems doing this, and if you are a writer then you can create your own copy and seek the help of a designer to put them on a professionally created website for you.
But what is the easiest way to get your first job?
The best thing to do is to go looking for it. There are several reputable websites online which allow buyers to link up with service providers, and many of them are global in nature. This means you could be in the US and working for clients in Australia, the UK and many other countries besides.
If you sign up to one of these sites make sure you create an outstanding profile for yourself. Potential clients will read this to see what kind of person you are, so you should keep it professional and make it sound good even if you haven’t yet done any professional work for anyone. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Another good way of promoting your services offline is to get a stack of high quality business cards made up to hand out to people who ask about your services. You could do the same with tri-fold brochures and pamphlets too.
You might also find it easier to get those first few jobs if you find some other people who are freelancing their own talents online and see what they are doing to get work. Some people run their own blogs and often reveal something of what they do on there. You would be amazed at how sharing some people are, so make the most of what they have to say and learn from their experiences.
Incidentally, there are some bloggers who have a regular job feed for creative work linked in to their blog from another site, so keep your eyes peeled for these and bookmark them in your favorites when you find them. It’s worthwhile keeping a special folder with these kinds of websites in it, so you can check it each day to see if there are any jobs that appeal to your talents that you can apply for.
You will generally find that you will start getting a mixture of work from your own efforts to find it on job sites, and people finding you through your own website. What you really need to aim for in both cases is satisfying the client so they come back to you for all their creative needs in future. Regular clients mean regular paychecks, so keep plugging away at it!
No business is built overnight, but freelancing is one of those businesses that can really build into a huge income if you persevere and hone your talents. Keep that in mind during the early days, and you will soon be kissing your regular job goodbye!
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