7 Easy Steps – How to Start Freelancing (For Beginners)

To get started with any field of career, most people choose to start with unpaid internships. These internships provide an individual exposure to the industry that in turn helps them in securing a good job. However, there is a different way to get started with a career – Freelancing. In this article, you will learn how to start freelancing from scratch and get paid for your time and efforts on freelancing projects. You will learn tips and strategies on how to become a freelancer, how to earn money online, and how to grow your freelance business.

Let me tell you, Our Story

Back in 2018, I and my husband “Saurabh Tiwari” left our Full-time Jobs and started our Agency “AllDigiTrends” with help of co-founder “Navin Rao” (who is an amazing web developer)

In 2018, we got the opportunity to work with many companies and amazing Indian bloggers. Our success in the freelancing world is the result of a LOT of teamwork, strategic positioning, and Planning.

If you’re really passionate about freelancing and want to be a successful freelancer then read out this whole article which is all about freelancer meaning, how to Start Freelancing Busines, how to become a freelancer, and how to make a brand.

What is freelancing or a freelance job?

A freelancer is an individual who works WITH a company instead of working FOR a company. Therefore, freelancing or a freelance job refers to working with a company not as an employee, but as a consultant.

Freelancing jobs are unlike traditional jobs where you have to spend 9 to 5 shifts in an office and wait for years to get a promotion.

You don’t have a boss and you can choose to work in different areas of interest at the same time.

The best freelancing sites provide a variety of freelancing projects and a host of freelance jobs to choose from.

Why should I choose to freelance over a Full-time Job?

You should choose freelancing over a full-time job as there are lots of benefits, such as: –

1. Work from your comfort zone
2. Work with multiple companies at the same time
3. No upper limit to Online earning
4. The amount you earn depends on your capability and time commitment
5. You don’t need to pay fixed-salary-based taxes
6. Choose projects that suit your comfort
7. Become your own Boss!

etc. There are so many more benefits that you will get when you start working as a freelancer.

How can I become a freelancer?

It is easy to learn how to become a freelancer. Initially, it might seem daunting, but with enough dedication and hard work, you will be on your way to becoming a great freelancer in no time.

Just by following the seven steps, you can earn money online by doing freelancing projects of your choice: –

These seven simple steps are discussed in detail in the sections below.

7 Easy Steps – How to Start Freelancing (For Beginners)

By the end of these seven steps, you would have learned how to start freelancing with no experience. Be sure to follow each of the steps with dedication and clarity of mind. So, without wasting any more time, let’s get started: –

1. Choose a Profitable Niche

Note: – Before doing anything, you HAVE TO complete this step. When it comes to becoming a freelancer, the most crucial step is to choose a niche that is going to be profitable for you. If you don’t choose a niche that is profitable to you, you will end up wasting a lot of time and effort.

A niche is a specific area of work that requires a specialized skill-set. For example: – Graphic Designing niche requires a specific skill-set of Visual understanding, graphic design software, etc. The finance niche would require knowledge of Finance and adding value to businesses.

You might be good at let’s say cooking, but if you choose another niche let’s say marketing, then you might not be able to succeed in that niche. Secondly, every niche isn’t equally profitable as there’s a lot of competition in a certain niche due to low entry barriers.

Therefore, spend time researching freelance job sites such as Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr, etc. Choose niches that you are good at and the ones that will be profitable for your freelance business. Make sure to look at a lot of freelance jobs online before deciding on a niche for yourself.

2. Narrowing Niche for your Ideal Clients

After deciding on your niche, it is important to have an ideal customer profile in your mind. Instead of offering your services to EVERYONE, it is best to choose a specific audience as not everyone is going to convert. Your skills might be best suited for a startup as compared to a Fortune 500 company. Therefore, attracting the right type of clients is super important.

Now that you have chosen a few niches for yourself, or best if you have selected just one niche, it’s time to get even more specific. What do I mean by being more specific? I am glad you asked!

Instead of saying “I provide Graphic Design Services”, it is better to say “I provide Graphic Design Services – specialized in Logo Design and Banner design for Social Media”. Instead of promoting yourself as – a “Voiceover artist”, you should promote yourself as – a “Voiceover artist for Hindi Commentary in Movies”. You get the idea!

The more specific your service offering is, the easier it is for you to reach your ideal client, and the easier it is for them to find you.

3. Building your Service(s) & Price List

Now that you have carefully selected your niche and identified your ideal audience, it is time to work on building a price list for your service(s). Start by writing a simple text document that lists all the deliverables that you offer, along with estimated pricing for those. Be sure to describe the services in great detail as it helps your ideal client to make a decision easier.

While researching on various freelancing sites, you might have gotten an idea of the market pricing of the service(s) that you offer.

Of course, some exceptionally great freelancers charge more while some new freelancers charge less.

Then there is the bulk who offer the standard industry pricing for their services.

The pricing that you set for your services is a reflection of the quality of service that you provide. Therefore, do not be compelled to set low prices only to get a project or copy your competitors’ pricing. Doing so is a surefire way of facing a loss in your freelancing career.

Also, keep in mind your target audience as it will help you price yourself much better and be in a better stance for negotiation. The Start-up company will have a lower budget as compared to a company that has been in the industry for many years.

A small artist might not shed as much money as you list on your price sheet.

Therefore, keep optimizing your price list based on the industry-standard price, your ideal audience, and your experience to find remote work online.

4. Time to get noticed

Up to this point, everything that you did to start becoming a freelancer was limited to yourself and your research.

Now, it is time to tell the world about your service offerings and earn money online. From this step onwards, you will be learning how to start a freelancing business using Freelance jobs online websites.

The first thing that freelancers usually start with is building a portfolio website.

Having a website isn’t a crucial requirement, but having a personal website is a great way to establish a powerful online presence.

Your website is your digital space to portray yourself the way you want the world to see you.

If you don’t have a website or don’t want to build your website, there’s nothing to worry about. This step aims to get you noticed. Having a website doesn’t mean that everyone in the world will immediately start seeing you. To get noticed, you will have to reach out to your ideal clients.

To do so, you will have to start sharing your services and pricing on social media, other websites, forums, freelancing sites, etc.

Just think about the online places where your ideal audience usually hangs out. If you are a graphic designer, your target audience would usually be found on websites such as Behance, Dribble, Instagram, etc.

If you are a content writer, you might find your ideal audience on Medium, Quora, Facebook, etc. If you are a video editor, your ideal audience would be found on YouTube, Instagram, Question answer sites, etc.

Just register on the sites that are relevant to you and start commenting on posts, sharing your services list, offering free advice, etc.

When you start to become active on these sites, you will start getting noticed by people. Having a website only gives you the benefit that people can visit your website for knowing more about you instead of downloading a PDF.

To know how to become a freelancer, you should know how to search for the best freelancing sites for projects and bid on those projects to make money online for beginners.

The best job search sites have been designed to connect freelancers with those who seek to solve their problems.

So, look for opportunities on freelancing sites for projects that you like.

5. Create a Perfect Pitch

Congratulations! By this time, you would have a clear understanding of your services, your client’s expectations, and where to find them.

You will notice that people start asking you questions about your service offerings and fees. When leads start pouring in, it is time to create a sales pitch so that you get more conversions for your freelance business.

Instead of having a long conversation with each potential client and explaining the same things over and over again, it is best to have something that does the job for you. You can craft an email, a video, a PDF, a PPT, an image, etc. that convinces your lead (potential client) to purchase your service.

Find out what works by doing experiments with various formats and using different words, different examples, etc. in your presentations.

Keep updating your “pitch” so that you can easily convert a lead to a client with the least amount of back-and-forth communication.

6. Build Credibility / Authority

Whether you are getting freelancing projects or not, you should always be looking for ways to build credibility and authority for your personal brand.

Your audience should be able to trust you before they purchase anything from you. To establish trust, there are various strategies that you can implement.

The first and easiest way to increase your credibility is to showcase some projects that you have done.

These could be paid projects or portfolio projects that you have done to showcase your skills. You can showcase those projects on your site, a blogger/influencer’s website, on social media, or anywhere that it seems relevant.

Another way to show authority is by blogging. You can start writing about your experiences, teach people how to overcome specific challenges in your niche, or anything that you learn. A blog will show that you have knowledge and experience in your area of expertise.

If you have had clients in the past, you can ask them for a testimonial and put them on your website, LinkedIn, Social Media, blog, etc. Testimonials are a great convincer and help establish authority as it shows that your clients have been happy with your work.

7. Grow your Network

There is a common saying – “Your network is your net worth!”. It simply means that the more people you know, the more chances are that you will get work.

The importance of having a good network cannot be repeated enough.

Therefore, always be active on LinkedIn, social media sites, Freelance job sites, forums, blogs, and any sites that are relevant to you.

A strong professional network creates a butterfly effect for your reach and your sales. Imagine that you share a post on LinkedIn that highlights your best offering.

This post will reach your audience. If your post is something worth sharing, the people in your network will share it too, which in turn will get you noticed by your follower’s followers also.

Hence, it is crucial to regularly talk to people, offer free help, attend meetups, etc. You never know who might require the exact service that you offer. So, always be prepared with your “elevator pitch” and be on the lookout for opportunities to grow your network.

Getting Started

Now that you understand the seven steps on how to start freelancing business, it is time to start implementing them. Without wasting any time, you should start applying these proven strategies to find remote work online and start your freelance job at home. 

If you have any questions regarding how to start freelancing with no experience, head over to the FAQ section and if you can’t find your question, post them in the comments.