So let’s discuss online freelancing jobs, If you have been online for any length of time… you’ve come across the plethora of work-from-home scams that are all over the place. This is not why we’re here today though! If you’re interested in finding legit “work at home” opportunity this is what we’ll be discussing here. To make a full-time income online there are plenty of routes to achieve that goal.
You could always go the entrepreneur route and start an online business or start an online freelancing job. If you’d like to know more about the online business route you can check out this article by clicking here. If you want a freelancing job online instead, then you’ve come to the right place. Before we start, a forewarning is in order… There are plenty of scams online, like the endless data entry jobs all over the web.
Such jobs either pay you pennies for your hard work or worse, charge you for a job and run away with your money. Hundreds of, so-called, entrepreneurs made fortunes from the backs of thousands of unfortunate folks looking for a real job online. If you want to avoid the same fate then read on, we’ll get you earning through online freelancing jobs in no time.
What Are The Benefits Of Online Freelancing Jobs?
You may be aware of some of these since you are keen on doing it but here are some reasons people are flocking towards online freelancing work:
Below is a list of the main benefits of online freelancing jobs:
- Setting your own hours & time freedom
- Being your own boss
- Working on your own terms
- Picking & choosing the jobs you want to do and rejecting the ones you don’t.
- Working from the comfort of your home, favorite cafe, or even swimming pool if you so choose.
- Choosing how much work you do per day, week, month.
- Have more time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones.
OK great, so you’re sold on the idea, but what is it that you can do or where do you start?
What Online Freelancing Jobs Can I Do?
Well, there are plenty of options. Let’s first look at what you love doing or are proficient in?
What’s the point of shifting from a traditional job to an online freelance option if you won’t be doing what you love?
Are you artistic?
Do you have creative skills and software knowledge?
Is writing one of your passions?
Can you type fast?
Are numbers something you are a wizard with?
Are there certain programs you are skilled at using that you can use to offer people a service off?
Do you speak multiple languages fluently?
You can pretty much do anything online. If you know something…
Be sure there are people around the world looking for someone who has that knowledge.
Here is a small list to give you an idea of what are the things you can do online on a freelance basis:
- Copywriting
- Creative & Graphic Design
- Web, App, & Software Development
- Accounting & Managing Books
- Secretarial and Personal Assistance Jobs
- Typing & Data Entry
- Sales
- Customer Relationship Management
- Social Media Account Creation & Management
- Website & Mobile App Evaluation & Testing
- Focus Groups
And these are just a few of the many options online and each of these breaks down into smaller sub-categories as well. But the question still stands, where can I do these things?
Where Can I Find These Jobs?
A simple google search would reveal thousands of such opportunities. However, we don’t want you ending up scammed out of your hard-earned money, and not doing the work but not getting paid do we?
Before I point out some legit options out there, I want to give you some things to pay attention to with any freelance market to make sure they are legit!
However, they won’t necessarily carry the particular service you are looking to offer. Or even if they carry the service you are looking to offer there are still things you need to look at before accepting any jobs there:
How do freelancers get paid?
There are many ways freelance websites pay freelancers. Some use PayPal, and in that case, you need to make sure that PayPal allows withdrawal in your country of residence because it doesn’t in some countries! The last thing you want is to do the work and get paid with money that you can’t access. In general, you’ll find that most freelance websites will have a bank or cheque payment options though.
Do freelance websites hold the money in escrow once you accept a job?
A freelance market is an ideal place for people with sinister intentions to get work done for free. Reputable markets will charge the client’s credit card for either the entire job or at the start of each phase as soon as you accept the job. This way they ensure that once the work is approved by the client your money is already safe and you’ll get paid.
What percentage do freelance marketplaces charge freelancers?
In general freelance, marketplaces offer the service of connecting you with potential clients for a fee. On average freelance marketplaces charge 30% of task/job payments as a service fee after the payment is received. Any freelance marketplace that charges you to use their platform is, in most cases, a red flag that the website in question is a scam.
How Much Should I Charge On Freelance Marketplaces?
Search for the service you intend to offer on the same platform you will be selling on, as if you are looking to hire a freelancer yourself. Check the prices that are being offered and compare the quality of the service being provided in comparison to what you will offer. This will give you an indicator of how much clients on that platform are willing to pay for the service in question and help you price your services correctly.
I know you want to start already.
We’ve looked at the how and we’ve discussed the why now let’s find out the where and the when is really up to you. Here are some platforms that I know of, and have personally used, that you can start your online freelancing gig on. I will not discuss them in detail as I don’t want to accidentally influence your decision. I want you to check them out for yourself and see which one is best for your needs and skills.
What are the best places to find online freelancing jobs?
Bonus: How To Take Your Freelancing Job To The Next Level?
Online Freelancing Jobs is a great way to make money but let’s face it, you will always be limited. No! This is certainly not where I throw in the pitch, lol. This article is to help you not to sell you on anything. So how will you be limited? There is only so much work that you can do in a day, and your clients will always have other needs that your skills don’t cover.
So why not tweak your thinking a little. Why not build a relationship with other freelancers with a good rating on the marketplace? These freelancers can be ones offering the same service as you or offering other related skills. You refer each other to clients, but not in the traditional sense. Here’s an example…
When a client says “hey do you know someone who can do XYZ?”. If you’ve already done your homework and have a list of freelancers on call here’s what you say:
“Yes I know someone, he/she works with me, let me talk to them and see how much we can charge for that project since you’ve already done a job with me.”
You then go talk to the freelancer and agree on a discount as a finder’s fee and offer part of that discount to your client.
Here’s the trick, you do not get your client directly in touch with the freelancer, you hire the freelancer yourself with the agreed discounted rate. The difference between what your client pays you and what you pay the freelancer is your margin, but don’t forget to factor in the marketplace fee. Once you have built a relationship of trust with the freelancer you can run a virtual agency and then you pay the freelancer off the platform so you account for the marketplace fee once instead of twice.
The same concept applies when you are swamped with work and can’t take on any more clients… Why say no to money? Take the job and pass it over to another freelancer you trust! With time, you will be the boss of your own agency of freelancers. By then you will only be managing the clients and work delivery while others do the work for you.
So Are These Jobs Worth It?
I guess this is up to you to decide. I have done it for a while, created a “virtual” advertising agency, and it worked well. Unfortunately, the designer I used was not dependable and because of his lack of punctuality, I decided to let it go.
That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have worked had I put in the effort to search for other reasonably priced freelancers. I simply felt it was too much of a headache for me since I was busy at the time with a lot of other things.
Who knows, maybe I will look into it again sometime in the future. Anyways, I hope this article has helped you get an idea of the things you can do as an online freelancer and have encouraged you to take a step forward.
Listen, being an online freelancer doesn’t mean you have to leave your job. You could take a job/gig once a week for additional money in whatever time, you can spare.
My advice would be, don’t spend that money though, save it as if it didn’t come or at least save 50% of it. No matter how little the savings are each time, with time they will add up.
If you’d like to find out some more ideas on how to make money from home you can check out my posts: “how to make money from home” and “Making money online easily“.
Good Luck!