profitable-freelancer

How To Make Six Figures Freelancing

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 21:50:07 GMT

The World of Freelancing

Freelancing is a type of self-employment with many benefits which has grown in popularity over recent years. Whether it’s a part-time gig or full-time employment, freelancing gives people the power of freedom and flexibility with income, of course. You may have heard of these benefits of freelancing before, but did you know that freelancers have the potential to make a six-figure salary?

Miles Everson is the CEO of MBO Partners and weighed in on this topic.

According to an interview with Forbes, “There are now about 4.6 million freelancers that make over $100,000 a year,” Everson said. “That’s strongly indicative that the movement to the knowledge worker choosing to work as an independent instead of as an employee is hitting its stride.”

Getting Started Freelancing

To work towards this goal, you must first assess your skills and the market demand. Identify your strengths and think about what services you could offer a potential client. You can brainstorm some ideas on your own or seek inspiration from current job postings on freelancing websites like Upwork or Fiverr. From there, you can determine your niche or specialization, which will help you find clients who need those specific services.

After establishing your area of focus, you want to create a strong freelance profile. Crafting an appealing profile is key to booking clients. You want to ensure that your profile is clear and easy to read. You also want to double-check for any typos or errors. Including work samples on your profile is a great way for clients to see your capability and will allow them to determine if you’re the right fit for a position. After you complete projects, reviews will accumulate on your profile. Positive testimonials are not only a pat on the back but also encourage other clients to book you for future work.

Finding The Right Price For Freelance Services

Another critical key to six-figure success in freelancing is to price your services in a strategic way. Understand how to set competitive rates by viewing other profiles similar to yours and see how much they are charging for work. You can also search for clients looking to hire and get a gauge of how much they are charging for certain services. Offering tiered pricing and project packages may also help you understand how much to charge for your time. Don’t be afraid to directly negotiate with clients, either. When it comes to payment, it’s important to have realistic expectations while also feeling like you are being fairly compensated.

Establishing Your Personal Brand

Marketing and self-promotion are important when it comes to freelancers looking to stand out amongst the pack. It’s a good idea to create a personal brand, along with a strong online presence, as you build your profile on various freelancing websites. Incorporating social media and content marketing will bring potential clients right to your page. Networking with other freelancers will also help you get your name out there in the freelancing space. You can also reach out to potential clients and introduce yourself by asking if they or anyone they know is looking to hire freelancers in your field. It’s also essential to diversify your income streams as a freelancer. If your goal is to make six figures as an independent worker, you must explore different types of freelancing work. Consider affiliate marketing and other passive income opportunities. You can also expand into related services or consulting to maximize your impact and make the most out of your skillset.

Setting Yourself Up For Six-Figure Success

The next thing you need to do is effectively establish a routine. Time management and productivity skills will determine not only how much you accomplish but also how much you earn. Having effective management techniques will help you stay on track and achieve your goals. There are several productivity tools and apps that help freelancers stick to a plan.

According to an article published by Insider, “Doing seemingly simple things like prioritizing sleep, eating well, and exercising consistently can help you get the most out of your work hours.”

Setting and reaching milestones will boost your confidence and help ensure that you reach your desired income. While freelancers manage their own earnings, they must also handle their own finances and taxes. It’s important to set aside funds for taxes and regularly consult with a financial advisor or tax professional.

Building Strong Client Relationships

Part of being a successful freelancer is building long-term client relationships. It’s ideal to maintain regular communication with clients to ensure their satisfaction. This will also make them likely to work with you again in the future. Don’t be afraid to advertise the other services you provide because the client may be interested in those as well. It’s recommended to offer additional services because this will encourage repeat business and referrals.

Adjusting Your Headspace

Freelancing is not only an occupation but also a mindset. It’s important to be under the impression that you are always learning and growing as an individual. Investing in professional development can help you expand your freelancing business. Attending workshops, webinars, and conferences will help you network while also keeping you up to date on industry trends. In addition, it’s also crucial to work hard.

According to an article by PT Money, author Carrie Smith writes, “Bringing in six figures as a freelancer is going to take a lot of work but will have a big payoff. It doesn’t matter if you’re planning to learn a new skill, a new language, or a new business; you’ll have to work non-stop to reach that kind of goal.”

Freelancing Challenges

While there are several benefits of freelancing, we must also recognize the common challenges that stand in the way of earning a large yearly salary. The first is dealing with client conflicts and project setbacks. Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. It’s key to work around these issues and continue working towards the common end goal between you and the client. We must also recognize freelancing burnout. Similar to burnout within the traditional work environment, freelancing burnout can pose potential problems. Taking breaks when needed and sticking to your routine will help prevent burnout from happening. Another challenge to freelancing is income fluctuations. Knowing this ahead of time will help you prepare for when it impacts you.

Achieving Your Goals

Freelancing is a very rewarding field with endless opportunities for growth and improvement. It’s all about developing an engaging profile, maintaining connections with other freelancers & clients, and setting attainable goals for yourself. Anyone can be a freelancer, and it’s never too late to start your career. In this day and age, freelancers definitely have the capability to maintain a six-figure salary. Just like most things in life, this goal is achievable with dedication and persistence.

Sources:

· https://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2023/10/31/high-revenue-freelancing-surges-as-more-americans-flock-to-independent-work-than-ever-before/?sh=608f1cb06931

· https://ptmoney.com/how-to-make-six-figures-a-year-as-a-freelancer/

· https://www.businessinsider.com/freelancer-earning-six-figures-how-to-maximize-earning-potential-2023-2

Pros & Cons of Freelancing

paul@conversionchasers.com (Paul Mendes) — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 16:40:43 GMT

The history of freelancing is more interesting than you might think...

A person might assume that freelancing was introduced after the technology boom of the late 90s and early 2000s. However, that is not the case. The word “freelance” dates back as early as the early 19th century. Going back to the Middle Ages, there were two main types of workers of the period. There were those who were employed by the king and those who sought their own employment, working for whoever was willing to pay them. Therefore, the freelancers of the time were independent, self-sufficient laborers who earned a living by selling their skills.

Overview of Freelancing

I n today’s world, the definition hasn’t changed much. A freelancer is a person who makes money by completing work on a job-per-job basis. They are independent workers and aren’t tied down to a firm or corporate entity. This allows freelancers to experience many benefits. In addition to these perks, there are also some downsides to working as a free agent.

Freelancing is an ever-evolving career. Freelancers saw one of the most significant changes in the industry when the pandemic hit in 2020. Suddenly, the world was on lockdown, and everything was put on pause. This time raised a lot of uncertainty as some employees were let go from their companies and others were unsure if they would ever return to work.

More and more people began to lean on freelancing as an opportunity to earn income. According to a report from Upwork, the 59 million Americans who freelanced in 2020 now generate a collective $1.2 trillion in annual earnings, an increase of 22% since 2019. Freelancers were able to do this because of the drastic differences between the freelancing industry and traditional employment.

The Benefits/Pros of Freelancing

One of the most apparent benefits of freelancing is that the work can be completed from anywhere. There is no corporate building or office cubicle that a freelancer is tied down to. Freelancing jobs are done remotely, meaning a person can work from the comfort of their own home, or wherever they want to travel to. In addition, a freelancer has the freedom to pick the projects they’d like to work on and the clients they’d like to work with. This allows a freelancer to act in accordance with their values and hand-pick jobs that they are truly interested in or passionate about. This independence also results in a flexible schedule.

Freelancers escape the nine-to-five grind and have the ability to create their own set of working hours if they choose. They also have control over the workload and pace of the project, which can lead to an increased earning potential. The more jobs a freelancer accepts and completes successfully, the greater the possibility of achievement and increased pay.

Freelancing also gives freelancers the opportunity to explore new skills by exposing them to opportunities they may not have received in a corporate setting. For example, a freelancer can accept positions covering a wide variety of topics, whereas a corporate employer may want their employees to stick to one strength.

The Downsides/Cons of Freelancing

In contrast to the positive attributes of freelancing, there are also many challenges that come with the industry. For those just beginning their career as a freelancer, it can be difficult to start out due to lack of experience. It can be challenging to build momentum when a freelancer is first emerging into the field.

There can also be a lot of uncertainty during this time, as there is competition from other qualified freelancers competing for the same position. Then, there’s the struggle to find the balance between work and home life. With the opportunity to apply to as many jobs as a freelancer chooses and to set their own hours, where does someone draw the line to say they are overworking or not working enough?

This issue is further complicated by the management of finances. A freelancer must keep track of their earnings and determine how much they have to earn in order to support themselves. It’s a big responsibility, but one of the tradeoffs for those looking to freelance as a career.

How To Get Started As a Freelancer

There are a few steps to follow for those looking to get started as a new freelancer. The first step is to create an account on the top freelancing platform called Upwork. Upwork is a talent marketplace where freelancers find jobs and are selected by clients. After the account is created, it’s critical to upload as much information as possible to one’s profile.

Freelancers should include their education level, employment history, and a brief autobiography on their page. It’s also essential to include a portfolio, which can house examples of past experience and highlight a freelancer’s strong suits. When a client is looking to hire for a position, they are going to review a freelancer’s profile, which is why it’s important to make sure the account is complete.

There are a variety of freelancing skills that clients are looking for. According to Upwork, the skills with the highest year-over-year growth on the platform are sales & business development at 54%, data entry at 47%, accounting at 45%, and 3D animation at 44%. In addition to these, clients are also looking for tech, marketing, customer service/admin support, accounting/consulting, and design/creative skills.

As time goes by, more companies are beginning to use freelancers and remote talent to supplement their workforce. This is great news for the freelancing industry and those looking to grow their influence in the field. Platforms like Upwork make it easy for freelancers to meet clients and get hired, which opens the door to more opportunities for everyone involved.

Developing a Freelance Strategy

It’s important to create a strategy to have a successful freelancing career. Developing a business plan is a great way to maintain consistency and be accountable. Having strong and open communication is key to starting a relationship with any client. It’s essential to remain organized and keep track of the work being completed.

In addition, networking can have a huge impact on your freelancing career. It introduces a freelancer to new connections with other professionals. Networking can also result in a stronger support network, more meaningful relationships with others, and an improved reputation. It takes time to build a successful freelancing career, and it’s important not to get discouraged. In the end, it’s all a numbers game.

Once you have sharpened your freelancing tools and gained some real-world experience, you can move up the ranks and make more money by becoming a freelance consultant. A freelance consultant is an independent professional who provides expert advice and guidance to clients on a project-by-project basis. These consultants work for themselves and are hired by businesses, organizations, or individuals to offer their expertise on a specific subject matter. They can specialize in a wide range of fields, such as marketing, finance, technology, or human resources. In addition to all the benefits of being a freelancer, freelance consultants can also work on projects that align more with their interests and strengths, and potentially earn higher rates than traditional employment.

If you're interested in becoming a freelance consultant, Zero to Mastery has a helpful blog post that outlines the steps you can take to get started. From identifying your niche and building a portfolio to marketing yourself and setting your rates, this guide provides valuable insights and tips on how to launch a successful freelance consulting career. You can read the full blog post here: https://zerotomastery.io/blog/how-to-become-a-freelance-consultant/

Top Freelancing Takeaways

Freelancing is a vast industry with a lot to offer. It allows for remote work where a freelancer can choose their own hours. A freelancer also has the chance to select jobs that they show a particular interest in. They also have control over the workload and pace of a project. In addition to these positives of freelancing, the industry does have its downsides.

There is a lot of uncertainty for a new freelancer who is just beginning their career in the field due to high competition. There is also the struggle of maintaining a healthy work-life balance because freelancers are independent and must hold themselves accountable for their work. Overall, freelancing can be a viable career option for those who are looking for a flexible and rewarding job.

It’s common to have questions at the beginning of a person’s freelance journey. That’s where Paul Mendes’ course Complete Guide to Freelancing: Zero to Mastery , comes in handy. Paul is a Profitable Freelancer Business Coach who wants to build up the next generation of freelancers. His course is extremely helpful for those that want a step-by-step process to build a profitable freelance business. Its clear and concise outline makes it easy to follow for even the newest freelancers to follow along. He strives to give freelancers the confidence to take risks and the personal strength needed to create freedom in every area of their lives. Paul is a positive and encouraging leader who radiates success and wants the same for his students. Check out his course here: https://zerotomastery.io/courses/become-a-freelancer/?affcode=441520_7y_caadc

Sources:

https://www.vandelaydesign.com/freelance-defintion/

https://wearecloudworks.com/en/cloudmag/freelancing-evolucion/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2020/09/29/pandemic-fuels-a-freelancing-boom/?sh=198baac86625

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/most-in-demand-tech-skills-freelancers/

https://novoresume.com/career-blog/why-is-networking-important#:~:text=Simply%20put%2C%20networking%20means%20building,growth%2C%20and%20more%20impactful%20connections

Freelance Software Developer Salary and Jobs: What to Expect and How to Get Started

paul@conversionchasers.com (Paul Mendes) — Thu, 26 May 2022 00:42:36 GMT

Whether you're a software developer with years of experience in a 9-5 job looking for something new, or you're a person who loves to learn and want to get into a lucrative, growing field, becoming a freelance software developer could be just the change you need.

Keep reading for the average freelance software developer salary, hourly rates, and how to become a freelance software developer.

How much can I make as a freelance software developer?

According to Glassdoor, the average freelance software developer salary in the US is between $92,833 per year and $107,698 per year. According to ZipRecruiter, the average freelance software developer hourly rate is $55/hour.

More inexperienced software developers can expect to make around $24K per year, but your salary will increase over time, especially if you actively work to establish yourself as an excellent developer.

How do I become a freelance software developer?

Step 1: Decide what kind of freelance software developer you want to become.

There are two routes you can go when it comes to getting freelance software developer jobs: generalizing and specializing.

As with any hard skill-based job, the more you learn, the more jobs you have access to. If you have years of experience in software development, generalizing may be the way to go.

At the same time, you may have to learn new programming skills every time you take a "generalist" job, which can be exhausting.

If you specialize in one area, focusing on a few specific types of projects, you can build a foundation for projects and customize each project depending on the client’s needs. That way, you won’t have to learn something completely new with every new client, and it’s easier to scale your business.

In fact, creating an effective work system like this is one of many ways you can scale your freelancing business .

Step 2: Obtain the right “hard skill” sets.

The majority of software developers have at least a bachelor’s degree. You can become a software developer without a degree . In general, though, you will need to learn any “hard skills” (programming languages, version control tools, etc.) that you’re currently lacking.

The more you lean towards being a generalist software developer, the more programming languages you’ll need under your belt — full-stack developers get paid more for a reason.

If you choose to go into a specific niche, use hiring sites like Indeed and Zippia, as well as job boards like Upwork and Toptal, to see what kinds of skills you need to get the jobs you want.

Make a list of those skills, find an online resource to help you learn, and make a learning schedule for yourself. Consider learning by example, and doing test projects to teach yourself new skill sets. This kind of learning will show you where you make mistakes, and what you’re really good at. Hands-on learning will definitely help for the next step.

Step 3: Build an online software developer portfolio (don’t panic.)

You don’t need to build out an insane, website to show prospective clients your amazing developer skills (unless you want to be a web developer.)

Go for a sleek, minimalist site that showcases your best projects, and strongly consider linking out to your Github projects/profile, like in this freelance developer website example , or simply taking some screenshots of your projects, like in this freelance developer project example . You’ll be adding transparency and authority to your portfolio without any “extra work.”

In general, though, your work must be optimized in a technical sense. There should be no errors at all. Pages should last fast and be responsive on any device.

Consider hiring a graphic designer to help you design a really nice website if you can afford it.

Step 4: Find the right hiring platform and/or network.

There are three ways in which you can branch out into the freelancing world: tap into your current professional relationships, establish yourself in a software developer network, or apply to jobs listed on job boards.

In my professional opinion, you should do all three when you can.

If you are currently in a software developer position, you have a more relevant network of coworkers, friends, and colleagues to communicate with about companies needing talent.

If you’re in another professional altogether, establishing yourself as an authority in the software development sphere will require a little more effort. You may join in on software development conferences, write guest blog posts on related websites, or start your own affiliate blog to pull in some money before you even start taking in clients.

Some of the best software developer job platforms include:

Upwork
Toptal
Guru
Hired
Authentic Jobs
Gun.io
X-Team

Step 5: Land your first client!

When you first branch into starting a freelance business (unless you were a pretty highly regarded developer at Google or something), you might not be able to be picky.

However, you can (and should) ask yourself questions such as:

How much is your time worth, considering that you are both new to the freelancing space and have valuable experience?
Would you prefer to get paid by project or by the hour? (If you can work efficiently, payment by project is definitely preferable.)
What kind of people do you want to work with? Are you looking for a more collaborative work environment or do you prefer people who take a more hands-off approach?
Do you want to take on short-term projects, or make long-term commitments?

Step 6: Use your experience wisely.

As you complete more freelance software developer jobs, you'll learn what kind of work (and what kind of clients) you actually like. Shift towards what interests you, as long as you can secure projects in those areas.

Also, as you gain more experience and authority in the freelancing sphere, you can get more choosy about what work you take on. Don't take on every project that comes along, especially if you won't get paid what you deserve.

Finally, make sure to have positive freelance client interactions and ask for reviews once a project comes to an end. On freelancing platforms, these reviews will show up automatically. Place positive reviews on your website and professional social media profiles as well.

Branching out into a highly technical field on your own can be scary.

But it doesn't have to be, especially if you do your homework when it comes to learning essential coding skills and learning how to freelance in general.

How To Start An Affiliate Blog The Right Way

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 16:13:15 GMT

Affiliate marketing is on the rise, and for good reason. Everyone is looking for an extra source of income without a ton of extra work. If you enjoy writing, then affiliate blogging could give you the income boost you’re looking for.

Keep reading to find out what affiliate blogging is, how much you can make with an affiliate blog, and how to start an affiliate blog today.

What is affiliate blogging?

Affiliate blogging is when you, a blogger, promote a product or service in original articles and include a unique link or discount code related to that item that identifies you as the source of traffic. When readers click on your link and/or purchase the item, you get a commission.

Affiliate marketing was developed as a way for businesses to promote products without spending vast amounts on advertising. It's a three-way relationship between the product/service provider, the affiliate blogger, and the reader-turned-buyer.

How much do bloggers earn on affiliate links?

According to these 2020 affiliate marketing statistics , 48% of affiliate marketers with an established audience earn $20K per year. However, newer bloggers might start out making $5K per year. That $5K will grow as your readership grows.

How popular is being an affiliate blogger?

Around 84% of bloggers use affiliate marketing to monetize their content.

There are a few different affiliate commission fee structures:

Pay-Per-Click: You get paid a certain amount every time someone clicks on your link or code.
Pay-Per-Conversion: You get paid a certain amount when a reader completes a certain task, usually purchasing a product or signing up for a service.
Revenue Sharing: You get a percentage of each sale that comes through your affiliate link.

Sometimes, affiliate programs offer tiered affiliate fee structures. For example, say you sign up for an affiliate program to sell subscriptions to a magazine. If you get 1-50 people to buy the subscription through your blog, you get a 10% commission. If you get 50-200 people to buy, you get a 20% commission rate.

Naturally, to get the most profit out of your affiliate blogging efforts, you should choose an affiliate program that offers a good payment structure.

Don’t make this common affiliate marketing mistake.

To successfully start affiliate marketing with a blog, you need to create great content that draws in the kind of audience who would want to buy the products you are promoting.

One of the biggest mistakes a new blogger can make is choosing products to promote before coming up with the overall focus of their blog.

Decide what you should write about first, depending on your knowledge, interests, and the interests of buyers. Then choose a product or service to promote that you have tried and would want your name attached to.

How To Get Started With Affiliate Blogging

Step 1: Choose a specific blogging niche.

Another mistake new bloggers make is choosing what to write without doing any research about what other people are interested in, and what topics are already oversaturated and hard to get into.

Before trying to break into a field where you will struggle to set yourself apart from the competition:

Look up trending search keywords and topics with tools like Google Trends , Ahrefs keyword generator tool , and keywordtool.io
Scope out trending topics on social media platforms
Consider the kind of people you want to write for
Ask yourself what your target readership would be interested in reading about
Think about what your blog would have to offer your readers

While it might seem like you should choose a really broad blog category so that more people are interested, choosing a specific niche topic means there is less competition online and that your readers know exactly what they’re getting when they reach your blog.

For example, there are thousands of gardening blogs. There are substantially fewer blogs about growing mushrooms indoors, though.

And mushrooms (at the time of writing) are a really hot, trending topic.

Related: To learn more about keyword research and getting seen in search engine results, read this guide on SEO copywriting .

Step 2: Choose a place to house your blog.

You have two options when it comes to blogging: a blogging platform like Medium or your own independent website.

Blogging on a platform like Medium or on a free WordPress subdomain is a way to start blogging for absolutely no money. There are affiliate marketing guidelines you need to follow on free platforms, so be mindful of that if you decide to go this route.

If you decide to invest in your own blogging website, you can customize your site, build brand recognition, and expand into other forms of monetization (such as offering online courses or dropshipping) in the future, if you wanted to.

If you build your own website, start small . You don’t have to put a lot of money into web hosting, a web builder with several features, or paid website templates.

Choose a platform and web hosting provider you think you could grow with, and start on a lower-level plan. WordPress powers 37% of all websites as of 2021 , and for a good reason.

Step 3: Choose the products/services you want to promote.

The products/services you choose should:

Be things you use often
Come from companies you stand behind (no gimmicks or schemes)
Have no major flaws or have a majority of negative user reviews
Align with the topic of posts and the overall subject of your blog
Have a sensible affiliate program

Ideally, you should market things you have used for some time. But if you’re really not sure what you should start marketing, these are the 139 Best Affiliate Programs of 2022 (High Paying for Beginners) . Look over them, try out the products that appeal to you , then sign up for an affiliate program.

Step 4: Build your content around your niche and your affiliate product offering.

The best affiliate marketing is subtle. You offer high-quality content for free, then naturally weave in how the product relates to the content and link to the product page.

Beauty and skincare articles are actually really great examples of good affiliate blogging.

For example, this article on how to start a skincare routine includes product recommendations (and product affiliate links) throughout the article. The article also links to review articles, lists of favorite products, etc.

Common high-value content ideas include:

How-to articles
Listicles (e.g. “the 10 best cities to live in 2022”)
Reviews
Product comparisons
Survey results
Guides

Note: You must write down somewhere (usually at the beginning of a post) that you will receive a commission if a reader buys a product you recommend. Let readers know that you have an objective opinion of the product, but also preserve transparency by letting them know that you will make money if they decide to act on your recommendation.

Above all, your affiliate blog should be based on honesty.

A growing majority of readers are aware that affiliate marketing is a thing. They aren’t easily fooled, but they are easily put off by random or poor-quality product recommendations.

Give honest reviews, be honest about who a product is for (and who it is not for), and be transparent about your affiliate marketing efforts.

Do all that, and your blog will be a trustworthy source of information for your readers.

Related: If earning money through affiliate marketing doesn’t sound right for you, read this post on how to start freelance digital marketing .

Freelance Digital Marketing: Jobs, Salary, and How to Get Started

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 18:29:11 GMT

It’s 2022, and everyone is online. Most successful companies are also online, vying for user attention. So, a company can’t just throw up any old ad and expect it to make a huge impact.

They need a strategy, and that’s where freelance digital marketing comes in. Everyone needs digital marketers, but many companies — especially smaller ones — don’t want to hire a dedicated full-time marketer to handle marketing efforts.

If you are even a little bit creative, enjoy managing projects, and can get on board with Google, keep reading for:

An explanation of what digital marketing is
In-demand specializations
What freelance digital marketing salary is in 2022
How to figure out what kind of digital marketing you want to do
Where to find digital marketing jobs
How to secure your first client

What is freelance digital marketing, exactly?

Digital marketing is all forms of marketing that happens online. Through digital marketing efforts, businesses can reach their audiences through websites, social media platforms, on mobile devices, through emails, in apps, and more.

Freelance digital marketers help clients:

Define a company’s marketing goals
Identify the specific audiences they need to reach
Find where those audiences are “hanging out” online
Figure out how to reach those audiences effectively
What kind of elements are needed to put together a marketing strategy
Define what a successful marketing strategy is in relation to the original goals
Measure the overall success of online marketing efforts
Pivot a marketing strategy when needed

Considering the numerous ways you can reach an audience online today, there are several different types of digital marketing — and the skills involved with each marketing specialization are in high demand.

Types of Digital Marketing

1) Content Marketing

Content marketing uses the creation and distribution of valuable content, such as blog posts, white papers, and explainer videos, to attract interested users to a website.

This kind of content is free for viewers and captures the interest of people who would want to buy the company’s product or service.

The type of content a company should use and the places where that content is posted are very important. Your primary job as a content marketer is to make these decisions, although many companies may ask you to plan out a content strategy and create the content itself.

2) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the practice of creating and improving on a website and the website’s content to rank higher in organic search engine results.

There are two aspects to SEO: on-page optimization and off-page optimization. Off-page optimization refers to the more “technical” things you can do to improve a website: reduce page load speeds, improve a site’s structure, improve a site’s stability, etc. On-page SEO refers to the writing and media that users see on the page.

Here is a guide on SEO copywriting , and a guide on technical SEO , to help you build SEO marketing skills.

One of the most important aspects of SEO (and digital marketing in general) is keyword research. Keywords are the terms that users type into search boxes on Google, social media, marketplaces like Amazon, etc.

Keyword research involves researching the keywords that your target audiences are searching for, then using those keywords throughout your marketing strategy. You need a strong understanding of keyword research for on-page content writing, technical SEO — almost all the types of digital marketing.

3) Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)

While SEO marketing is all about getting a webpage to rank higher in organic (unpaid) search results, pay per click advertising is about ranking higher in search results using paid ads.

Think about whenever you look something up on Google. Paid ads are listed at the top of all search results.

With pay per click advertising, you only pay for that ad whenever someone clicks on it. Digital marketers focused on PPC advertising will need to do keyword research, audience intent analysis, and then organize a PPC campaign using an ad campaign tool like Google Ads, Amazon Sponsored Products, or Facebook Ads.

4) Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is one of the most in-demand jobs for freelancers right now. Individuals and companies are looking for social media marketing campaigns on every platform: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter…the list goes on.

Social media marketers create campaigns that are designed to reach target audiences on at least one social media platform. The social media marketer is responsible for:

Assisting companies in create concrete campaign goals
Researching which platform(s) a company's intended audience are on
Determining what kind of content will be necessary to execute the campaign
Outlining the timeline of the campaign design and execution
Figuring out what kind of measurements can be taken to determine the success of a campaign (otherwise known as key performance indicators, or KPIs)

Common social media marketing campaign goals are to:

Increase brand awareness
Spread information about things like product releases, events, trends, etc.
Motivate users to buy into a product or service

Many platforms now allow eCommerce store owners to create 'shoppable' social media posts, so social media marketing campaigns are more important than ever.

5) Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a collaboration between influencers on social media platforms and on prominent websites wherein they promote a company’s product to their following in exchange for free products or monetary compensation.

To start an influencer marketing campaign, you as an influencer marketing strategist need to help decide on the campaign’s objectives, what platform(s) you want to engage with, the type of influencer you want to work with, and how you’ll pay them.

6) Email Marketing

Email marketing involves the use of email outreach to advertise new products, services, sales, and news in general.

As an email marketer, you can expect to help a company carve out their email marketing goals, segment their email subscriber list into different target audiences, identify (and possibly create) the visuals and copywriting that will go in the emails themselves, and use email management software such as MailChimp or ActiveCampaign to set up an automated sending schedule.

7) Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is an advertising strategy where you reach users through their mobile devices. Common types of mobile marketing include:

SMS text message marketing
Location-based marketing (aka GPS marketing)
Communication app marketing (Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, etc.)
In-app marketing (banner promotions, video ads, etc.)

To create mobile marketing campaigns, someone (possibly you) will write the copy — including a clear CTA — and set up automated message deployment using mobile marketing software.

8) Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to influencer marketing, but instead of paying people to show off a company’s product, the company pays per referral.

Typically, affiliate marketing is set up so that writers and social media influencers can persuade their audience to buy a product, go to a website, sign up for a free trial, or any other lead generating action.

Depending on the type of affiliate program, an affiliate marketer may get paid per sale, per signup, per click, etc.

Most digital marketers are not expected to be an affiliate marketer, but rather to build an affiliate program, find affiliates to work with, promote an existing affiliate program, or manage a company’s current affiliates.

Freelance Digital Marketing Salary 2022

According to ZipRecruiter, the average freelance digital marketing salary in 2022 is $68,970 , which translates to $33 per hour.

This will change depending on your:

Level of experience
Skill set
Knowledge of marketing software
Your previous track record of marketing campaign success

A quick glance on Upwork, the world’s largest freelance job platform, shows that digital marketers make anywhere from $20-$100 per hour.

The highest paying jobs are in digital marketing management, while the lowest tend to be in content/social media marketing. This is simply because digital marketing managers tend to have more knowledge and overall value when it comes to a company’s marketing efforts.

How to Become a Freelance Digital Marketing Specialist

Step 1: Decide what kind of digital marketing services you want to offer.

Carving out your service offering is the first step to figuring out exactly what you need to become a freelance digital marketer.

When deciding what kind of marketing you want to do, research what kind of skill sets you need to be successful at the job. For example:

Are there technical skills, like web design, that hurt even to read about? Steer clear of search engine marketing.
Does the graphic design element of marketing excite you? Consider content or social media marketing.
Do you love the idea of managing projects and people? Think about getting into influencer and affiliate marketing program management.

Step 2: Acquire the skill set you need to offer your particular digital marketing services.

At its core, marketing is about helping a company carve out specific marketing goals, determine what actions are necessary to reach those goals, create (or find someone else to create) the materials (visuals, copy, videos, etc.) needed to reach target audiences, and then measuring the success of marketing campaign efforts.

You’ll need to learn how to put together a campaign proposal, what kind of software you’ll need to execute the campaign, how to manage a campaign through project management and communication tools, and potentially, how to create marketing assets.

It’s also crucial that you learn what campaign success looks like and how to measure it. You need to show your clients the real, tangible value of your marketing efforts.

This might mean learning how Google Analytics works so you can set up key performance indicators (KPIs) such as number of website visits, where visitors come from (social media, an affiliate’s website, PPC, etc), whether users answered the call to action by purchasing, signing up for an email newsletter, sharing social content with friends — Google Analytics can measure tangible results of your efforts and visualize them in an easy-to-understand way.

This might mean learning how to use a page tracking tool like Hotjar, which shows what parts of a website a user engages with and what makes them flee from a website. Using this data, an SEO marketer can improve the form and function of a website. Then, they could use Hotjar to display the difference in how a user interacts with a site — specifically, how often a user gets to (and clicks on) a CTA.

Note: If you’re not sure what kind of skills you would need for a specific digital marketing position, look on a job listing platform like Indeed or Upwork. Listed jobs usually have a job description or list of skills required to perform the job.

Step 3: Put these skill sets to use.

While you probably won’t get paid as a freelance digital marketer at first, you can (and should) get some digital marketing experience.

Offer to create location-based marketing campaigns for local restaurants. Partner with a micro influencer to practice making those connections. Create your own website and demonstrate your own SEO skills. Become an affiliate for a brand, design your own affiliate marketing campaign, and learn exactly what a good affiliate marketing strategy looks like.

You could even design some sort of offering — a class, a physical object, a book of stickers, it doesn’t matter all that much — then determine your target audience, create a campaign to get noticed, and see what kind of conversions you might get.

Even if you’re not making money as a digital marketer, you could be making money.

When you make your offer, pitch yourself the way you would pitch to potential clients. Identify who you would pitch to, do some research about the competition, figure out what your potential client is lacking, and explain how you could fill that gap.

Ideally, you would create a marketing campaign pitch deck (there are several templates out there) to demonstrate your research, your campaign idea, some sample campaign assets, and projections about how the campaign could positively impact the individual or company.

Step 4: Get very specific about your offering.

At first, you decided on a very general area of digital marketing. But hopefully, with some learning and experience under your belt, you now have a better understanding of what digital marketing jobs you would (and wouldn’t) be good at.

You might also learn the type of client or subject matter you’d work well with.

For example, you might find that you are really great at running Facebook ad campaigns. You also really like working with small to midsize companies. Craft your offering to specifically attract those kinds of clients who are also looking for your specific offering.

Step 5: Apply to your first freelance digital marketing jobs.

At first, it’s probably easiest to use a job platform like Upwork to apply for digital marketing jobs. There’s a low barrier to entry, you get to display your previous work on your profile, and you can apply to specific jobs that sound right to you.

You might notice that most job postings on Upwork are either pretty generic or quite lengthy in description — mostly because a lot of companies either don’t know what they need or because they have an idea of everything they would want.

When you apply to jobs with generic descriptions, try to shape your proposal so that they can see your past experience and how you might start helping the company now.

When you apply to jobs with detailed descriptions, make sure to read the entire description and succinctly explain how you could fit all their needs.

Getting freelance digital marketing jobs can feel overwhelming.

But fear not — this complete guide to freelancing in 2022 , plus the resources below, will help you get started on your new side hustle, or possibly your new career.

Freelance Digital Marketing Learning Resources and Tools

Canva : For creating content like social media posts, brand guideline packages, email marketing assets, data analytics presentations, and more
Asana : For streamlined collaboration and project management
Ahrefs Keyword Generator : For an easy way to find high-value key terms
Google Analytics Academy : Learn how to use Google Analytics to measure key performance indicators for free. Get a certificate to prove your skill set (and to include in your resume)
Google Ads Certifications : Learn about different types of Ads campaigns, such as Google search campaigns and app campaigns, and then get certified
Google Tag Manager Fundamentals : Lean how to use Google Tag Manager for tracking campaign success
Google Search Console Training : Google Search Console helps you monitor a website’s performance and optimize a website to rank highly in organic search results
SEO Audit Masterclass : Learn how to set up and improve a company’s SEO strategy, complete with all the SEO tools you could need
Search Engine Journal : Learn about the best SEO, PPC, and content marketing practices
Semrush Academy : Free training on all things digital marketing using Semrush, a popular digital marketing tool
Hootsuite Learning and Certification : Learn Hootsuite, the most popular social media management software out there
Buffer : A cheaper alternative to Hootsuite if all you need is to schedule social media posts
Duda : An excellent web builder for designing your personal website, complete with your portfolio of past marketing campaigns and results

Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Technical SEO Specialists: What are they and how do you become one?

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 02:21:23 GMT

Looking to learn the most in-demand freelance skills? You’ve come to the right place: Technical SEO specialists have a higher salary and way less competition than freelancers in other fields.

If you want to learn more about what exactly technical SEO specialists do, what you need to learn to become one, and how to land your first freelancing technical SEO job, keep reading.

What is a technical SEO specialist?

A technical SEO specialist is someone who focuses on all the ways you can optimize a website from the back-end. This includes things like creating sitemaps and reducing server response times by eliminating unnecessary page loading processes.

Fundamentally, technical SEO is about optimizing the user’s experience with a website itself. Search engine crawlers , which are sort of like little spiders that automatically read through (almost) every page of every website online to figure out what that page is about and where it should rank in search results.

Search engine crawlers pick up data about a website and then search engines apply a search algorithm to that data, so it can determine how relevant and useful a webpage is to a user who types in a certain query.

From here on out, this post will focus on ranking in Google search results, since about 92% of all online users search with Google .

The 11 Big Technical SEO Topics in 2022

Since Google is always changing to create the best user experience for users, their search algorithms are also always changing. That means you will be continuously learning technical SEO and evolving right along with Google.

For right now (and probably for the foreseeable future), the big technical SEO topics are:

Crawling: Can search bots “crawl through” or “read” the pages on a website?

Rendering: How efficiently does a browser assemble the parts of a webpage to create the end result, which is the interactive webpage that is presented to users?

Indexation: Will Google search bots index, or store, your web pages so that a browser can quickly render them when a user clicks on them?

Mobile: How well does a website operate on mobile devices?

SSL: How secure is a website? Will a user’s information remain safe while on a website?

Structured data: How well can search crawlers understand a webpage? Are there pieces of data such as star ratings or product prices that crawlers can easily pick up on and display to users?

Migrations: Has a major website change, like changing the domain name or switching web host providers, been properly implemented? Have Google search engine bots updated your index status to reflect these changes?

Page speed: How fast does this webpage load?

Content optimization: How strong is this content? Are there any pages of duplicate content or “thin content”?

Status codes: Does a website’s server properly respond to a browser’s request? For example, does a request for loading one page of a website result in a redirect to another webpage?

Site structure: Is a website organized so that it makes sense for both search engine bots and users?

You’ll notice in all of these topics that while the focus seems to be about how Google reads and reacts to a website, Google search bots are only interested in providing the best possible browsing experience for users.

Keep your mind focused on how users can interact with a website first, then get into the nitty-gritty search optimization details.

The Benefits: Technical SEO Specialist Salary, Competition, and More

The average technical SEO specialist salary starts out at about $52,000, but can range anywhere from $50,000-$75,000.

A quick search on Upwork, the world’s largest freelance job platform, shows that freelance technical SEO specialists typically earn anywhere from $30-$75 an hour, with most jobs being long-term prospects.

There is also a lower level of competition for jobs in technical SEO when compared to other forms of SEO. This is because technical SEO takes a bit more technical knowledge and skills than things like SEO copywriting — although learning other forms of SEO along with technical SEO would make you a highly desirable “SEO unicorn.”

Related: Learn a skill like SEO copywriting to become the SEO unicorn that everyone wants to hire.

On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO vs. Technical SEO

While technical, on-page, and off-page SEO all focus on ranking higher in search results, they each have unique and distinct differences. They also require different skill sets to get just right.

On-page SEO relates to optimizing the content users see on the front-end of a website. On-page SEO specialists focus on things like keyword research, meta descriptions, and image alt-text to improve the chances of Google bots and users landing on a webpage.

Off-page SEO relates to optimizing outside of a website. Off-page SEO specialists focus on things like link building and in some cases social media management , to pull more traffic to a website from other sources.

Front-end users will never see technical SEO efforts — but they are extremely important if a website wants to rank higher in search.

How to Become a Technical SEO Specialist

First, recognize that technical SEO is a continuous learning process. Prepare to spend a good percentage of your time reading up on the latest SEO trends from resources like Search Engine Journal .

Next, you’ll want to get a broad understanding of each aspect of technical SEO. Free resources such as the Moz Beginner Guide to Technical SEO and Google’s Search Engine Optimization Webmaster Starter Guide just to understand basic terms and tools used in this field.

After that, learn some basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, since these are the most common coding languages used to create and render websites. There are great courses on learning platforms like Zero to Mastery that will get you up to speed on basic coding skills fast.

Note: You do not have to be an expert coder to do technical SEO. Learning a little coding will help you understand problems related to things such as site rendering, server request errors, and optimizing for page speed.

Then, learn about the everyday tools you’ll use to optimize your clients’ websites: Google Search Console , PageSpeed Insights , and a site crawler like Screaming Frog SEO Spider , among others.

Finally, put all of your theoretical knowledge into practice. Work on someone else’s website, or build your own website, then optimize all it’s backend functionalities.

How to Land Your First Freelance Technical SEO Specialist Job

1) Build a portfolio.

Take all of your practice work and compile it into a neat portfolio. The best way to do this would be to make sample technical SEO reports that show how your actions have improved various features of a website.

For example, run a PageSpeed Insights test on a website, then modify the website to address any technical issues and improve the site’s Core Web Vitals score (which is very important in the SEO field in 2021.)

If you have been working on a website for a while, you may even notice that the site’s web pages rank higher in search results thanks to your efforts.

You could work on a local business’s or an individual’s site. Or, you can start your own blog, affiliate website, or eCommerce venture to show your skills and make some money while you’re learning.

2) Build your freelancer profile in a freelancer job platform like Upwork, which has a low barrier to entry.

Upwork has more job postings than any other job platform in the world, and people hiring on the platform are also more flexible in terms of hours you’ll work. That means that you could make freelance technical SEO your side hustle, or turn freelancing into a full-time career .

Take an online beginner freelancer course and learn to:

Quickly build your freelancer profile
Create job proposals that will win contracts
Build relationships with clients so you can build a sustainable source of income

3) Start applying for technical SEO jobs.

You’ll build your profile and start applying to jobs as you go through your beginner freelancer course, which will show you how to win freelancer job contracts with absolutely zero paid experience.

Highlight the fact that you are up-to-date in technical SEO practices, including improving Core Web Vitals scores, as those scores directly correlate to how well a web page will rank in related search results.

Non-technically inclined job posters will be impressed with the fact that you know these skills, and those who do understand the ins-and-outs of technical SEO will appreciate the fact that you are constantly working to improve your understanding of key concepts.

Technical SEO is not as intuitive as other freelancing fields. But that also means it pays more.

Put in the initial effort to learn how technical SEO works, and you’ll really stand out from other freelancers online. Plus, you’ll earn a lot more than you would with more “intuitive” skills like data entry, social media posting, and content writing.

Accelerate your freelancing business.

Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign: 2022 Comparison

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 02:20:30 GMT

From freelancers to small business owners to large scale corporations, everyone is getting into email marketing — and if you’re not, you’re seriously missing out on the chance to connect with and retain a client base. When it comes to deciding which email marketing software is right for your needs, there are three competing players: it’s Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign.

To help you decide which email marketing software is right for you, we’ve done a head-to-head comparison, looking at everything from how flexible the email builders are to how easy it is to integrate each into your current marketing tactics. Whether you’re a freelancer working with a client or you’re someone trying to get your own email traffic, this guide will help you decide which email marketing solution is right for you.

What are Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and ActiveCampaign all used for?

Mailchimp is probably the most popular email marketing software out there, simply because it’s a big name and it’s one of the oldest tools available. It’s historically been known for its ease of use and accessibility.

Klaviyo is primarily used for eCommerce businesses, since it easily integrates with eCommerce store builders like Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.

ActiveCampaign is one of the most advanced email marketing tools available, with several features for things like audience segmentation and marketing automation. It’s getting popular among bloggers and service-based entrepreneurs, who rely on lead generation and audience retention for their business.

Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Pricing Structure

As a freelancer or small business owner, price is most likely one of your greatest concerns. What option allows you to keep within your budget but still make a worthy investment?

Mailchimp and Klaviyo both have free plans available.

Klaviyo only allows you to use their free plan if you have under 250 contacts. You can also only send 500 emails per month, and after that, you must upgrade or wait until the next month, when you can send 500 more emails for free. Pricing scales with the number of contacts you have and includes unlimited email sends.

Unlike Mailchimp, Klaviyo gives you access to all of the software’s functionalities.

Mailchimp only allows you to use basic, constricting email templates, and only one-step automations, which are useless for building lead conversion campaigns. You do not get access to all of Mailchimp’s functionalities until you upgrade to the second tier of their paid plan, and there are many paid add-ons that are not made transparent when you’re starting out.

ActiveCampaign does not have a free tier, but they do offer a 14-day free trial so you can try out the advanced marketing features the software has to offer. It is more expensive, but there is good reason for it, which we’ll get into in a moment.

Here is a quick comparison by the numbers:

MailChimp

Free plan: $0/month for up to 2000 contacts, but limited template and email marketing automation features and includes MailChimp branding
Essentials plan: Starts at $9.99/month based on 500 contacts, but prices scale significantly with an increased audience
Standard plan: Starts at 14.99/month based on 500 contacts, but prices scale significantly with an increased audience
Premium plan: Starts at $299/month based on 10,000 contacts, but prices scale significantly with an increased audience

Klaviyo

Free plan: $0/month for up to 250 contacts and 500 emails/month, but includes Klaviyo branding
$20/month for up to 500 contacts
$30/month for up to 1,000 contacts
$150/month for up to 10,000 contacts

ActiveCampaign

Note: All plans are based on 500 contacts, scale with the number of contacts, and are based on yearly billing, which is highly recommended as it keeps costs down.

Lite plan: $9/month
Plus plan: $49/month
Professional plan: $149/month
Enterprise plan: $258/month

Email Marketing Software User Experience

When it comes to building the emails themselves, Mailchimp is your simplest option. The straightforward visual drag-and-drop builder and basic email marketing automations make this tool easy for beginners.

However, this also makes Mailchimp one of the least robust options.

Klaviyo is in the middle. It has more email builder customization and less automation templates than Mailchimp, so it’s a little harder for complete beginners to start with.

ActiveCampaign has the highest learning curve out of the three, simply because it has so many capabilities. For example, there are over 500 marketing automation “recipes” you can employ, but some functionalities are codependent, meaning that you have to set up one feature before you can use another.

The user interface of ActiveCampaign is most certainly the most polished and the software has the most features — but that also means ActiveCampaign is the most difficult to get used to.

Flexibility of Design

Each email marketing software has dozens of email templates that serve a variety of purposes: abandoned cart campaigns, holiday specials, and onboarding sequences, to name a few.

Mailchimp’s free plan has around 10 email templates available, and their paid plans offer around 125. You can use custom code to build email templates when you pay for the Standard plan. You are allowed a single-step automation and do not get to create multi-step conversion funnels, or “customer journeys,” until you pay for the Essentials plan.

Klaviyo reports having dozens of pre-built, mobile responsive templates that you can edit to match your brand. The email editor even pulls design elements from your website to help you quickly create on-brand emails.

ActiveCampaign has around 125 beautiful mobile-responsive email templates available, with the ability to customize, and all templates work with HTML.

ActiveCampaign’s uniqueness and flexibility is not so much in the email designs themselves, but all the ways you can use them. ActiveCampaign’s functionalities allow you to add dynamic content that’s tailored to each person on your contact list, and predicts the right time for you to send your email, that way your readers get your emails at the right time of the day and they’re reading what is most relevant to them. You can add conditional content, which shows viewers the most relevant content depending on their behavior.

Every part of the ActiveCampaign content creation process is tailored to readers and is driven by real-time user data, which is what makes this software so strong and flexible.

Extra Features and Integrations

Mailchimp, because it has been around for so long, has over 300 integrations, so you can connect all of your online tools.

However, even though ActiveCampaign has been around for less time, it boasts over 870 integrations. So, you can rest assured that whatever marketing, sales, and customer management solutions you’re using right now will connect nicely with ActiveCampaign.

Klaviyo is famous for integrating well with Shopify. The email marketing software allows you to recapture not just people who abandoned their carts, but also people who browsed on a website without actually putting anything in their cart. You can also create coupon codes that work on a Shopify site, pull product recommendations from your Shopify product listings, and even create a “back in stock” alert for users who were interested in certain products that weren’t available at the time.

ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, is fantastic at deciding which leads are more worth pursuing with their “customer scoring” system. Based on real consumer behavior, a contact’s “score” rises when they engage with an email in a certain way, and decreases when they ignore it or do not follow through and click on a link.

In short, Klaviyo has the upper hand when it comes to eCommerce, while ActiveCampaign helps much more with segmenting your audience based on engagement levels. With that high level of understanding your readers’ behavior, you can better plan out your email marketing campaigns.

Mailchimp has all the standard features of any basic email marketing software, but doesn’t have many special features.

Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign: The Verdict

If you’re running an eCommerce business — especially if your store is built with Shopify — it may be in your best interest to go with Klaviyo.

However, if you are focused more on building relationships with the contacts on your email list, and on bringing each contact a personalized experience that makes them more likely to engage with your emails, then ActiveCampaign may be the right email marketing software for you.

If you’re seriously strapped for cash, go with MailChimp for now . When you want to take your business to the next level, though, migrate your contacts to ActiveCampaign.

Just remember that, like your career, email marketing software is an investment . Don’t go with the cheap option because it is the cheap option. Go with what’s worth it in the long run.

Accelerate your freelancing business. Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

How and Why to Offer SEO Copywriting Services as a Freelancer

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 01:44:42 GMT

Search engine optimization copywriting, better known as SEO copywriting, is the practice of writing web content that appeals to both Google search engine algorithms and human readers. Businesses hire SEO copywriters to rank highly in Google search results, which is why SEO copywriting is so in-demand. This kind of writing is easy to get into and easy to get paid for.

If you want to start your own freelance SEO writing side hustle or business, keep reading this post. In it, you’l l find:

Why SEO copywriting is a valuable and profitable service offering
How to start offering SEO copywriting services, step-by-step
How to acquire higher-paying clients as you gain experience

Why Offer SEO Copywriting Services as a Freelancer?

That’s simple: people are almost always going to Google to search, and businesses and brands will always want to be found on Google.

In fact, according to this large scale study , 28.5% of users click on the first link that appears in search results. 15.7% click the second result. Only 11% of users click on the third. So, businesses will pay top dollar for high-quality SEO services. Some businesses, especially ones in the eCommerce sphere, will pay anywhere from $300-$800 per webpage .

Most businesses don’t have a need or a budget for a full-time writer, so they outsource the work to freelancers. It’s easy to pick up one-off projects like writing webpage copy or putting someone on retainer for monthly blog posts.

How to Start Your Own SEO Copywriting Services Business

1. Take some online SEO copywriting courses. Consider an SEO copywriting certification while you’re at it.

There are a number of places where you can find great SEO copywriting courses. You can:

Audit an SEO fundamentals course offered by Google through Coursera, or pay for an official certification, if you’d like to add an impressive credential to your SEO copywriting resume
Take a Hubspot SEO certification course
Take a fully comprehensive SEO course on Zero to Mastery

It’s critical to find the most up-to-date SEO copywriting courses and advice out there, as the copywriting rules that helped sites rank six years ago — or even six months ago — may not work now.

A prime example of this: recipe blog posts. The reason they’re so long is because Google used to care a lot about the length of an article. The longer your article was, the higher you would rank in search results.

This is not the case anymore, as Google search engines have learned how to tell what value each web page or blog post brings to users based on their search intent.

To keep up on the latest SEO practices, I strongly recommend that you read Search Engine Journal . The website often sits down with top engineers at Google to discuss what’s new in search.

2. Build your portfolio of work.

When you’re first starting out, you won’t have any experience to show, and most businesses looking for SEO services are mostly focused on your work and your results.

You might need to do some copywriting for free before anyone will pay you for your work. The easiest ways to do this are to write for someone else for free, or build your own website.

If you decide to write for someone else’s website, try to get access to their SEO reporting tools, or sign them up for SEO reporting if they don’t have any. Track how your copywriting services impact their business or brand, and how that aligns with their copywriting goals.

For example, see if your copywriting generates more organic traffic, converts more leads, or generates more sales. Then, show those tangible results in a neat SEO report and add it to your portfolio of work.

It’s easiest to pitch your services to local businesses, small artists or influencers, and nonprofits. They don’t usually have the budget to pay a copywriter, but definitely have a need for one.

Building your own website may be preferable if you:

Have the time (and patience) to build your own website
Want to have total control over all facets of SEO and SEO reporting
Feel that building your own website and brand are worth the money you spend on creating a domain name, paying for a content management system such as WordPress or Duda, and potentially paying for SEO reporting tools

It could be a worthwhile endeavor, especially considering the fact that you could include your portfolio and copywriting services information within your website.

It will take time and effort to start ranking on search engines. However, having a nice website and blog posts will help you win those beginner freelance jobs with smaller companies who understand that they probably won’t make it to the top of Google search results in a month.

Plus, if you start your own website, you can make money off of your blog through affiliate marketing, selling ad space, and leading people to paid content or online courses.

3. Set up your online freelance profile and start applying for jobs and projects.

Huge freelance job websites like Upwork are great for beginner freelancers. There are a wealth of opportunities on these sites, and as you gain more experience on the platform, you can start applying for higher paying positions or projects.

Build your online freelancer profile, including any projects you’ve completed and the results of your efforts. Upwork has a great spot for this called the Project Catalogue , which is worth using to show your SEO copywriting abilities off to potential clients.

Learn how to optimize your Upwork profile and craft winning proposals so you can start earning money and building a reputation in the SEO copywriting sphere as soon as possible.

4. As you gain more experience, acquire more clients (and start charging more for your services.)

In the beginning, you probably won’t get paid much for projects and jobs. To get more clients, and to get paid more for your services:

1) Always keep up with the latest SEO practices, and demonstrate that up-to-date knowledge to potential clients. They’re always impressed with someone who dedicates themselves to their craft.

2) Ask all your clients to leave you reviews, whether it’s feedback on your Upwork profile or written reviews for your personal website. Reputation is everything in the freelancer game.

3) Always monitor the results of your SEO copywriting services with tools such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, or Moz. You will have to learn how to use these tools. Once you have that knowledge and those tangible results, though, you can start charging more for your services.

4) Find a niche writing area. For example, specialize in eCommerce or B2B copywriting. Gain experience in one or two areas, then charge more for specialized services.

5) Continuously update your Upwork profile and/or personal website to reflect your experience. Then, any potential clients will see your most up-to-date service offerings.

6) Let go of clients who are underpaying you, and find a few high-paying clients. That’s how you turn a side hustle into a freelancer career without getting burned out or overwhelmed. Just make sure not to abandon any previously agreed upon work, or your reputation will suffer.

Learning how on-page SEO works is one of the easiest skills to pick up, and the most long-lasting.

If you don’t want to learn how to code — although learning how to code is extremely lucrative and not as competitive in terms of getting high-paying jobs — then on-page SEO copywriting is for you.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started with online courses and building your own freelancer portfolio right now. Start up your side hustle within a month. Quit your job soon after, if you want. Start your new business today (and don’t forget to write off any paid courses as expenses on your tax returns.)

Accelerate your freelancing business. Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Upwork vs. Fiverr 2021 Review: Which freelancer website is right for you?

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 19:02:48 GMT

To a prospective freelancer, Upwork and Fiverr seem pretty similar. Both are a platform designed to connect employers and skilled freelancers all across the globe, and both take a percentage of your earnings for the use of their platform. There are also similar skill sets that employers turn towards the two freelancer platforms for, but the similarities end there. Before you dedicate yourself to either platform, here’s a full 2021 Fiverr vs Upwork review, including:

An in-depth explanation of how each platform works
The pros and cons of Upwork and Fiverr
Which freelancer website best suits your needs and expectations
How to become a seller on Fiverr
How to start making money on Upwork

How does Fiverr work?

Fiverr is a freelance platform that allows you to neatly “package up” your services, otherwise known as your “gig”, and sell them on the platform. Buyers search for a certain service or final deliverable, and choose out of several packages offered by Fiverr freelancers.

Your “gig” offering is highly customizable, and can include:

Basic, standard, and premium packages
Delivery timelines
Specified number of revisions
Highly detailed scope of work
Extra fees for rush delivery
Videos, screenshots, and reviews of your work

An Example Fiverr Gig: SEO Content Optimization

Let’s say you learn how to perform SEO content optimization (an in-demand skill on all freelancing platforms.)

To start selling on Fiverr, you would do something like this Fiverr seller did:

Define your specific gig offering: This seller is offering to increase a website’s domain authority. The gig is categorized in SEO under the Digital Marketing category.
Lay out the parameters for each product tier: With the basic package, the buyer’s website would get a domain authority of at least 50, while in the premium package, this seller would boost your buyer’s domain authority to at least 90.
Set your prices and add-ons: This seller set their rates at $195, $995, and $6,495. They did not set any pricing for a rush job (probably because building domain authority physically can’t be rushed.)
Set your delivery timelines: Always give yourself a little more time than you think you’ll need. This seller set a 14 day delivery time for their basic and standard packages, and 90 days for their premium package.

Pros of Fiverr:

No need to apply for every gig you want; your offering is out there, just waiting for someone to buy it
Your offering is highly detailed, so your clients will know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase your services
Customers can choose to pay for a rush deadline, so you will definitely get paid for tight deadlines
You have set expectations not just for customers, but for yourself

Cons of Fiverr:

Fiverr takes 20% of your earnings, always
If you get more orders than expected, or your schedule suddenly shifts, you might find yourself in hot water when it comes to making deadlines

How To Become A Seller On Fiverr

First, create your seller profile. Add your personal and professional info, link at least one professional or social media profile to your account, then verify your phone number and email address.

Next, create your first gig, filling out all required fields in the most clear and detailed way possible.

Once someone places an order for your services, they pay Fiverr directly. After you complete that order, Fiverr sets 80% of the funds aside for you for a 14-day security clearance period.

By requiring buyers to pay Fiverr up front, you’ll know that you will always be paid for your work without having to badger any clients to pay you within a set time period.

Related: This is how to avoid nightmare clients , like the ones who interrupt your cash flow.

How does Upwork work?

Where Fiverr is almost like an online store, with add-on options and a “checkout”, Upwork is more of a job posting board. Clients post jobs to Upwork and you can see a running list of available opportunities, in a large country-wide list or a list of your “best matches.”

Clients can post both fixed-priced and hourly jobs. Freelancers then send in a proposal, which includes a cover letter detailing why you are the right fit for the job. Clients may also have a list of questions you’re required to answer, and you can send links to relevant works.

Anyone can apply to any job, although some clients specify the kind of experience and expertise they expect applicants to have.

Update: Upwork’s Project Catalogue to Rival Fiverr’s Service Storefront Setup

Upwork has introduced a Project Catalogue feature that allows any freelancer to create a product offering much like you would on Fiverr.

The parameters you set are not as extensive as those on Fiverr, and not as many Upwork clients know about the Project Catalogue — but it is gaining traction, and is a great way to display your capabilities, especially if you don’t have any previous Upwork jobs on your profile.

An Example Upwork Job WordPress Site Development

Let's say that you are a WordPress site developer.

You find a job that fits your skill set and decide to apply for it. You need a certain number of “Connects” to apply for a job. They’re sort of like tokens. If you run out of Connects, you have to buy more before applying to any more jobs. They’re not expensive, but it’s still a drawback of the platform.

Depending on the client, you may be able to propose your own payment terms and specify how long the job will take. Then, you would fill in your cover letter detailing your past experience with WordPress and why you’d be the perfect fit for the job.

In the example job proposal above, you would describe your experience with similar projects, ideally by linking to websites you’ve built, redesigned, or optimized.

Then, you would list any certifications you have that relate to the job, such as these coding certifications .

And finally, you could attach any relevant files that demonstrate your ability to effectively complete the job. Ideally, though, you would have sample projects on your Upwork file, or an online professional portfolio to link to in your proposal.

Pros of Upwork

Most popular freelancer platform, with the most opportunities available
Upwork Hourly Protection time tracker tool ensures you get paid no matter what
You have the option to “boost” your application using more Connects
Once a single client has paid you $500, Upwork take 10% of earnings from that contract, rather than 20%; after they’ve paid you $10,000, the fee drops to 5% for that contract

Cons of Upwork

You have to pay for Connects (unless you earn free ones by responding to clients quickly, applying to more jobs, completing or updating your profile, etc.)
You can only withdraw funds after you have made $100 on Upwork
Your likelihood of being hired is often tied to your “job success score,” which is difficult to increase and takes time to increase on it’s own

How To Make Money On Upwork

First, sign up and create your profile. Include your personal information, professional information, and examples of previous work. Choose which skills categories most apply to you, and you’ll see jobs related to those categories (e.g. WordPress development.)

Upwork does verify your identity with a quick call. You will also enter your banking information so you can get paid later on.

You get a few free Connects to apply for jobs upon signup. If you run out of them, you can purchase more. They’re not expensive, especially considering the fact that you don’t actually need many to apply for a job.

Then, you can search for jobs, or simply browse the Find Work page until you see something you’re interested in.

You might not have all the qualifications a prospective client is looking for. However, you can still apply to that job and make your case why you are a good fit for the project in your proposal’s cover letter. Some clients fix the overall project price or hourly rate of a job, while others let freelancers propose the payment terms.

If and when your potential client responds to your proposal, make sure to respond quickly. They may have further questions about your experience, or want to nail down the details of the project. Once you both are ready to start the project, your client will send you a job offer.

After you accept the job offer, all that’s left to do is the job itself.

Related: Here’s how to craft winning Upwork proposals every time.

Which freelancer platform is right for you?

Fiverr is the right platform for individuals who have a really fleshed-out, straightforward service offering and are looking to make chunks of money in one-off projects.

Upwork, on the other hand, is geared towards freelancers who want a sustainable, recurring source of income from their side hustle. They may even want to turn their side hustle into their full-time job.

Upwork gives freelancers the chance to build long-term, meaningful relationships with clients — and get guaranteed payments as you’re building them. As a freelancer on Upwork, you can complete one-off, weekly, or monthly projects — or scale up your clients and freelance on a full-time basis .

Accelerate your freelancing business. Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Freelance Creative Project Manager Jobs: What are they and how do you get into them?

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 19:47:56 GMT

Project management — it's a job that's extremely important in today's collaborative work environment, yet it's still not very well understood. Creative project management jobs are especially gaining traction as businesses are focusing more of their efforts on their online goals.

If you like collaboration, are a strong leader, and have superior organizational skills, stick around. We'll answer all your project management questions, including:

What exactly is creative project management?
What day-to-day responsibilities come with this kind of job?
How much could you make as a freelance creative project manager?
Do you need a degree to qualify for project management jobs?
How can you get into freelancing as a project manager?

What is a creative project manager?

A creative project manager is someone who oversees creative projects such as designing a website or creating and implementing an ad campaign. Clients explain what they want to get out of a creative project, and the project manager works with a team of creatives to produce a final deliverable within a set time and budget.

Creative project management is different from traditional project management because the outcomes of creative work are subjective. It’s not like you’re managing construction, where the final result is a building. Your job is to help clients develop a “concrete” goal, then oversee the creatives who actually “build” what your client expects.

Freelance Project Manager Job Responsibilities

As a project manager, you might:

Assist clients in coming up with a concrete end goal that meets their needs. A lot of clients know what they want, but not necessarily what they need or how to go about getting it.
Structuring the steps of the creative process.
Set up a project management flow on Asana , Google Workspace , Trello , ClickUp , or a similar cloud-based collaboration and file sharing platform.
Onboard new creative team members to the platform.
Create and check in on project markers.
Work with creatives to remove anything
Create ongoing progress reports for your clients.
Evaluate whether the project is meeting the needs of the client.

Creative Project Manager Salary

The average annual creative project manager salary is between $58,491 and $70,669. Of course, this will vary depending on education, certification, and experience.

The average freelance project manager rate is about $45/hour. For an idea of how much you could make walking into this position with zero experience (more on this later), the entry level rate of freelance project managers on Upwork is $19/hour .

Speaking of education and qualifications:

How do you actually become a project manager?

A s with most careers these days, there are multiple ways to get the qualifications you need to get into this field.

Here are a few of them, from most to least difficult.

1) Go to school for project management.

Technically, you could go to school for business or project management, communications, or something that mostly fits the requirements for project management jobs.

However, that takes a lot of time and a lot of money. It just isn't really necessary — so let's move on.

2) Get certified as a project manager.

There is an entire online institute dedicated to teaching the fine art of project management.

The Project Management Institute offers courses for those with no experience in this area, and for individuals who have some experience, but would like to specialize in a certain project management methodology.

A certification from a widely recognized institution like this will help you get noticed by clients, especially if you don't have a lot of formal project management experience.

3) Take an online course.

You could also take an online course from a mass online learning platform such as:

ZTM Academy: Start a career or earn a side income by becoming a Freelancer. No experience needed.
Udemy : offers cost-effective courses with certificates of completion
Coursera : offers courses from accredited institutions, with certificates of achievement
edX : free courses in several areas, with the option to pay for course certificate

Once you earn a certificate, include it on your resume.

4) Get some "on the job" experience.

If you work with a team in your 9-5, offer to head up the next project. Or start up your own venture with a team. Set goals for the project or your personal venture and collaborate with others to see the project through.

If you'd like, you could also volunteer for a cause. Offer to head the next campaign and put your project management skills to use for good.

Ideally, you would get certified and get some on the job experience. But if you already have a decent amount of experience, you could probably get away with skipping the certification.

An important note about going into creative project management:

Traditional project managers don't need to know how to do every part of the project they're overseeing.

But it's much easier to oversee creative projects when you understand some of the creativity that goes into it. So, learn more about marketing, content creation, and — most importantly — measuring key performance indicators for success as a project manager .

And recognize that creativity requires inspiration, which can't be systematically manufactured. The only thing you can do is give your creative team members a thorough description of the task at hand, and some time for them to do what they do best.

What do you do once you are a bonafide creative project manager?

1) Build a killer resume and portfolio.

There are so many ways to show off your skills now.

To demonstrate your skills as a project manager and to demonstrate that you have at least a little creativity in you, build your own website and develop your own resume.

Use a web builder like this one designed for freelancers to create an online portfolio. In it, include your certifications, case studies of successful projects, any other creative skills you might have, and a powerful bio.

Use Canva, an incredible drag-and-drop digital asset builder, to create a resume that makes you look like a graphic designer in under an hour.

Pro tip: Choose your own "personal brand" colors, fonts, and tagline. Branding is a hot topic right now, and your future clients will appreciate the fact that you are a brand.

2) Apply for freelance project manager jobs.

Remote work will probably be the norm for most jobs in 2021 and beyond. And this is especially true for freelancers, which is why you can find freelance project manager jobs on these platforms:

3) Maintain excellent communication and time management skills.

As a rule, freelancers should always have positive client interactions. You should always respond to clients in a timely manner and meet deadlines. Otherwise, you risk your reputation — and reputation is everything in the freelancing world.

But project managers have to communicate not just with clients, but with an entire team.

So, set up a system that will:

Notify you of any messages, updates, changes, etc. from any team members.
Automate as many processes as possible.

For example, say you are managing a client's blog. You know that once a writer is done with the draft of an article, it always goes to an editor. Set up a command in your content management system that automatically reassigns the article to the editor and notifies the editor that the piece is ready for them.

Automating everything you can will increase communication between team members while cutting down effort on your end.

4) Get feedback from your clients to include in your portfolio.

Remember that thing I just said about reputation being everything in the freelancing game?

I still mean it — which is why getting feedback from clients is so important.

If you're on a platform like Upwork, you can request feedback. Feedback shows up on your public profile, which hirers can see. You can also use their feedback as a quote on your online portfolio.

If you're not on a platform with this option, then just ask your client for a review. Explain what you'd like to do with their review. Most clients are very willing to say good things about skilled workers.

5) Continue learning, always.

The online world is fast-paced. New trends are born overnight, while the current ways of advertising, building products, and collaborating in general can become obsolete almost as quickly.

So keep finding the best technology out there to collaborate with teams. Keep an eye on marketing trends, new content management software, and anything else that may be relevant to the projects you might go on to manage.

When you're ready to find freelance creative project manager jobs:

Learn how to win clients on Upwork, the most popular online freelance job platform out there, with this complete guide to freelancing in 2021 .

By the end of it, you'll know how to create an Upwork profile that the right clients will see, how to choose your niche area, how to craft proposals that get you hired, and more.

Accelerate your freelancing business. Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Win Freelance Projects By Writing the Perfect Proposal

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 22:12:45 GMT

Being a freelancer has a ton of perks. You get more flexibility in your day, can create the ideal lifestyle for yourself, and have the ability to focus on your talents and skills.

However, being self-employed also means that it falls on you to find clients and projects to bring in income. This can be challenging, especially for those who are new to the world of freelancing. Many people make mistakes in their starting months as freelancers, but sending out anything but the perfect proposal doesn’t have to be one of them.

The reality is that most clients can choose from several freelancers to handle the job they need to be done. Depending on where the client is seeking out freelancers, dozens or hundreds of people are vying for the same position. Having the most well-crafted proposal can make you stand out from the crowd.

Don’t worry if you’ve never created a proposal before. This blog post will take you from zero to hero in the eyes of any clients you pursue by offering tips and tricks to build a perfect proposal.

Craft a Captivating Introduction

When you build a proposal, you have to do more than state the facts. You need to give the client a reason to sit up and pay attention. Your email or message must be unique enough that a client decides to read through rather than skimming over a few sentences and moving on.

When you create an interesting introduction to your proposal, it can emphasize that you know your stuff, have done the appropriate research, and offer the client value. It immediately makes the client interested in you and what you have to offer.

Combine this with being one of the first people to send in a proposal and you amplify your chances of getting the project more than you might think.

One way to think of this is as an elevator pitch. You have a limited amount of time (or space in this case) to show why you’re qualified for the job by providing evidence of all of your abilities. It’s also essential to show confidence that you can do the job, but not so much that you come off as arrogant.

Show Off Your Skills

No matter what project you’re applying for with a client, you are responsible for showing you have the skills to handle it. Learning to highlight the skills and abilities most relevant to the job will make you a serious contender. Even if you don’t feel confident, you have to come off as if you are, so get in a positive mindset.

Let’s say you’re applying for a content marketing position. Show you have skills in writing, as well as blogging and marketing. Show off those strengths and you could show that you’re an excellent content marketer. It’s even better if you can pass along some results from posts you’ve made in the past.

Trying to pin down a project for designing a logo? Focus on your creative skills before delving into others. Make sure the client sees that the work you’ve done in the past has an aesthetic that fits well with what they want to see in the final logo product.

Don’t add on skills that are irrelevant or unimportant. Avoid elaborating on so many things that you seem to be trying too hard. Instead, focus on two or three of the best qualities you have that line up with the job with just enough detail to catch the client’s eye.

Include Exceptional Work Samples

Your work samples and portfolio need to tell a client that you are the right person for the job. The easiest way to ensure this is by including only the best and most relevant samples for your proposals. Clients want to see that you’ve worked in similar capacities, since it makes you seem more likely to replicate those same results in the future.

When you send out your email with a freelance proposal, choose two of your strongest samples to attach. Then, add a couple of sentences of information about them, especially if you can explain how the work assisted a previous client with meeting their goals.

If you are new to freelancing and don’t have samples, now is the time to change that. Make an account on a portfolio website and start creating samples, whether logos, blog posts, spreadsheets, or data. It goes a long way toward helping you win the gig.

When you include a link to your work, it shows what you are capable of and is a quick way to stand out.

Answer Unasked Questions

Not every client will provide a full list of requirements or ask you the right questions about the project. This can be confusing, but it gives you the chance to show you have experience and knowledge from the start. Provide proof that you can find problems and recommend solutions and you’ll easily be a top choice for a project.

As an example, many people looking for freelancers will ask if you’ve done the same type of job in the past. Instead of waiting for the question, answer it when you first reach out to the client. Add links to examples to prove you have the chops to handle the job.

Consider what might be on your mind if you were the client. For instance, if the job is a website rebrand, look for poor images, disjointed branding, and other red flags and offer thoughts on what direction you would take if you were given the job.

Address concerns that the client may not even be aware of yet and you’ll show them that you know your stuff. If you’ve been working on the same kind of projects in the past, you’ll likely know what can go wrong and what expectations most clients have. Use this to show you’re the freelance worker of their dreams.

In Conclusion

Knowing how to write the perfect proposal can help you make more money working from home. The most important factor is understanding the client and what they need. Take that to build a captivating proposal that shows your skills and clarifies that you’re the right person for the job.

Don’t take shortcuts or use the same proposal for every job. Instead, put the work in to bring in new clients and projects. That’s how you can work your way up as a freelancer, no matter what kind of work you specialize in.

Sources:

https://www.goforma.com/business-resources/creating-freelance-proposals-that-win-deals

https://www.upwork.com/resources/how-to-create-a-proposal-that-wins-jobs

https://www.ryrob.com/how-to-write-best-freelance-proposal/

Start your freelance social media management career on Upwork. Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

How to Get Freelance Social Media Manager Jobs Without a Marketing Degree

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 18:05:02 GMT

Consumers have more choice now than ever before. That’s why companies are constantly looking for ways to stand out from the rest — to reach their potential customers where they’re at (on social media) and leave an impression that makes them want to do something. This is what social media management jobs are all about: helping companies make connections with customers that leave an impact.

These jobs can be pretty lucrative, whether you’re just looking for a side hustle or you want to build your own social media management agency (which sounds lofty, but is completely doable.)

Read on for:

● what exactly a social media manager does

● why you can get freelance social media management jobs without a degree

● how to build a social media manager resume with zero experience

● how to get your first gig

● free social media software to make your job easier

What does a freelance social media manager actually do?

To understand what a social media manager does, you need to understand why companies use social media in the first place — to get potential customers to do something.

Think about your own experience with companies on social media. The good professional accounts are engaging users in creative ways, and they make you want to do something such as:

● like or share a post, as a way to promote the company

● tag the company/product in your posts, which shows real evidence that their product is valuable

● follow an account on social, which grows brand loyalty and organic reach

● visit the company’s website

● shop a product — a feature that was just added to Facebook (and Instagram, now owned by Facebook) in 2020

● get a “freemium” product/service, which leads users to eventually buy the paid version of the product

Social media is a relatively inexpensive way to get potential customers to see, want, and eventually buy a product or service. It’s also a way to show “social proof”, or evidence that their product is valuable, through shared user reviews.

Social media managers are responsible for consistently creating, sharing, and measuring the effectiveness of social media posts on behalf of companies/brands.

You, in your social media management jobs, may:

● design a social media marketing campaign, where a company tells you what they want, and you figure out a concrete plan to reach these goals through social media posts/engagement

● create the content that goes into social media posts (photos, videos, copy, etc.)

● schedule social media posts to go out at a specific time/date

● respond to user comments/activity

● monitor for activity that may hurt a business’s brand, such as negative reviews, and remedy these problems

● measure the effectiveness of social media campaigns using social media engagement tools

● report on social media campaigns to your clients

● suggest next steps to increase engagement and, ultimately, sales

Because social media has evolved so quickly, and companies like Facebook and Twitter are changing policies and practices so often, a lot of traditional colleges haven’t quite caught up enough to develop formal social media “programs.”

Marketing degrees can help you understand things like brand management and ad campaigns. But with some self-study and practice, you can land freelance social media management jobs without a degree.

How to Build a Social Media Manager Resume from Scratch

1. Get some experience, paid or otherwise.

Since anyone can post on social media, anyone can call themselves a social media manager. But your future clients want to know that they’re working with someone who can produce results. So show them results.

But how do you actually get that experience?

Grow your own social media following. You can:

● build your own personal brand on LinkedIn

● start an Instagram account for about something you care about

● volunteer your social media management skills to promote an organization or because you feel passionately about

● manage the social media accounts of a small business that can’t afford to pay a social media manager

You can even make money in the meantime by:

● becoming an affiliate marketer for a product you genuinely believe in

● gaining influencer status and getting brands to approach you

● selling your own product or service on social — if you make jewelry or cut grass in your free time, now is the time to advertise

Keep track of your following, user engagement, and what exactly you get your customers to do because of your social media posts.

2. Learn the principles and software you need to effectively manage a brand.

While I highly recommend getting hands-on experience in social media tools and practices, there are just some skills and knowledge you need to sit down and learn how to do before you can start getting paid freelance social media management jobs.

There are a lot of comprehensive free and paid social media management courses on learning platforms, but to get into this field, you absolutely need to know how to:

● build unique, branded social media posts using graphic design software

● use the best social media analytics software and practices

● create and follow brand style guides

● audit clients’ social media profiles and strategies

● design social media campaigns and schedules

● present your clients with concrete results of your social media management campaign: how many users clicked through to your client’s website, bought a product, shared a post, etc., also known as “performance indicators”

My best advice is to learn and practice at the same time — treat the “experience” you’re getting from the step above as “homework” that shows you understand how to employ the theoretical lessons you learn online.

And the performance of whatever social media accounts you use to get experience are almost like course grades.

3. Translate your experience to a portfolio.

Create a website or online freelancer profile that showcases your work, somewhere your potential clients can go to see what you’re capable of.

Include things like:

● links to social media accounts you manage

● sample social media posts from different platforms

● past social media campaigns and how well they performed

● skills/software you are well versed in

● any certifications you’ve earned (from Google Academy, Udemy, etc.)

● links to your own socials (make sure they’re appropriate)

Keep reading for a more in-depth explanation on how to create a successful freelancer profile in the next section.

Now, it’s time to find your first freelance social media manager gig (Don’t panic.)

A lot of “how to freelance” guides talk about growing your freelance business organically through networking and referrals . And at some point, you should do that. But that’s more for freelancers with a proven track record of success on their social media manager resume.

First, you need some real professional experience.

Luckily, there are websites, like Upwork and Fiverr, specifically designed to connect freelancers and clients without much work on either party’s end. Upwork has more long-term freelance gigs available, while Fiverr has more one-off gigs.

Since profitable social media management jobs are more long-term, start on Upwork.

You will need a stellar freelancer profile on Upwork to attract clients, especially when you’re just starting out.

This freelancing course on the Zero to to Mastery Academy teaches you everything from designing your profile, to pitching your services, to scaling your freelance business. Start now and get paid social media management jobs in ten hours or less.

Related: Read this for a more in-depth comparison of Upwork and Fiverr.

When you pitch your services to potential clients:

● make sure to take a good look at their current social media setup

● ask the right kinds of questions to get a feel for what they expect from you

● expect clients to have abstract expectations like “grow my following” or “get more people to click on my website”

● translate those vague desires into concrete goals, with specific, actionable steps that help clients make more conversions

● tell them exactly how you plan to measure the effectiveness of your social media services

Free Tools to Make Social Media Management Jobs Easier

While not as technically difficult as web design or as creatively demanding as graphic design, there are technical and creative requirements in all social media management jobs.

To make your job a little easier, look into these free tools to help you create, manage, and measure social media efforts:

Buffer Social Media Scheduler : the simplest social media automation tool to create and schedule posts all at once
Canva : the best graphic design software for non-designers
Asana : create and share content calendars with your clients for free
IFTTT : a slightly more advanced (but most useful) tool to reduce your content creation and scheduling hours by recycling content and completely automating all content marketing efforts

Start your freelance social media management career on Upwork. Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

7 Freelance Ideas You Can Start From Home Right Now

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:18:02 GMT

Are you ready to take control of your own destiny by becoming a freelancer?

There’s nothing better than being in charge of your own income and having the option to work from the comfort of home.

You don’t have to deal with a daily commute or keep regular hours. Instead, you can work when and where you want. This gives you the chance to take advantage of all the other opportunities that life throws at you.

Tons of people want to drop their nine-to-five jobs to support themselves with the passions and skills that they already have. But at the same time, it can be scary to actually start the process. As a new freelancer, you might wonder if the risk is worth the potential reward.

However, anyone willing to work hard and who is capable of some determination can be a freelancer. As with anything new, it’s going to be the most challenging at the beginning. But soon, you’ll lean into the uniqueness of the situation and might even find that you prefer it to any other way of making a living.

Are you ready to jump into freelancing? If you can handle the challenges knowing that satisfaction is coming, it could be the right choice for you. This blog will give you some fantastic ideas for work from home jobs that you can start today.

1) Start a Blog

Sure, it might take time to get an audience and start making money with a blog, but you can begin that journey right now. If you’re the kind of person who loves to share your opinions with others, blogging is something that will appeal to you and could lead to making money in the future.

One tip here that you should heed: make sure you choose a niche for your blog. When you select a specific subject that you understand and are passionate about, people will notice and be interested in what you have to say. Of course, pay will vary, but the maximum income potential is limitless.

All you need is a website, somewhere to host it, and time to write down your thoughts. Take a few minutes and you can get started right now.

2) Create YouTube Videos

You don’t have to be an award-winning musician or a massive influencer to make money creating videos for YouTube. The average person has a variety of opportunities to make money on this huge platform. All it takes is producing video content for your channel that other people would like to watch.

Ensure that you enable monetization in your YouTube account settings if you want to freelance as a video creator. Once you do that, you can even list your videos on YouTube Premium or join the YouTube Partners Program.

If you love making videos, this is a sure-fire way to earn income while sitting at home (or anywhere else).

3) Become a Virtual Assistant

One of the most popular ways to become a freelancer is by becoming a virtual assistant. The job entails handling tasks for a client and every day can look totally unique. For example, you might make phone calls, answer emails, design basic graphics, create documents, and more.

Some virtual assistants specialize by offering things like content writing or editing. Others are proficient at scheduling the launch of content on websites and social media platforms.

Virtual assistants can make a decent amount of money when experienced, but even a beginner can make far more than minimum wage. The best part? You can wear pajamas while you’re working!

4) Offer Email Marketing

It doesn’t matter what kind of company someone runs, email is one of the best forms of marketing in the modern world. As someone who handles this aspect of marketing, you’ll write content and source images to promote products, services, events, and more. You might also be tasked with creating other online content like newsletters.

Having the ability to engage with an audience is a must for this freelancing job. In addition, you have to create persuasive content, so marketing and sales skills are essential.

5) Try Freelance Writing

Every piece of information you read online was written by someone, and in most cases, that person was paid well for their skills. Freelance writers can make major income writing articles, creating blog posts, and building copy for websites. The more you learn and the better you get at writing, the more money you have the opportunity to earn.

The most difficult part of the process is getting a few gigs at the beginning so you can show off your talent. But there are several websites like Fiverr and Upwork, where you can get a start and build your freelancing career from there.

If you love to put words down on paper and have a dose of creativity, this could be the freelance gig for you.

6) Get Into Graphic Design

Another freelance position that is in-demand online is the graphic designer. All sorts of people need cover photos, logos, memes, and infographics made regularly. As someone who dabbles in design, you could be the person who handles all those tasks.

This job is great for someone with a knowledge of design theory, the ability to use design software, and an understanding of professional standards. So, whether you’re fully self-taught or have a degree in the arts, you can start making graphics for clients today.

7) Do Website Design

A great website can make a business stand out. It can showcase why one company is better than the next in just a few seconds. As a web designer, you should have an eye for detail, a creative mind to think up new layouts, and the ability to create a site that customers can easily navigate.

Website design can encompass everything from designing a brand new site to redesigning one to be more modern. Your clients will guide you on what they want and you’ll use your creativity and skill to make sure the site looks great and performs well.

In Conclusion

There are hundreds of options for you if you want to become a freelancer. Some gigs require specialized skills, while others need only a desire to do well. But, even if you don’t have every skill necessary for a job, you can always learn and grow to land the position of your dreams. And that could be one that is entirely on your own terms.

Sure, it can be challenging and scary at first, but it can be very satisfying once you realize you make your hours, decide on your pay, and choose your projects. It could be the perfect way to shake up your life and build the lifestyle that you’ve always wanted.

Sources:

https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/home-based-business-ideas-easy-to-start/

https://www.huntlancer.com/freelance-business-ideas-2020/

https://millo.co/freelance-ideas

https://www.locationrebel.com/work-from-home-jobs/

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Why Millions Of People Are Quitting Their 9-5 Jobs To Freelance

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 23:34:31 GMT

' Discover why people are leaving their corporate jobs ...'

In this blog, I discuss why so many people are quitting their jobs to pursue a different career path. This massive shift of people resigning is being referred to as 'The Great Resignation'. Studies report that anywhere from 25% up to over 50% of people are either considering leaving their job or have already left their place of employment before the pandemic. It's important to understand what exactly is fueling this rapid shift of the workforce and how it impacts the future of the entire marketplace. Examining the root cause of why so many people are taking their power back shows where the future workforce is likely heading.

Sneak Peek:

The Great Resignation
Why People Are Quitting Their Job
Earning Potential & Career Growth

The Great Resignation

It's no secret that workers are craving more flexibility, control, and rights over their working environment. Large corporations are adapting to retain and attract new talent. However, even though we are exiting a period where unemployment hit record highs, people are still reluctant to keep their current jobs and are looking for that next step.

Millions of workers are quitting their jobs and it's happening at an unprecedented rate. To understand the great resignation and everything that's going on we need to first take a step back to about a year and a half ago when the unemployment rate skyrocketed and was at the highest point since the Great Depression period. The world was shutting down into lockdowns. Many companies had to either lay off a large percentage of their workforce or furlough them. During this time a lot of people also experienced pay cuts.

All of these factors played a contributing role and took a huge effect on the entire globe and life as we knew it. From all the financial support that got injected into the global economy to keep everyone afloat, there was a ripple effect that occurred. However, this has started to shift and companies are actually having a hard time hiring people now. So there have been a lot of new efforts in the last few months to try to get more people on board by increasing minimum wages, offering multi-thousand dollar signing bonuses, and even waiving THC from drug tests. This is all a sign that even though the unemployment rate was at the highest point it's been in decades, now people are reluctant to get back to working their old job or they have already resigned.

Why People Are Quitting Their Job

Many people are quitting their job due to multiple different reasons. The first reason is the lack of flexibility in a regular job. Workers are craving more flexibility. They want to be able to work from home. They also want to be able to avoid those lengthy commutes in and out of the office multiple days a week. More and more people are getting comfortable working remotely from home. That is why working from home and working remotely is here to stay.

Even CNBC did a feature on why so many people are seeking to have more flexibility in their career and the ability to work from hom e . In another CNBC YouTube Video, a Google Representative stated: “When we were in the space of not connecting where we ended up as a company is offering as much flexibility as we could to enable Google employees to optimize for themselves while also giving teams what they needed. A default option that we think most employees are going to take advantage of which is coming into the office three days a week and working from another location two days a week. This lets you do all the things we came to love about working from home while also getting that moment of connection and the ability to do innovative work in person in the office.” So even large corporations like Google and Facebook are having to adapt to the new workforce changes. They are letting loose of control and allowing their employees to have more flexibility which is great for the workforce and employee rights.

This means they're giving their employees two days a week to work remotely and to have more flexibility in their days. This is something that has been a byproduct of the rapid shift to working from home and all of the studies that came out. CNBC also mentioned people were comfortable working remotely and working from home. They got their desks set up and they figured out a schedule so their kids and their pets weren't in the background all the time. Once they get that sorted out everything is pointing to more productivity when you're able to have that flexibility and when you're able to control your daily schedule. When you're able to work from home or work from wherever you want to as you're traveling that ultimately leads to more productivity. It's not just having more flexibility that ultimately means that you're going to be more productive. However, this is what workers are going for and companies and corporations are working towards. The way the whole world is working is rapidly shifting to meet that demand to retain talent because these businesses and these companies can't have their entire workforce leave or they won't have anyone to get things done.

People are looking for more control over their career and their day-to-day working schedule. Since the pandemic, it has shown that we can be productive when we work from home. This is because we have tools such as Zoom. We can get contracts signed. We can do about 90% of the things that you can do in an office you can do remotely and then that extra 10% can still be done in the office place. However, companies such as Google and Microsoft and these massive corporations have a lot of incentive to still get their employees into the office. This is why people are even considering quitting great career roles because even though they're offering more flexibility. However, they're not giving away all the control. This means they're not saying you can just work remotely forever, they're saying there needs to be some sort of compromise and a lot of people don't want that. That's the first reason so many people are quitting the great resignation is they're looking for even more flexibility than companies are now offering.

Earning Potential & Career Growth

The second reason so many people are quitting their job is because of their earning potential and because of their career growth potential. This all goes down to what people want to do in life and a lot of times unfortunately it takes something kind of traumatic to happen for you to look at your life and to analyze where you're going and if you’re going on the right path.

As the last year and a half has shown so much uncertainty it made so many people just dig deep inside and look into the mirror and ask themselves what they want to do with their life. Are they going on the career path that they want to do or are they doing something that they're just doing to get by? Or something that they thought their parents or someone outside of them put on them. So people are reanalyzing that and not only are they asking themselves what they want to ultimately do in their career but they're also looking at making more money and being able to earn multiple flows of income.

A large majority of the people that are leaving and quitting are because they see themselves in a dead-end job. They're never going to make anything out of it. They see that this dead-end job might be able to pay the bills right now but they're looking at where they should be setting their foundations up. That's the second reason people are quitting their job is to see more growth opportunities and earning potential. Whether that's making more money, or creating the career you want for your future. It all comes down to setting yourself up on the best path for your personal journey. Only you can know what is truly the best option for you.

The Future Of Work

The third reason people are leaving their jobs is that they are discovering a new way to work and that is making money online whether that's as a freelancer, a consultant, or starting your own business. There are millions of people creating businesses and learning how to get out of the nine-to-five grind. They are learning how to escape the hourly trap and to take their control back. They are seeing that they can start freelancing and offer value for the services they provide instead of getting paid for their time. I personally found the best way to do that is to become your boss to get your power back and take control back over your life. This is what so many people have been doing, but it takes a certain type of individual to be successful.

That is why I firmly believe freelancing is the future. Here is a statement from Upwork's CEO about this topic:

"Even talented individuals are leaving full-time positions at a lot of companies. They're not all moving to their next full-time position at another company. A lot of them are choosing to set themselves up as freelancers. In 2020 more than 20 million Americans freelanced for the first time and 60 percent of those that were surveyed said that there was no amount of money that they could be paid to go back into a traditional full-time job because the benefits of freelancing were working so well for them, including the flexibility to work when where and for whom they wanted to work, to set the terms of their employment, and set their rates and focus on the types of work that they enjoyed most. This has been a growing and popular area of the workforce including for younger generations of workers such as Gen Z. More than half of them are already freelancing today. so the best companies have started to figure out that tapping into freelancers on platforms such as Upwork has been a very proactive part of their workforce strategy."

On the other side of the token, the businesses hiring talent are also fueling this shift towards freelancing. Companies are realizing that they need to be able to access talent for all the same reasons people are quitting their job. Now, companies get to hire talent from all over the world, to not be geographically limited to one area and be able to access that talent that they need. So just like with anything in life you need to be ahead of the curve and be able to see where things are going and if you can position yourself as a high-paid freelancer or an expert consultant, you are likely to have success based on the direction the workforce is headed.

In Conclusion

To recap, this is a great moment for companies and talent alike seeking flexibility and those who are seeking new ways of working together. Alongside, there has been a major shift in companies where they are now bringing freelancers into the core of their operations in new ways. The workforce is changing. Freelancing is the future of work, not just on the freelance side but also on the client side and on the corporation side. Watch the full video to discover the three reasons why people are quitting their jobs and how you can use that information to profit.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Typical 9-to-5 Job vs. Freelancing Career

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 23:55:05 GMT

'Discover the differences between a 9-5 job vs a Freelancing career...'

In this blog we are going to discuss the differences of a typical 9-to-5 corporate job versus being a full-time freelancer. Being that I have experience on both sides of the spectrum, you can learn from the past lessons I have learned and apply them to your career to have more success. It's important to understand what is the best career path for you to take so you don't have regrets later on in life.

Throughout my explanation, I do my best to not be biased so you can see if freelancing is truly a good fit for you or not. Whether you are considering becoming a freelancer, or you just want to quit your current job and are looking for a way out, this comparison of a typical 9 to 5 vs. the profitable freelancing route will come in handy. In the case that freelancing is NOT a good fit for you and your personality type, that will also provide you with beneficial information that you can use to put yourself on the best career trajectory for you.

Sneak Peek:

Comparing Corporate Hiring Process To The Freelancing Hiring Process
Job Security of Freelancing Vs Security of a 9-5 Job
The Earning Potential of Different Roles

Comparing Corporate Hiring Process To The Freelancing Hiring Process

9-5 Process: When it comes to getting a 9-5 job, many people find that there is a lot of competition also trying to get the same position as you. It’s not as easy as finding a job online and landing it instantly. With a 9-5 job, the hiring process typically begins with an initial interview. This is where you will need to share your past experiences, background, where you’re geographically located, and why you deserve the position. These are all determinations based on your success and landing that 9-5 job. When you are on your journey to try and land a corporate role, you will find that in itself, that search is a full-time job. It takes a lot of time to fill out lengthy applications, take multiple phone and video interviews, and drive around town going to multiple rounds of interviews.

Freelancing Process: On the other hand, when you are just starting out as a freelancer, it takes some momentum to really get going. That's why I recommend freelancing as a side-hustle at first. The reason for this is because as you’re getting experience in the freelancing world, you can start to sustainably build yourself up. This means you might only start out with one paying client, and that won’t realistically pay all the bills right away. But as you gain more experience and grow your portfolio, the freelance hiring process gets easier and easier. As opposed to a corporate role, the freelance hiring process is ongoing and never ending because you will always want to be on boarding new clients as you have the availability to.

As you can see, both hiring processes have their own pros and cons. So ask yourself, what is worth suffering for? Both careers will take time to build up, and be equally as challenging. It all comes down to what is the best pathway for you. You see, a lot of people tend to only focus on looking at the benefits of working for a 9-5, or the benefits of being a freelancer. That is not something to solely focus on because you don't reap the benefits until after you face all the challenges, and go through all the trials and tribulations that naturally will come up.

Wrap up: Ask yourself, which career is worth working hard enough for? Each career is going to take time to build up, whether you are building a business or working your way up the ladder at a 9-5 job.

Job Security of Freelan cing vs Security of a 9-5 Job

9-5 Job Security: When it comes to the security of working as a freelancer, there are a lot of common myths that freelancing is not a secure job. That if you’re a freelancer, you’re jumping from one job to another. Alongside, your pay is always fluctuating and never staying the same. This myth is far from true because when it comes to a 9-5, that is actually where your job security can become unpredictable. In a 9-5, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket with one employer, and you can lose your “stable job” overnight. This is due to the employer firing you, not having enough revenue to keep the staff, all of that is out of your hands. So you may be thinking a 9-5 is a secure job, with pay raises and benefits but the reality is it’s not as secure as you thought. This past year during has shown how unstable the typical corporate job marketplace can be. Many people who thought they had established jobs and were going to work there for years ended up getting fired due to something they couldn’t control.

Freelancing Job Security: When it comes to job security, it’s important not to compare a 9-5 job to a freelancer who is new to the digital world. When you’re a profitable freelancer, you don’t have just one client. If you're freelancing the right way, you’ll have multiple clients. Freelancing is secure in the sense of being able to work for more than just one person because you then have multiple streams of diversified income. You can also have your client base spread out geographically so you’re never tied to just one employer in a set-location. You can even work for different clients and brand niches . You’re also able to branch out to providing different kinds of services that charge differently. All of these diversification methods allow you to spread the risk across multiple income streams which is more secure once established. However, when you are just starting out, there is virtually zero job security freelancing. Not until you build yourself up which relates back to the previous point to start as a side-hustle first.

Wrap Up: A 9-5 job is not always as secure as it sounds. Companies are now branching out employer options to worldwide freelancers, and seeing how much value that can bring to their company and agility it adds, they have no reason to slow down. You don’t have to be tied to one employer, and one set location. Freelancing allows you the ability to earn more, and find work wherever you may be in the world without limitations.

The Earning Potential of Different Job Roles

9-5 Earnings: There’s a difference when it comes to comparing earnings with a 9-5 vs a freelancing job. At a 9-5, your earning potential is mainly salary capped to one set pay when you get hired. However, you are able to build up to annual reviews, and pay bonuses alongside possible pay raises in the future. There are also higher paying roles to work up towards such as manager role, but for the most part, especially just starting out, your earning potential can be extremely capped and limited to the rate you negotiated in the hiring process. So even if the company begins increasing revenue from what you are doing, you are not entitled to that. Instead, you are paid a set salary rate which is truly a way to get paid by the hour.

Freelancing Earnings: As for freelancing earning potential, your earning potential is not capped even from the beginning. You get paid for the value that you provide to clients. It's up to you in order to provide great services that add value to companies. But once you can establish that, you don't have an income ceiling placed on top of you. This is because as a freelancer, you get to choose which kind of clients you want to work for and provide services for. So for instance, if you have a handful of clients paying you, and you want to increase your income, you can up-sell them on additional services or get referrals to continue growing your revenue.

Wrap Up: The earning potential as a freelancer is massive once you can provide consistent value and land multiple clients. While a 9-to-5 offers a stable income but is typically capped at a yearly salary with small opportunity to increase it substantially. There are also corporate positions which pay commissions which is a bit of a blend of both worlds.

In Conclusion

Should you be a freelancer, or does working a typical job work better for you? It depends what career you see as the best fit for yourself in the long-haul. Both careers take time, dedication, and hard work to have success. So make sure you are putting your energy into the right place and creating the future you want to live.

If you want to see more in depth details on this topic of a 9-5 job vs freelancing career, I made a video explaining more about it which you can watch when you click here .

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

3 Ways To Increase Email Your Email Open Rate

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 00:44:22 GMT

'Discover How To Skyrocket Your Email Marketing Open Rate'

...Whether you are a freelancer, consultant, email marketer, or business owner

This blog shows three of my top suggested ways you can improve your email open rate and email deliverability. The truth is, if no one opens the emails you send out then your entire message gets lost. However, escaping the spam folder and getting people to open your emails is not always a simple task. The three strategies I suggest will give you actionable steps you can take to have the most success with your email marketing campaigns.

In addition, I will describe ways to strengthen your email service provider reputation. This way you can land in more people's inboxes. Whether you are an email marketer, freelancer, consultant, or business owner, email is a vital tool to capitalize on to be in direct contact with your potential / existing customers.

Sneak Peek:

#1- Add value

#2 - Focus On Engagement

#3 - Encourage Replies

#1 - Add Value

The first way you can improve your email open rate is by providing the most value that you can. This means avoiding spamming people with too many emails. This also means avoiding sending sales out one after another. You want to instead focus on delivering value . When you provide value to someone, they're going to look forward to your emails. They're also going to be able to understand that it's a give and take relationship. People want to see that you're not just trying to sell them something. Rather, they see you're giving value. This way in return people might be more open to considering your product or service in the future.

There's a lot of different ways to add value, and it's all based on what industry your business or the client you are working for's business is in. A few ways you can add free value through your email marketing campaigns is to:

Providing free content that is helpful for the reader
Create free articles / blogs for the reader to learn or be entertained
Give out free information about the product or the service that you offer the benefits

Another way to add more value is to filter and segment your email marketing list. You'll see so much more success if you segment out your list. Segmentation can be summarized as adding different tags based on what the customer is doing or where they're at in their journey. Once you begin to do that, you can add more value and send out targeted messages to portions of your list...rather than sending the same message to everyone. So instead of trying to send out a general message, you can send specific messages out to that exact right segment of your database. This is going to help you get more email opens and improve your overall email deliverability. Ultimately, by segmenting your email marketing list, people are going to feel that they are getting much more value from the emails and that they are more personalized.

Another way to add value is to consider making a 'welcome automation.' This is where you create an email automation sequence which triggers whenever someone subscribes. The welcome email is meant to inform the new email subscribers what to expect, let them know how to unsubscribe, and instruct them to add your email address to their main folder. This way you don’t get marked as spam or promotions. (The chances are high that your email recipients are already getting blasted with emails from other companies and sources.) That is why you should be delivering meaningful, valuable, and interesting content. You should also consider lead nurturing campaigns , as well as becoming a pro at email copywriting .

Key Takeaway: Filter and segment your list to add even more value!

#2 - Focus on Engagement

The second way you can increase your email opens is all about focusing on engagement. Engagement is when someone opens your email, clicks a link in your email, or replies to your email. That all goes into your email reputation. It's important to understand that you have a reputation when you start to provide email marketing services. Your reputation is built on several different criteria. This Includes how many emails you send out, how many people marked those emails as spam. Alongside, how frequently your emails are getting bounced (which is when an email is undeliverable due to a typo or an old email address that's no longer active). Your business reputation is based on how many recipients are opening your emails, forwarding them, and how many people are unsubscribing. All of that goes into your email reputation and when you're just starting, it's just like anything else you do in life. If you start and you have no experience, your reputation is going to be on ground level. If that's you, then email reputation is something you need to work on improving.

Focusing on engagement is helpful because it ties back to that first point of giving value. When people see that they're getting value, they're more likely to engage with your content . Especially if you're segmenting your audience the right way. This is going to help you improve all of your states dramatically. When you start to get higher email open rates and more begin interacting and replying, the higher your reputation will become. Ultimately, this helps dramatically with getting your email into people's actual inbox, as opposed to their spam folder or promotions tab.

Another way to create more user engagement is to build multiple email automation sequences. Based on the type of value you are providing you can select a specific trigger to start an automation. From there, you can benefit from creating a chain of multiple emails that the contact will receive over time. The best part is that you only have to write these emails once, but then the automation does all the work in the background. Everyone that ends up going through the automation get's the emails at the right times. The better email automations you can set up, the more engagement you will see.

Generating a high level of engagement also helps boost your email reputation, which consists of:

How many emails you are sending out

How many recipients mark your emails as spam

How frequently your emails drop into ISP spam traps

Whether your business appears on blacklists

How many of your emails bounce

How many recipients are opening, replying to, forwarding, and deleting your emails

How many recipients are unsubscribing from your email list

Key takeaway: When you implement these different ways to improve deliverability, you will see your email reputation improve.

#3 - Encourage Replies

The third way you can improve your email open rate and deliverability is to encourage email replies . For every email campaign you schedule, remember that it's important to focus on improving the number of replies that they generate. Getting replies to your email marketing campaigns provides a huge indicator to the email service provider that you are giving out good content because people are engaging with it and replying back to you.

There are a couple of different ways to get more replies, but they both relate to being direct . The first is to hold a contest. I like this idea because I won tickets to a free show from an email giveaway recently. One of my favorite violinists was performing locally and one day I received an email that said,

" The first three people that respond to this email with the show date and the time they want to attend, will win free tickets +1 to the upcoming shows this week!"

By hosting a small giveaway that encouraged email replies, it probably generated hundreds if not thousands of people who replied to enter the contest . So not only were they able to get replies from a large number of people, but they also were able to incentivize them as as quick as possible.

Another example is simply asking for replies at the end of the email. People are typically open to sharing when you ask them for feedback and ideas on what kind of content they want to see next. This also goes back to the other points that you are there to add value. You're not just trying to sell your service or products, but you're there to give back. When people understand that, they will start to interact and reply to you more often which builds customer loyalty to your brand or business.

As an email marketer, remember that email is not dead and so many people have their phone with them every single minute of the day. Even when they go to sleep their phone is right next to them. Email is right at the touch of everyone's palm, and even if they don't always open every email, they are used to using it. It's one of the best ways to get directly in touch with someone.

Key takeaway: When you encourage engagement, you will improve your open rates and deliverability stats. This will lead to more success in your email marketing as a freelancer.

In Conclusion

When you're trying to get a higher open rate for your email campaign, focus on your email subject line and giving value. Also, be open and transparent that you want people to get back in touch with you. If you're not able to get your emails opened, they will start to show up in the spam folder and you won't get to reach your customers, so be sure to implement the three methods revealed in this blog to improve your email open rate.

If you want to see more about this subject, I made a video going over ways you can get more email open rates which you can watch by clicking here.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

How To Become a Top Rated Freelancer On Upwork

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:30:50 GMT

'Discover The Power Of Upwork’s Top Rated Freelancer Badge System'

(So you can stand out from the competition and land more freelance clients)

This blog reveals how to get the Upwork Top Rated Freelancer Badge. Alongside this will also show the benefits that come along with having this badge. I also explain the requirements you need to meet to get the other new Upwork badges. These include the Rising Talent, Top Rated Plus, and Expert-Vetted Badges . This is great if you are a freelancer, consultant, or agency that wants to leverage Upwork. Whether you are just starting out freelancing, or if you are looking to drive qualified clients, this blog will show you how to take advantage of Upwork's Badging System.

Sneak Peek:

Rising Talent Badge
The Top Rated Badge
Benefits Of The Top Rated Badge
Top Rated Plus Ba dge
Expert Vetted

Rising Talent Badge

The first badge is called 'rising talent.' A rising talent badge highlights some of the best new members in the Upwork marketplace. This is free for freelancers who have great potential based on a strong background in their field and early success with Upwork clients. Rising talent agencies and freelancers have strong backgrounds in their Industries. To become a rising talent, you need to have a 100% completed profile with signs of great experience. Upwork's positive performance includes: Submitting high-quality proposals for jobs. As well as complying with the terms of service.

This is an awesome badge that Upwork introduced for anyone that's on the way to becoming top rated. You can get this rising talent badge before you have a lot of reviews on the platform which can help get the momentum going for you. It's also for those who don't have a job success score built yet. This badge is going to help you stand out from the competition as a freelancer to possibly get hired. When you get that rising talent badge that doesn't mean you can't get all the other badges, but it's a great start. If you look in the section called ' benefits for talent ' the badge will show on your profile. You also get reduced fees on featured jobs. You also get a one-time bonus of 30 free connects so so you can submit more proposals. Lastly, you get access to chat and ticket support from a specialized customer support team when you are recognized as 'rising talent'. This is important because it's always helpful to have a direct line to Upwork for help if you ever need it.

The Top Rated Badge

Having a Top Rated badge as a freelancer has had a massive impact on the number of clients I can reach. It allows those who have accumulated great feedback on their past projects to get rewarded for that. When you're starting freelancing don't ignore these badges and these credentials. The top rated badge highlights freelancers and agencies who have built a strong reputation on Upwork by getting positive feedback from their clients time after time. They represent the top 10% of talent on Upwork. So not everyone gets this badge, out of all the freelancers on the platform, there only 10% on Upwork who have the honor of representing this badge. This badge is something that you have to work on keeping as well which makes it that much more prestigious.

Once you get this badge, Upwork updates this eligibility every two weeks. This is so the most current outstanding members of our marketplace get recognized. That means every two weeks you have the possibility of either keeping or losing your top rated badge. To keep this badge, you first need to show consistent high-quality work with multiple clients. That means you've worked on multiple projects and got five-star reviews and feedback from all of them.

You also need to have an outstanding job success score of at least 90 percent. So make sure when you're working with clients to let them know that every review they give has a direct impact on your future and your income. Then, if you completed the job successfully, make sure your clients mark that down correctly. You also need to have an up-to-date complete freelancer or agency profile. You can do this by accurately listing current availability for new jobs. If you're denying every invite you get because you're not available, Upwork's going to catch on to that and penalize your invisibility. So always make sure you're accurately representing your availability and your skills. Also, having a strong earnings history is the other criteria for this badge.

Benefits Of The Top Rated Badge

There are many benefits to being a top rated freelancer. Most importantly, it displays on your profile for all clients to see. This makes your profile stand out from the competition. You also get reduced fees on feature jobs starting at 10% as well as more control over your job success score. This is important because if a client doesn't leave you feedback when you're top rated that doesn't hurt you as much. Whereas if you're a new freelancer and you did a job and don't get feedback, it hurts you even more. This badge acts as a safeguard to your job success score if a client were to do that.

You're also able to submit proposals to jobs assisted by talent specialists. A talent specialist is someone on the Upwork platform whose job is to match different talent with high-end clients. These are projects that are multi-thousand dollar deals usually and a talent specialist is going to help make that connection. They're also going to help you get hired and tell the client all of your experience. This is a major benefit because you will have someone that's on the Upwork platform that can help you out.

On top of that, as a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer you get access to the digest email which makes it easier for you to find jobs that are a great match for you. They will send you an email with jobs that are the best fit for you based on your skills and based on what you've worked on in the past. This also will help you get ahead of the competition and apply to jobs that you want to get that much quicker. Another benefit is you get faster payments on the hourly contracts and premium customer support. This includes phone and chat. With all this premium support, Upwork wants you to succeed when you're top rated.

Top Rated Plus Badge

After you get your top rated badge, there is another badge above that is called a top rated plus badge. This is a newer badge that they released at the beginning of this year to provide an even MORE prestigious level of honor. The top rated plus designation highlights freelancers and agencies with proven success on larger long-term contracts . Only 3% of freelancers on the platform have received this badge because the top rated plus badge has additional criteria that needs to get met. So not only do you have to have earned and maintained the top rated status, but freelancers have to have $10,000 in total earnings over the last 12 months. Agencies have to have $20,000 in total earnings over the last 12 months. It is also required to have worked or are working on one or more large contracts in the last 12 months.

This is all without negative outcomes. So to qualify for top rated plus as an individual, a freelancer must be a non-exclusive agency contractor. This badge is for the freelancers who are able to add a tremendous amount of value to companies. Upwork wants to give the ability for those freelancers to stand out even more with this badge. The top rated and the top rated plus have a few differences. For example, you need to have a 12 month earnings of at least $10,000. You also need to have a large contract which Upwork has different criteria for based on their terms of service.

Expert Vetted

The last badge is what's called 'expert vetted.' This represents the Top 1% of freelancers on Upwork. An expert vetted badge is granted for highlighted talent that has gone through a pre-screening process by experts in their field. Upwork quotes that these are the Upwork elite freelancers who have been evaluated by their technical talent managers for their expertise and their ‘soft skills.’

The following freelancers can earn an expert vetted badge:

Web
Mobile Software Development
Design and Creative
Sales and Marketing

Ultimately, having an expert vetted badge is the highest level of badge currently available. It provides all the advantages of the other badges in addition to the ability to show to Upwork Enterprise and Business clients.

BADGE CRITERIA:

In Conclusion

Getting the Rising Talent, Top Rated, Top Rated Plus, or Expert Vetted Badge may seem impossible at forst, but the truth is that it's achievable when you put your head down you get to work . If you liked this blog, and you want to learn more about how I became a top rated successful freelancer on Upwork, I made a video here where I explain the badging system in more detail.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

*Upwork Badge References Page: Here

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

#1 Marketing Tip For Small Businesses And Freelancers

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 17:18:43 GMT

'Discover why you should never rely on social media as your only traffic source...'

(Whether you are a small business owner, freelancer, or consultant...)

This blog is a great read for you if you already started a small business or you're planning on starting a business soon. We will be breaking down what the number one marketing tip is that has the power to move the needle for you and your business.

Sneak Peek:

Owning Your Traffic
Social Media & Your Database
Providing Value

Owning Your Traffic

The #1 most important tip for small business owners and freelancers is to focus on the traffic you actually own. Having your own list means doubling down on the traffic that you have access to. Far too many businesses have their focus on the wrong areas of marketing and advertising. This is leaving them at risk because no matter what you're doing in business, it’s important to have an email list. An email list ensures the ability for you to stay in touch with your audience over the weeks, months, and years. The more you grow your email list, the more people you can provide value to and sell your products/services to.

Through Email Marketing, you don't need to depend on social media platforms to be your main traffic source. You don't have to be at mercy to the all-mighty algorithm when you own a list of contacts that you can email at any time. If you own your email list then no one can take those leads away from you. Whereas on a platform you are not in control of your audience.

For example: let's say all your traffic is coming from YouTube. Then, for no reason, YouTube decides to ban your account by mistake! If that happens, you won't have any way of keeping in contact with your audience. If this happens, you will end up losing all that work you did to gain your audience in the first place. So instead of finding yourself up the creek without a paddle, be sure to start building your database of contacts ASAP!

The importance of Social Media & Your Database

No matter what you're doing in business, it’s important to maintain an active list of contacts. The lifetime value of a customer is so important because repeat customers are the holy grail of any business. A big mistake marketers make is they take for granted what social media platforms can do for them. Marketers think their followers will never go away. That they're always going to be able to reach them. One day there will be a completely new platform than what we are on now. So it’s important to not put all your eggs in one basket. You can't rely on one platform to market your business. Use the different social media platforms that you have that make sense for your business. Use social media to get traffic that you can own. You can also focus on having your audience sign up for your email list. This way you can get in touch with them beyond the social media platform.

Having your own email list is the key to any business because that's their database. The database holds all the people that have given their email addresses and their names to the business. Information like that to a business is immensely valuable. Those contacts are ones who showed interest in the business but haven't converted yet. Or they turn into a repeat customer if given the opportunity. That is where you can use Email Marketing as a form of security to be able to have those contacts without being at risk. At any moment these large social media platforms can make all your traffic disappear. This is why it's important to build up your own list of contacts and stay in touch with them via email so you never lose them.

Email marketing is more than sending one email out to your list once in a while. It's getting more sales, segmenting your list, and growing your brand loyalty. ActiveCampaign is a great marketing automation and emailing tool for freelancers and small business owners. This tool helps you get to know your audience’s habits, interests and gain feedback. With the right email service provider, you can track what links readers are showing interest in. This shows specifically what the audience is clicking, which provides insight into your most engaging content.

One of the most powerful marketing strategies is reigniting a companies database. When you leverage social media to get traffic that you own, you can learn more about your audience and create a loyal following no matter where you go. When you can stay in contact with your list, your business will ultimately see more success down the road.

Providing Value

Now that you understand why an email list that you own is so important, the next topic to understand is how to reach out to them. You want to be able to provide value to the customers you're sending emails to. You want to give so much value to the point where they look forward to your emails. You can do this whether you are giving them some sort of promotion, or immense value without pitching a sale. It's important to not make your audience feel all your emails are solely based on just selling.

You want to form a connection and show your audience you care for them and that you're working with them to provide value to make the most out of your email interaction. When you do it like that, you will likely not end up in their spam folder. One way to stay out of a spam folder is by creating an email newsletter. If someone signs up for a newsletter, they look forward to getting different emails from you. This email newsletter should provide tips, tricks, advice. Remember, they signed up to get value from you and your business because they know you're there to help them, not to get bombarded with annoying and repetitive emails.

In addition, when a new contact joins an email list, that's a great opportunity to go more in-depth and create an ' autoresponder'. An autoresponder is an automated email sequence that welcomes your contacts into your email marketing. This also lets them know what they can expect to receive as well as show how they can opt-out, or how they can add your email to their 'safe sender list.' (Which helps the emails show up more in people's inboxes and get a higher open rates)

Once you start nailing down and focusing your energy on building and nurturing the traffic that you own, you won't be at the mercy of relying on traffic from social media. You're in charge, and that's when you're going to see a big shift in how much success you're having with your marketing. Once you start to shift from using platforms to reach people, start to see that your audience is much more than a list. You are growing a tribe, building a community that looks up to you and that is looking forward to your emails.

In Conclusion

I hope that was a helpful marketing tip for any small business owners, freelancer, or consultants out there. Email is not dead, it is by far one of the most lucrative mediums you can focus on in marketing because it's directed to the consumer. You are the one that's in control. You can use my #1 marketing tips for small businesses to make more money online, help more freelance clients, and be a better marketer. For small business owners and freelancers, it's important to build up your own list of contacts and stay in touch with them via email so you never lose them. If you want to hear more in-depth about how you can build your own list, I made a video that describes how you can do that.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Top 3 Online Side Hustles With No Experience

Thu, 27 May 2021 23:16:19 GMT

Discover the top 3 online side hustles to make money online as a freelancer...

These are the top three online side hustles you can provide without any prior freelancing experience or if you are new to making money online. These are services that are in high demand and can help you get your foot into the door. All three of these side hustles can be performed from the comfort of your own home and on your own time.

That means you can invest as much or as little time into it as you have available. These three online side hustles can be provided on Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer.com, or with a client directly. So whether you are unemployed, or you have a job but you want to make more money on the side, this is a perfect blog for you.

#1) Transcription

The first online side hustle is transcription. A transcriptionist's job is to listen to the recorded audio, such as in videos, and type out what is said word-for-word. There are many different kinds of transcription jobs, including market research, medical and legal transcription to name a few.

Being a transcriptionist requires no experience besides access to a computer and the ability to type information as you hear it. A freelance transcriptionist gets to choose how many hours they want to work, making it a flexible side hustle option.

A few responsibilities of a Transcriptionist:

Turning video recordings, meetings, and conversations into text

Listening to audio and translating it into text

Reviewing drafts of written transcriptions for quality and accuracy

Checking with clients with the final documents

In business, there's a lot that goes into transcribing. This includes listening to zoom meetings of a client and writing down what they say. Or it could be a medical transcription where you write phone calls of different patients. All you need to do is be able to listen and then be able to type. If typing interests you and sounds like an easy way to make a few extra bucks, then this is a great online side hustle for you to check out further.

#2) Freelance Virtual Assistant

The second online side hustle you can provide is being a freelance virtual assistant. As a Virtual Assistant, you can choose to perform various administrative tasks for clients. This includes answering emails, scheduling meetings, and making travel arrangements.

A virtual assistant is someone who does a wide range of administrative tasks for a client or a business owner to help them save time and stay organized. The best part is you don't need to show up to an office every day and be someone's assistant, you can do this virtually in today's world. You can also be a virtual assistant for multiple clients at the same time which makes it a profitable way to scale. Being a freelance assistant does not have a high barrier to entry, because once again, you don't need specific experience to land these types of jobs.

A few responsibilities of Freelance Assistant:

Responding to emails and phone calls

Scheduling meetings

Booking travels/ accommodating

Tracking online records

Organizing your client's calendar

Conducting Market research

Creating presentations

In order to have success as a virtual assistant, you must get comfortable using online tools that are common in the marketplace. These are likely software and tools you're already familiar with, such as calendar applications, emailing softwares, and different travel booking services.

Those are the things that business owners need help with. Their time is valuable, and they don't have time to spend on these tasks. So instead they hire virtual assistants to do that for them. This side hustle is a great way to get your foot in the door into the online freelancing world. You're going to be able to work hand in hand with business owners. You'll also get to understand a lot more about how a business owner even runs their business. If this is something that interests you, being a freelance virtual assistant may be a great side hustle for you.

#3) Data Entry

The third online side hustle with no experience required is Data Entry. Data entry uses computers and data processing programs to enter information into a database, or a documentation platform. You can also transcribe data from recordings or phone conversations.

Data entry can take you into a variety of industries since many employers hire for these positions. You can start providing this side hustle right away. With data entry, you're going to be doing a lot of moving information from one place to another.

A few responsibilities of Data Entry:

Entering customer and account data from source documents within set time limits

Reviewing data for deficiencies or errors

Correcting any errors and incompatibilities

Typing in data provided from customers

Creating spreadsheets and tables

Data entry is something anyone can do and although it might not be the most exciting job every, it's a great way to get started freelancing. Whether you're a student, or you're already working but you want to get your foot in the door with freelancing, this is a great side hustle to get some projects under your belt. So If you have good keyboard skills and the ability to work under deadlines, then data entry is a great side hustle to consider.

In Conclusion

See what fits your personality type the best and start from there even if you don't have any prior freelance experience or skills established yet. Use these side hustles to build solid case studies, get multiple 5-star reviews, and build your online reputation and portfolio up. From there, you can then start working on more high-paying projects down the line. If you like these side hustles, I made a video here describing them more in-depth.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Unlock The Freelance SuperHero In You

Tue, 25 May 2021 21:03:21 GMT

Unlock The Freelance SuperHero In You...

Superheroes are great role models. They are amazing, strong, and inspiring individuals who use their talents to do good for the world. They aren’t just in comic books and from the movies either. There are many superheroes around us such as nurses, doctors, firefighters, teachers, etc. (big gratitude and shout out to them!) A superhero is anyone who is dedicating their life for others.

They are superheroes not only because of what they do but rather how they do it, and how it makes them and everyone around them feel. They impact everyone’s life for the better, and most importantly, they save lives.

I like to think that everyone has a freelance superhero within them, but they just need to UNLOCK IT. You see…

Freelancers Strive To Solve Their Client’s Problems, Inspire Social Change, And Improve Quality Of Life

They perform big heroic achievements with scarce time. Super freelancers have BIG visions and missions to accomplish, and help solve problems of the world. Freelancers may not have otherworldly powers or can fly, but they sure do know that they can create any vision of what they want for their future and that the sky's the limit. (cape or not!)

Just Like Superheroes, Freelancers Are Clear On Their Purpose And Helping Others

As a freelancer, it is important to make a statement that shows who you are and inspires your clients. This is how the world will be able to grasp the meaning of your mission first-hand. Super heroes accomplish huge triumphs with the help of their superpowers. As a freelancer, you have superpowers as well, and they come in the form of the skills you have and services you provide. Your goal as a freelance superhero is to accomplish the most amazing feat imaginable: provide services to businesses that are changing the world. You can unlock a secret power within you that makes you an extremely heroic and successful freelancer.

As you know, great power comes with responsibilities. To be a freelance superhero, you need a power (skill) that is more exceptional than any power a normal human being could possess, and use that power to have a positive impact on every project you work on. That has the power to create a ripple effect stronger than you may realize which can spread across the entire planet (The Butterfly Effect).This power is something you already have inside of you.

Freelance Super Heroes Never Give Up, They Always Continue, And Press Forward With Strength…

No matter how super you think you are, your strength comes from your character, not your talent. A superhero's true power and strength comes from within. For example, did you know Batman doesn’t even have a single superpower? But that doesn't phase him because guess what…he’s SUPER-human and he never gives up.

Batman is known for having the strongest mind and he’s the most persistent human being, (powers or not.) He always stayed noble, got the job done, and stayed mentally strong no matter what challenge he faced. Another credit to Batman’s success is his “prep-time”. Before a mission, Batman doesn’t just go into it blind. He takes the deliberate time to map out his plan of attack, strategize how to accomplish the goal, and ensure to bring all the right tools and weapons to the battle.

Superheroes always get the job done. Think about it, there’s no story about Spiderman almost saving Mary Jane from the burning building. There is no gray area with SuperHeroes and the same goes with Freelance Super Heroes!

This is why…��‍♂️ Clients want to work with SUPER freelancers, the ones who are trustworthy, noble, defend their empire, go above and beyond, and have outstanding qualities.

TRAITS OF A FREELANCE SUPERHERO

Confidence
Acts With Urgency
Trustworthy
Loyal
Reliable
Has a fighting spirit
A great sense of responsibility
Strong morals & ethics
Mental Strength
Knowledge
Positivity

This is what will magnetically attract high-ticket clients to want to work with you. SuperHeroes teach us a lot. We can learn to turn weaknesses to our advantage and develop strong skills that make us unique and powerful freelancers. Especially in a constantly changing environment (much like the world we live in today) we can appreciate our values, our flaws, our strengths, and our talents inside of us. Having confidence and a strong mindset will allow you to capitalize on your Freelance Super Powers and begin having a positive impact with every business you work with.

***All Illustrations made by Freepik from Stories

Ready to take your freelancing career to the next level?

How Freelancing Can Be a Full-Time Career

Fri, 21 May 2021 00:14:20 GMT

Discover how you can work full-time as a freelancer…

Has freelancing interested you? Or are you interested in making money online freelancing but you don’t know where to even start? Well, you've come to the right place!

How Powerful a Freelancing Career Is

Freelancing is a powerful and life-changing career path. Freelancing lets you have more freedom, income, and flexibility options in your day-to-day life. This career also lets you decide the rate you’ll charge for your work, and what kind of projects you want to work on. Working from home has also become a growing trend for the benefits it provides.

With freelancing, you can work for yourself, or work remotely anywhere full-time. You don’t have to commute to an in-person office any longer or deal with traffic every day. Not to mention you can wear whatever you want! (Unless you have a Zoom meeting lol). Through freelancing, you can earn as much as you want by leveraging multiple clients. Whereas with a 9-5 job you only get paid from one employer for every hour you work.

The workplace is adapting to new changes making freelance services in more demand than ever before. It's no secret that the dream for so many people is to be able to work from home or wherever they want to. Even if you have no freelance experience or don't know which skill to offer, don't worry! You're not too late at all. If you have been freelancing or want to, then now is the time to start. Many people are starting to realize that their 9-5 job is not right for them. They are also questioning if their career position is even secure long-term. Ask yourself: Is your career pandemic proof? Right now, the future of your work is obvious, it’s freelancing . Here are some things to consider:

Are you currently unemployed and looking for a new job?

Is your income from your full-time job not enough to make ends meet?

Are you looking for a part-time job or a side hustle that could replace your current income source soon?

Do you want to have more time to spend at home with your family and with your significant other?

Have you ever wanted to make your schedule and work from home?

If you resonated with any of these questions then you might want to consider exploring freelancing jobs. The best part about freelancing is you don’t need a master’s degree to start making money as a freelancer. Have you ever dreamed of working for yourself? Imagine being able to spend your day the way you’ve always wanted to and make money by doing your passion. Imagine waking up when you want to without the stress of hurrying to make it to the office on time. Imagine having the ability to sit down and start your work once you feel in your zone. Imagine having no more fear that you could be fired from your only job by your boss. These worries and thoughts don't have to be here any longer through the power of FREELANCING.

Working for yourself will grant you control over your life, income, and job security. As a freelancer, you can work with any business and provide them with a skill/service. In return, they pay you money monthly. It's a win-win for both parties. So to answer if freelancing can be a profitable full-time career? The answer is YES . Compared to a single flow of income such as a corporate job, with freelancing, you can double your income. For example, if you had 5 clients paying you an average of $2k per month you would be making over $100k per year. A few in-demand high paying online jobs you should know about are:

Getting into the freelancing world now is the best decision you can make for yourself and your family's future. If you want to see more freelance skills, in this blog I listed 5 freelance skills you may be interested in.

If you have tried freelancing in the past, or have been thinking about trying it out, then freelancing is for you! I'm here to show you how because I want future freelancers like you to succeed. In my freelancing training course, I will show you how to create a full-time Profitable Freelance Career for yourself. The best part is, most of my successful students who took this had no prior experience when they started! Are you ready to build a profitable business that you can turn into a full-time or part-time career? Click to watch the first class for free to see if freelancing is the best career path for you.

Success Stories Of 2 Top-Rated Freelancers

Freelance Success Story #1 - Alex Fasulo is a 28-year-old girl who is making $378k a year as a Fiverr freelancer. She doubled her income overnight at age 25 making $15k per month on Fiverr the first year.

How Did She Become Successful? Before Alex became a successful freelance writer on Fiverr, she had a 9-5 job. A few days later after quitting her 9-5 job she started posting gig offers on Fiverr. That same night, she went home and opened up to 5 gig offers on Fiverr. In only a few days, she discovered she was going to be able to make it as a full-time freelancer! This sparked a fire in her and she saw that she is as capable of earning fifteen-twenty dollars a day. She also realized that she didn’t have to go back to a job she hated. Now she is making thirty thousand dollars per month and can more than cover her bills. If you want to see the full story I made a reaction video on her click here to watch .

Her 'Why' For Freelancing : Before Alex became a freelancer in 2016, she worked in PR and made $36,000 a year. She felt out of place in this corporate job and was unhappy with her 9-5 job. Alex was done with having only enough money to pay the bills. She found out that the corporate world wasn't for her. She knew there was another way that fit her creative personality and her earning potential. She decided something needs to change, so she decided to ditch her 9 to 5 job for a life of full-time freelancing.

Freelance Success Story #2 - Jennifer Shealey is a Top-Rated seller on Fiverr since 2014. She has made earnings of over $366K to date.

How Did She Become Successful? Jennifer became successful through offering a variety of freelancing services such as: SEO, Digital Marketing, Custom Designs, and more! She first started offering her services on Fiverr doing Facebook ads for $5 and has scaled since then.

Her ‘why’ for freelancing: Jennifer got laid off at her 9-5 job for texting too much because she was bored with her job. She then started looking for ‘work from home jobs’ and stumbled across Fiverr. Since then, she has now worked on Fiverr for over 7 years. Through her dedication, sacrifice, and determination to work for herself she is now able to make a good living from home and inspires others to do the same. If you want to see more about Jennifer’ s story and how you can leave their 9-5 I made a video reacting to her story here.

In Conclusion

Workers no longer have to be in an office every day to have a successful career. Through freelancing, you can now get the job done from wherever you are and work with clients on exciting projects all over the globe. This is why getting into freelancing now is the best decision you can make for yourself and your family's future.

If you have been thinking about becoming a freelancer full-time, now is the time! Start building up your profile and getting clients online, and earning testimonials. If you are ready to start freelancing full-time or part-time, watch my video on how you can leave your 9-5 job.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

How To Avoid Feeling Burned Out As a Freelancer

Fri, 14 May 2021 00:46:02 GMT

Discover how to avoid feeling burned out as a freelancer...

While being a freelancer has its many perks, such as flexibility, choosing when, where, and what kind of projects you want to work on, these tips will help you avoid feeling a burnout so you can have long-term success in your freelance career.

What Is a Burnout
What Leads To Feeling Burned Out
What To Do When You Feel Burned Out
Activities To Do When You Need a Break From Work
How To Make Time For Yourself
How To Balance Your Work Life & Your Personal Time

"If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit."

- Banksy

What Is a Burnout? - A burnout is what you will start to feel if you are not balancing your work-life and social life properly. Especially if you do not leave yourself any room to do other things besides work. When you feel burned out it may feel like everything is piling up and you can't stop it. Your work will begin to stress you out, which takes a toll on your relationships and strains on your mental state, which then impacts your physical body. It is a feedback loop that you must avoid at all costs .

In this society we live in, there’s so much emphasis being put on productivity in the work field. It's all about being productive, producing, getting things done, moving towards your goals. While those are important qualities to have, especially when you can have success, but a lot of the time what happens is we don't balance ourselves properly. Burned out feelings include:

Not wanting to get out of bed to work on your business
Not working on your goals anymore
Lack of motivation
Exhaustion and low energy
Feelings of negativity towards your job
Lack of passion

If you have ever felt these feelings, that's when you know you've gone too far. If you have been feeling these signs, then these tips will help you how to handle and prevent the ultimate business killer... getting burned out. Taking massive action to achieve your goals, balancing your energy and preventing feelings of 'burnout' is vital to avoid this feeling for long-term freelance success.

What Leads To Feeling Burned Out - There are many factors which can lead to burnout. One of the ways that lead to this is if you are inside too much. Especially for those who can work from home, or work remotely. This can lead to putting in extra hours if you're home more often and that can lead to burnout. This can ultimately cause you more harm than good.

A common misconception a lot of people have especially when they're new to freelancing, working from home, or just being their own boss is that they put too much emphasis on getting things done and jam-packing everything. This leads to them not taking the proper time to recharge. Then what happens is it leads to burnout. The truth is, anyone can be motivated for a short time but what separates those who have success from those who quit, is the ability to manage challenging times and push onward .

Working for yourself also comes with a price tag. When you are in business for yourself you are presented with a unique set of challenges that can lead to burnout quickly if you don't catch the early signs. Work can be stressful or even overwhelming at times, so it's important to take care of yourself so you can stay motivated and passionate about what you do for the long haul. If you’ve noticed any of these signs, don’t worry. The sooner you feel yourself burning out, the sooner you can take steps to reduce the effects and avoid it in the future.

What To Do When You Feel Burned Out - The first thing you can start to do when you're feeling burned out, is you want to take a step back and look at if you are properly taking care of yourself. This means making sure you are getting enough sleep. For adults, the healthy average sleep time is 8 hours .

This is vital to be able to function for your brain to work properly to have enough sleep. Also having a good diet is vital for when you are feeling burned out because what happens is if you're just working too much and you're too busy to make yourself a proper meal, your body and diet are going to suffer. Your body needs to get the proper nutrition to be able to function healthy or it will cause you to shut down and listen to it.

Activities To Do When You Need A Break From Work - When you take a break throughout your day and implement some sort of exercise in your routine, make sure that you do it at least three to five times a week ideally will help you avoid that burnout and it'll help boost your energy levels. Exercising will help move any negative energy out and would result in more energy and feeling less burned out.

Your body is meant to move , so if you don’t properly take care of it and get movement in, or sweat, your body will start to get tense and cause other health conditions which can affect your work life. Especially if you are already having built-up stress from work and life things that pop up. Without exercise, It's easy to become overwhelmed, burned out, and this can lead to a lack of motivation and detrimental to your mind, body, and spirit.

Another activity to do when you need a break from work is to get outside and reconnect with nature . When you're burned out it’s because you're most likely inside most of the time. By going outside for a little bit whether it's going on a walk, going on a camping trip for the weekend, or sitting in your backyard can reconnect you back with the natural rhythm of nature.

This can also calm your mind, and body down so you can get proper rest that night. This will lead you to feel a lot better coming back to work and less burned out when you take the time for yourself and connect back with nature.

How To Balance Your Work Life & Your Personal Time - Setting time aside to look at your day-to-day schedule and see where your energy is going the most is very helpful. It’s important when managing your schedule to focus on things that are moving the needle forward. People are spending time on just busy work tasks that don't do anything for themselves. When you prioritize your different tasks based on how urgent they are and then how not urgent they are you can begin to organize your calendar and your schedule around that. Once you start to look at what is moving the needle in your life, in your business, in your career and see what is not moving the needle and what is taking up your time, you can then prioritize around that. It’s all about working smarter and not working harder.

You don't want to be busy, you want to be productive. This doesn't mean work at all and only work an hour a day. What it means is making time for yourself by putting the time into analyzing what makes the most sense to spend your time on that day. When you're in control of your time, and your body, and personal time, instead of it all being focused on work, you're not going to feel burned out.

Also by taking account of where your time and your energy is going into and if you're just being a consumer and lost on social media platforms, or Netflix for hours upon hours, take account of that. That is going to be contributing to you feeling burnt out. It’s all about having balance and where you want to put in enough effort. When you plan things out and make time for yourself instead of working 15 hours a day straight for three weeks, you will be able to avoid getting burned out from work.

In Conclusion

As important as it is to be productive and get to all those to-do lists, it’s important to take time for yourself. It's so easy to talk about all the awesome successes as a freelancer but another part of just this journey is shedding light on these challenges. If you're not burned out, practice the prevention models to re-nourish yourself and get back to feeling motivated and passionate about what you do for work.

Remember, It's always a good time to implement these practices and take time for yourself so you can avoid that burnout feeling and stay consistent for the long term in your freelancing career. So if that was helpful and you liked this blog, I made a video discussing more in-depth detail on how to avoid burnout, what activities to do to get your spirits up and how to avoid a complete burn-out so you can feel your best and have the most business success.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Making My First $10K Freelancing On Upwork

Fri, 07 May 2021 01:59:56 GMT

Discover how taking that first step can lead you to your freelancing success on Upwork...

In this blog I am going to reveal how I made my first $10,000 on Upwork and how you can do the same. The truth is, taking the first step on your freelance journey is often the most difficult. Keep reading to discover how I started, how I continued to gain momentum from each job I landed, and how you can replicate and do the same in your freelancing career.

Taking That First Step as a Freelancer
How Much I Made On My First Projects On Upwork
How I Landed My First High-Ticket Client
How I Earned My First $4k
Making My First $10K Freelancing On Upwork
How Lucrative Upwork Is

Taking That First Step as a Freelancer

If you are just starting out as a freelancer, and your focus is only at the end goal of success, that’s fine but it will seem impossible and most likely will discourage you from even taking that first step to start. There’s a famous quote from a wise man named Lao Tzu, who said:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

When you are first starting out, focus on one step at a time, and start taking actions that will get you closer to your freelancing goals. It's the same with inspiration, don't look at the final result, look at what successful people in your field did to take steps towards achieving their goals. Once you take one step in the direction of your goal, the second step gets easier.

Whether that be:

Learning a new skill
Finding a new job
Starting a business
Becoming a freelance writer
Starting a side-hustle

When you're starting your own business or you're starting out freelancing, it's really hard to compare yourself with others who are already well-established and see how you can get to the position that other successful freelancers are in. If you go on Upwork and you see some of the top-rated freelancers who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, it's tough to think that you can get there and you can compete with them.

However, it's a lot easier to understand when you're able to first look at every single step of their journey because no one is an overnight success. It all takes dedication and consistency. Down below I am going to be sharing my freelance journey with you from my very first step, all the way to me making $10k a month on Upwork.

How Much I Made On My First Projects On Upwork

My name is Paul and this is my Upwork profile :

I am a Top-Rated freelancer on Upwork, I have a 100% job success score and earned over $40k on Upwork so far. But it wasn’t always like this. I am top-rated because every single job I worked on has led to a good client experience! As a freelancer, it’s important to focus on the value you're providing. If you are a new freelancer, and you provide just sub-par level value you're not going to be able to make it. Your profile and your reputation are going to be tarnished. If you want to also be top-rated, and have the same level of success that I have, you need to strive for the same thing which is to focus on providing immense value to each client, and each project you work on. Developing a well-optimized profile on Upwork is great for getting people to come to you. But if you're just starting or you don't have that much experience, The Upwork Project Catalog can be a very powerful feature to increase the amount of potential clients in your pipeline.

The first job I ever landed on the platform was an interview with a marketing lead generation expert on call-tracking. The first project was a $30 project and this was something where I did and it only took half an hour. They wanted to talk to someone who had experience in the digital marketing space and they were doing market research for a new software company that was developing a call-tracking solution. What I did was I just answered some questions. It was really easy and to the point and I got my first 5-star review on the platform. Then I took a similar $30 project which I didn't get a testimonial with, but did secure another 5-star review from. (I learned on my freelance journey to always secure a good rating and testimonial from every project you work on.) Adding these two projects together brings me to $60.00 right now after my second job on Upwork.

Then, I continued to look for similar projects like this because I thought this was another way to continue to build momentum. It’s important when you’re first starting to not get overwhelmed and look for a variety of different projects to work on. Instead, focus on the familiar work you’ve done previously for a client that you were successful in. It’s like riding a bike, or taking that next step when walking. You want to develop a familiar rhythm to get that momentum going, and even expand your experience to develop confidence and more credibility on the platform.

The next project I worked on was also developing a very similar call-tracking platform and they hired me to do a consultation to get their input on the platform. So instead of this being an interview, this one was more of a consultation where they walked me through the software that they have and I got to give my feedback on it more first hand. They said:

"Paul was awesome to work with, professional, experienced yet very easy to talk to. Would be happy to hire again."

So as you can see, I started to gain some momentum. I was starting to get short-term projects and that's when I continued to send out proposals. This is where I felt I was ready to reach out to different clients to work on Google Ad PPC projects. That's when I landed the next project where the client was looking for a PPC expert. In this project I was able to secure $200 which brings us to a total of $260 so far in earnings. In this project they needed a consultant to help them get started in Google Ads. They didn't need someone to manage it long-term and that's exactly what I was looking for to provide my services during that time, was a client who needed someone for a short-term project. I worked on this project for six days, and from there I just opened the doorway to more diverse clients and experience.

I made sure to offer the client future work and to reach out when they want to do another future project, and If not, I told them I appreciated the 5-star review. Now I had over $250 in earnings and a great 5-star testimonial and possible future work. After I worked with this client and added up my earnings so far, I started to see how lucrative Upwork is and how I can start getting recurring clients . I was also starting to think that this could be something I can do on the side of my current job I had at the time in my free time.

You see how my first steps helped me to build momentum? That same philosophy can be applied to your journey and your success. It all started with taking that first step and from there each step adds up.

How I Landed My First High-Ticket Client

Once I discovered that Upwork could turn into a full-time thing for me and replace my current job I had at the time, that's when it all changed for me. I then was able to land my first big client after this realization. I consider big clients “high-ticket” clients because you're able to secure over a thousand dollars or more for a project.

My first high-ticket client upped my earnings to $1,435 with the next project I worked on. I also got an amazing testimonial and a 5-star review where the client said:

“Paul was phenomenal to work with. I had knowledge in the PPC world and also was relatable and understood the importance of driving measurable results.“

This client wanted someone who knew about Google Ads to provide a walk-through of the platform for them and build out multiple targeted campaigns.

So with this project, I started to get some real momentum and I was thinking:

“Maybe I really can turn this into a full-time job or a side-hustle.”

After this project, I had a total of $1,435 in earnings on Upwork. Then the next project was a $500 fixed cost project. That brings me to $1,935. So now just under $2,000 in earnings and this is where this client said that they needed someone who was a PPC expert to look at the data that they had before a certain time. After I worked with them, they were so satisfied and they said they would consider hiring me again for my services and they recommended my services to others.

How I Earned My First $4k

This next part jumps into how I earned my first $4,000 on Upwork. This next project I worked on was offering my expertise and looking at what was going on in the client’s account, and what they’re doing. I got a $500 fixed-price project from that and it was only about a month of work. From there I moved on to a project and worked six hours for $49 an hour and I secured another $269.50 bringing me to a total of $2,204.50, and this project was someone who needed a consultant for Adwords and Analytics. This is again, a very similar project to the other ones.

Then I found a very awesome opportunity and I worked on this project for 44 hours. So this was an ongoing project where I worked from 2018-2019. I helped this client set up their YouTube Ads. The only difference with this was I helped them manage those ads on-going. So not only did I help them set up the campaign, I managed them, I logged my hours and I was able to secure $2,164.17 bringing the total to $4,368.67. This project was an ongoing project that helped me just focus on making some money on Upwork on the side of my current job. I knew I was going to get a great review from them and at the end of it I secured a good review, and a testimonial where they said:

"Paul is an excellent freelancer to work with. He listened to everything we wanted and was able to come up with solutions and worked with us easily to deliver what we were looking for.”

Their YouTube page has grown tremendously with a minimum budget due to my skill and managing and building the ads and they highly recommend working with me. Now this client was an awesome client to build case studies around because I took their YouTube channel which had no subscribers and no views and we drove over 50,000 views on every one of their popular videos and was able to promote their services and create a local commercial that helped the company get in the spotlight.

At this point on my Upwork freelancing journey I had racked up $ 4k in earnings.

Making My First $10K Freelancing On Upwork

Now moving on to how I earned my first $10,000 in earnings on Upwork. The next client I had, I was able to secure $3,460.67 and this client brought me to $7,861.34 in earnings. They needed not only someone to do Google but also Yahoo, Bing, Pay Per Click Ads, and they're a growing agency.

So from there, that was an amazing and lucrative project I got to work on and worked on where it was an hourly project at an even higher rate. For this project, I was able to secure $414. I worked 16 hours for $69 an hour. So if we add that $414 in, it brings us to $8,275.34 total in earnings.

This was someone that didn't end up going with Linkedin Ads. They were asking about Google Ads. They didn't know that that was the right direction and so I guided them in that direction, looked at what Campaign that they set up, and they were on their way after that. From there, I went on and that's when I landed the next client where this was another the big high ticket client - a $2,058.57 project which brings my earnings to $ 10,333.84 on the platform.

How Lucrative Upwork Is

There is so much potential when you put in the work on Upwork and stay consistent. If you are interested in finding out for yourself how lucrative Upwork can be , start this on the side of your current job. You don't have to do this full-time and quit everything you're doing. In fact, it is encouraged you try this on the side first like I did and build your experience up from there. It doesn't hurt to get some extra income, whether it helps pays your car bill, helps contribute towards rent, or helps pay for your food. Every single dollar counts.

However, there are myths associated with freelancing that often will hold aspiring people back from pursuing freelancing on Upwork as their career full-time. This is why I am here to shed some light on the benefits of the lucrative side to freelancers on this platform. As we know, there’s no definite answer to how much freelancers can get paid or how much you can make as a freelancer yourself. To leverage Upwork’s lucrative opportunities, it depends on:

The value and your services that you are providing
The amount of hours you're putting in
The amount of experience you have
The type of skills you’ve developed over-time

Freelancing on Upwork is so flexible unlike any other job position because it lets you decide the rate you’ll charge for your work . When you find a good client, they will be more than happy to pay you what you’re worth and even give you referrals (which is encouraged to try and get from every client you work with).

The only limit to earning more money as a freelancer, is yourself. We are in the digital era where earning money online is easily accessible to anyone who takes advantage of providing in-demand services to clients. If you want to discover why freelance annual earnings are in the trillions and see success stories on top-rated freelancers, you won’t want to miss this article!

In Conclusion

The first step is always important. Once you make the first step, you gain confidence and your motivation to succeed will grow. It is necessary to have dreams, but daydreams will not come true by just thinking about them, you have to take action. If you want to hear more about this topic and liked what I went over in this blog, I made a YouTube video that outlines the beginning steps of my freelancing journey to help inspire you to take that first action step to become a successful freelanc er yourself.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

3 Qualities of a Successful Freelancer

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 00:01:26 GMT

Discover the top three qualities that a freelancer needs to have success...

There’s an article on CNBC make it that caught my eye because there has been a growing trend that I've seen and heard people are having where they're just not as comfortable with their current career trajectory as they previously were before the pandemic. Because of that, a lot of people are seeing how they can plan out their next steps and their next moves career-wise.

I have a part highlighted that stood out to me as the main part of who's leaving and why, and it states that:

"Of the 26% of workers planning to leave their employers after the pandemic, 80% are doing so because they’re concerned about their career advancement; meanwhile, 72% say the pandemic caused them to rethink their skill sets"

Skills are important because that is what you're going to be providing as a service when you freelance. When you learn new skills you can apply to new jobs, perform new services, and make money in different areas. The article also says that:

“More than half of the potential job hoppers have sought out new training and skills during the pandemic possibly to prepare to change jobs in the next few months.”

What this comes down to is showing that people are uncertain. It shows they have this fear that their 9-5 career path is not as stable as they thought it was. People are seeing this with a lot of big corporations in the nine to five world. The job that people felt so secure in (the one which would allow them to work there for decades and get a pension plus benefits) is actually not dependable when you have all your eggs in one basket.

There’s also that uncertainty where the employee may lose their job if the company has to lay off staff. Or if the company has to downsize or go out of business. That is something that got brought to the light during the pandemic. In fact, in the CNBC article it states that in 2019 people were already starting to look at new career paths. It is also stated that people are jumping jobs a lot more than they used to compared to 20 years ago.

That brings us to the question, what are all these people going to do? What are over a quarter of all people that are in the marketplace right now going to do, that want to quit their 9-5 job? How are they going to go about this?

Well, that is where freelancing comes into play. As a freelancer a lot of these people working 9-5 jobs are realizing that they can take their same skills, add a couple more on and then build multiple streams of income. They can do this from online clients paying them from every single different area they want to focus on. As opposed to having one boss that only pays them for their time like in a nine to five, as a freelancer, you're able to grow at your own pace and do what you want to do in your day-to-day life.

There is also a topic that needs to be brought to the light, which is the fact that not everyone can go and have success as a freelancer immediately. Not everyone that you see in this CNBC article might not even be a good fit to be a successful freelancer.

There's nothing wrong with that, but for the people that are asking themselves:

" Can I go into business for myself?"
"Can I become a freelancer, a consultant?"
"Can I leave this nine-to-five world and provide for myself, and my family and build the life I want?"

Ask yourself if you fit into the mold of what the three qualities of a profitable freelancer are. If what I’m about to go over does not align with where you're at, then you're likely not going to have success as a freelancer when you go into business for yourself. So If you want to discover if you are fit to be a freelancer, let’s dive into the three qualities that make up a successful freelancer.

(Quality #1) Desire To Have Flexibility

The first quality of any successful freelancer is the desire to make sacrifices to have flexibility. That desire means putting in that extra work that others don't aren’t willing to do. What I mean is you must be willing to put in the work and build your career from the ground up. As a freelancer, you can get that flexibility that you crave and desire when you put in the actions necessary to get there. You also have to develop a strong mindset and understand that the business that you start is not going to kick off in a week or a month. It all depends on how much effort, time, and dedication you have to make it work.

Freelancers have the flexibility to choose the hours they work, the type of projects they work on, and the clients they work with. This provides immense control of their day-to-day schedule as well as eliminates the need for a commute. That's one of the other big reasons why people are shifting more towards freelancing and remote work positions in general. People are beginning to see that they don't want to be tied to a job where they have to commute during rush hour traffic just to get to work and get paid less, and maybe have an hour to eat dinner and unwind before they have to go and do that again the next morning. I was in that cycle and there's nothing wrong with it if you're working for a company you love and you're doing everything that you feel called to, but if you're not I'm telling you that that lack of flexibility will begin to eat away at you .

So you need to have the desire to want to build flexibility. It doesn't mean as soon as you start freelancing you're going to be able to just work whenever you want but what it does mean is if you put in the work, you build yourself from the ground up the right way as a professional freelancer that is treating it like a business, and taking it seriously. When I say flexibility I mean freedom over your day and your schedule. Flexibility is just really something that relates to all the different aspects of your life from the micro down to what you do every single day to the macro, which is planning vacations, being able to spend more time with your family, going to events, and there's just so much there but that is the first quality if you want to be a profitable freelancer is to have the desire to put in the work to get the desired flexibility that freelancing offers, but only if you commit and take it seriously.

To Recap: If you have the desire to have more flexibility in your life and it sounds appealing to you, and even helpful for the type of lifestyle that you have, I highly encourage you to look into making freelancing a side hustle or full-time career to fully enjoy all the benefits freelancing can do for your life.

(Quality #2) Desire For More

The second quality to be a profitable freelancer and to be a successful freelancer is you need to have the desire to create more for yourself and to live up to your full potential. There are so many people that quite frankly just do the minimum in life. They do just enough to get by at their job in their life. They do enough where nothing bad necessarily happens to them but at the end of their life, they're filled with all these regrets and all these questions in the back of their head such as...

What if I tried harder in my career and put in the work?
What if I took a chance and started that business?
What if I learned that new skill I am passionate about?

All of those “what-ifs” eat away at you so much more than if you tried something new, and you failed you know that okay at least you know you gave it your all and tried. On the contrary to what some may believe, as a freelancer, you have a higher earning potential than a traditional position. Your salary as a freelancer is not limited like it is in a corporate job. When you are a freelancer, you are working for yourself and you are in control of how much you want to earn. Being in control of your earnings and working for yourself makes freelancing an overall more stable and secure career path as opposed to a typical corporate position.

People no longer have to settle for a set salary because they now can access abundance online, creating multiple flows of income from clients. Once you become a freelancer, you can get paid for the work that you put in. This type of freedom lets you break free from being tied to a set paycheck because you create your earnings. Once you build multiple flows of online income, the more freedom and security you will be able to create in your life.

Many people who are unhappy with their 9-to-5 jobs are beginning to flock to making money online by providing freelance services. The gig economy is providing amazing opportunities that range from every skill level and schedule type, and work has never been more accessible as long as you have an internet connection and a laptop. Take advantage of the higher income opportunities and freedom that freelancing can provide for you no matter what type of lifestyle or position you want. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket with one traditional job. By being a freelancer and having multiple streams of income, you put yourself in the best position possible for success.

Recap: Wanting to create more in your life is the other quality you need to have if you want to be successful when you're working for yourself as a freelancer.

(Quality #3) Having Discipline

The third quality of a successful freelancer is you need to have discipline. So with all of this, all of these amazing benefits from freelancing doesn't work if you're not disciplined. Being consistent every day will lead you to form good habits which are the keys to success. There will be days where you just won't feel like working and will take the whole day off.

While it's okay to take a mental day off, you must decipher between if you're really looking to recharge, or if you just want to be lazy that day and not put in the work. To create success, you must push through these feelings and stay consistent. If you think you're going to become a freelancer just so you can work two days a week and play video games the rest of the time... then this might not be the most suitable career path for you.

The truth is, once you fall into the trap of doing the bare minimum possible in your work life, you will never be able to separate yourself from the competition. To get to that next level of being a successful freelancer, you must be consistent, always grinding, and on your game. You do this by...

Waking up early
Sticking to your schedule
Focusing on important tasks first
Putting time into developing your skills
Showing up even when you don't feel like it

Having discipline is vital to keeping your life balanced and on the best path. It’s necessary to make these sacrifices so you can be consistent every single day. For example, instead of saying ‘yes’ to going out late, you can be disciplined and choose to spend that time working on your business. Another example is to wake up early to get more accomplished instead of sleeping in.

Recap: Practicing discipline is what it takes if you want to be successful. I t all comes down to practice, sticking to your schedule, and holding yourself accountable at the end of each day.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, if you have the desire to create flexibility in your life, the desire to live up to your full potential, as well as the discipline to hold yourself accountable, then you are a great candidate to be a freelancer.

I hope this was helpful for some people that are thinking about becoming a freelancer or that want to quit their job and don't know what the next step is. If you want to hear more about the three qualities of a successful freelancer, l cover them in more depth in this video here.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

How To Craft Winning Freelance Proposals On Upwork

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 02:54:51 GMT

Discover how to send out the best proposals on Upwork that get noticed and land clients...

If you ever wondered how you can craft winning proposals that get noticed by clients, keep reading to learn helpful tips and strategies to use, including:

Crafting a Winning Proposal
Getting Noticed
Going Above & Beyond The Competition
Practicing & Improving

Crafting a Winning Proposal

A proposal is how you reach out to a specific client on Upwork. Proposals are the first impression that potential clients are going to get of you. When crafting out your cover letter you will need to sell yourself, and stand out from the rest.

One of the most vital qualities of a winning proposal is originality . This is important if you want to stand out from the competition. Make sure that you fully read the job description and pick out the most important pieces of that job description and touch on the client's pain points in the initial cover letter section. You don't want to blend in with the competition.

If you want to succeed as a freelancer and land higher-paying jobs, you’ll need to get noticed and make the client feel that you are genuine. Clients will skim through all of their proposals, check out specific freelancer reviews and then make a final decision. According to Upwork, writing a winning proposal needs to be crafted well-or it will not get noticed at all.

Getting Noticed

If you want to get more noticed, stop copying and pasting your templates. Instead, craft every single proposal from scratch. You can have a template that you work from and mold for each job. However, if you're sending out a generic copy and paste proposal, you will blend in, and not get noticed. The clients will sense that you're not taking it seriously and they will most likely see you as not the best fit. No matter how much experience you have, make sure that you're writing out every single proposal by hand.

This is going to be on you to take the attention to detail necessary to have success. It's easy to just blame the process, or to blame it on the competition when you don't get noticed, but it's all on you. So don't blame it on other people, look at where you can get better as you craft your proposals.

> Other ways to get your potential client’s attention is to:

Keep your proposal to the point and avoid unnecessary length

Start the application with your client's name or company name

Answer all their questions outlined in their job description

Mention results you’ve driven for a similar brand or type of project

Start the proposal off by talking about the client's needs and their job posting before talking about yourself. This is a powerful way to get more noticed because it shows them you read their job posting and are there for them, and not just for a quick payday.

A lot of freelancers often make the mistake of copying and pasting the same proposal to every client because it's so tempting to do. But in reality, that is a sure way to get the clients to throw out your proposal immediately. So the sooner you can show this proposal is really for them, and not a generic copy & paste message that's unoriginal.

Clients can spot generic cover letters from a mile away. You can tell straight away which cover letters have been thought out in detail or rushed. Sure, It might be easier to have a cover letter that you use to apply for every job position, but you’re not going to land many jobs that way. A general template is good to use as a structure to follow, but spending a 10-20 minutes making it personal is going to provide much better results and land additional jobs.

Think about it, would you hire someone who didn’t put in the effort to write out a formal proposal, or someone who took the time to write it out?

Going Above & Beyond The Competition

Go above and beyond what the competition is going to do will also increase your chances of getting noticed and the opportunity for an interview. Whether you're providing some of your time for free to analyze the project, tell them why you're the best fit. Do everything you can to maximize each job opportunity (aka proposal) by attaching different files, case studies, and past testimonials from previous clients.

When you go above and beyond and take your time to craft a thorough proposal, the client will see that and give you a chance to see why you are the best fit. In their mind, they are evaluating a bunch of different freelancers to determine who is going to make it to the next round. Ask yourself what would they be looking for? Put yourself in the clients shoes and see which type of value you can provide to show them you are worth an interview.

Your entire goal with your proposal is to get it opened and have the client consider you for the job position. If your proposal does not get opened, or if it get's opened but does not make it to the interview round, then the time you put into crafting it goes to waste. Now I'm not saying that you are going to get a response from every single proposal. But I am stating an important point, which is to put your 100% effort into providing a reason for the client to consider you in your proposal. Since you know it will go to waste if it doesn't, use that as fuel and motivation to craft the most thought out proposals so you make the best use of your time.

Quality over quantity is a helpful mantra to keep on a sticky note when working on proposals.

Practicing & Improving

To start to separate yourself from the competition, don’t be hard on yourself. If you don’t get noticed right away, it’s good practice to keep crafting and sending proposals to different job posts Once you do the work, it will pay off, but you need to remember the big picture. Eventually when you find what starts to work for you, begin to model after that. Replicate the same type of proposal that worked for you in the past but personalize it for the job at hand.

An important word of caution: Be careful spending your time applying to tiny jobs or those that aren't worth your time. Make sure you're only applying to the best jobs because every proposal requires a time commitment if you want it to be a winning proposal. But it will pay off if you stick with it. Even one good week of freelancing can change your entire freelance business.

All it takes is a handful of high-paying freelance clients to change your entire income and career trajectory.

In Conclusion

If you want to hear more about how to craft winning proposals on Upwork, I made a YouTube video where I discuss multiple strategies I've learned on my journey that have helped me build better proposals that add value to clients and get noticed.

I also reveal a behind-the-scenes view of what Upwork looks like on the client-side so you can set yourself up for success. Be sure to watch this video for even more freelance value.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

What Is a Freelance Business Consultant?

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 00:58:43 GMT

Discover how valuable your existing knowledge is.

Whether you are already a freelance consultant or are interested in how you can get paid handsomely for your advice, keep reading to discover more about business consulting. Including:

What Is a Business Consultant?

Role of a Business Consultant

Why Companies Hire Consultants

Why Consultants Are Profitable

Breaking down Consultant Myths

How Consultants Can Work Remotely

What is a Business Consultant?

What is a business consultant?

A business consultant is someone who helps provide expert and professional advice. This is based on your past experiences, knowledge, and what value you have to offer. As a freelance consultant, you can:

Solve problems in specific areas within companies

Expand your thinking skills

Sharpen your decision-making

Combine your expertise and value into helpful suggestions

Role of a Business Consultant

As a consultant, your role is researching a specific company and the industry. You're also analyzing the data and you look at what the company is doing and the specific issue at hand. Then you present all of your findings into suggestions. Once you do that, you can share your suggestions to the business on how they can implement those changes to help solve their problem.

Why Companies Hire Consultants

The reason companies hire business consultants is because they need advice and help tackling specific problems. Consulting is increasing in demand due to companies seeing the value of bringing someone on-board that already has the expertise that is needed. A lot of times they need a consultant's help to figure out where the company can make more money or where the business is spending too much money.

Companies can also hire consultants to train their staff on how to do certain skills or services. You can train them in person or online. Your earning potential as a consultant who trains people is very large because you're teaching their employees how to solve issues. When you can tie yourself to the business that you are working with and help them make more money with your solutions, you will become immensely valuable to have on their team.

It all comes down to understanding why and how companies are hiring freelance consultants and then positioning yourself to take advantage of this opportunity.

Why Consultants Are Profitable

How Much Do Consultants Get Paid?

Providing advice can make you a high-paid consultant. Being a business consultant is one of the most lucrative roles you can find yourself in as a freelancer. This is because business consultants can earn $100+ an hour for their time and their expert advice. (If you are a new consultant, this is not guaranteed that you can start making hundreds of dollars right away.)

Consultants also have the ability to work on multiple clients simultaneously, which increases the consultant's revenue streams and income. If you are new to consulting, focus on building up your portfolio and earning good reviews. Through consistent effort and work is when you will see how lucrative this position can be, even on a part-time basis.

If you want some inspiration, go on Upwork.com and look at different freelance consultants and see how much they're making. Here are some successful examples of business consultants:

https://www.upwork.com/hire/business-consultants/

The online shift to hiring freelancers has allowed freelance consultant's to create extremely profitable businesses, all by providing their knowledge, advice, and expertise on a subject matter. Now companies can access high-end consultants from different areas of the world at the click of a button.

That leads us to the future. In order to have success in any industry it's important to recognize the direction each niche is heading. As for business consulting, the demand is increasing for specialized consultants who can help companies solve problems, develop strategies, and implement more efficient systems. This has made freelance business consulting one of the top in-demand services to provide.

Breaking Down Consultant Myths

The Top Myths Of Business Consulting

One of the biggest myths in consulting is that you need to have a certain college degree or a form of a certification to be a consultant. But, in reality, all you need is your advice and expertise. Having a certification does help, but that shouldn't hold you back from starting if you don't have one. If you can provide results, build your portfolio up, and build case studies that show that you've helped companies in the area of consulting that you're providing, that's how you're going to be able to start to get ahead of the competition and grow as a consultant.

Also, don’t let the fear of not having a certification hold you back from thinking you won’t get hired. Companies are not only looking at if you have a college degree or what it says on paper to qualify you. They want to know what you can do for them and how you have helped companies in the past drive results.

For example, if you're an online ad consultant for businesses and you go to a company and you say "I helped another company that's just like yours get a 500% return on investment."

That will stick out a lot more to a potential client than if your resume says "I graduated with a marketing degree."

They want to see that you can produce results, that’s what they care about. So until you get out there and you make a difference in companies and gather case studies, that is really what can help you stand out to get hired even if you don't have a degree or certification.

How Consultants Can Work Remotely

Another freelance myth is that business consultants need to provide their services in person and be "face to face" in order to conduct business. Or that consultants "constantly need to be meeting up with people and traveling all over and taking flights."

This is not true thanks to the acceleration of remote-based work. You no longer have to do everything in-person to deliver you value and results. You can do it at the comfort of your own home, or wherever you are that day of the meeting. As long as you have access to the internet and a phone, you can work from anywhere and experience the freedom that true freelancing provides.

In order to become the best business consultant and provide the best value, I suggest having the following equipment:

An internet connection
A computer with a webcam
A decent microphone
Good lighting

With that basic setup, you can start to be a high-end business consultant and help businesses from anywhere in the world. You can provide your services virtually through screen share meetings, through ongoing emails, or on conference calls. As you can start to see, whether you want to work in person, or remotely as a business consultant, the option is there for you.

In Conclusion

In Conclusion - A business consultant provides their knowledge and their expertise to help companies solve problems. You can only do so much for your hourly work as a traditional freelancer. Once you start to go towards that consultant level where you're providing your expertise and value for money, instead of trading your time for money, that's when you will start to see a big shift in your freelancing career and earnings.

If you want to hear more about this, I made a video outlining how you can get paid for your advice, knowledge, and expertise as a freelance business consultant.

>>> Click here to watch my new YouTube video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

The #1 Website Builder For Freelancers & Agencies

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 03:06:19 GMT

Discover why Duda is a good platform to use as a freelance web designer to get clients and earn money...

In today's marketplace, there are many different kinds of brands and businesses that are shifting more online. From a marketing standpoint and even from an operational standpoint, more people are using e-commerce. This means that companies are delivering items instead of going into stores. This shift online has also drawn in a lot of lead-driven businesses that are increasing their online activity. All of this results in a higher demand for freelancers who provide website design services.

Your potential to succeed as a freelancer is also based on which skill you provide. With website design, you are helping business owners who are entering the online marketplace and need a new website for their business. Even if it's just a new landing page for a new product or service that they offer, this is where you can come in and help them as a freelancer. Keep reading down below to discover how to be a successful freelance web designer.

Why Use Duda As A Freelance Web Designer
How To Use Duda For Your Clients
If You Have Zero Experience, It's No Problem
Duda Vs Other Platforms
Duda Vs SquareSpace
Duda Vs WordPress
Why Duda is #1

Why Use Duda As A Freelance Web Designer

Why Duda? To be a successful freelance web designer, you need to align yourself with a good platform to perform your services. The most underrated platform that I love to build websites on is called Duda. co because this platform is good for growing your freelance business and scaling your web design agency.

This platform is good for freelance beginners and agencies and is able to create a variety of sites for clients and there's no coding required. It's all drag and drops and Duda is targeted towards someone who doesn’t have any experience building websites yet and is willing to dedicate some time to learn how to build websites with a specific tool.

You don’t have to be technically based on Duda. You can be more on the design side with this platform and be able to produce professional websites that can be sold for thousands of dollars. The most important thing with web design is to be able to tell a story and to guide users through a journey that leads them to a specific call to action. Whether that be generating a phone call, filling out a form on the website, buying a product online, etc.

There also is a lot of new potential with Duda because this platform is growing by adding new tools and features. All these new capabilities will help you bring your websites to the next level. Duda provides easy to use design features that make it a breeze to personalize a website for any type of client.

Since it's all drag and drop, even after you have chosen a template you can customize the entire website with ease. Duda has what's called "Widgets", which are drag-and-drop sections you can add to any page of the site.

My website Profitablefreelancer.com (the one you are on right now) is built on Duda. I went with this platform because after testing every other drag-and-drop editor as a freelancer, I discovered Duda is the best way to grow a freelance web design business. The entire software itself is based on you as the freelancer being able to resell your website design services.

How To Use Duda For Clients - You can use Duda to build a website for a local restaurant or a new food truck or that new business which opened near you. You can even use it as a way to get new clients. So instead of just reaching out to a client and trying to say that you're the best fit for them to be their web designer, you can build a mock website and send them a preview of it.

If You Have Zero Experience, It's No Problem - Duda has a University which is awesome because it teaches you the web design best practices as well as provides tutorials on how to build high-converting websites. One of my favorite parts about the platform is that they are constantly evolving and adding new features based on their user's feedback. They also have great customer service which is extremely helpful if you run into any challenges. Most other website platforms won't give you a number you can reach them on at most times of the day, but Duda does.

Duda vs. Other Platforms

Duda vs. SquareSpace - When comparing the two, there are some glaring differences when looking at Duda vs. SquareSpace . While SquareSpace provides a drag-and-drop website site builder to create websites, it's not designed for you to grow a freelance web design business on that platform.

With the Duda website builder, it’s easy to get a site up and running in no time at all. When it comes to template variety, the platform is practically unmatched by others in the field. The interface, with drag-and-drop functionality, makes Duda extremely user-friendly. For this reason, it is perfect for an agency or a freelancer looking to build multiple sites quickly.

It's meant for people that want to build websites for different types of clients and be able to manage everything in one place. Also, to be able to have white-label capabilities so the client can log into a website that has your logo on it and you're fully in control of their site is another massive benefit Duda has over SquareSpace.

To Recap : SquareSpace doesn't offer any white label tools or features like Duda. There are also no coding skills required to use SquareSpace, but the editor is known to be hard get the hand of and navigate at first. Here are Duda stats on the comparison between the two so you can see how each holds up:

To see more stats and comparision between Duda and SquareSpace, click here to see!

Duda vs. WordPress - Duda is becoming a more popular website platform than WordPress because all different kinds of freelancers and web design agencies are realizing the amount of time that can be saved. Duda helps you build drag-and-drop responsive websites. This feature allows your website to look good on any single device type whether it be on mobile, tablet, or desktop, you can make sure it looks good.

WordPress on the other hand typically takes the help of a web developer to get most websites up and running. In addition, the ease of use is considerably lower on WordPress compared to Duda, which is understandable. WordPress does suit some types of freelancers best if they already have experience on there. However, if you are new to web design and are looking to grow your freelance business or agency, Duda was built exactly for you.

Here are the analytics on how Duda compares to WordPress:

Why Duda is #1 - Duda provides a plethora of advantages over its competition. Those include its quick adoption period, competitive priced hosting plans, and the value it provides with client management features.

You truly do not need a website developer at all. You can do this all on your own and that's where you can start to cut out a lot of the extra costs typically associated with building websites for clients. Instead of having to pay a developer hundreds if not thousands of dollars to build the back-end of the website on WordPress, you can increase your profit margin by building the website yourself on Duda.

In addition, Duda provides a great platform for you to charge monthly for your freelance services. For example, your ongoing tasks could include the hosting plan, website content updates, SEO optimizations, etc.

Whereas if you just build a website one time for a client and you don't build it on a platform that you can take advantage of like this you will be leaving so much money on the table. Click here to read more about Duda and why it is a better option than any other in-house CMS (client management systems) here .

“You won't be disappointed with Duda. The typical ‘oh no's’ associated with other CMS platforms are delightfully absent from this one.”

-JEREMY GOLDSBOROUGH

In Conclusion

Duda is the best option in my opinion if you are looking to build websites for clients as a freelancer. A lot of people don't know about Duda yet, but once I stumbled upon this platform I realized how its a great all-around fit and checks all of the boxes in what you want or would need in a website builder.

Whether you're already offering web design services and you're looking for a new platform, or you've never designed a website before, I highly recommend trying out Duda.co. If you want to see more about Duda, check out my new video where I go more in-depth about using Duda to have freelance success!

>> Click here to watch!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

How To Get Upwork Clients Without Freelance Experience

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 02:01:37 GMT

Discover how to land Upwork freelance clients even if you have zero experience...

When you are an aspiring freelancer or looking to advance in your career, it’s common to wonder how you can land more clients on Upwork or how you can get started without any freelance experience at all. If this is you, keep reading because down below I cover multiple ways you can begin to gain an edge over the competition by identifying what freelance skills are the most in-demand. Then, I share my personal experiences on the platform and how I started out landing clients on Upwork. Whether you are eager to start freelancing and need help landing that first Upwork client, or you are just interested in how to make money as a freelancer, then this blog is for you!

Market Research For In-Demand Skills

Align Yourself With A Platform

How To Get Clients On Upwork

How To Get Certified

Market Research For In-Demand Skills

When you start to think about what skill you want to provide on Upwork and what kind of services, my suggestion is to do market research and look at what are the in-demand skills right now. Look at what skill is being hired for on Upwork and once you start to understand what businesses are hiring freelancers for it will help niche down on a skill you can start providing.

G o to Upwork.com and navigate to their homepage and you will see a lot of different top skill suggestions that you can research further into that are on the rise. Some of their top skills listed are:

Upwork will tell you what skills to focus on and you can see a lot of skills that are in-demand and on the rise right now. Upwork has all of that data on the back end; they know what freelancers are making money and what kind of businesses are hiring freelancers for. So I suggest you do some research before you even start to offer any services. This is the first step before you go out there and land a client. The building blocks of becoming a successful freelancer on Upwork are first finding what skills are in-demand, and seeing what people are going to pay for.

The beauty of freelancing is that anyone can have success and can find something they are good at. As a freelancer, you can have the freedom to choose what you want to do. When it comes to providing different services, ask yourself what are you going to sell, and what is the skill that will allow you to have the life you dream of? Make sure you find an in-demand skill that you best resonate with and can see yourself doing for a long time.

Align Yourself With A Platform

Align yourself with a trusted platform as a freelancer to build your credibility and to become a specialist that caters to a specific niche. Once you start to find what you like the best and what aligns with your personality type the most, that's when you want to start to find a platform that best aligns with you. That is how you're going to get an in-demand skill to the marketplace and also be able to differentiate yourself as a specialist in that platform you chose.

There are many platforms in which you can provide freelance services surrounding, including:

When you find a platform to get good on, you now will be able to become more than just a generalist. For example, if you’re a video editor now, you can leverage that skill on the platform YouTube and become a ‘rock star YouTube video editing master.’ Whatever your skill is, and the platform you align with, get more specific because that's what clients are going on to Upwork and looking for to hire. They're not just looking for a very ‘general job’ filled.

Now sometimes there are sometimes bigger corporations looking to fill ‘managerial roles.’ But for the most part, a lot of these profitable freelance opportunities are in the form of ‘specialist roles’ looking for a ‘YouTube Marketer’ or looking for someone to develop a Shopify store, a WordPress website, etc. So when you align yourself with the platform that also gives you the ability to leverage the platform's free resources, free content, and all their educational resources so you can start to absorb how to be the best at that platform you picked. You don’t need experience yet, this is to do with all about setting yourself up.

When I started freelancing on Upwork, I worked a lot on building an amazing portfolio with good reviews, and staying in my lane developing credibility and experience on whichever platform(s) you choose. Know that you're not stuck to it and you can always change. Sticking with the platform of your choice will help you get certified. That will let you start to benefit from aligning yourself with the platform that you already established yourself on. Being known on a platform helps you build trust and credibility with clients and that's what helps you separate yourself from the competition. Just a couple of certifications can change the game and get you more clients.

How To Get Clients On Upwork

In order to get more freelance clients on Upwork it's important to focus on your own self pursuit of self improvement. What I mean by that is don't get discouraged from the competition and let that discourage you from ever getting started. Too many new freelancers focus on the competition which can end up setting them back.

Instead, focus on:

Building your portfolio
Creating good case studies
Using third party data
Getting 5 star reviews and testimonials

Don’t be scared to take a couple of smaller projects to start to gain experience and get yourself in the algorithm to work your way up. That’s how I started (two thirty-dollar projects) and now I have multiple multi-thousand dollar contracts going on with clients all from Upwork. When you focus on fully building out your profile and gaining valuable experience , you will be able to start to win more jobs on Upwork.

Also, on Upwork there is a new feature called Project Catalog™ . As a freelancer, this is an additional way for clients to find you and for you to sell more projects without having to go and send proposals out. Upwork said:

“With Project Catalog” you can create a powerful new revenue stream, based on the work you love the most."

Their purpose with this project is to “help you make the most of your time so you can do more of the work you love.” This is a great way for a lot of people to land more high-paying clients and better utilize the platform. So when you are on your Upwork profile check out a tab called 'My Project Dashboard.' This feature has already generated freelance clients for me weeks after I created one.

> I have a YouTube video describing how you can use the ‘Project Catalog’ on Upwork to land more clients. Click to watch that video here .

Get Certified

Taking an online freelance course is a fantastic way to learn and develop your skills. To be a successful freelancer, it takes commitment and continuous self-development to achieve your full potential. Investing your money and time in yourself is always encouraged if you want to have a long-term successful career. It no longer takes a college education to understand a topic or learn a skill that can make you a substantial yearly income.

With the internet, we have access to so many resources and online courses to learn a new skill as a freelancer. For example, Google provides a lot of free training resources. I'm certified in Google Ads on a different number of platforms as well as a Google Partner Agency. Being certified gives you more credibility to your name especially if you just started freelancing and don’t have any experience yet or have a little bit of experience with some reviews on Upwork. Getting certified will have you stand out from the competition and give you the opportunity to land more clients. This doesn’t have to take four years of school to achieve, there are plenty of resources for you to choose from to advance your skill-set as a freelancer that are both paid and free options.

If you want to learn more about how to land clients on Upwork , I created an extremely affordable course that teaches you how to build a profitable freelance business by providing skills to freelance clients on Upwork. It's over 10 hours of content and it'll show you everything from:

Setting your profile up to have success
How to pinpoint where the best clients are
How to find those high ticket clients
How to create those winning proposals that actually get clients attention

>> Watch the first lesson for free here and save 90% if you buy <<

In Conclusion

It's all about identifying first what freelance in-demand skill aligns best with your personality type. Then finding which platform to provide services on and then taking action to start earning more money by providing them.

Don’t let your lack of experience hold you back from getting started. Remember to be proud of who you are as a freelancer and the talent that you have right now. Each freelancer is unique and different types of clients will resonate with different types of freelancers. You just have to have confidence in yourself to put yourself out there with the knowledge you already have within and give the most value possible.

There's always competition but you have to start somewhere. The more you practice and get feedback from your clients, the better you’ll get. If you resonated with this blog and want to learn more about how you can land clients without any freelance experience then click here to watch my new video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

How To Quit Your 9-5 Job To Start Freelancing

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 02:26:31 GMT

Discover how to set yourself up to have the most success when you go into business on your own...

Many people this past year have shifted their focus to starting freelancing. They are realizing all the downsides to working a 9-5 job and how working for someone else does not align with them. To be able to leave your 9-5 you need to build the foundation to leave and have a predictable stream of income. Here are the three steps to set yourself up and have the most success when you go into business on your own.

Develop Your Skill-Set
Get Proof Of Concept
Have An Emergency Fund

1) Develop Your Skill-Set

The first step to leaving your 9-5 job is to start developing your skill-set. You will need to find a skill that suits your personality type best that is also in demand. If you already have skills and you want to go into business for yourself, start to develop your skills more.

Many people miss this crucial part. When people want to leave their nine to five they mentally check out before they quit. Instead of doing that you should be doing the opposite, you should go all-in on that job. This is how you can start to develop your skill-set or further develop it. Other ways you can craft your skill is through:

Reading Niche Related Books

Taking An Online Course

Joining a Community Group

Seeking Out a Mentor

The more you can take advantage of learning opportunities , the more advanced your freelance skill-set will become. There are many ways to develop your skills by consuming content related to your niche.

Read niche related books or helpful articles. There’s an article all about how books can improve your life and career.

Medium quotes “Successful people see books as a gateway to knowledge. As a result, they tend to read books that are going to help them grow their minds and improve their lives. This is important because, the truth is, if you're not learning anything of value, how do you expect your life to change?”

Medium also states “Unfortunately, you can’t remain at the same level of knowledge you have right now and expect to elevate your life. Working 9–5 at a job you hate, for example, and then coming home and reading Harry Potter isn’t going to help you grow. Instead, you need to find books that are going to help you grow in the areas of your life that you want to improve in. For instance, do you want to be financially independent? Then read books like “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Clason or “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi.”

I love this advice because you can’t move the needle in your life if you are not consuming the knowledge you need. To achieve your most desired goals and be financially independent, it requires taking action. Books are a powerful insight and direct guide to the things you want to learn. So I encourage you to go pick up a book that can help advance you in your freelance career.

“Those who read seven or more books per year are more than 122 percent more likely to be millionaires as opposed to those who never read or only read one to three books.”

(-Socio-Economist Randall Bell)

Take online courses. Freelance online courses are a great way to learn and develop your skills. To be a successful freelancer, it takes commitment to constant self-development in order to achieve your full potential. Investing your money and time in yourself is always encouraged if you want to have a long-term successful career. It no longer takes a college education to understand a topic or learn a skill that can make you a substantial yearly income.

If you are interested in taking a course related to freelancing, I created an extremely affordable one that teaches you how to build a profitable freelance business by providing skills to freelance clients on Upwork. W atch the first lesson for free here.

Join a community group to develop your skills. Interacting with others that are in the same niche can be an easy way for you to network and learn new things about your specific skill. Online communities are a great place to share both your wins as well as challenges to get feedback from like-minded people.

I'm part of a freelance group called guavabean + Profitable Freelancer Community Group . This is a professional & positive place for freelancers to connect and share support around our shared mission. This growing freelance community offers support, work from home tips, job opportunities, networking opportunities, inspiration, free monthly workshops, and more! Click to join here .

Seek out a mentor if you’re unsure which skill to dive into that best suits your personality. A mentor also can provide helpful tips about which skills to work on and how to go about acquiring them. Plus, you’re bound to learn something new by someone who has more experience in what you want to do. Whatever it is you use to advance your learning will help build those skills. You can even start to look for other positions that you can do as a side hustle. This is how you're going to be able to start to trade your value for money instead of trading your time for money.

As a freelancer or consultant, you are no longer tied to making an hourly amount like you were in your 9-5. When you work for yourself, you can earn how much you want. Being in control of your earnings and working for yourself is what makes freelancing a more stable and secure career path. Start to focus on developing an in-demand skill on the side as the first step to leaving your nine to five. I talk more about developing your skill-set and how to work from home as a freelancer here.

2) Get Proof Of Concept

The second step to leaving your nine to five is to get hands-on with delivering your services . The best way to start a freelance business while working another job is to get ‘proof of concept.’ This is once you've established your skill. Proof of concept in business is where you go out into the marketplace and prove if something is going to work.

How you can get proof of concept as a freelancer is by actually selling your services that you're offering in the real-world marketplace. Proof of concept is a way to legitimize that people actually want the services you're selling. So before you put your 2 weeks in at your 9-5, you need to make sure that your service or product is not a one-time thing. Ensure that the demand for your service or skill will be around for a while and isn't based on a recent trend. When you have proven to yourself that you can earn money online as a freelancer the proof will put you in a more powerful position in life. In case any unexpected expense comes up, you now know you can go online and land another paying client because your service or product is in-demand.

Once you’ve come up with your goals and committed to start your freelance business on the side, start to network . You can do this outside of your nine to five hours and on nights and weekends. The people who are dedicated are the ones that can and will build freedom in their life.

The next step is getting your name out there. Offer your services to people who might need your help, or who might know other people who need your services. After you start getting proof of concept, you want to also develop case studies to attract new clients. Case studies allow you to showcase specific projects you’ve done in the past and highlight your areas of success. Once you get real-world data, testimonials, and solid reviews is when your freelancing journey is truly ready to begin and take off.

3) Have An Emergency Fund

Whether you're going into business as a freelancer or a consultant, it does not matter what trajectory you go on. What matters is that you have an emergency fund as a back-up. Those who don't have this find themselves in that repeated cycle of never being able to escape the 9-5 grind. Sometimes people try to go out on their own and it doesn't work and then they find themselves back in another 9-5 job because they didn't plan ahead. Saving an emergency fund up is crucial if you want to leave your current job comfortably and permanently.

If you want to start freelancing the right way, building a predictable income is the foundation for any profitable business. To do this, it's advised to build up an emergency fund of six months or even a year worth of your monthly expenses. This is what's going to help you build that cushion. If an emergency happens and your income declines, having your cushion is going to be crucial. When you’re working for yourself, you no longer have that ‘Friday’ pay-check coming in from your 9-5. It’s up to you to make that income and to have your emergency fund for whatever unexpected thing comes up in your life.

If you skip this step and don't build up that savings cushion, you are risking all your hard work and time you invested in your pursuit. When you make the jump to freelancing, you do not want to go back to the 9-5 world. So make sure you have a savings cushion beneath you so you never have to look back.

In Conclusion

Freelancing is one of the most exciting and sensible side hustles you can start on the side of your 9-5. With dedication and consistency, it can build a more secure future for you and your family. Before leaving your 9-5, make sure to follow these three steps which will help you establish a rock-solid foundation.

Then, develop your skills and get your proof of concept. Lastly, save up an emergency fund cushion. Once you've done those three steps, you will be in the best position to have the most success when you start working for yourself. It all begins by you deciding you're going to do it and then taking action so that you can create the life you want. If you want to see more on this topic, I recently made a new video on how to leave your 9-5 to start freelancing. Click to watch here.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Do Freelancers Earn a Lot of Money?

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 01:05:51 GMT

Discover why freelance annual earnings are in the trillions...

Down below I bust the common myth that "freelancers can't earn a lot and don't have a predictable source of income.” Keep reading to see how this common myth of freelancers not earning a lot is simply not true so you can see what your earning potential would be in this industry and what the reality of earning a living as a freelancer is like. Instead of getting into specific details of how much freelancers earn, I will share five freelance earnings stats to give you an idea about how much freelancers make and three success stories to show you that making $6k+ a month through freelancing is not impossible.

Debunking The Freelance Earning Myth
5 Freelance Earnings Stats
#1-Freelance Success Story
#2-Freelance Success Story
#3-Freelance Success Story

Debunking The Freelance Earnings Myth

There are many myths associated with freelancing that often will hold aspiring people back from pursuing freelancing as their career full-time. This is why I am here to shed some light on the benefits of the lucrative side to freelancers. First off, there’s no definite answer to how freelancers get paid or how much you can make as a freelancer because it depends on your services, how many hours you're putting in, the amount of experience you have, and the type of skills you’ve developed over-time. As long as you stick with building long-term clients, build out your foundations, be consistent and focus on providing in-demand services to your clients, you will not have to worry about having enough money for bills again. Freelancing lets you decide the rate you’ll charge for your work, and when you work with a good client, they will be more than happy to pay you what you’re worth and even give you referrals (which is highly encouraged to try and get from every client you work with). The truth is, the only limit in earning more money as a freelancer, is yourself. We are in the digital era where earning money online is easily accessible to anyone who takes advantage of providing an in-demand service. Millions of people are discovering that they do not identify with working a traditional job, so they have turned to freelance as a full-time or part-time career.

With the rise of freelancing more and more people are now exploring more flexible employment options beyond the 9-to-5 world, primarily for the flexible work-life balance and benefits that freelancing offers. However, there are still some who still ponder leaving their current 9-5 stressful jobs to go out on their own but are unable to do so out of fear of losing their job security, not getting paid on time, or letting deep-rooted limiting beliefs hold them back. They also might even have heard some of these false freelancing myths that “you can’t earn a lot” and this can hold back people from ever trying out to see if freelancing is a good fit for them or not.

While others are still pondering if they want to try freelancing, the independent workforce has fueled a surge in the freelancing industry. People are discovering the massive benefits and financial potential that freelancing offers (including business owners and freelancers). The way the workforce is hiring has changed. Business owners are now being more open to hiring freelancers to do tasks for them instead of hiring an employee. This helps cut costs and gives freelancers the opportunity for more work opportunities from home.

Since working from home is now a more popular choice, you now have the freedom to be able to work for yourself, or work remotely as a freelancer. You don’t have to convert to an in-person office space any longer. The reason freelancing is soaring in popularity is that it can change so many people's lives. Once you escape the trap of a 9 to 5, you can start leveraging multiple streams of income and instead of getting paid from one employer for every hour you work, you can work for as many clients as you want and get paid for the value you provide, rather than getting paid for your time. You also will get paid more as a freelancer than your regular 9-5 job. This is because your earning potential as a freelancer is never capped. You are in control of how much you earn. Check out Upwork’s freelance forward's new studies to see how freelancing yearly earnings are in the TRILLIONS and continuing to grow.

Now is the time to start freelancing part-time or full-time because experts are predicting that freelance work is only going to continue to increase. The shift towards eCommerce and online-based work has continued to exponentially accelerate the demand for quality freelance talent. That demand gives many freelancers the ability to earn tenfold what they could ever earn at their corporate job. If you're good at freelancing and working for yourself there is no limit to how much you can grow as a profitable freelancer.

5 Freelance Earnings Stats:

“The majority (60%) of freelancers who left traditional employment now earn more - Almost one in four (23%) said they quit a job with an employer in order to freelance. Of those who earn more, 78% indicated they earned more freelancing within a year or less.”- Upwork

“50% of freelancers say they would not quit freelancing and take a traditional job with an employer -- no matter how much it paid”- Upwork

“Technology is making it easier to find freelance work (73% of freelancers agree, compared to 69% in 2014) 3 in 4 non-freelancers are open to doing additional work outside their primary jobs to earn more money”- Upwork

“31% of freelancers earn $75,000+ a year. Freelancing can be an excellent source of income. In fact, one-third of US freelancers earn $75,000 or more which is up from 16% in 2014.” - 99-Firms Stat

“Freelancers who left their traditional job earn more. According to the freelance statistics for 2020, 1 in 4 freelancers had left their job to start freelancing. 60% of them are earning more than when they had an employer. For 24% of them, it took less than six months to start earning more while for 33% this happened immediately.”- 99-Firms Stat

#1 Freelance Story Success

Who? Alex Fasulo is a 28-year-old girl making $378k a year as a Fiverr freelancer. She doubled her income overnight at age 25 making $15k per month on Fiverr the first year.

How did she become successful? Before she became a profitable freelance writer on Fiverr, she first started posting on Fiverr a few days later after quitting her job. That same night, she went home and opened up to 5 gig offers on Fiverr. In just a few days, she discovered she was going to be able to make it as a full-time freelancer! After she gained an interest in her press release gig she started charging $15. Once she posted online, it sparked a fire in her and she saw that she is as capable of earning fifteen-twenty dollars a day and that she didn’t have to go back to a job she hated. Later after she started getting gigs on Fiverr, Alex decided to expand her earnings and go bigger by asking herself “what if I could earn one hundred dollars a day?” As she continued to provide services on Fiverr as a freelance writer working full-time remotely and providing e-books and blog posts for $1,000 for an Ebook, she started to advance in success. In May 2020 she made over $36,000 that month. Now she is making three thousand dollars per month and can cover all of her bills. If you want to see the full-story I made a reaction video on her click here to watch .

Her 'why' for freelancing: Before becoming a freelancer in 2016, Alex worked in PR and made $36,000 a year. She felt out of place in this corporate job and was so unhappy with her job. Alex was tired of only having enough money to pay the bills and she found out that the corporate world just wasn't for her. She knew there was another way that fit her creative personality better and her earning potential better. She only had enough money in my bank account to cover her bills for three months. So she decided something needs to change, and that she can not keep doing this cycle, and decided to ditch the 9 to 5 for a life of freelancing. She wanted to be able to work on her own business and to be able to travel as much as she wants with no schedule or money restrictions.

Alex’s entrepreneur journey after ditching the 9 to 5 work schedule and being able to work on her own business and travel as much as she wants is truly inspiring and the same reason as to why I chose to freelance to unlock my freedom too!

#2 Freelance Story Success

Who? Joel Young is a 34-year-old and a dad of two who made $1.5+ million off his side hustle on Fiverr. He is a well known popular success story on Fiverr.

How? Joel went on Fiverr and offered voice-over services. Within one month, he made $400 doing voice-over gigs for $5 each. Over one year, he made $34,000 shooting videos, voice-overs, testimonial videos, and explainer animation videos. His wife has also started helping with the business. He started making so much money from his services on Fiverr and was able to pay off the family’s debt after 18 months. Now since selling his first service, Young has made more than $1.5 million in income on the Fiverr platform.” quote by CNBC Make It .

His 'why' for Freelancing: Joel Young was a former musician and pastor at his local church. He needed additional voice-over work done for him for his video project at church. He hired a professional and then saw the guy was charging $5-$10 each. His wife said that he could do voice-overs and that he already has his voice and a microphone to get started! He also was 50k deep in medical debt and needed a way to pay all of those hospital bills off. Joel quoted his reason for going freelancing: “It was honestly only just the stability and the freedom that I concentrated on. It was about what this way of life meant to my family, what freedom would enable us to do. This is an amount of money that would have taken me decades to earn without this platform.”-Joel stated. Freelancing and going on Fiverr was the solution for Joel and his family to get out of debt and evolved into a lucrative side hustle. The summer of 2014 was when Joel realized he was making more money freelancing than he had been as a minister job at church, and his side business officially turned into his full-time career.

This is an inspiring story that showed a determined family man making ends meet and finding a profitable side hustle that turned into his only hustle all by simply using his voice, a microphone, and his laptop. Joel Young is a great example that shows how you don’t need fancy equipment, professional skills, or voice acting lessons to get started making a significant income through this platform! Fiverr gives everyday people the ability to create a lucrative side hustle that can even replace their current job. There are hundreds of success stories of people who can earn 6-7 figures on Fiverr just like Joel did.

#3 Freelance Story Success

Who? Morgon Overholt is a successful freelancer who has been on Upwork for two years and makes $200k a year as a graphic designer and does print media and Ad direction.

How? On her first week on Upwork, she charged $20/hour but started raising that rate and has been increasing her rate up ever since. She quotes “Over 75% of my work today comes from ongoing contracts and relationships.” The majority of her income comes from her two main revenue streams. She quotes “Half of my work comes from contacts I’ve procured on my own, mostly by word of mouth, and the other half comes from a freelance website called Upwork.” She stated that “you won’t become a six-figure freelancer overnight but nothing is worth having in life that comes easy.” She quotes: “It would have been all too easy for me to throw in the towel when I didn’t win a single job during my first week on Upwork but I made it my mission to build a stellar Upwork reputation and make freelancing a full-time career and it paid off.”

Her 'why' for Freelancing: Morgon quotes that she is freelancing because: “The biggest factor that I can contribute to my success as a freelancer is the chip on my shoulder from years of office politics in the corporate arena. I worked myself to death only to be told I was too aggressive, too ambitious, and too impatient regularly.” She stated, “I would have done anything to avoid going back to that life.” Morgon knew that freelancing was the best route for her and that she could never go back to working a typical job again.

Morgon’s story is easy to relate to and I think many others can relate to wanting to freelance instead of working the typical 9-5 job too. Her story is inspirational and shows the capability that earning money on Upwork can be a very lucrative career. Upwork is a very trustworthy freelance platform that gives freelancers the ability to create a profitable side hustle or full-time job that can even replace their current job. There are many more success stories of people who can earn 6 figures or more on Upwork just like Morgon did.

In Conclusion:

To wrap it up: Freelancing is a very lucrative career, whether you want to do it on the side or full-time. If you’re currently feeling stuck in your 9-5 and you want to find a better path in your career, try freelancing out on the side. Freelancing is the future and your freelancing earnings are endless especially when you have a passion for what you do.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

3 Ways You Can Scale To Multiple Freelancing or Consulting Clients and Earn More Money

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 02:40:28 GMT

Discover the top three ways you can scale your freelancing or consulting business by growing it to multiple clients…

As a freelancer or consultant, it's important to know how to scale to having multiple clients if you want to be profitable. The whole essence of building a profitable freelance business or building a lucrative side hustle income depends upon your ability to create multiple flows of revenue from diversified sources. Each new client you secure can have a multiplier effect on your income if you leverage it right and it also adds a layer of security and predictabilit y to your yearly and monthly salaries. Scaling takes proper planning and execution to get the most for the time and energy you put in. If you're not able to eventually take your freelancing business to a handful or a dozen of clients then you're not going to be able to have the most success possible.

If you want to do this on a full-time basis, that is what is required because only having one or two clients will not scale you. One of the best things as a freelancer is to have multiple streams of income because when something happens to one of your clients, you still have the clients to support you. Unfortunately, as we have seen with the year 2020 a lot of people relied on only one stream of income that they thought was ‘reliable’ but now they're unemployed. Keep reading down below where I go over three actionable ways you can scale your freelancing or consulting business to multiple clients to put you into the most secure position possible.

Build Effective Systems
Leverage Your Existing Network
Over-Deliver On Value

1) Build Effective Systems

The first way you can scale to multiple clients is to focus on building out effective systems and effective processes. An effective freelance system is relevant in every stage of your freelance client life cycle from when you're prospecting, to when you're on-boarding clients, working with clients, communicating with them and sending them reports, all the way to the time when you’re finishing that project.

An effective system allows you to approach every client project the same way. If you want to be a successful freelancer, you will need to build out an effective system by having a consistent set of tools and have an effective process for each client you will work with. In order for your freelance business to scale, it needs to be able to function on its own without you because If everything relies on you, then your business is going to be limited. This is why having a freelance system is important because it will help you grow your business without needing you to constantly be involved.

Benefits of Having an Effective System are:

Helps you be productive and more profitable
Helps your work more enjoyable and less stressful
Helps you be more organized and collected
Helps you scale to more clients more efficiently

You can also build out effective documents that you can copy over and duplicate and edit for different clients, which can help for any ongoing task you’re doing so it runs more efficiently and saves you time. Pro Tip: The next time you do a project, save everything you do and make it into a template you can replicate for the next task. You can also make scripts for phone calls and save questions to ask. When you have a repeatable set of actions that you can take for every step of the process, it will help you save hours of unnecessary work.

Example of an Effective System Structure:

Qualify and land the client
Reuse your templates, notes and tools
Gather up information
Sign and contract
Create and deliver results
Review with client

What ultimately matters is that you create a personal effective system that works for you and use it to keep your client's work organized. Having effective freelance systems in place will keep you from overworking yourself. In addition, it allows you to foster better relationships with clients because you’re able to dedicate your time towards what matters and not just busy work.

Having pre-defined processes also make the entire journey smoother for both parties. Being organized and having the proper tools to succeed as a freelancer or consultant is not only going to help you land more clients but it's going to help you deliver the best quality of work overall. This will help assure you that you’re putting your energy towards the most productive tasks and not just doing busy work because you skipped building out an effective freelance system, so do not skip this step i f you want to scale to multiple freelancing or consulting clients.

2) Leverage Your Existing Network

The second way you can scale to multiple freelancing or consulting clients is to leverage your existing network . Your existing network is with clients you already worked with and clients you've worked with in the past. An existing network can also be friends or family members. Many freelancers tend to overlook this step because they don't want to talk about business with friends and family, or they hesitate to ask their client for a referral.

This is not going to cut it if you want to scale because in reality you need to market yourself with clients and with friends and family because when you have a freelance service or you're a consultant and you know that you can help businesses, you must go out there and help them. You can’t help anyone if they don’t know who you are or what you can do for them, so you shouldn't feel bad for trying to leverage your inner circle network and see what kind of referrals you can get.

You can start to see who's starting a new business that you can help with and get yourself in the door. Leverage your network every time you get a new client, try to get a referral as soon as you bring them on-board and then every month after that you can try to figure out different systems that work for you to get more clients to touch base with that network. As a freelancer, you should always be looking for strategic ways that will help grow your business. If you aren’t looking for ways to leverage your freelance business, then you’re not going to scale.

“Your workforce is your most valuable asset. The knowledge and skills they have to represent the fuel that drives the engine of business, and you can leverage that knowledge."

-Harvey Mackay

The main goal as a freelancer is to deliver as much value as possible and gain the most trust possible with your clients so all your work pays off in the long-term. Once you get recurring clients it opens up a door for additional opportunities as well. This is why you should leverage your network for referrals, because word of mouth marketing is the most effective type of marketing. People are going to trust their friends and their family members and what they hear much more than a stranger they met online as a freelancer. Having trust through referrals will lead you to more opportunities to get more clients who will be more likely give you a shot and even become long-term clients down the road (which is the ultimate goal). Remember that you're not just a freelancer or consultant, you're in the people business and you need to connect with people and leverage those connections and relationships within your network if you want to be profitable and get multiple long-term clients.

3) Over-Deliver On Value

The third way you can scale the multiple freelancing clients or multiple consulting clients is to deliver extremely good value. When you have that first client or you have a couple of clients and you're already asking yourself "how can I scale to having more clients?" First, ask yourself these questions:

"How can I maximize the value I'm already delivering to my current clients?”

“How can I go so above and beyond that the clients I'm working with now start to leave me amazing reviews and provide me with numerous referrals?”

“How can I help more and go above and beyond?”

If you have a couple of clients that are somewhat satisfied and then you try to immediately get more clients, take a step back and focus on the current clients first by always putting extra time and work into every project you work on. You will see that the client will be more than happy to pay you because you over delivered and helped them with more than they thought they needed. When you start to think about how you can over-deliver in value to clients, you will start to be able to leverage that credibility and build a case study to show future clients that you go above and beyond with all clients and that show that this is the type of value you bring to the table. Having a good case studies in your portfolio and positive reviews is going to help you land more clients in the future. That makes you appear more reliable in their eyes and increases the chances they will turn into a repeat customer of yours.

The goal as a freelancer is to get long-term recurring clients, not find a client and do a one-time project and move on to the next. When you are over-delivering, it will open up a whole world of different referrals and different connections because if one client has a great experience with you, they're going to tell their friends, colleagues and their family. The better service you provide, the more your clients will want to stay with you over the long-term. High-level value is what you should always focus on providing to your client to show them you understand their business and their goals. Working to increase the level of value you provide and building strong relationships will pay off in the end.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, these were three helpful tips that you can use to go out there to start landing more clients. Follow these three tactics that you can build your foundation on by first building your effective systems so everything is repeatable, second to leverage your existing network especially when you get new contacts in, and third to focus on the value you're providing because that is going to pay off for itself in the long-term.

If you want to watch my video on how you can scale to multiple clients, click here to watch it now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

Why Email Marketing Is One Of The Most Underrated Freelance Skills

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 03:23:57 GMT

Discover why Email Marketing is one of the most underrated skills in freelancing right now...

Keep reading to see how you can take advantage of one of the most underrated freelancing services and how you can build a steady stream of income from using Email Marketing. Down below we are going to dive into:

✉️ The Power of Email Marketing
✉️ The Value Email Marketing Can Provide To Any Client You Work With
✉️ The Benefit Of Having Your Own Traffic
✉️ The Power Of Leveraging ActiveCampaign

Email Marketing

What Email Marketing Is - Email Marketing is where you can craft different types of personalized messages, offers and promotions that go out to your client’s company's email subscriber list. This skill also has a high earnings potential up to 6 figures a year. There are a lot of different areas within Email Marketing where you can specialize and focus your skillset around as a freelancer. There are three types of emails you can send for different purposes for your clients such as:

✉️ Broadcast Emails
✉️ Triggered Emails
✉️ Targeted Emails

When you broadcast emails, you can reach out to everyone in the business list and do a certain promotion or announce when something new happens. Then there are triggered emails and this is where it will send an email if someone takes a specific action on the company's website. Then there are targeted emails where you can send out emails to specific segments of your audience and personalize your messaging. Email Marketing is also known as a ‘database management’ and a (CRM) which is known as a ‘customer relationship manager.’

The Benefits of Using Email Marketing For Clients - Email marketing is more than just sending one email out to your list once in a while. It's getting more sales, segmenting your list and growing your brand loyalty. ActiveCampaign is a great tool for freelancers to help them with their clients and their database . Through Email Marketing you can get to know your audience’s habits, interests and even gain feedback. You can also with the right email service provider be able to track what links readers are showing interest in through your emails and see which contact is specifically clicking links to.

This can help you understand what content you’re putting out is getting the most click-rates and interest. You can provide Email Marketing services by using platforms such as ActiveCampaign or Constant Contact . I explain more in depth what ActiveCampaign is further down in this blog. Constant Contact is an email marketing service that allows you to manage your subscribers and create professional designs with templates and easy drag-and-drop editing tools.

As a freelancer you can benefit from using Email Marketing for your clients by:

✉️ Massive Traffic Potential - ( This can allow for much higher conversion rates by being able to target those who already have an interest in the business’s brand .)

✉️ Deliver Specialized and Targeted Messages - ( Companies that see the best results from their email marketing are segmenting data and campaigns to ensure that they’re sending the most relevant message to their audience .)

✉️ Drive Large Revenue - ( With tempting CTA’s and good marketing to your clients products, email marketing makes it easy for the user to buy with two clicks of a button through the email. )

✉️ Have Brand Impact - (Your client's brand can have a huge impact by getting in front of their audience through emails, and stay on the consumers mind .)

Email Marketing Benefits As a Freelancer - There are many benefits to Email Marketing as a freelancer, to start you can leverage your client’s company's existing database of email contacts through Email marketing. Think of this as 'networking for businesses'. You can even have more of a chance of getting in front of your targeted audience by having a weekly newsletter twice a week. This is an area where your sales and brand reach can massively benefit from because it will get your audience excited for your email every week and it will grow trust if you provide consistent value. Also, by having an email newsletter, you can create more of a relationship with your audience and can craft personalized messages to who you want to specifically target.

Email Marketing can also help you segment the different types of user experience because not all of your audience will be in the same category, some may be new audiences to you or a long-time follower. Through Email Marketing you can tap into lists of people who have already bought from your clients’ business and be able to provide the company more revenue which can earn you a spot on their team possibly for months or for the long-term if you do well. You can add tremendous value to freelance clients and then be able to charge higher rates for your services.

Why Email Marketing is Underrated in Freelancing - This skill is simply underrated due to it being overlooked for its true marketing potential and impact. A lot of times businesses either aren't doing Email Marketing at all because they haven’t discovered the power in using it, or they're not doing it enough and are missing out. Most of the time businesses already have a list they paid for of people to get in front of and created a list of email contacts but they're not doing anything with it or trying to maximize it. Or they're not building multiple automations to reach their marketing goals. This skill is also underrated because most people’s mindset may think that Email Marketing is not ‘cool’ or is following the stigma that this skill is ‘dead.’ This is where Email Marketing is underrated the most due to the unawareness of how powerful this skill truly is. Email Marketing is anything but dead, it is thriving. In fact, according to Hubspot :

“99% of (business) people check their email everyday.”

This shows that email marketing is far from dead if done correctly. It is an extremely high-paying freelance skill which is highly overlooked for the most part. Most marketers think these days that all the attention and audience is on social media. The true way to get in front of your dream 100 and get them to become long-term customers is not through ‘hooking them on a post’ through social media, it’s by getting in their personal inbox and sending them a personalized targeted message every week. If you can embrace this as a freelancer, no matter what skill or service you're currently providing, this is going to help you have much more success because when you're able to offer an automation solution to someone, you're going to help them make more money.

Understanding The Power Of Having Your Own Traffic - A lot of times businesses are missing out on massive conversions because they are not properly reaching out to their database or they don’t have an automation built out to reach their audience. No matter what you're doing in business, it’s important to have an email list. This is how you stay in touch with your audience and the more you grow your email list, the more people you can pitch your services to and the more conversions you will have. Through Email Marketing you are no longer depending on social media to be your ultimate traffic source. You don't have to be at mercy to the all-mighty algorithm when you own a list of contacts that you can email at any time. In fact, a major traffic secret is to use Email Marketing because that’s where you own your traffic. If you own your email list then no one can take those leads away from you, whereas on a platform you are not in control of your audience.

On the other hand, if you are on any social media platform then you are at risk of your account being suspended or deleted at any time without notice. Having your own email list is truly the holy grail of any business because that's their database of all of the interested people that have willingly given their email address, their name, even their address to a business or brand. Information like that to a business is so valuable because those contacts are a bunch of people who showed interest in their business but haven't converted yet or may be a repeat customer if tempted. That is where you can use Email Marketing as a security to being able to have those contacts for sure without being at risk of your traffic being taken away at any moment by these large social media platforms.

Leveraging ActiveCampaign

Image by ActiveCampaign

“Put the right emails in front of the right people”

-ActiveCampaign

Leveraging ActiveCampaign With Clients - With ActiveCampaign, you can help your clients craft specialized messages, promotions, and recent events, out to businesses or clients you are working with. You no longer have to send out a campaign update to your entire email list because with ActiveCampaign those days are over. You can now leverage ActiveCampaign and help companies in any industry, including:

✉️ E-commerce
✉️ Digital business
✉️ B2B
✉️ Brick & Mortar

ActiveCampaign allows you to send exactly what your contacts want, when they want it. That's how you're going to get open rates that are going to propel forward any business you work with as a freelancer. Marketing automation is another powerful tool to embrace that ActiveCampaign provides. Email marketing automation gives you the functionality to set up a sequence of different emails a prospect will receive, based on a specific situation. This grants the ability to craft an ultra-targeted and personal experience for each user, which results in more sales in the end. Here is a business testimonial of how Koia leveraged their brand by using ActiveCampaign and grew their online sales by 92%!

Image by ActiveCampaign

According to ActiveCampaign , This business brand named “Koia” used their experience automation to “grow their online sales by 92%.” They told ActiveCampaign that they wanted more control over their subscribers and better tracking along with the ability to create different customer engagement programs, and have more visibility to maximize their sales and marketing. ActiveCampaign helped them by being able to send personalized messages based on their customers' locations and preferences. According to Koia:

“ActiveCampaign is so flexible. I was able to create a loyalty program that has helped us learn more about our customers and keep them engaged. We are now understanding our customers better and becoming more personal at every touchpoint.”

According to ActiveCampaign, since using their email automation tools, the Koia brand has greatly benefited and seen a measurable increase across multiple areas.

✉️ “10K new email addresses acquired per month”
✉️ “65% cost savings to acquire a customer”
✉️ “92% increase in online sales in 3 months”

Koia’s desire was to have more access to email tools, better marketing automation, and have more control within their emails to create the best experience possible for their customers. ActiveCampaign quotes that “the Koia team needed the ability to control the exact flows and be more flexible through automation.” They also stated that “Koia wanted to learn more about their customers.” This is where ActiveCampaign helped them craft personalized messages to all of their email subscribers. Due to the many beneficial business reasons, this is why Koia chose ActiveCampaign as their “Customer Experience Automation platform.” With ActiveCampaign, the Koia team said they are continuing to learn more about each of their email subscribers and that they’re looking at using the information that they gather with ActiveCampaign to introduce new drink flavors! (their drinks are delicious by the way!)

Koia Image by ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign quoted: “Customer Experience Automation let’s the Koia team create a personalized experience that delights customers, builds brand advocacy and continues to grow their business with their customers top-of-mind.” To read more about their experience with ActiveCampaign check out this article .

In Conclusion

In Conclusion - If you want to be a profitable freelancer you need to look at how you can help companies make more money. When you can tap into your clients database and show them immense value by helping them grow and get more revenue and repeat customers, this is how you can separate yourself from the competition and gain long-term clients.

If you want to expand your client base, grow your income, and have a successful freelance business, you need to pick up Email Marketing and Marketing Automation as a skill. If you want to know more about how Email Marketing works in ActiveCampaign as well as discover examples of how to set up an email automation for your client, then Click here to watch my new video now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level? Learn the skills you need today to offer an in-demand services by tomorrow.

9 Freelance Sales Tips To Land More High-Paying Clients

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 02:51:25 GMT

Discover how you can sell more of your services and land high-paying clients…

Knowing how to sell yourself is the number one asset to getting clients. It’s more than simply putting your name out there or building a profile and having the mindset that clients will automatically come to you. You need much more than that. Keep reading down below to discover the Top 9 Freelance Sales Tips that will help you land more clients.

Get High-Paying Clients
Commit To Success
Agree With The Client
Build Credibility With Clients
Show, Don’t Tell
Have Real-Time Data
Leverage The Power Of The Phone
Profiting Over The Phone
Call-To-Actions Steps

1) Get High-Paying Clients

Your goal as a freelancer is to get high-paying clients - High-paying clients are those in which you can charge a monthly retainer to. To have high-paying clients, you must get good at sales and understand that no matter what you're doing in life, you're always selling. Selling is an essential part of having a profitable freelance business and is the building block of everything else to come success-wise.

You can get good at sales by simply listening to the client's needs, struggles, and goals with the project they want you to help them with. When you are offering a service to a client, it’s important to get to know them, and the ‘Why’ behind what help they are truly looking for from you. To deliver exceptional service and make sales you need to fact-find to firstly qualify clients, and secondly to understand what the client's true needs are. Once you can figure out how you can best help the client, you will be able to deliver helpful value and ultimately get the chance to turn them into a long-term client.

2) Commit To Success

Commit to getting good at sales - To commit to success you must be consistent, which means to always show up and make the necessary sacrifices to get to where you want to be. That is how successful people get known, to where you know their name, and you know their story. Every successful person out there who's ever started a business from zero and scaled it to millions of dollars didn’t become an overnight success. They became successful by taking the consistent daily actions required and staying committed to doing whatever it takes to get to the next level.

A large part of a good sales person is someone who displays confidence in themselves and the products/services they provide. No one wants to hire a freelancer who isn't confident in their services or in their ability to provide the value.

More importantly, knowing how to sell yourself is the number one asset to getting clients. It’s more than simply putting your name out there or building a profile and having the mindset that clients will automatically come to you. You need much more than that.

To generate sales and be successful, first think about what kind of impression on social media you are giving off. What you put out online is a representation and direct reflection of who you are. To build credibility and trust with potential clients who may stumble across your profiles, you must:

Clean up your social media accounts and make sure they look client review-ready. Your profiles create the first impression with a client and that is a personal billboard of you selling who you are. If done right, clients will see who you are, what you do, and ultimately if you’re the best fit for them to solve their problems.

Have a professional headshot as your profile picture on all social media platforms to create a great first impression and build trust (and don't forget to smile!)

Leverage your social media bio's by using them as a pitch for your business so potential clients quickly understand what services you offer. Example: "I help____ by doing ____."

As a freelancer, you will want to make sure that you have this in mind and you understand that you need to make the best first impression to everyone you come across.

Having confidence, consistency, and commitment to getting good at sales is what's going to open the doorway to your success as a freelancer and by getting other people to see the value in the actual services you provide and get them to trust you with their money.

3) Agree With The Client

Always agree with the client - You should always agree with the client and tell them you understand their perspective. The basics of selling are to always agree, no matter what. When you approach a client in a new situation, you need to focus on how you can be the most agreeable and not confrontational. If you see a problem or something is wrong, a way to approach this situation is with a helpful alternative solution.

You don't want to bring things up and disagree with them. Instead, you want to bring up the problem in a way that's respectful, professional and agrees with them, and understands where they're coming from. Seeing things from your client's perspective will show that you care about them and not just making money (which is going to help you land more sales.

4) Build Credibility With Clients

Build more credibility with clients - It’s important to build credibility with clients because this is a crucial part of having success in sales. When you always show up and make the necessary sacrifices to get to where you want to be, that is how successful people get known, to where you know their name, and you know their story.

Trust is vital to the sale and as a freelancer, your career and your success rely on the trust and the credibility that you are able to build with both potential and current clients. Once you build that trust and once you appear credible as a freelancer, that's when you are going to see that your hard work paid off because now you are a credible name and you're going to have clients that are reaching out to you.

5) Show, Don’t Tell

Don't just tell them, show them in writing - A big way to build instant credibility with clients is to always show things in writing. People tend to believe things that they see in writing a lot more than what they just hear because it's easy to forget what you hear, but when a client see's something in writing (such as an email or a message) it comes off as more credible and professional.

You can also use third-party data to show clients more things in writing. This is amazing if you don't have much experience because even if you don't have experience you can harness the power of 3rd party data. Anyone can go on Google and find reputable sources and make claims that are substantial but are from third-party sources. By doing this, you can then align yourself with the research other people have already done to sell more clients.

6) Have Real-Time Data

The more real-time data you have, the better - The more data and the more information you have ready in real-time, the better impression you are able to give to your clients. If you are on an interview call with a potential client and are able to use graphics, reports, and demonstrations based on the subject matter, you separate yourself from the competition. This behavior shows that you're engaged, that you're actively listening, and that you are well put together.

Data comes in many forms and can include:

- Reports

- Case Studies

- Analytics Charts

- Insights

- Projections

- etc.

Start having data ready to go in real-time as you communicate with potential and existing freelance clients to take your freelancing to the next level. The more value you are able to provide, the more sales you will make and the higher rates you can charge.

7) Leverage The Power Of The Phone

Leverage the power of the phone - The phone is a powerful tool which grants access to make profitable connections with others. The phone is something that never leaves most people's side. All great sales people understand this and use that information to further the sales process.

There are many ways to get in touch with people by texting, calling, emailing, or face-timing. There are also other options to get in touch with people to network, to find new clients, and to get new opportunities and that's the whole part of selling is using all the tools that are available to you like your phone.

8) Profiting Over The Phone

Ways you can profit over the phone - The first step is to learn how to communicate well and formulate a call script for your freelance services. You don't want to just wing it, you want to have a call script pulled up that has all the important things you want to hit on when you're on that call with the client. This will keep you on track and ensure you are able to ask all the appropriate questions needed to qualify the client.

You’ll also want to start practicing handling the most common objections you receive during the sales process over the phone. Start noticing what objections come up a lot and practice handling them by demonstrating why the value you offer will solve their problems and relieve their pain points.

9) Call-To-Action Step

Make sure to end every interaction with a call-to-action - Out of all the sales steps, this one is the most crucial to actually closing more deals and landing more freelance clients. Always make sure you end every interaction with a call-to action at the end. That means you clearly establish which actions each party needs to take next.

Without doing this, you risk getting forgotten and added to the pile of other proposals. Even if you had a great conversation with the client, it all is for nothing if you do not get to the next step and eventually close the deal. So at the end of every call make sure you clearly ask what the next best steps are so you can move the process forward and show you are professional and serious to begin working and providing value.

In Conclusion:

Overall, anyone can get good at freelance sales as long as they dedicate the time and put in the effort to do so. As a profitable freelancer, it's important to remember we are here to serve and provide value to the world through our services. If we are able to stay aligned with our values and mission, we can clearly communicate that to clients and foster genuine relationships. That's how long-term relationships are built and ultimately how you build a profitable freelance business.

If you want to know more about how to sell your freelance services through social media, the phone, or in the beginning phase of talking with a client, then click here to watch my Youtube video on 'Freelance Sales Tips' now!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Make Every Interaction With Freelance Clients Positive

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 01:42:46 GMT

Discover how the results of good communication can lead to happier clients and a more profitable business...

Your freelancing success depends on how you handle and maintain your relationships with your clients. As a freelancer, your interaction with clients must always be a positive one. Having positive and effective communication not only helps you as the freelancer offer the best client experience possible but also reduces the chances of an upset client in the end who does not return for your services again.

Keep reading down below to see how positive communication skills can impact your client and your business for the better.

Tips On How To Have Positive & Effective Client Interaction

In this first section we are going to go over different ways in which you can have a positive and effective client interaction every single time.:

Focusing On The Client, Not On Yourself
Expressing Positive Communication Skills
Actively Listening To Identify Problems To Solve
10 Positive Affirmations To Use During Communication
Maintaining a Positive Attitude Throughout
Showing Genuine Interest To Help
Saying “No” In a Positive Way When Needed

Focusing On The Client, Not On Yourself

When speaking to clients it’s important to always pay attention and stay focused on the client's needs and wants. A lot of freelancers that are just starting out make the mistake of focusing too much on themselves and why they are the best fit for the position. When you are focused too much on yourself, the client will notice and it will create a negative impression right off the bat.

Clients love to talk a lot about what they really think is important, their views on things, and you need to shift all the focus off of yourself and into understanding the client and demonstrating that you do.

All phases of the freelance sales process are crucial from that first interaction where you're sending a proposal out, to the first time you're getting on a call with a client, all the way until you're working with the client and communicating results. Stay focused on the value you're providing and what your services are doing for the client. Being able to communicate with your client that your services are going to solve their problem will create a more positive experience and drive better results.

Expressing Positive Communication Skills

When speaking with a client, it’s important to express a positive and optimistic outlook during communication. Keeping a noticeably positive 'can-do' attitude is an essential part of any successful freelance business. Be conscious of how you communicate before, during, and after every interaction with a client because all communication will be a direct reflection of their experience with you.

Clients are looking for one thing which is ‘can I find what I’m looking for to solve my problem?’ Actively listen to their needs, concerns, frustrations, and always deliver the best service possible throughout all your interactions in the most positive way possible on your freelance projects.

Maintaining a positive attitude with your client is the most important part when it comes to giving your client a positive experience. Clients who feel appreciated, valued, and recognized are known to be loyal because they have an emotional connection to you and your business through the way you make them feel. It all comes down to how you maintained your attitude during each conversation.

Actively Listening To Identify Problems To Solve

As a freelancer, it's vital to focus on actively listening to the client to identify their current problems. To become a better and more active listener is to be an active positive listener. This means when your client is talking, see if you are really hearing what they are saying or just distracted in your thoughts about what you’re going to say next. According to Google’s definition:

‘Active listening refers to a pattern of listening that keeps you engaged with your conversation partner positively. It is the process of listening attentively while someone else speaks, paraphrasing and reflecting what is said, and withholding judgment and advice.’

It’s natural for our minds to daydream and wander off which is why active listening should be practiced. Here are two crucial tips on how to practice being a more positive and effective listener:

The first crucial tip is to avoid multitasking while your client is speaking to you (give the client your full and undivided attention.)

The second tip to be a more positive and effective listener is to never interrupt your client (wait until they are done speaking, summarize what was said, and provide positive feedback.) This will have your client feeling heard.

10 Positive Affirmations

Here is a list of 10 positive, affirmations you can use with your clients during communication:

“I completely understand…”
“Yes, I can help with that…”
“I assure you, we most certainly will…”
“Great! I’m so glad to be of help…”
“I’m going to take care of this for you…”
“I understand where you’re coming from.”
“Yes, I agree with you…”
“I think that it’s a terrific option…”
“I’d be happy to be of service”
“No problem, we can figure something out that works best.”

Showing Genuine Interest To Help

In addition to being an active listener, it’s also important to show genuine interest in your client and show that you are there to help them. You can do this by showing genuine interest and concern in what they have to say when they share their business goals or challenges to you. Treat them how you would want to be treated during each interaction and remember that they are a client and not a friend. When you talk to your client on the phone, ask them how their day is going and show a genuine interest in their lives, but be sure to not go overboard in small talk. 5 Minutes or less is usually more than enough before it's a good time to transition to the 'Work Part' of the call.

This simple tip will build a more positive relationship with your clients who will remember that you made them feel good. They are much more than a client, they are human beings and when people feel cared for they will most likely turn into long-term clients because they will feel emotionally invested in you in addition to financially.

Saying 'No' In a Positive Way When Needed

Spoiler Alert: Clients do not like to hear the word “no”. Especially when they are relying on and trusting you to solve their problems. Avoid saying the word “no” at all costs. In fact, if a client feels too rejected with their requests it can turn them away from you to seek out another freelancer who can solve their problem. Instead, to avoid this negative experience for you and the client, practice an alternative way of saying no to the situation in a more positive way. Be conscious about your communication and remaining positive in each situation you may encounter by avoiding negative words such as the word “no” and replace it by coming up with a creative alternative that works for both of you.

The way that you phrase yourself will either result in a positive or negative experience for the client. Your vocabulary and the way you articulate represents how you carry yourself, your confidence in your services and in your clients as well.

For example, if a client requests a service that you don't provide, instead of just saying 'no', find a way to solve their problems anyway. You can use helpful freelance platforms such as Upwork.com to outsource any of your freelance needs for your clients or to pass along the work to another freelancer for a referral fee. Either way, going the extra step and showing the client you are there to help will stand out to them. If you are willing to go above and beyond it will lead to a more beneficial and profitable relationship.

Tips On How to Create A Positive Client Experience

In this second section we are going to go over different tips on how to create a positive client experience:

Client Satisfaction Example 1
Client Satisfaction Example 2
Positive Problem Solving
10 Client Problem Solving Sayings
Delivering Services
In Conclusion

Client Satisfaction Example 1

Google image search

A great example of a business that is remarkably known for displaying a positive customer experience is the guys from ATM in Las Vegas, a.k.a known as “Tanked” the show. Brett and Wayde (the two main stars in the hit TV show) handle difficult client requests over and over, really well.

They stay flexible if the request is hard and they figure out alternative ways to satisfy the clients' needs and wants. They also always agree with the client even if the client wants something seemingly impossible.

As a freelancer, you can use these as tips to create a more positive experience for every client you work with.

Client Satisfaction Example 2

Photo By Unsplash

A second example of a company that is also known to keep their customers extremely happy is Amazon! Amazon has been able to ingrain itself in people's daily lives and develop customer loyalty because they have made it their main focus since day one. They understand that they are a 'people company' and keeping their customers happy is the main priority fueling their operations.

As a freelancer, your focus should be the same. Once a customer trusts you and finds value in the services you provide they will likely become loyal to you long-term.

Positive Problem Solving

Clients seek freelancers services because they have a problem or a need that the freelancer can provide. To keep the client satisfied, being able to adapt and solve problems on the fly is vital to your success.

I t takes practice, but once you know how to navigate and adjust to different client issues that may arise you will be in a powerful position to land and retain more high-paying clients.

10 Problem Solving Phrases

Here is a list of 10 positive phrases you can use with your clients when problem-solving:

“I’m going to take care of this for you…”
“I assure you…”
“I hear you, and I understand.”
“One moment please, I will find out for you.”
“No problem, let me find that out for you.”
“I will get on it right away for you.”
“I genuinely apologize for this inconvenience.”
“I’m here to help.”
“Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.”
“I apologize, and appreciate your feedback.”

Delivering Services

To have massive success as a freelancer, it’s encouraged to go above and beyond when it comes to client satisfaction and delivering the best services. Going that extra mile to provide excellent value when delivering your services will leave your client happy and satisfied. Also, when you maintain a positive mindset and a 'can-do' attitude , it helps build long-term client relationships.

In Conclusion:

You can always come back to these hacks when you need effective communication tips to use with a potential or existing client of yours. When you are freelancing, always remember that the goal of every interaction you have with a client is to provide outstanding service and create a positive experience so that they turn into long-term recurring clients.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How to Leverage Upwork's New 'Project Catalog' Feature To Land More Freelance Clients

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 02:05:24 GMT

Discover how you can build an Upwork project catalog to to land high-paying clients...

Upwork recently launched a brand new feature called Project Catalog™ . As a freelancer, this is an additional way for clients to find you and for you to sell more projects without having to go and send proposals out.

What is the purpose of Project Catalog™?

Photo from Upwork

The new Upwork project catalog feature has been launched and is now LIVE to the public for all freelancers to leverage. Upwork describes it as "where the work you love finds you" .

If you have a well-optimized profile then you already know how Upwork is great for getting people to come to you. But if you're just starting or you don't have that much experience Upwork project catalog can be a very powerful feature to increase the amount of potential clients in your pipeline. Keep reading to discover how you can build a project on Upwork that helps you attract and land more freelance deals!

Upwork stated:

“With Project Catalog” you can create a powerful new revenue stream, based on the work you love the most."

How To Access the Project Catalog™

Once you're on your Upwork dashboard, go to the 'Find Work' tab and go click 'My Project Dashboard' from the drop-down menu. This is where you can see how the project catalog works and start to build out your first project that you will submit for approval.

Upwork also answers some of the most frequently asked questions here that go into further detail about what the Project Catalog is and how the process works.

How Can I leverage Project Catalog™?

If you're starting from scratch, then you’re going to click the 'create a project' button.

Then, this is where you will put in the title of your project. A good title is one that accurately describes the benefits of what the client's going to get if they work with you.

The next step is to select the best project category that makes the most sense for the freelance services you'd like to provide. It's crucial to chose the most relevant project category because that's how Upwork is going to find new clients for you and it's a large part of the algorithm.

On the next page is where you break down the different package tiers you offer. If you only have a single pricing tier you can deselect this option, however, for most freelancers it makes sense to create multiple tiers.

F or example, I formatted my pricing tiers like this:

Keep in mind that this section will vary depending on which project category you chose and what skill you provide, so you will want to base your tiers off every service you offer. To have the most success here I suggest structuring your tiers so they funnel into each other .

For example, my tiers begin with a Google Ads Audit, the second tier moves up to an Audit and My Optimization Recommendations, and my highest tier includes a full month of Ad Management.

As you can see, this is designed to funnel people into the most profitable service package that is my ultimate goal. By offering a lower price tier you can show clients how much value you provide as a freelancer which increases the likelihood you will land long-term high-paying clients.

The next step is creating a stunning image gallery to showcase your project!

When it comes to graphic design and creating images, I highly encourage you to use a platform which you may have heard of called Canva :

Canva has both free and paid plans that allow you to easily construct visually appealing graphics with a drag-and-drop editor. I used it to create the images I used for my Upwork Project.

Important note: Do not include any text/words in your image like this or it will get disapproved by Upwork!

You want it to be a photo-based image without text describing who you are and what you offer in a visual format.

For me, I’m building a personal brand with freelancing so it is important to put my face in the photo. I also wanted to build relevance with people searching for a Google Ads professional so I included the updated Google Ads Logo along with my Google Partner Certification Badge.

When you are uploading photos you can pick which one you want to be the cover image of the entire project. Your cover image is important because it's what will get potential clients attention and build trust with them. That's why I strongly suggest that you put your face out there and build your personal freelance brand through your images and cover photo.

The next step is where you want to summarize exactly what you're going to deliver in your project.

Having a well thought out project description can cut the length of the sales process down because it makes the on-boarding experience with your new clients much smoother. The client is going to know exactly what's required of them after seeing your project catalog and they're already going to have their most frequently asked questions answered. This puts your potential client in a better place to make the decision to hire you as their freelancer with all the information you provided before you even get on the first call with them.

Once you’re done with the project description and FAQs is when you will get into the more specific requirements of exactly what you need from the client to deliver your services.

The last step is the review and finalization process where you enter how many projects you can handle and agree to Upwork's copyright notice, terms of service, and privacy notice.

Pro tip: Be honest with how many projects you can handle at once but also be sure to not cut yourself short.

Before you save your project and submit it for review make sure you click the ' P review Project' tab so you can see how it's going to look on the clients end. You can also see how your profile is directly linked up which is why your reputation is so vital in freelancing and especially on Upwork.

Final Thoughts On Upwork's Project Catalog™

Image by Upwork

In conclusion, utilizing this new feature to list your freelance service packages will help you maximize your exposure and give you more chances to close new clients. As Upwork continues to innovate and incorporate an easier to use front-end design for potential clients and e-commerce feel, the faster the freelance revolution will progress.

* You can find more information about the new Upwork Project Catalog by clicking here .

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Be The 'Jeff Bezos' Of Freelancing

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 01:35:20 GMT

Discover how you can adopt the 'Jeff Bezos Mindset'...

Apply these 'Jeff Bezos' tips in your freelancing career, whether you’re just starting out or wanting to advance to the next level.

Before Amazon became massively successful and one of the most valuable public companies , Bezos was just a man with a dream sitting in his single-person office. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1995 with just 10 employees.

Amazon was not always this huge in success. It s tarted as a dream , a dream that no one else saw yet but that he saw in Jeff’s mind.

Through Jeff’s many experiments, trial and error, and consistent testing, that is how Amazon came to be.

During an interview, Jeff Bezos revealed:

"Our success at Amazon is a function of how many experiments we do per year, per month, per week, per day. "

As a freelancer, it’s important to remember many of those experiments you try out will fail, but "big failures" are a necessary part of the journey toward success. Bezos stated. "We take risks all the time, we talk about failure," he also said:

" We need big failures in order to move the needle. If we don't, we're not swinging enough. You really should be swinging hard, and you will fail, but that's okay, In addition to taking risks and failing, entrepreneurs must also be passionate when going into business for themselves.”

I find Bezos mindset inspirational because it all begins with your ‘why’ which is your vision and your reason for going into business for yourself in the first place. Keeping your vision in mind is what helps any successful entrepreneur or freelancer grow.

The only way you can live up to your fullest potential is by thinking big and continuing to push towards your dreams , even if nobody else understands, just like Bezos did.

When the inevitable roadblocks and challenges arise on your journey, being able to constantly adapt, test, experiment, and shift will be the reason you can breakthrough and keep moving forward.

However, aside from Amazon's constant focus on experimentation, this was not the only thing that made them the success that they are today...

It was also due to their relentless focus on customer satisfaction. Bezos stated:

"The most important thing is to be customer-obsessed," he said. "Don't satisfy them, absolutely delight them."

That's why Amazon has been able to ingrain itself in people's daily lives and develop customer loyalty.

Amazon prides itself on customer loyalty. Their goal has always been around the customer.

As a freelancer, your focus should be the same!

Once a customer trusts you and finds value in the services you provide, they will most likely become loyal to you.

This gives you the ability to turn them into a predictable recurring client that you can bill monthly vs. just a one-time project that you never hear from again.

As you go into your freelancing career no matter whether you're just starting or you're already established in freelancing , if you want to have more success, think about how you can implement new experiments to keep learning and adapting.

You can also take a look at where you can expand your service catalog as a freelancer. One way to approach adding another skill to your arsenal is to offer a skill that's still in the same skill category as your initial skill but branches off a bit.

For example, if you like designing websites but you don't do much of the actual content on the website, you can learn how to bundle your skills together and include copywriting and graphic design.

Without experimenting, you're not going to know what other services and what other skills would be a good addition to what you already know and that's something that Amazon has figured out.

If you can take a couple of steps out of the process for your customers/clients you will begin to raise yourself above the competition and stand out.

For example, If a client is going on Upwork.com and they need to hire a marketing freelancer, there's a lot more benefit they can get from hiring someone very good at multiple different skills as opposed to hiring multiple less experienced freelancers.

Hiring managers are also now realizing that they can bring someone on to their digital team long-term and not just for a one-time project like a lot of people think freelancing solely consists of.

They think freelancing is made up of constant one-off gigs, but that is simply not true for those who know how to approach it. Offering your services as a freelancer has the ability to turn into a real profitable business if you shift your focus towards attaining long-term recurring clients on a consistent basis.

Just like Jeff Bezos knows, you need those repeat customers.

Start to look at how you can get clients that are long-term and then once you have them look at how you can get more referrals from them. The way any online business thrives today is by being able to get into their target market and being able to raise themselves above the competition so people go to them. Bezos quotes:

“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word-of-mouth is very powerful.”

When you are thinking about how you can have more success as a freelancer in 2021, think about what Jeff Bezos would do. His advice on growing a business is:

“There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you’re good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward.”

You can draw a lot of inspiration from anyone who's gone out there and started a successful business from scratch. So as a freelancer, focus on crafting that vision you have because no one knows how far you can go besides yourself.

That should be your goal, to live up to your fullest potential. The only way you can do that is by thinking big and envisioning a very big future just like Jeff Bezos did. He also quoted:

“Seek to build a community–to make better choices in the people with whom you partner–that’s the only way to have greater long-term impact on the world.”

If Jeff Bezos never started Amazon, we may not have known who he is today...

When you're thinking about how you can approach freelancing and how you can have more success and impact in 2021 think about what Jeff Bezos would do. It’s important to follow people who already have a track record and aren't just talking about it. Only take advice from people that are in a position where you want to go.

By adopting the Jeff Bezos mindset of constantly experimenting, always expanding, focusing on the customer, and gaining recurring clients, you will start to see the most success in your freelance career.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Be a Wildly Successful Freelancer

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 03:11:19 GMT

Discover what separates a profitable freelancer from an unsuccessful one , as well as how to have the most success possible when you go into business for yourself.

By applying the following principles down below, you can ensure you put yourself in the best position to find new opportunities and take advantage of them. As they say... Luck is when preparation meets opportunity!

Set Up Your Foundation
Provide An In-Demand Skill or Multiple Skills
Create Multiple Sources of Recurring Cash Flow

Setting Up Your Foundation For Success

Before you become a wildly successful freelancer, it’s important to set up your foundation first, because those that go out there and try to start a business without a solid foundation fail within their first couple years of business. In fact, according to Investopedia :

“In 2019, the failure rate of startups was around 90%. The research concludes 21.5% of startups fail in the first year, 30% in the second year, 50% in the fifth year, and 70% in their 10th year."

Whether you're freelancing on the side or you want to start a business and make it your full-time source of income, then you need to ask yourself what you can do that can be treated as a long-term business? You also have to develop a strong mindset and understand that the business that you start is not going to kick off in a week or a month, or maybe even a year. It all depends on how much effort, time, and dedication you have to making it work.

If you try to go do something for a week and it doesn't work right away and you think that's a failure, then the reality is that you're quitting on yourself. That is a poor mindset to have and it will not get you far into the world of entrepreneurship. This is why it’s important to make sure you know what business you want to start and which platforms to go on to establish credibility when you do so. There are platforms such as Upwork.com where you can build your portfolio, earn reviews, and open the door to building relationships with clients.

Also, it's worth noting that you should be aware of the words ‘side hustle’ and ‘get rich quick’ schemes that are being thrown around. People who are genuinely looking to find a way to make a profitable side business are receiving misleading information. While some of these side hustles are a way you can earn some money , many of them are not going to be able to build a profitable stream of revenue for you for the long-term or replace your current income.

The types of "side hustles" I suggest avoiding are those that do not provide a substantial return on time invested, such as filling out surveys, watching video advertisements, selling your old clothes, etc. These side hustles are a weak foundation to invest your time and energy into. To build a profitable business, whether you’re freelancing or going into business for yourself, you need to first think about what is predictable and can generate recurring cash flow and not invest your time and energy into quick temporary money solutions. Building a profitable freelance business takes time, consistency, dedication, and passion. Once you hone in on what you want to provide as a freelancer, that's when all your hard work starts to be shaped and molded into a strong foundation.

Providing An In-Demand Skill

When you go into business for yourself, the first thing you will want to do before you start building yourself a logo or a website is to go back to the basics and find out which in-demand skill you want to specialize in. Picking the right skill to develop is crucial if you want to have a long-lasting freelance career or side hustle that is profitable. When it comes to providing different services, ask yourself what are you going to sell, and what is the skill that will allow you to have the life you dream of? Find a skill you best resonate with and can see yourself doing for a long time. In another Profitable Freelancer blog we revealed The Top 5 Profitable Freelance Skills which you can read here.

Start to look at what's in-demand in the freelance marketplace and what services you are able to provide. If you want to be a freelancer and provide your services or consulting to different businesses you need to ask yourself:

"What services are in-demand in the marketplace?"

and "What knowledge or skills do I have which I can use to provide a service?"

Oftentimes new freelancers will adopt the false mindset of "If I offer it, people will buy it". The harsh reality is this could not be farther from the truth. People will not come to your site and you will not automatically get sales in your sleep just because you decided to list your services or build a freelance profile or website. This is because people only buy services or products if they solve an actual problem, provide tangible value to them, and most importantly have trust in the person providing them.

When you are looking at what new skills and online services to provide as a freelancer, make sure to keep this in mind so you can always have high-paying clients at your disposal. Once you build your side hustle up to a point where it's bigger than your current job, that’s when you have some room where you can leave that first position if desired to continue building additional online flows of income. If you want to become a wildly successful freelancer in 2021, it's important to continue learning and adapting your skill set so you can put yourself in the best position possible to succeed.

By increasing the value you can provide you are also securing future streams of income which is the foundation of any healthy business. When you dedicate yourself to the advancement of your learning, you will be in the best position to make the most amount of money, so I encourage you to look at which freelance in-demand skills you can add to your tool kit right away!

Recurring Cash Flow

The most effective way to build a profitable freelance business is to focus on building recurring monthly cash flow from your services. Obtaining streams of cash flow every month all comes down to the relationships that are built with clients. Once you have worked with a specific client and proven that you provide value over time, that's when they begin trusting you and the services that you provide them. At that point you can introduce a monthly retainer based fee system where you charge clients a flat-fee every month for your services, which can be anywhere from $500 all the way up to $5,000 on the high end.

The whole goal as a freelancer is to deliver as much value and gain the most trust as possible with the client so all that work pays off in the long-term. Once you get recurring clients it opens up a door for additional opportunities as well. For example, your happy customers will start to recommend you to their other business owner friends and other people in their community. That is the most powerful way to build trust, through word of mouth marketing.

To encourage that type of organic promotion, you want to get in touch with people and businesses that you can truly help with your freelance services. Another way of adding immense value is to bundle multiple services and skills together to solve the clients problems in a broader light. For example, instead of solely focusing on website design, you could also learn the art of copywriting. That helps separate you from the competition because you have more value to offer and can accomplish tasks that may have required 2 or more people previously.

Wrapping It All Up

In conclusion, once you built your foundation, you tapped into an in-demand skill and you built multiple streams of recurring cash flow, you will surely be on your way to becoming a wildly successful freelancer. A lot of times it's easy to only focus on what the new trend is or what's the easiest way to make money or what's that next investment opportunity. But once you stop trying to 'hit the lottery' or 'get rich quick' and you actually put your head down and focus every single day and show up consistently, that is when you will have the most freelance success that may even greatly exceed your expectations.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Productivity Hacks To Improve Your Daily Routine

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 02:53:13 GMT

Discover how you can have the most success possible in your daily routine and how to maximize your productivity...

Being highly productive is the result of a having the right habits that lead to success. If you want to succeed, then you will want to start by managing your time effectively. To get the best results out of your daily routine, it's important to adopt the mindset of productivity to have the most success possible.

Productivity is an essential factor in managing your time more efficiently and being able to accomplish your daily goals. It’s important to always strive to achieve more everyday as opposed to just doing busy work that doesn't move the needle. So if you want to improve your career as a freelancer or entrepreneur, then look for ways to make the most effective use of your time.

Morning Productivity Hacks

If you want to get to that next level in your life, you must create a great morning routine. In fact, the most productive people wake up early so that they can have time in their morning to get the productivity flow going. They generally have a morning ritual to prepare for the day. To improve your morning routine here are some productivity hacks to start your morning right:

Wake Up With Gratitude
Get Movement in, Such As Yoga, Workout, Walk, or Getting a Shower
Eat a Healthy Whole Foods Breakfast
Practice Saying or Writing Down Positive Affirmations
Write Down Your Short Term and Long Term Goals
Read An Inspiring Book/ Or Podcast
Stay Consistent With Your Morning Routine

Wake Up With Gratitude

The entire outlook of your day and how much you will accomplish all starts when you first open your eyes in the morning. The mindset and discipline you form when waking up can determine how the rest of your day will go. When you wake up with gratitude, it greatly helps start your day out strong and grounded. Instead of picking up your phone first thing in the morning, you can wake up focusing your intentions on gratitude. You can have gratitude by being happy to be alive and ready to experience all that this new day has to come.

When you make the most of everything and take time to appreciate the little things around you, you’ll see that everyday is a great day to experience. Having gratitude is the key to happiness, and when you’re happy, you’re more productive! Improve your gratitude and watch how it can impact your freelance career as well.

Start Your Day With Exercises and Movement

The best way to start your morning ritual is by getting some movement in or some form of exercise. Since your body was sleeping all night, it's vital to get the blood flowing and the nutrients to your brain to start your day. Making the time for exercise in your morning routine will help you feel refreshed and motivated throughout the entire day. It can also boost your confidence and help you become more motivated to finish your daily tasks. (To help you feel more awake, take a cold shower to get some movement and energy flowing.)

Exercising is very healthy to do and will make you productive by putting you at your best. You can’t be productive and make excellent results from the goals you set for the day if you are not starting your morning routine off on a strong note. This is because when you are mentally fatigued, it’s not possible to perform at your best and be productive. When you’re tired you get distracted and unfocused. If you burn yourself out in business, you will begin to watch your sales suffer.

Exercise gives you a feeling of strength and makes you avoid procrastinating. So whatever you are into, whether that is yoga, going for a walk around your neighborhood, or lifting weights, make sure to stick with it. Despite your busy schedule ahead of you, it’s important to make time for yourself to exercise and stretch because your body needs and deserves it. Busy entrepreneurs know this and that is why they make fitness their daily priority. Fitness causes every area of your life to improve and if you want to be successful.

Eat a Healthy Breakfast

Once you are done getting movement or exercise in your day, the most important thing is to eat a healthy breakfast . This is a huge way to get energy and be able to be productive so your body can get all the right nutrients it needs to take on the day. By eating well, you are less likely to get negative side effects such as mood swings, lack of energy, fatigue, etc. Eating a healthy breakfast also helps you have a clear mind and less likely to feel “sluggish” the same way you do when you eat junk food. Your body is like a car, it needs the proper oil and quality fuel to get you to your destination. When the body is well nourished and taken care of, it will take care of you and give you energy you need to tackle your day strongly so you can be at your most productive and best self. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Affirmations

By repeating daily affirmations to yourself either out loud or on paper, it will help enhance your everyday mindset into thinking more positive and productive thoughts. This can help fight off depression, self-negative talk, negative thoughts, and it will give you more motivation and energy towards your day.

20 Affirmations To Start Your Day:

“Today is a great day to have a great day”

“I am in charge of how I feel and I choose to feel happy.”

“I am optimistic because today is a new day.”

“I welcome what is, I welcome what comes.”

“When I speak my needs, I receive them abundantly.”

“I have all that I need to make today a great day.”

“I am a powerful creator. I create the life I want and enjoy it.”

“Every day I discover interesting and exciting new paths to pursue.”

“I am focused on my goals and feel passionate about my work.”

“I am surrounded by supportive, positive people who believe in me and want to see my succeed”

“I am happy, fully supported, and blessed.”

“I choose to think positively and create a wonderful and successful life for myself.”

“I will celebrate each goal I accomplish with gratitude and joy.”

“I am extremely passionate about constantly being better and more successful.”

“I am self-reliant, creative and persistent in whatever I do.”

“I am valuable and will make powerful contributions to the world today.”

“My life is a blast of growing opportunity because I never stop creating”

“I am learning to trust the journey.”

“Mу аbіlіtу tо соnquеr mу сhаllеngеѕ іѕ lіmіtlеѕѕ; mу роtеntіаl tо succeed іѕ іnfіnіtе.”

“Today, I аbаndоn mу оld hаbіtѕ аnd take up nеw, mоrе роѕіtіvе оnеѕ.”

Write Out Your Goals

After you finish eating breakfast, you can write down your goals or plan out the rest of your day in your daily calendar. Writing out your goals for the day is very helpful because by the time that other people are just starting to get up from their beds, you’re already prepared and energized to work towards your goals and tasks laid out ahead. There is also an undeniable peacefulness in the morning that occurs after you have written out your goals and reminded yourself what you are working towards.

Meditation

Meditation is helpful to practice in your morning routine because it reduces stress, improves focus, and helps develop your thinking skills leaving you to be more productive, and less feeling clogged in your head. If you don't know where to begin, you are not alone! There are many helpful apps and videos that are available for free which can help guide you into building a meditation practice that works for you.

Read An Inspiring Book Or Listen To A Podcast

Reading an inspiring book or listening to a podcast is a highly beneficial part of any daily routine. This will help get your mind in an awesome state of mind for the day and provide motivation. The key is to find podcasts, books, or anything that adds value or inspiration to your life and encourages you to learn and try new things. I encourage you to not watch the news or scroll through social media threads which usually contain a ton of negativity. Reading also helps de-stress your mind, which can help you be more productive in hitting your daily goals as a freelancer or entrepreneur.

Staying Consistent

Anyone can have a few good days. But the real success comes from true consistency. Showing up when no one is watching and putting in the work to accomplish your goals. The truth is, you can achieve great things with a healthy mind, body, and consistent daily routine. Staying consistent will set you up to have the most success in all areas of your life throughout your day. Consistency also applies to your fitness, nutrition, and sleeping habits, which are all massive influences on your daily energy.

Afternoon Productivity Hacks

Here are some productivity hacks to keep your daily routine productive in the afternoon:

Manage Your Time
Use Time Blocking
Stay Away From Distractions
Take Mini-Breaks

Manage Your Time

“ The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

(- Stephen Covey)

It’s important to learn how to manage your time by doing the tasks that are urgent first. Avoid procrastinating these big tasks and focus on getting them done. Do what you can do, and avoid piling un-done tasks on your calandar for tomorrow. This will help you not get in a habitual habit of putting things off until the next day. Learning to manage and prioritize your time will help you avoid procrastinating and become more productive with getting things done, and have more control over your time and schedule.

Use Time Blocking

One of the major productivity hacks is using time blocking . Time blocking is one of the major keys to having a productive day. Not only will it lessen your work schedule, but it will also allow you to finish a particular project in a shorter time resulting in more time for you. When you learn how to time block you are essentially corresponding your time, focus, and attention on your tasks, so that you get the most productivity out of your day.

Stay Away From Distractions

In order to stick to your daily routine you set for yourself, you need to stay focused and avoid unnecessary distractions that will naturally come up throughout your day. Start by creating a dedicated work area for yourself. Start to look at what is eating too much of your productivity time such as your phone for example. Form discipline to keep away from these distractions so you can stay on schedule and accomplish what you set out to do.

Take Mini Breaks

It's never smart to run yourself into the ground with too much work. To create a profitable business in the long run, it requires you to relax and take breaks when needed. Make sure to take regular breaks throughout your day to avoid burn-out and give yourself time to recharge. One way to do this is to time block in a mini-break to reward yourself for completing a large task.

End Of The Day Productivity Hacks

Having an end-of-day routine can help you have an even more successful day tomorrow. Here are a few end of day productivity hacks everyone can do to end their workday strong and set up the next day:

Set A Cut-Off Time
Create A To-Do List
Review Your Day
Write In Your Journal
Relax
End Your Day With Gratitude
Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Set a Cut Off Time With Work Hours

Setting office hours will help you cut yourself off from having a burn-out and over working yourself. Take time to relax for the night when you need to. If you don’t give yourself time in the end to wind down after a long day of work, you will end up possibly staying up too late which will impact your morning routine. Also, by having a cut off time it helps you respect your working time and know when it’s time to stop.

Create a To-Do List

Creating a to-do list and planning your next day out before going to bed can help you feel more organized. This to-do list can be a list of the most important things you want to accomplish the next day. This might be the most important part of ending your workday for a more productive day tomorrow. When you know exactly what’s on your schedule for the next day, it means you’ll be well-prepared. Writing out your to-do list the night before also means you won’t waste any time in the morning wondering what you should work on first.

Review Your Day

Another helpful practice to add to your daily routine is to take a few minutes at the end of each day to look at all the tasks you accomplished. Also analyze what did not get done and be sure to move that task to the next available slot. Avoid feeling bad about moving something that didn’t get done to the next day and focus on getting it done instead. By reviewing your day and what got done, it will help you feel more relaxed and organized.

Write in Your Journal

At the end of the day, it’s helpful to have a journal to clear your mind and wrap up your day and whatever you were working on. This is called a brain dump’ because it gets all the things on your mind, onto your journal. This helps you get a good night's sleep knowing you got everything down onto paper and our of your head. Journaling also helps to start the next day off on the right foot because there is nothing worse than trying to pick up where you left off and not being able to remember what you were doing, where you were, what you did, etc. You will be happy that you set time aside for yourself at the end of the day to write down in your journal everything that’s going on in your mind so that in the morning you feel fresh, energized, and focused.

Spend Some Time To Relax

When you spend some time relaxing and taking mental breaks emotionally and physically, it can help you relax from all the hard work you did and calm your mind. Also, it’s important to reward yourself for finishing a big day and help you become more motivated in everything you will do. Whether it is a small or big task, you need to keep track of it and celebrate your milestones. Relaxing is key to avoiding a burn out and will give you time to enjoy the hard work you put in and give you motivation to keep going.

End Your Day With Gratitude

It's important to start and end your day from a place of gratitude. Having gratitude also gives you the ability to help others as well. This energy and state of mind is contagious and it’s important to keep your mindset positive to have the most success. If you are negative and complain about what you don't have, then you'll attract more of what you don't have. Avoid complaining and practice having more gratitude daily because you get what you focus on, and when you are thankful for what you have, then you'll attract more to be thankful for. Beginning and ending each day with gratitude is a great way to keep you grounded and appreciative of all that you have.

Get a Good Night's Sleep

The final way to ensure you follow a proper daily routine is by getting a good night’s sleep. People who get a good night’s sleep are more productive and experience more success than those that constantly drain themselves. A way you can get more sleep is by staying off your phone and keeping it away from the bed, or turning your TV off so you can get some well-deserved rest. When you get enough sleep the night before you won’t find yourself running empty and exhausted the next day.

Sleep is not just healthy for the body, but it is also good for your mind because sleep helps your brain work at its fullest capacity. The hours you spend resting are just as important as the hours you spend working, so they shouldn't be neglected. Did you know that when you are asleep, your brain is recuperating from that day's work and preparing for what is in store for the next day? This is because the brain when sleeping is creating new pathways to store new information that is created only when you sleep. This is why it is crucial to get enough sleep so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to have the most prosperous day possible!

In Conclusion:

We are all given the same 24 hrs a day to work with. The difference between those that have the most success in life and those that don't, is how they use that 24 hours. I hope all the tips mentioned above will help improve your daily routine so you can improve the quality of your life. My name is Paul Mendes founder of Profitable Freelancer, I look forward to your success!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Freelance In 2021

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 20:22:43 GMT

Discover three reasons why everyone should be freelancing in 2021...

If you have not yet embarked into freelancing or having a side hustle, watch the video or keep reading to see the three reasons why everyone should be capitalizing on this recession-proof business model.

#1 - Freelancing Is The Future

Since the year 2020, we all had to learn a new way to adapt and earn money online if we weren’t already. Freelancing is becoming the way of the future , and it’s happening at an accelerated pace. This new adaption has given traditional workers the ability to experience what working remotely online feels like and the benefits it can provide compared to a traditional corporate office.

In fact, they loved being able to work from home so much that they have started to consider freelancing even more after seeing the many wonderful benefits that freelancing provide in their life, their family’s life, and their community.

Upwork WorkForce Report

As a result of more companies hiring digitally and more people choosing freelancing, this has made the demand for freelancing skills go up.

According to an Upwork Press Release : “This includes a burst of demand for customer services and a sustained increase in demand for e-commerce development and web and mobile design.”

Now is the time to start freelancing part-time or consider making it your full-time career because the workforce is going to rapidly shift more and more into the digital workspace. You don’t want to get left behind or miss out on these massive earning opportunities to take advantage of.

This is backed up by cold hard statistics. The Upwork future workforce states that: “More than half (52%) of businesses working either fully or partially remote utilized independent talent, followed by 38% of businesses operating entirely in office or on-site.“

A study which looked into recent freelance stats from an Upwork Press Release states that:

“Non-freelancers new to remote work say they are considering freelancing in the future because it has made them a more productive worker (73%), they’d prefer working remotely over returning to a traditional office (74%), and to earn extra income to cope with the impact of the pandemic on their personal finances (85%)”

“86% of freelancers say that the best days are ahead for freelancing.”

“71% of freelancers say perceptions of freelancing as a career are becoming more positive.”

As you can see, freelancing is not only the future, but is very important to the way the economy is adapting and earning money, and the way businesses can adapt during any time of uncertainty. Freelancing provides security, more abundant opportunities, and benefits over any other traditional job can even offer. This is why so many are shifting to freelancing part-time, or full-time as we speak.

#2) - Flexibility

Freelancing is flexible with your schedule and ultimately shapes how you want your future. Whether you want to start freelancing part-time, and pick up one project, or have a few clients on the side, you have that ability to do so. On the other hand, if you want to make freelancing a full-time career that is also available for you at any time.

A recent Upwork article states: ”To adapt to the changes and uncertainty, professionals entered the freelance workforce for the first time. At the same time, the shift towards greater workforce flexibility coupled with the necessity to maintain continuity brought new demand for independent professionals from businesses.”

Having this much flexibility as a freelancer gives you peace of mind, more control over your day, and better health due to being able to attend to your personal needs (aka being able to workout or do some yoga whenever you feel like it). You can also have increased flexibility to carve out time and make yourself a healthy meal vs having to eat out all the time while at a corporate office job. Many people during remote-working have started these benefits and many more as they shifted towards this working style.

Freelancers have the flexibility to choose: their hours, type of projects, and clients to work with, and ultimately have control of their schedule. This Upwork Press Release stated that “One in four freelancers did freelancing on the side while having another traditional full-time job. In addition, 51% report that while they have paused freelancing, they are still employed part-time or full-time elsewhere. Another 28% are full-time students, homemakers, or retirees. Altogether, the flexibility of freelancing led to an increase in demand for freelancers.”

Due to the amount of flexibility that freelancing can provide, it gives people who want the flexibility to have time to be caregivers to their disabled family members and be able to have time to take care of them. According to Google, there are over “48% of freelancers who are caregivers, and 33% have a disability in their household. The flexibility freelancing it provides allows them to fit work into days that work for them and provides them an alternative way that can allow them to support a family without having to go to a physical traditional job.

Caregivers can stay home, and work when they want due to the flexibility freelancers provide. As a caregiver, it’s important to be able to have a flexible schedule to take care of their family member in need, In case they need help, trips to appointments, etc. It’s time that people can control their day, and be able to take care of those who need them the most while still being able to make an income from home.

Freelancing has also given flexibility to mothers who no longer have to make the choice to choose between parenting or having a successful career. Instead of working at a physical office and putting their child in a daycare, mothers are now able to be home with their children and have more control of their schedule. This type of flexibility is crucial for mom’s who need that control in their daytime to be able to work on their projects on their own time and be able to look after their kids, take them to appointments, or to the park, and other things that they couldn't do while on a strict corporate-based schedule.

If having more flexibility in your life sounds appealing to you, and even helpful for the type of lifestyle that you have, I highly encourage you to look into making freelancing a side hustle or full time career to fully enjoy all the benefits freelancing can do for your life.

#3) - High Earning Potential

Contrary to what some may believe, as a freelancer, you have a higher earning potential than a traditional position. Your salary as a freelancer is not limited like it is in a corporate job. When you are a freelancer, you are working for yourself and you are in control of how much you want to earn. Being in control of your earnings and working for yourself makes freelancing an overall more stable and secure career path as opposed to a typical corporate position.

People no longer have to settle for a set salary because they now can access abundance online, creating multiple flows of income from clients. Once you become a freelancer, you can get paid for the work that you put in. It is a secure position to be in knowing that all the hard work that you do is paid off when you are a freelancer.

There are no more limits to being tied to a set paycheck because you create your earnings, on your own time. Once you build multiple flows of online income, the more freedom and security you will be able to create in your life. Many people who are unhappy with their 9-to-5 jobs are beginning to flock to making money online by providing freelance services.

“ According to a 2017 study from Bankrate.com , more than 44 million Americans have a side hustle, which can range from working on freelance projects after hours to driving for ride-sharing companies on the weekends. Of the 86 percent of side hustlers who earn extra money from a side job every month, 36 percent make more than $500, the study found. Making ends meet was the main motivation for the majority of side hustlers and may be one of the key reasons you need a side hustle, too.”

Upwork WorkForce Report

Employers are also seeing beneficial profit from companies hiring more freelancers because it allows the hiring company to avoid paying benefits to temporary workers.

These cost savings are often passed along, resulting in higher pay for freelancers. Alongside that are one-time jobs and remote work are also beneficial for those who want to stay at home and be a caregiver or a stay-at-home mom. Not only does freelancing for parent’s have more earning potential, but they also save in overall daycare costs, and other savings such as cost to commuting to work, eating out for lunch, etc.

Mom's also reap the benefits in freelancing by being able to stay home and make their own set of hours and earning. In fact, mom's can make more profit than they did at a 9-5 that had a low salary and high life expenses.

For example, a stay-at-home-mom can earn more than $100 an hour using their skills in positions they can find through freelancing sites such as Upwork. If you are interested in seeing what the top 10 side hustles are that you can earn up to $100 a day with, you can read our blog on that topic here .

Freelancing also provides a high earning potential because there's a lot of different ways you can fill your pipeline and generate additional income. First, you can start by going on freelancing websites like Upwork and Fiverr. These platforms are where you can get qualified clients who are posting thousands of jobs a day and are looking for freelancers like you to help them. Take advantage of these free freelance platforms because it is a sure way to get more clients into your pipeline and ultimately turn them into monthly recurring revenue.

The gig economy is providing amazing opportunities that range from every skill level and schedule type; and work has never been more accessible as long as you have an internet connection and a laptop. Take advantage of the higher income opportunities that freelancing can provide for you no matter what type of lifestyle or position you want. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket with one traditional job. By being a freelancer and having multiple streams of income, you put yourself in the best position possible for success. Focus on trading your value to business owners and helping solve their problems rather than trading your time for money. This will help you expand your earning potential to the moon.

In Conclusion:

In conclusion, whether you are someone who wants more freedom, more income, more flexibility, or all 3, I highly suggest taking action towards becoming a profitable freelancer as soon as possible.

Aside from all the benefits that freelancing can bring to your life, it is also the way of the future and by getting ahead of the curve you can secure your success and financial security that you deserve.

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

3 Reasons People Fail At Achieving Their Goals

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 18:12:19 GMT

Discover Three Reasons Why Most People Fail At Achieving Their New Year Goals...

Read to find out the three reasons why most people fail their New Year's resolutions and never achieve the goals that they set for themselves, so you can avoid them to have the most success possible.

#1) Loss Of Focus

The first reason most people fail is because they're focusing more on the macro goal rather than the micro-goal which causes them to lose focus. This means people get too caught up with the big picture and not the actual actions that lead there .

You begin losing focus and getting distracted by shiny objects which is where you will go from one goal or project and then start chasing after another. Sometimes that "great" idea that came up can work against you and your current goals. For example, let's say your goal is to lose 10 pounds. Instead of focusing on the macro goal, break that goal into little goals and action steps into a week-by-week action plan, and then break that down even more into a day-by-day plan. So if you're trying to lose weight, then you will want to set your intention to set time aside every morning to put in some exercise and also incorporate a healthy snack throughout the day. Also, keeping track of your weight every day to make sure you're reaching your mini targets, which will in turn help you stay focused and motivated.

It’s the same thing with if your goal is to make more money. If you want to earn what you know you deserve, don’t just say you want to make more money. Create the intention first and then set actionable daily steps you can take to get there. So whether that means making an extra 10 phone calls a day, getting more referrals from your network, or starting a side hustle to bring in more income. It's all about breaking down your goals and not just looking at the big picture which may feel unattainable at times. That is how you will start to have more success reaching your goals.

#2) No Milestones Established

The second reason most people fail at achieving their goals is that they don't set milestones for themselves and they don't reward themselves when they hit those milestones. The truth is, many people set themselves up for failure when they set unclear goals for themselves. Let's say your goal is to save more money, and once you hit that milestone of getting half way there, that's when you can go and celebrate a little by buying yourself something nice. The point of setting milestones along the way is because it helps you have more flexibility with your goal and you're also going to feel more motivated because you will start to see how much progress you're having.

Setting milestones will show you how far you've come. Another example is reading a book. When you start in the beginning, you can see the bookmark is barely through the book. But as you start to progress into the story you get deeper into the book, every time you pick the book up you can see how far you've come as the bookmark moves closer and closer towards completion.

When people don’t set these milestones for themselves it makes it hard to realize that there is any progress being made. That is dangerous because when you lose sight of your progress, it is much easier to quit on your initial goals and cut yourself short. However, when you keep track of your milestones and give yourself a little reward when you hit them, you will put yourself in the best position possible to continue making progress. Remember, every goal should be treated as a marathon, not a sprint. Pacing yourself is crucial to succeed in the long run, no matter what challenge you are embarking on.

#3) Quitting After Facing Set-Backs

The third and last reason most people don't achieve their goals and most people fail their New Year's resolutions is because when they face set-backs , they QUIT. Let's be real here... along any path towards success, you're going to face set-backs. That is especially true if you are trying something brand and getting experience "on the job".

The difference between success and failure is your ability to use set-backs as fuel and as motivation .

One way to practice this mentality is when set-backs occur, to look at the situation from a positive perspective. The good news is that when you face obstacles, you found out what wasn't working and you can start to dissect and figure out what you did wrong, what you did right, and focus more on what you did right.

Never throw the whole project or your goals out because you had a set-back. Unfortunately, most people do give up when there is a road-block because they fail to keep a positive growth mindset. Don't let that be you!

When you face setbacks on your journey as a freelancer or an entrepreneur, use them as fuel to keep your engine running and your goals on track. Don't let the negative energy control you. Instead, use it to fire you up to keep going forward and achieving your goal. By taking a step back and letting a set-back teach you something rather than letting it hold you back , you’ll find the answers to move forward and have successful results with all your goal.

In Conclusion:

If you want 2021 to be the year you make progress in every area of your life personally, financially, and spiritually, then you need to set yourself big macro goals . Then you need to break those down daily actionable steps . Lastly, you need to set milestones along the way so you can track your progress and stay motivated.

Everyone has the same 24 hours a day and no matter what we do, we cannot create more time. Therefore, it is all about how we manage ourselves and how we manage our priorities. When you are 100% committed to your goals, you will do whatever it takes to achieve them. I hope this was helpful for you and I look forward to your future success!

- Paul Mendes

Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Top 5 Freelance Skills In 2021 To Make Money Online

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:49:40 GMT

If you want to be successful in 2021, it's important to continue learning and adapting your skill set so you can put yourself in the best position possible. By increasing the value you can provide you are also securing future streams of income which is the foundation of any healthy business.

The WorkForce Is Shifting To Freelance Remote-Based Work

As we shift into 2021, we are also entering a new era where the workforce is adapting to more remote-based positions. The way business owners are hiring is adapting. They are taking advantage of the new opportunities of being able to cherry-pick the best freelance talent to help them with their company. As an entrepreneur or a big business, if you want to thrive and be successful y ou need to adapt to what the marketplace is doing and provide what’s in-demand.

These are the times where staying in the comfort zone won't cut it. This new year brings us an exciting challenge and encouragement to get out and adapt to where the world is shifting. These are not only the top 5 skills which I think are the best, this is also based on a study that Upwork released here .

Continue to read down below to discover the top 5 in demand skills for 2021 so that you can take advantage of these opportunities and use this information to get ahead of the competition.

#1) Web Design & Landing Page Design

The first most in-demand freelancing area is Web Design and Landing Page Design . As more and more businesses shift to the online marketplace and those who just started a business, or companies that are transitioning from working at a physical location to the online marketplace all need a Website Design . This is a great opportunity for freelancers because there's millions of businesses that are in high-demand of needing this service done for them. There is also a demand for Landing Page Design with the businesses that already have websites but they're not converting as good as they could be. On top of that, businesses that are launching new products, new services, or new softwares, all need different websites and landing pages that need help getting built and set up so that they can sell those products and services.

Since more competitors are going online, this means businesses need help with more brand exposure through running ads. This is where having a high ranking website and landing page comes in. To get the word out there about your new product/ service and after you are promoting the message you ideally want to send people back to a website, or to a landing page . Nowadays, it's no secret that you need to advertise when it comes to business exposure. You can rank organically in the search results, but if you want to really grow a business and scale you need to pay to play for advertising. Whether that's social media advertising, search engine marketing, or video advertising that is where all of this demand is generating when it comes to web design and landing page design.

Many businesses also need a website and landing pages designed so they can get the most conversions. For example let’s say you have a landing page that's converting at 5%. If you can go to that company and create a landing page for them that converts at 10%, then you've just doubled their revenue all by simply changing up their landing page design. More and more businesses are recognizing how helpful this service is, and with all the tools out there such as Clickfunnels, Duda, SquareSpace, and Wix it makes providing this service for business owners much more fluent and easier. All of these different softwares are also drag and drop so that you can go out there right away, and practice mastering this skill and get paid in 2021.

#2) Development

The second most in-demand skill for 2021 is Development. This in demand skill is an overarching category where you have software development, website development, and you have mobile app development. It's basically developing the back end of how things work. This is different coding, and it's different coding languages that you can learn.

There's also a lot of different coding languages and different applications that you can use your development knowledge and that's the great part about freelancing, because you're never stuck just in one category. You can try out a skill and start to get some experience with it and you can either decide to get more advanced with the skill, or widen your skillset and bundle multiple skills together. This is a massive opportunity for you to take advantage of that if you are into development or if you just think that it might be interesting and good for you. I highly suggest to go out there and to start making more money in 2021 by performing this skill.

Here's Upwork's list of the Top 15 Tech Skills

Upwork’s top 15 most in-demand tech skills (based on gross services volume):

#3) Video Editing & Explainer Videos

The third most in-demand skill for 2021 for freelancers is V ideo Editing and Explainer Videos. Video editing has always been an in-demand skill but as more companies are focusing on social media, and on their website, business owners are seeing how videos are the power player because videos drive massive engagement and views and show up most in the alogrythm. It's no secret that all these massive search engines and social media empires are prioritizing video content such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram.

Wherever there's a massive need for something, that's where the demand is, and if you can go out there, learn how to create explainer videos, learn how to edit videos together, and learn how to create promotions for companies then you can package your services together and start a side-hustle job by video editing on nights and weekends.

Or if you want to turn it into your full-time gig you can become a full-time video editor and earn up to 6 figures a year or more . I highly suggest if you're interested in video editing to try it out. There's even platforms, services, and software out there to help you edit videos. You don't need to have a college degree just to create an awesome video. If something interests you then practice it on your own first. Then you can get a client for this in-demand service and test to see if video editing or creating explainer videos is a good fit for you.

#4) Consulting

The fourth in-demand skill moving into 2021 as a freelancer is Consulting . Consulting is an overarching category of services and skills you can provide. For example, you can be an online advertising consultant, sales consultant, or you can be a marketing strategy consultant. As a consultant, you help businesses by providing some in-depth knowledge to them on something that can help them make more money. This in depth knowledge you share with them is stuff you've already done before for other businesses successfully. So let's say for example you've been managing Facebook Ads for a long time, instead of being the one to always set up those ads and manage and monitor them on-going, you can get to that next level once you have good results.

This is the consultant role instead of you being the one that actually sets up all the campaigns and has to do all that day-to-day work, y ou can work with companies for $1k-$5k per month and provide them your high-level strategy. Other things you do as a consultant is you give them helpful suggestions based on their business model and you give them advice on what different platform strategies you would use and what your budget allocation would be, etc. If you already have some advanced knowledge on a specific business model, type of advertising, etc. then consulting is a great skill for you to take advantage of.

#5) Online Advertising

The fifth and final most in-demand freelance skill to provide moving forward into the new year is Online Advertising .

As the online marketplace and social media platforms become more crowded, it becomes more difficult to reach the amount of users you would like organically. That's why companies hire freelancers to manage their online advertising campaigns so they can continue growing their companies.

Online advertising consists of Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Advertising, Video Advertising, Email Marketing, and Display Advertising. The online ad space is a multi-billion dollar industry which continues siphoning companies previous radio, tv, billboard, and print ad budgets.

In order to be competitive post 2020, businesses understand they have to embrace the digital space with 100% enthusiasm if they want to survive. It's crucial for them to stay in contact with their existing customers as well as attract new ones via online advertising and in order to do that they need freelancers who specialize in this skill. It's common for this skill to pay anywhere from $500 - $2,500 per month on average, making it a highly profitable skill to develop.

In Conclusion

I hope this was helpful for you to outline some different areas in freelancing you can start to look at to expand your knowledge, to expand your skill-set, and ultimately make more money in the New Year.

When you dedicate yourself to the advancement of your learning, you will be in the best position to make the most amount of money going into 2021.

If you're interested in learning more about freelancing and getting clients on Upwork, I have a course on Udemy. Check out the first lesson free here!

I look forward to your success!

Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Avoid Nightmare Freelance Clients

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 02:19:09 GMT

Discover what a nightmare client is and how to avoid them at all cost...

All it takes is one bad freelance client to ruin your reputation and throw you off your path to success. There are clear warning signs to look out for so you can avoid working with NIGHTMARE freelance clients.

The success of your business depends on your ability to understand what your ideal client is, and what a toxic client looks like. Keep reading to discover what signs to look for during the freelance sales process so you can protect your empire from nightmare clients.

Understanding What A Nightmare Client Is

If you’re not careful with who you chose to work with, you might end up with a nightmare client. These types of clients will not only sabotage your growth, your energy, and your time but also cause immediate harm to your empire and success.

It’s important to understand what a nightmare client is and how to identify the signs of one. A nightmare client is someone who is:

Difficult To Work With
Never Satisfied
Always Rude
Pushy
Demanding
Oversteps Boundaries

There's a lot of different things that can get a client in that nightmare category, and a lot of times there will be red flags during the initial process telling you that this is not a good client for you. Nightmare clients are toxic, and you didn't go into business for yourself to deal with clients who don't appreciate you or respect you.

Ultimately, being aware of these signs before you even go into business with a client will help you avoid working with nightmare clients in the first place.

Be Aware Of The Red Flags

The first thing to do to avoid a nightmare client is by being aware of the red flags. Whenever you come across a new opportunity, there might be red flags before starting, and you must be aware of these warning flags telling you that this is not a good client for you. Before you go into a project blindly, get to know the client's history.

If you don't know the client and you jump into the project right away, they could turn into a nightmare client who leaves you a bad rating at the end. It's crucial to avoid having this experience happen and to only work with clients with whom you can have success. A lot of times as freelancers (especially when just starting) can easily miss red flags because our mind is fixated on wanting to get more business and to make more money. It can be dangerous to not be aware and to get caught up in the ego.

A lot of times freelancers get caught too much in the present, bypassing any warning signs that may appear because they want that deal. Instead of just looking one step ahead, start looking multiple steps ahead by being careful with what projects and what clients you even reach out to in the first place. When you have a client in front of you ready to do business with you, you have to take a step back and see what kind of client they are and what type of project it is. Not every project presented to you may be the best fit for you and may require work or time more than you initially expected.

To avoid working with nightmare clients, start to research potential clients that you want to work with on platforms like Upwork. The freelancing platform Upwork is great for researching clients and getting to know briefly who they are by looking at their profile. You can find information on their profile by looking at how long this client has been on the platform. Upwork also has a double-blind feedback system, so not only do freelancers get reviews from clients they work with but also you can see reviews from the freelancers who worked directly with this potential client you’re interested in working with.

This gives you direct insight into what it would be like to work with this client. So for instance, if the client got a bad review from a freelancer saying comments such as “it was a horrible client to work with, avoid this client they didn't pay me, they were just unrealistic.” then that is likely a client to avoid at all costs.

Do your research, see what their reviews look like, see their history and see how long they’ve been around on the freelancing platform you choose. That will give you a better chance of detecting red flags and help you avoid working with nightmare clients.

Qualify Every Freelance Client

The second thing you will want to do before you get a client on the phone to talk about the project is to make sure if this type of client is the best fit for you. Start by looking at the client's business model and combine that with the type of skills you provide. You can do this by researching their website and see if you resonate with their message and brand. You can also see if they are a good fit by looking up their business name and looking at their social media profiles.

Researching will give you more of an understanding of who who the client is and what kind of business they are. If for instance, you look up their website and it's not well organized and unprofessional, you may want to take a step back. Notice if you're starting to feel uncomfortable and not resonating with the website or what they represent.

If the client is looking for help with ads to their website, conversions, or whatever it may be and their website is unprofessional, that might be an initial warning that this might not be the best client to go after. You can’t drive traffic or have success with a poorly optimized website.

Another way to make sure you and your client are a good fit to work together is by getting on the phone with the client to discuss further details. With this in mind, you always want to make sure to get every client you’re interested in working with on the phone. This is a sure way to detect any warning signs of a nightmare client. A phone call will help you find out if this client is the best fit to work with before you agree to go and perform the job.

During this freelance sales process, you need to get them on the phone or a video call. By doing this, you can get a better feel of who this person is, you can see their personality, and you can understand a lot more than if you were messaging back and forth through Upwork messages or email. A message can’t show you the same warning signs that a video call can. Through video calls, it can show the client's body language, and on the phone, you can hear the tone and how the client is speaking.

In addition, it's vital to understand that this initial phone call isn't just an interview for you to get the job, it's also an interview to see if you want to work with the client.

I go into further discussion about asking the RIGHT types of questions to clients here. If you ignore these red flags that start to pop up along the line you are going to set yourself up for working with a nightmare client.

Not only should you ask the client questions, but also be sure to ask yourself before working with the client, does this project excite you? Do you feel a good feeling moving forward, or are you hesitant?

It’s important to also listen to your body language. When we are aware of warning signs and stay in tune with our intuition, it will reveal everything we need to know before moving forward. All it takes is one bad project, one bad client, or one bad review to tarnish your reputation. Every single project you work on needs to be focused on getting a good review. That is what will help propel yourself forward as a successful freelancer. By being aware of your reputation and cautious of who you work with, you will be able to protect your empire and ultimate state of well-being.

In Conclusion:

It’s natural that in the early stages of growing our business to say “yes” to working with just anyone you get an opportunity to work with. However, when you have the awareness that not every client may be the right type of client, you’ll save yourself precious time, energy, and possibly your reputation.

With freelancing it's all about the clientele you choose to do business with and who you build your network around. Nightmare clients will cost you money and rob you of your precious energy and limited time. That's why you want to make sure you work with ONLY the best clients. A healthy client will have a long term relationship with you, generate referrals from their network, and give you a good review/testimonial.

Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

3 Habits Of Successful Freelancers and Entrepreneurs

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 23:42:59 GMT

Discover What Habits Successful Freelancers And Entrepreneurs All Have In Common...

Habits are important to form in order to reach your goals and to create a daily healthy routine that will lead you to success. There are three crucial habits to form when it comes to being a successful freelancer.

#1 - Consistency

The first habit of any successful freelancer or entrepreneur is consistency. To be consistent means to always show up and make the necessary sacrifices to get to where you want to be. That is how successful people get known, to where you know their name, and you know their story. Every successful person out there who's ever started a business from zero and sold it for millions of dollars or anyone who's become famous didn’t just become successful overnight. They became successful due to being consistent. A lot of times it's easy to compare ourselves to others and to think that they just got lucky and that we are unlucky. I’m here to tell you, that's not true because a lot of times you don't know the full story behind what got that person to where they are and how many failed business attempts they tried, or how many years they put in before they reached any level of success.

“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”

-Anthony Robbins

This quote by Anthony Robbins is true because being consistent every day will lead you to form good habits which are the key to success. There will be days where you just won't feel like working and will take the whole day off. While it's okay to take a mental day off, you must decipher between if you're really looking to recharge, or if you just want to be lazy that day and not put in the work. To create success, you must push through these feelings and stay consistent.

Once you start forming the habit of not showing up, you’ll then start to form the habit of making excuses. This happens by not being consistent, and there will be days that test your consistency where you don’t feel like studying at all, then another day comes and you put off studying, and this turns into an everyday-thing. Before you know it, you put off important things, and you won’t drive the results you’re looking for. Don’t let this happen to you. make a plan and stick to it, and eventually, you will get there. It might even take a year, or longer, but by showing up every-day you will see results, and start measuring success.

The truth is, once you fall into doing the bare minimum to pass, you will never separate yourself from the competition. To get to that next level of being a successful freelancer, you must be consistent, always grinding, and on the hustle. You do this by waking up early, putting time into working on your passion. It’s important to keep your life balanced and to spend your time doing other things as well, but it’s important to make the necessary sacrifices so you can be consistent every single day. Instead of saying yes to going out late, you chose to spend that time doing your passion, and instead of sleeping in, you’re getting up and planning out your next steps before the day begins. By forming the habit of being consistent, you will see great success with clients and your overall work routine.

#2 - Over-Delivering

The second habit that successful freelancers have is over-delivering. This means that you are providing more than your original promise or offer. What this does is it sets you apart from the competition because you're not just doing what you promised, you're going above and beyond that next step. You can over-deliver by staying in contact more often and delivering better results. By over-delivering, it will help you retain clients and have them come back to you over and over again because they know that you are someone that is always going to do more than you promised. This makes the client feel like they are spending money on the right person to help them and they're getting something out of your service. Clients will likely always hire a freelancer who they know will over-deliver on their promises every time, rather than only when it may be convenient for them.

“Formula for success; under promise and over-deliver”

-Tom Peters

By always putting extra time and work into a project for a client, you will see that the client will be more than happy to pay you because you over delivered and helped them with more than they thought they needed. That makes you appear more reliable in their eyes and increases the chances they will turn into a repeat customer of yours. Over-delivering is crucial to winning clients and helps to build loyalty.

When you are over-delivering, it will open up a whole world of different referrals and different connections because if one client has a great experience with you and you help them out they're going to tell their friends, colleagues, and their family. This will lead you to more chances of getting more clients, who will give you a shot. When you begin to over-deliver and you're consistent you're going to start to see how these habits will help shape you into the most successful version of yourself that you can be. Whether you're freelancing or you started your own business in another area, start to look at where you can over-deliver because that's going to do a lot of different things that will help you have more success.

#3 - Passion

The third and final habit that can make you a successful freelancer is by finding and following your passion. By diving into working on different types of projects and different types of skills, you will start to see what you are most passionate about and then lean heavily into that. The beautiful thing about freelancing is you're never stuck in a little box that society or the corporate world puts you in because when you’re freelancing, this gives you the ability to have the flexibility to work on different projects that interest you most. The best part about this is you're not tied down to just one thing and a lot of times when people are starting their journey they just go all-in on one thing and I would advise you to be hesitant before you go all in on one thing.

You can find your passion by experimenting and testing different things out. If you, for example, want to be a website designer but you’re still in a 9-to-5, instead of quitting your nine to five and going all-in on doing website design, first before you drop your current job, start to dabble in website design on the side. Start to look at graphic design, and copywriting. Get different types of clients and different projects under your belt and then you'll know whether graphic design is a great path for you, or you found out that you just want to test it out a little bit more to see if it’s a good fit for you. By experimenting first with your passions, it will help you find what you are truly most passionate about.

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."

-Oprah Winfrey

You must be passionate to be successful because passion is the driving force behind success that allows us all to live better and happier lives. This is what’s going to be helpful for when you want to over-deliver because you need to like what you're doing to be passionate and you can only fake it for so long. Anyone will see through the false persona after a while. Once you create healthy habits when you are working and surrounding yourself with ideas, projects, and people you are passionate about this will give you the motivation to wake up earlier and work harder on things that make you happy. By forming this habit you will be much more satisfied with the work you are doing and much more motivated to continue evolving as a successful freelancer.

In Conclusion:

If you want to become a successful freelancer, form these three habits of being consistent, over-delivering, and having passion. When you form healthy daily habits, you will start to shape the reality around you.

Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Land Clients By Asking The Right Questions

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 00:14:25 GMT

Discover How To Land Clients By Asking These Questions...

While there are many ways to land clients, there are three initial phases that you will go through with the client. Each phase with the client will determine if you will work together, or work together again in the future. The three phases are:

#1) The Pre-Phase
#2) The Middle-Phase
#3) The Post-Phase

Read down below to discover how asking the right questions during these three phases will help you earn the client's trust, and increase the chances of them turning into a repeat customer.

#1 - The Pre-Phase

When it comes to asking the right questions to clients and landing more freelance clients, it's all about placing the focus on the client in the pre-phase. A lot of times, in the "ice-breaking stage" of getting to know eachother, freelancers tend to overly talk about themselves, but really should focus on listening to how they can best help the client. This is one of the most common and biggest mistakes that freelancers innocently make in the pre-phase. It’s important in the beginning of any relationship to talk about yourself a little bit to break the ice and to make sure you understand each other, but the emphasis should mainly be about the client. The first impression while in the pre-phase is crucial when landing a client. By asking the right questions, you are able to get the right info needed to drive successful results for them, and look sincerely interested in what the client has to say.

You can do this by simply just listening to the client's needs, struggles, and goals with the project they want you to help them with. When you are offering a service to clients, it’s important to get to know them, and the ‘Why’ behind what help they are truly looking for from you. To find out what the clients true needs are, you first need to ask questions that dig into their pain points . It’s important to not make assumptions of what you think the client really needs. To have client’s outline their pain points, you can ask them what do they want and expect from you?

If they're not able to give you a straight answer you need to make sure that this is the right type of client that you want to work with because you need to be able to measure success, especially when just starting out with a new client. By asking questions will show you both if you are a good fit to work together and will get the client to open up and tell you specific areas they are needing help the most. In fact, the client would love for you to just listen because people LOVE talking about themselves and will tell you everything you need to know if you’re disciplined and tuned in enough to hear THEM and THEIR problems.

To have lasting relations with clients, you need to make them feel that you care about them, and make your clients feel comfortable enough to share their genuine feedback about their experience with you. Their feedback will help you secure future work and lets you know where you can improve to serve your clients better in the future.

"Always begin with: 'So that I can better serve you, do you mind if I ask a few questions?"

- Jodie Shaw

Here are a few example questions you can ask them such as:

How do you want to measure success?

What platforms are best working for your business?

What have you done in the past that hasn't exceeded to your

expectations?

Why do you need a freelancer's help?

What is your budget?

When do you want to start?

What is the best way to get in contact with you?

How can I help you do your job better?

What are your long-term goals with this?

By asking these questions that are focused on the client in the pre-phase, it will help you earn the client's trust, and increase the chances of them turning into a repeat customer. Use their feedback to your questions to customize your offerings accordingly to continue the process of the project, or simply pass on the offer if you find it is not a good fit. Remember, every potential client and project you come across may not necessarily be a good fit, and you won’t know this unless you ask the right questions.

#2 - The Middle-Phase

Once you land the client, you enter what is called the 'middle-phase'. This is where you're working on the project with them. During this phase, the client will decide if you are a good fit ultimately by the results you drive for them, and the communication you keep during the project. During this middle-phase is where you want to make sure you're constantly asking them and you're checking in with them on everything you're working on.

This is where a lot of freelancers make a big mistake, because a lot of times people will get hired and they'll reduce the amount of communication with the client. It's not that they won't be working on the project but they're not in good communication with the client about where they are at. This leaves a dangerous gap for things to go wrong. In order to continue to get good ratings and have satisfied clients, you need to provide really good work and communication during the project. In fact, it’s crucial to ask the right questions in the middle-phase so you can avoid making mistakes and receiving a hurtful feedback comment from an upset client at the end of the project. In order to have a satisfied client and receive a good review in the end, you must make sure you’re both on the same page, and keep up with communication.

“No matter how creative your ideas are, you can’t achieve a client’s goals unless you know what they are.” - Unknown

It’s understandable when you get in front of the client that you want to appear knowledgeable, and know everything they need to help them, but the sooner you accept that you don’t have all the answers, the sooner you’ll get your project off to the right start. No matter how much research you do before beginning a project, all the work you put into it will be for nothing if you don’t exceed to what the client’s expectations were. At the end of the day they want to work with the best freelancer who they feel can help them expand their business visions, and goals. Your goal as a freelancer is to help them do their jobs better.

Sometimes, you may find that clients may not know what is best for them, but it’s still your job to ask what they need and continue to keep asking until you get accurate answers. During the middle project phase it’s important to keep asking questions and following up to make sure you are on the right track with the client's visions and goals. Some of the other things you want to go into while you're actually working on the project with the client is finding out who their actual target customer is because then you can use that information and tailor everything you're doing around that information so you can have more success. You can also ask questions such as:

“What could we do better to meet your desired experience?”

“What one or two things do you think we did better than our competitors?”

“What areas do you want me to focus more on?”

Get a good understanding of the goal your client is looking for and use it to measure the success of the project. Say you’re doing a project on designing an online ad campaign for your client. The first step you will want to do is know whether the client wants to measure its success based on how many people click through to buy a product, or by how many people just see the ad. Finding out this information allows you to receive feedback on which direction the client wants to go and what success looks like for them. The information you receive may even change how you approach the project and what kind of questions to ask moving forward. By putting the time, communication, and thought into the project rather than just rushing on getting the project signed off, you’ll end up with a happier client who will be more likely to become a returning client or refer you to others.

#3 - The Post-Phase

The secret to getting consistent clients that pay every single month is by asking the right questions even after you already landed the client and worked with them. The post-project phase is once you are done with the assignment whether it was a one-time project or if it was a long-term client. You will want to measure the value of your work in this phase. Once you can measure the value of work that you provided the client during the project you can use that to your advantage.

I see a lot of freelancers unfortunately not take advantage of the post phase, and look on to the next client and just have the mentality that they made their money with them, and move onto the next. While it is a benefit as a freelancer to be able to finish a project and work on a completely new project, in order to be a real profitable freelancer, you must build up a profitable career by always leveraging and following up with your network.

Your network is your networth as they say, and it really is true. A lot of freelancers don’t even blink twice at old clients and do follow up questions. You can do this by asking follow-up questions with people you've worked with, people that you didn't get the deal from in the past and ask and see if they need help now, or by asking for referrals from past clients. In the world of entrepreneurship we all tend to stick together and we know a lot of other people whether they're friends or family members that are also entrepreneurs that have their own business.

In addition, asking your past clients follow up questions gives you a chance to leverage word of mouth exposure because if you did a good job for the client during all the three phases, and the client feels like you were actually listening and focusing on exactly what they wanted, they are happy to spread the word to their other business owner friends who you can land as referrals.

You can also get more referrals by asking questions that can lead you to landing more clients, such as “Is there anyone else you know that might want the same level of service?” The client may end up saying yes and will be more than happy to refer you to others, due to how happy they were from your service helping them. By asking questions, there’s always a chance the client will say no, but there’s also a chance for them to say yes, and you wouldn’t know all the opportunities awaiting for you unless you simply just asked that right question. Never let your hard work end with that one-time project, always be looking for ways to leverage your hard work and good reviews. This will help you land more additional clients in the future.

In Conclusion:

When it comes to working with a client, remember that in every phase you are within the client’s journey, make sure you keep the focus on the client and not on you.

By placing the focus on them you will see successful results, and gain their trust. It's all about asking the right questions during every single phase, and having good communication, which will lead you to landing more clients in the future.

Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

The Top 3 Benefits Of Being An Entrepreneur

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 00:25:13 GMT

Discover The Top Three Benefits Of Being An Entrepreneur...

There are many benefits to being your own boss, so I made a list of The Top 3 Benefits that I am most thankful for that the entrepreneurship lifestyle brings:

#1 - Health

#2 -Wealth

#3 - Relationships

#1 - Your Health

One of the first benefits to being an entrepreneur is having the ability to take better care of your health. When I became my own boss, I knew that this was one of the best decisions I've made for my overall mental and physical health. A lot of times when people think about health, they only think about their physical health, but it's not just your physical health, it's also your mental health , your state of mind, the mood you're in every day.

As an entrepreneur, there are many benefits such as being able to work from anywhere you want to, whether you chose to work at home, or at the local coffee shop, in the library, or at the park on a beautiful day. By being able to switch up your atmosphere and surround yourself by the right type of environment to work in will have you work and perform better. I am grateful for the freedom that I have to get the option to get my work done on my own time, and knowing I am in control of taking care of my body as needed throughout the day. I love that I don’t have to commute in traffic to get to work, or work at an office building every day. That was instant daily stress, which affected my health daily, that I no longer have to experience.

When I was working a nine to five, I enjoyed some of the work that I was doing, but it took a big toll on me by being in a little cubicle and having to sit there every single day and only having a certain amount of time off. That really started to take an impact not only on my physical health but also on my mental health because when you have a nine to five you don't have much time in your day due to a lot of your day being filled up with commuting to work, sitting at work, driving home, and then doing house chores or whatever you have to do, whether you have a family, or kids to take care of, etc.

Also taking a day off at my normal 9-to-5 to attend to my health was not always an easy option. There are times where I felt trapped and not able to give my health the full attention it needed and becoming my own boss truly saved me. I no longer have the anxiety and back pain that came from working a traditional corporate based job. Instead, I now can start work when I am ready, I can eat lunch when I am feeling hungry , I don’t have to wait for a “lunch break.” If I'm feeling drained, I can step away from my projects and devote time if I need to go for a walk or take the morning shift off, read a book, or go out in nature until I feel recharged enough to get back to work.

I am also able to select the type of people I want to work with or be around which is huge for mental health and productivity. Being an entrepreneur has given me the ability to work on different projects, and I love the constant learning that comes to being an entrepreneur. I have gratitude for having clients who I love working with, as well as being able to work on creative projects.

Overall, when you are an entrepreneur you have the ability to structure your day so that you can enter your work shift with ease, putting less stress on your health and more and peace. I can spend time in the morning to do yoga, and prepare myself for the day instead of feeling rushed and have to do double shifts every day. I'm able to structure my day around not only what's going to work best for my body, but also what's going to put me in the best state of mind because we all work differently.

Some people like to sit down in the morning and get everything done, while others need more time to wake up and prefer working at night so there's a lot of different kinds of schedules that vary person to person. By becoming an entrepreneur, I was able to ERASE all that stress I mentioned above, and take back my power by setting my own schedule and improve the quality of my health. Each day as an entrepreneur brings a wonderful balance to my life, and keeps me engaged, happy, and healthy. These are some of the health benefits that I now have as an entrepreneur, and I do not take these blessings for granted.

#2 - Your Wealth

One of the second major benefits to being your own boss is that your wealth is never capped like it is in a corporate job. When you work for yourself, you can earn how much you want. The benefit of being an entrepreneur is that you are in control of your earnings and working for yourself. I am grateful that being my own boss is overall a more stable and secure career path. This also provides financial freedom, so if you ever wanted to take a vacation, or have a nice place, or eat healthier food, it comes down to how much you are making. Working for yourself can turn into a 6 figure business, if you are dedicated. You are no longer restricted to one paycheck every two weeks and your income isn’t limited by your hourly or salaried rate, either. To live a life you love, you must be profitable and always scaling, never limited.

I am grateful for the benefit of having more income potential and to be able to charge what my work is worth. The more effort you put into finding clients and landing new jobs, the more income you can make. You get to build the dream career that you want and you have the freedom of full control over the work you take on, and how many streams of income that you want to have. When you're working a nine to five you usually only have one flow of income. This is where you're trading your time for money and one of the major reason why so many people have to work their whole lives until they're in their 60s or 70s and then retire. They barely scrape by to make it in their retirement because they never understood how to create financial freedom. This is because they didn’t know how to stop trading their time for money. Instead, as an entrepreneur you start trading your value for money. This is in the form of product services or whatever it is that you're doing as an entrepreneur. This gives you the ability to not get paid by the hour but to get paid for the value you’re delivering to companies.

When you have financial freedom it's a massive benefit in your life because beyond yourself think about your family, your friends, and your community, and all the causes that you care about in the world. When you're just working a nine-to-five or you don't have financial freedom you are stuck in your own world and not even able to think about helping your neighbor, helping your family, or anything. When you're an entrepreneur, you're able to create a real difference in your life and the people that matter to you. Becoming an entrepreneur will grant this to you through hard work, this is not an overnight thing. After you put time in, you'll start to see that the benefits of an entrepreneur is much bigger than having more money because when you have more money and you know how to use it as a tool that's when it opens up all the fun things that life has to offer. Having more abundance in your life can unlock:

Vacation trips with yourself, or with family
Buy things you've always wanted
Live in a safer area
Healthier food options
Driving that car you always wanted
Help and donate to your local community, or organizations

As you can see, there's so many things that money can do for you and your family, and your community, because when you work hard you get to live the life you want to live. When you have that financial freedom you can take back control of your life and spend more time with your parents, your kids and everyone around you. That is why wealth is the second benefit of being an entrepreneur.

#3 - Your Relationships

The third benefit that comes with being your own boss is having more time to nurture your relationships in life, such as family, friends, and even clients. As an entrepreneur, I am grateful for the flexible schedule that I am in control of to be able to do the things I want to experience in life, and not be held back due to a work schedule.

As an entrepreneur, you can plan life events that you don’t want to miss out on such as seeing your son's first home run, catching up with a friend who’s in town for one day, schedule out any medical and dental appointments, or to travel to see family. Many people who work nine-to-five jobs simply don't have the advantage of being able to work whenever they want to or create a day-to-day schedule that best fits their needs. They have a strict and non-flexible corporate work schedule to follow. That hindrance and restriction I felt at my corporate job affected the relationship I had not only with my relationships, but it also affected the relationship I had with myself internally. I wasn’t able to give myself the proper time and care to meet my needs on a daily bases, due to not being able to control my schedule. I am grateful that I am now my own boss, and to be able to spend time with loved ones and do the things that are most important to me in my life.

When you're stuck in one flow of income and have to go to an office every single day to get a paycheck, a lot of times relationships start to suffer because you don't have a lot of time to really put energy into nurturing different relationships. You’re stuck spending your energy in a job all day, everyday, and under-payed. Unfortunately when your job takes up your time, it will start to hinder relationships such as with your significant other. You end up not being able to spend a lot of time with them, which can drive some people apart. Let's say it's with your parents, they’re growing older and you want to be able to spend more time, or they live out of town, you really can't if you don't have many vacation days at a nine to five. When you're stuck on a certain schedule it gets very stressful to maintain these relationship aspects of your life but when you're an entrepreneur it opens up freedom.

When you do it the right way and you build yourself up and you start providing value that's when you can set your own schedule and you will no longer be tied down to a certain amount of paid time off. Whereas when you're an entrepreneur you can build an online steady flow of income which gives you the ability to just pick up and go see anyone, or go anywhere you want to in the world as long as you have a computer, a phone, and an internet connection. Work is an important factor in life, but should never take all of your energy and take over your whole life. Through entrepreneurship I am grateful for the benefit of the work-life, and social-life balance it brings to my life, and the more time I get with all of the relationships that matter the most to me.

In Conclusion:

If you're thinking about being an entrepreneur or you already are then look at how you can view your day-to-day life from a place of gratitude and this will help not only you but everyone else you come in contact with because there's no better time than now to really look at the things in our life that we're thankful for.

When we're living from a place of gratitude, we're able to serve ourselves better and not only that, but also to everyone around us. That is why health, wealth, and relationships are the top three benefits when you are an entrepreneur.

Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Top 10 Freelance Side Hustles That Pay $100+ Per Day

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 02:30:48 GMT

Have you ever wondered what side hustles you can start that make $100+ per day?

Discover 10 PROFITABLE ways you can start a business on the side by providing one of these specific online services that you can do from home.

The Real Way To Side Hustle

Before I go over the top ten side hustles you can do from home, I want to talk about what a side hustle actually is. A side hustle is a business you can start on the side of your main income stream, to give you extra cash-flow.

There are a lot of gurus on Youtube giving advice on what they think a “side hustle is”, and they are advising people to, for example, sell their old clothes or furniture on the Facebook marketplace . This is not a real side hustle that anyone should start when they are looking to start a business on the side. A real side hustle is something on the side of your existing source of income that you use to produce a consistent source of cash flow. Selling your old stuff is not considered a real side hustle because once you run out of old stuff to sell, your "side hustle" is over. You need a side hustle that provides recurring cash flow.

Another "easy" side hustle that gurus are promoting is to fill out surveys and watch advertisement videos . The truth is, this "side hustle" will pay you pennies on the dollar, which means you will have to fill out HOURS worth of surveys and watch countless videos just to make a few bucks. With all the hours you will end up putting in, this "easy" side hustle is simply not worth your time. You and your time are worth more than that.

If you are going to spend hours doing something on the side, put that time into building a real sustainable side hustle that can bring you anywhere from $1k - $10k in revenue each month . THAT will be worth your time!

Don't listen to the other "gurus" who tell you to sell your old dirty clothes for cash or fill out surveys for pennies an hour. If you want to learn more about how you can build a real side hustle, keep reading where I will be going over t he top 10 side hustles you can do from home, and make $100+ or more per day!

#1 - Virtual Assistant

The first out of the top ten side hustles that you can do from home, and make $100 a day is being an online virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is an independent contractor who works from home and works with clients who need administrative services. Being a virtual assistant is a great side hustle that does not require a lot of experience, and does not require you to do advanced tasks. If you are new to the online world, this is a side hustle to start, and you will learn a lot by helping business owners behind the scenes. Virtual Assistants do tasks for business owners such as:

Email Management
Social media management
Calendar management
Blog writing
Coding
Scheduling
Content creation
Graphic Design
Website management

You can choose what virtual assistant services to offer based on what you enjoy the most. By performing one of these skills as a virtual assistant, or performing multiple tasks, you can make great side money. You are in control of how much you charge your clients. Once you develop your skills and get more specialized you can start to raise your prices , making this side hustle a great way to earn $100+ a day or more!

#2 - Writing Blogs & Articles

The second out of the top ten side hustles is writing blogs and articles. This is an in-demand service that you can start right away since all businesses need writers aka 'copywriters' to help them write content for their content. Including:

Articles
Blogs
Case Studies
SEO Content (content optimized for search engines)
Product Reviews & Descriptions
Social Media Content
Newsletters
Editorials
Press Releases
Copywriting
Editing

If you are just getting started online, and you want to start a side hustle through copywriting, start by writing articles, and blogs. Writing online is a very flexible side hustle because there are no set hours and you can do this at home or when you have a little bit of extra time.

You can just sit down and write the article and get paid up to $50, $100, or more a day depending on how much you want to write and how good you can get at copywriting!

You can go on freelancing sites such as Upwork.com to start building a profitable side income or even a full-time income. This is a platform where you can create an account and build up your writing portfolio, and start writing for clients immediately.

There are thousands of writing jobs posted daily. Writing content that helps businesses attract traffic and make more money is a very lucrative side hustle that you can earn up to $100+ or more a day.

#3 - Editing Videos

A video editor is someone who works with video to put clips together and add effects to keep the audience hooked from start to finish. If you have ever done any video editing, have an interest in movies, or spend a lot of time on Youtube, then editing videos is a great side hustle for you to begin.

The online video industry is booming, especially on major social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Tik-Tok. These platforms prioritize video-based content. This makes editing videos an in-demand skill that you can start right away because businesses need help with editing their videos and don’t have a lot of time, so they outsource this service to freelancers who can help them!

“Freelance video editors’ average salary is $20 an hour

in the U.S.”

( Payscale )

You don’t have to be experienced to get started, and many helpful free sites have tools that you can use as a beginner. You can take courses, and free online classes to get started, and the best way to sharpen this skill is simply through consistent practicing. You do not need a lot of equipment either to get this side hustle started.

You can edit videos for:

Youtube
Upwork
Fiverr
LinkedIn
Small Businesses

The industries listed above are a great place to start. Youtube for example has content creators who need to outsource their videos to a freelance video editor to help them edit their videos that attract audience members. Youtuber’s don’t just film their video and post it, they need someone to spend time editing their content together.

There is an editing tool I recommend called Camtasia, which is a one-time charge and will give you access to features such as adding text, icons, music, transitions, and more. This will help businesses save time, and be able to post a lot more attractive video content. If you can provide this value to business owners, they will be more than happy to pay you hundreds of dollars for helping them.

#4 - Voice overs

If you don’t like to particularly be on camera, but you like to speak and you have a good voice, then voice-over work could be a great side hustle for you. The opportunities are expanding as the demand rises for this talent. This ties in with the third side hustle with video editing because businesses are outsourcing their videos to voice-over artists to narrate the tone that matches the video.

You can go online to either Upwork, or Fiverr, and find clients that are looking for specific roles with voice-over actors such as Male voice, Female voice, or a specific accent. There are many avenues when it comes to making money online through voice-acting depending on which role you play best with your voice. You don’t need fancy equipment to get started either, all you need to get yourself started to be a voice-over artist is to have an affordable microphone like the AT-2020 microphone for example.

You can find clients to do voice-over work on platforms such as voice.com, Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, your local radio station, or mainly any freelance website. Once you sign up, you can start creating a portfolio and start to build up a recurring client base to work with.

“Voice over actors can make anywhere from $20 to a couple of hundred dollars for just an hour of work.”

(-T he Art Career Project )

Voice-over acting can be a very lucrative side hustle. You can start and earn up to $100 a day or more on the side through voice-over acting for many different types of businesses, there is no limit, especially with all of the social media platforms favoring video-based content. The great thing about it is you can do it from the comfort of your own home, and just start speaking. If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing, I encourage you to try it out and see if it is a good fit to be your profitable side hustle.

#5 - Social Media Management

The fifth side hustles that you can earn $100+ per day is social media management . As a social media manager, you manage online businesses' presence through platforms such as Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If you already use these social media platforms, you enjoy using the tools, the layouts, and you understand the platforms, this may be a great online side hustle for you.

As a social media manager these are the normal tasks you would complete:

Manage Brand Pages and Profiles
Create Engaging Posts
Analyze Posts Performance & Analytics
Publish & Schedule Posts
Interact With Engagers

Businesses and companies outsource these tasks to social media managers because they don’t have a lot of time to manage this side of their business online. It takes a lot of time to create posts and craft engaging content that ultimately turns into leads for the company. They need someone to help them manage all of that.

#6 - Social Media Ad Management

Social media ad management is the process of helping businesses run paid advertisements on social media platforms.

Businesses need ads to get in front of new users to make the top of line revenue, and the best place to reach online users is through these social media platforms. This side hustle requires a little training and is more advanced than the other side hustles listed, but this is one of the most profitable ones because the earning potential is so substantial.

You can set up and manage ads on social media platforms such as:

Facebook Ads
Google Ads
Youtube Ads
LinkedIn Ads
Snapchat Ads
Pinterest Ads
Twitter Ads
Instagram Ads

It only takes a few online clients that pay you anywhere from one to five thousand a month to manage their ads to seriously change your entire life. This side hustle can quickly scale to over six figures a year in income once you become advanced. Learning this skill can open up many lucrative opportunities and can turn into your full-time career if you want it to.

#7 - Google Ads Management

Google has four different networks:

Search Network
Display Network
Shopping Network
YouTube Network

When you decide to become a Google Ads Manager, you will be working with companies to set up and manage online ad campaigns on one of Google's networks.

By setting up and managing profitable ads for companies, you put yourself in the best position to charge monthly recurring revenue. As you may or may not know, this is the HOLY GRAIL of any business.

So if you can capitalize on delivering effective Google Ads management for clients you can build a sustainable side hustle that will provide significant earning potential. Google provides an online library of free content to help you learn the best practices when it comes to running ads so you can have the most success.

#8 - Designing Websites

Web design skills are in-demand and anyone who has the desire to design websites can expect to find many clients waiting to make use of their services. Designing websites is overall a great way to make money online, and as a side hustle this skill is in-demand because businesses need help designing their website to attract new customers.

You don’t need to be experienced to get started because there are a lot of tools and h elpful drag-and-drop online website builders you can use to design websites. A few popular platforms are:

Providing website design services to clients can easily make you $100 a day or more because the opportunities are endless when it comes to helping other businesses with their online presence. A lot of times even if a client does have a website, that website's design may be outdated and not converting at the rate they’d like.

This is where you can help and make the website more optimized for conversions, making the layout easier for customers to get in touch with the business, or to buy a product or service. It all ties into the way the design is on the website and the way it is built.

#9 - Email Marketing

Email marketing is where you craft the different messages, of fers, and promotions that go out to a companies email subscriber list. There's a lot of different types of emails you can send for different purposes, such as:

Broadcast Emails
Triggered Emails
Targeted Emails

You can provide email marketing services by using platforms like Active Campaign or Constant Contac t and what you can do is you can tap into those lists of people who have already bought from the business and provide them more revenue. You'd be surprised, because a lot of times businesses either aren't doing email marketing at all, or they're not doing it enough, or they don't even have any automations built out. A lot of businesses out there can benefit from Email marketing.

If you know anything about marketing or sales you know it takes on average of five to 12 touch-points before a customer buys something. So that is why email marketing is massive and if you can provide this

the online side hustle, and you can show companies how much revenue that you're providing them,

this will keep you on their payroll for months and you can be earning thousands from every single client, which makes email marketing a profitable side hustle that you can earn $100 a day or more from .

There are a lot of different areas just within email marketing alone where you can specialize in and focus your skill set around. Ultimately it comes down to this: When you can tie yourself to how much money a business is making, and you can look at that email analytics and show your clients how much business it created, that's when you're going to be able to have the most success with email marketing being your side hustle. If you want to learn more in-depth about email marketing, I made a blog talking about email marketing, click here to read!

#10 - Graphic Design

If you're artistic, and you like to edit photos, or you like to draw things or create things online, then this is a great online side hustle for you to provide.

Some of the most common reasons businesses hire a graphic designer is for:

New logo and branding package
Website design
Facebook and Instagram Social Media Posts
Pinterest Pins
Youtube Thumbnails

You don’t have to be a professional designer to get started with graphic design. In fact, the best part is that there are free tools to help you along the way! My favorite is Canva , and it allows you to create visually appealing social media graphics, banners, logos, and much more.

In Conclusion

If you want to have more freedom in your life, and do things such as have more vacations, be able to buy your dream car, or whatever it may be for you, having a side hustle will provide that financial security that everyone deserves to have.

-Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Do Introverts Make Successful Entrepreneurs?

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:09:01 GMT

Is it possible to have success as your own boss if you are not an extrovert?

There’s a common relation when it comes to introverts that they are known as people who are shy, anxious, and mostly quiet. While this may be true, it’s important to remember that when it comes to success, introverts bring their own special benefits to the business world by being exactly the way they are. Keep reading to find out how introverts make successful entrepreneurs.

Introverts In The Business World

Before we dive into the business world and if introverts make successful entrepreneurs, first what is an introvert? An introvert is someone who likes to:

Recharge on their own
Have their own space
Keep to themselves
Not always be around people 24/7
Work better by themselves

If you saw yourself in any of these bullet points then you’re likely an introvert. If you are introverted, there's a chance you might be an empath too. An empath is a person who absorbs the emotion of others like a sponge and experiences these emotions as their own. While empaths are intuitive and compassionate people, their high level of sensitivity makes them prone to experiencing issues, such as anxiety, depression, and physical illnesses, especially when working in the wrong type of business industry.

"The workplace can be a place of great joy and self-fulfillment or a place of intense stress and emotional overload for empaths."-The Awakened Empath

In the book “The Awakened Empath” there is a very interesting chapter surrounding the topic of the workplace environment and where people such as introverts and empaths can thrive. There are also certain work environments where introverts do not succeed and shouldn't be putting their energy in based on their personality type.

If you're like me you might also be introverted sometimes but then other times you like to be extroverted, so you're not just one or the other all the time. This is why introverts need to carefully plan their career choices. Introverts thrive but only when in the right environment. Introverts flourish and feel energized when they feel they are contributing their gifts to this planet. This is because introverts are artists, visionaries, and inventors at heart.

For introverts to have true success, they need to choose careers that they feel are satisfying the desire of their soul. They thrive in jobs that are multi-layered, flexible, and varied because as introverts, they tend to get bored easily especially in restrictive environments such as large corporate places. Introverts naturally like to be by themselves and the worst environment for us introverts is to work in an environment with little privacy, too many people, aggressive work politics, and working on things they aren’t passionate about. Introverts don’t generally thrive in large corporations.

If you are an introvert and you find yourself in a job where you feel:

That doesn't suit you
Bored with your day to day work
That it doesn’t align with your soul purpose
You don’t like the people you’re around surrounded by

Then that my be a sign that your current job is not a good fit for you to succeed. The first step is to develop an escape plan and then decide what is best for you. One of the most awful experiences is to feel devalued in your job and feel taken for granted especially when you have so much to offer this planet.

Introverts Success Path To Self-Employment

If you're an introvert and thinking about going down the path of being self-employed, first start to explore what you're drawn to and passionate about.

You can do something that aligns with your passion and look if there's a specific part of the market or a niche that you resonate with. Ask yourself "what do I want to change the most in this world?" Think big, not small. A lot of times introverts are entrepreneurs. One of the most popular introverts that you might know is Elon Musk.

He is an introvert, but he became an entrepreneur and forces himself to put the words together that are in his head to get it out there because he is purpose-driven to change the world, and he feels that it is his soul's mission. So I'm here to tell you if you're introverted, but you have that passion like Elon or even if you just like to have your alone time and you recharge by yourself best, then definitely look into starting your own business, because you don’t want to be held back in the wrong business and never get to contribute your gifts and your passion out there.

"Self-employment is one of the best options for us as empaths and as well as introverts" -The Awakened Empath

There are many different ways you can start your path to entrepreneurship, but one of the most profitable is by providing your services online. I always recommend people who are just starting to research Upwork.com, Fiverr.com, and Freelancer.com. Not only is this the best path for introverts, working online is the future.

A lot of times when people want to get started working online, people don't know exactly what they're good at or what their gifts are. If you are wondering what your gifts are, start to ask people around you, your friends, your family, and just see what type of skills you're good at . Whether you have a very analytical mindset and you like to break things down. Or maybe you're good at communication and it's second nature for you to talk to people and tell stories. Find what you are good at and passionate about and there will lie what your strengths are.

Some types of jobs that introverts do well in, are doing remote-work based jobs, work from home jobs, pet sitter jobs, writing blogs, freelance designers, editors, writers, independent contractors, consultants, and even therapists. That’s just to name a few. The best way to establish your career or own personal business as an introvert is to ask yourself:

What are my talents and strengths?

What am I most drawn and passionate about?

Is there an in-demand market or niche for my passion online?

What do I want to change the most in this world?

Write down all of your ideas, plans, and passions. Self-employment is different from typical employment. If you are not yet doing this, I encourage you to set time aside and explore what you truly want, need, and value to make working for yourself worthwhile, and success will follow.

Introvert Benefits In Entrepreneurship

Introverts benefit more by being their own boss vs being in a large corporation. This is because introverts do better when working in their environment, not because they can’t work around others, but because introverts like choosing the energy they are around and working on projects they enjoy doing. I didn't know if I'd be able to just full-blown be an entrepreneur but I worked my way there making freelancing my side-hustle at first.

Working for yourself is worth it when you can wake up every day and be comfortable in your environment and you don't have to physically put yourself around other people, commute in traffic and be in negative environments that unfortunately oftentimes are in the corporate workplace. There are many benefits for introverts in entrepreneurship such as the ability to:

Set your own hours
Be your own boss
Work from the comfort of your own home
Travel to family or around the world
Work on creating your own dreams.
Only need a laptop

It’s no wonder why this shift towards working online is happening now. Many people including extroverts are jumping on the work from home bandwagon because of all the benefits. You can be super introverted and still have a lot of success in the corporate world but you’ve got to love what you do, because you cannot be successful on a big scale doing stuff that you don’t enjoy doing. For most of your life, you are going to work, so it’s important to find things that you love doing and that gets you excited.

You can also outsource and get help from other freelancers with things that you're not good at. For example, with sales calls, as an introvert this part of the job can be uncomfortable. So If there are five things that you need for your business to be successful and you're only good at two of those skills, the benefit of being an entrepreneur is you can outsource the things you need help with such as sales calls.

These are some of the many reasons introverts benefit from being their own boss.

In Conclusion

For introverts, the type of environment you put yourself in crucial to how much success you will be able to have and how comfortable you will be doing it. If you want more on this discussion I made a video talking about introverts and the business world: Click here to watch. I am excited for you and I look forward to your future success!

- Paul Mendes, Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Grow Your Freelance Business Organically

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 03:43:46 GMT

These Are 3 Ways To Grow Your Freelance Business...

Keep reading down below where I break down these three organic and tangible ways on how you can GROW a real freelance business that has monthly recurring cash-flow.

Get More Clients Through Your Pipeline
Practice Upskilling
Secure Long-Term Clients

1.) Get More Clients Through Your Pipeline

The first way to grow your freelance business is by focusing on filling your pipeline with multiple clients. You do this by getting people into your sales cycle. For example, if you are freelancing, you will need different clients to be able to provide your services too. Whether you have a recurring client and you need to get another additional client, or if you already have a couple of clients and you are ready to start earning more money , then you need to start getting more clients into your pipeline that are paying you. You can fill your pipeline up through:

Qualified Clients
Referrals
Networking
Expanding Your Reach

There's a lot of different ways you can fill your pipeline. First, you can start by going on freelancing websites like Upwork and Fiverr. These platforms are a great platform where you can get qualified clients who are posting thousands of jobs a day and are looking for freelancers like you to help them. Take advantage of these free freelance platforms because it is a sure way to get more clients into your pipeline and turn it into a monthly recurring revenue.

Then, I recommend filling your pipeline up by looking at how you can gain more referrals. This is the most effective way to fill your pipeline up. In fact:

“ 92% of buyers trust referrals from people they know”

- Nielsen

You would be surprised how many of your previous clients have referrals for you if you just ask. You can also look at any previous clients you have had and reach out to them. Referrals are an on-going thing, even if you ask for a referral a year ago from a client, it’s always good to follow up with your database and past connections that you built solid relationships with and see if there is an opportunity awaiting you to provide your services!

This is also why I recommend networking to fill your pipeline because attending networking events online, or in-person is an effective way to fill your pipeline up because you’re building relationships with potential clients and get to know them and their problems you could solve for them. When people can put a face to a brand, it builds a stronger level of trust which is key to driving more clients through your pipeline that turn into customers. Go online and look at networking events virtually or in-person near you to get in on these lucrative opportunities and future connections.

You can also look into expanding your reach by providing your services to your friends and family by using social media or word of mouth. These connections are one of the most important and supportive connections that you will have. Family and friends are important to growing your freelance business, especially when first starting. Start to expand your reach and offer your services to any friends or family who may be interested. They offer support, guidance, finances, and advice which a small business owner needs to grow their business.

In Bank of America's Small Business Owner Repor t , they found that over (35%) said that friends and family help them the most with running their business. This survey also states that over (53%) of the small business owners rely on family to serve important business roles, and an additional of (38%) of the entrepreneurs surveyed have received a financial gift or a helpful loan from family and/or friends at some point to help fund their business.

You should be focusing on making a relationship with everyone you meet before selling them your services anyway. Focus on first making a trustworthy connection and then sell them down the line. You can even offer special discounts and get testimonials from your friends and family when you are starting out. You can also let them know you will give them the highest level of customer service, just as you do with every one of your customers! By letting them know you give EVERYONE your best service encourages future referrals from your friends and family to people they may know who might benefit from your services.

This all ties back into that opportunity to network, get referrals, and have potential long-term recurring clients with friends or family by already having that established relationship and trust. That is some of the ways which you can grow your freelance business.

2.) Practice Upskilling

The second way to grow your freelance business is by focusing on upskilling. Upskilling is the process of learning an additional skill or service you can provide that compliments your initial skill. By combining multiple services that compliment each other, you are more valuable to clients. Therefore, you can get paid more.

Think of the marketer who continues to learn how to use new digital tools or the engineer who masters a new coding language. Upskilling gives you the ability to always continue:

Expanding Your Knowledge
Expanding Your Skillset
Increasing Your Rates
Increasing Your Value

This gives you the advantage to help your clients even more and become an asset to them. Look at different ways you can start to expand your knowledge, and expand your value with whatever freelance service you provide.

Ultimately, the more you focus on upskilling (advancing your skillset), the more value you have the ability to provide.

3.) Secure Long-Term Clients

The third way to grow your freelance business is by focusing on securing and maintaining long-term clients. Long-term clients are clients that stay with you for multiple months, if not multiple years.

Long-term clients give have a much higher earning potential compared to constantly performing one-time gigs/projects . By becoming a part of a companies digital freelance team, you open the door ways to building a successful online business. When you have long-term clients you are able to charge them monthly which provides a predictable source of recurring revenue for you.

On the other hand, if you focus your time on one-time gigs and short-term projects, you put yourself at a disadvantage. Not only do you have to constantly deal with on-boarding clients, but you never get to tap into the gold mine of recurring monthly revenue!

Usually, the most challenging part is that initial period when you get the client, you do the on-boarding, you're getting to know them, and getting to know their business. It's vital to show your client you care about your work and the value you are going to provide. It needs to be your goal from the start to turn each client opportunity into a long-term project that pays consistently.

"Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create raving fans."

- Ken Blanchard & Mollie Beck

As you follow these steps for delivering a top-level customer experience, you will grow a firm base of loyal clients who will buy from you time and time again. Focus on fostering and maintaining these long-term relationships and you will see your online income and freelance business soar.

In Conclusion

Filling your pipeline up, learning how to upskill to provide more value, and building long-term relationships with clients are the three most tactical ways to ensure you get consistent monthly income so you can grow your freelance business organically.

T hank you for spending time improving your future. I am excited for you and I look forward to your future freelance success!

- Paul Mendes, Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Escape The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Cycle

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:46:20 GMT

Is Your Paycheck Always Gone Immediately After You Get It?

Many people are stuck in the viscous cycle of living paycheck-to-paycheck and never seem to have enough to make ends meet. In fact , according to CareerBuilder "78% of U.S workers are living paycheck-to-paycheck." This makes living situations more difficult to budget and overall creates a stressful lifestyle. While escaping the seemingly never-ending paycheck-to-paycheck cycle may not be the easiest thing, it is possible to get ahead by shifting your mindset into creating new healthy habits for a more secure future.

Everybody has the power to escape this paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. We all have access to the internet which is where limitless opportunities lie. The truth is, escaping this cycle is not easy and cannot happen overnight. However, once you apply these mindset tips below, it will be possible for you to build a more secure position in your life.

Managing Your Money

If you are dedicated towards building wealth for yourself and your family, it all starts with being able to have extra cash flow each month after all your bills. Yes this is possible, but first start setting aside money if you haven’t already. If you’re not setting aside any money, then you’re in a dangerous position that leaves you vulnerable to all the unexpected set-backs that will arise while you're in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. This can put you in an even worse position than you are now. That is why you must first shift your mind into training it to set money aside and not touch it.

If you’re maxing out your credit cards to due to a shopping habit habit or to buy necessities during a financial rough season, you will eventually hit your credit limit. You can't get wealthy if you aren't saving any of what you earn! Take your power back and make a commitment to resolving your financial situation.

Once you have money left over at the end of the month, you have the power to save and invest into yourself. W ithout these savings, you won't have the ability to build financial security now or in the future. So that is why it's important to start setting aside money and making it a ritual habit to save, instead of spending it all at once.

Taking Control Of Your Finances

To escape the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, you must take full control of your finances by first taking control of yourself. For many people, the inability to manage money is actually the incapability to manage themselves. If you are stuck in a rut or a plateau in your career, the trick is to first create an actionable plan. Take a step back and look at what you can and can not control.

Know that earning more money is in your control. With this mindset shift, you will be able to start to take back your power, and have financial security, once you have management of yourself, you then can manage your money and expand it. When debt takes hold of your financial life, it will rob you of the ability to create a happy, secure, and comfortable future for yourself and your family, and it limits you from achieving the dreams and goals you have.

When you get control of your life, you are in a better position for yourself, and your family such as being able to own a home or multiple homes, retirement, enough to send your child to college, vacation around the world etc. Whatever it may be, take back your power by squashing your debt, and lack of earnings.

When you allow debt to take control of your life, it will put a lot of unnecessary strain on your finances, and will limit you from:

Making positive progress if you want to invest in the future
Building an emergency fund
Reaching your personal financial goals
Having a more secure future for yourself and your family

By taking a step back and controlling what you are spending your current income on is the first step to escaping the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Doing this puts you in the position to take control of your finances and ultimately improve your life.

Planning Ahead

Planning starts by looking at the dreams you have set for yourself and your family. These dreams represent your values and goals. Every financial move you make should get you a little closer to achieving those goals. This is accomplished by first planning out your ideal future financial situation, and then taking action on what needs to be done to facilitate change.

To put it simply, you have to have a clear understanding of where you are at right now, and where you want to go in the future. Planning can also give you a clear idea about your current financial situation. It can be difficult, especially if you’re struggling with not making enough money now and don’t want to face it.

However, embracing reality makes you more equipped to make these positive changes. If you are not facing reality or taking action steps, that may be a big part of the reason why you are still trapped in this cycle.

Start a Side Hustle

While there are many types of ways to make money on the side, my personal side hustle recommendation that is the most profitable is through freelancing. As a freelancer you can earn money online and have multiple clients paying you hundreds if not thousands depending on the type of in demand skill you offer. Starting a side hustle will put you in a more powerful position in life with your finances. When unexpected expense comes up, you now have the online cash flow to take care of it as well as the ability to go online and land another paying client.

As a freelancer, your salary is never capped like it is in a corporate job. When you work for yourself, you can earn however much you desire . Being in control of your earnings and working for yourself actually makes freelancing an overall more stable and secure career path as opposed to a typical corporate position.

The days where you have to settle for a set salary and small yearly bonuses are gone. You now have the ability to access abundance online. Once you become a freelancer, you can get paid for the work that you put in. It is a secure position to be in knowing that all your hard work that you do is paid off when you are a freelancer. There is no more limits to being tied to a set paycheck because you create your own earnings, on your own time.

Once you escape the trap of living paycheck-to-paycheck and build multiple flows of online income , the more freedom and security you will be able to create in your life.

Many people who are unhappy with their 9-to-5 jobs are beginning to flock to creating money online by providing freelance services. It makes sense, because freelancing is one of the most exciting and sensible side hustles you can start. With dedication and consistency, it can build a more secure future for yourself and your family and help you escape the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

In Conclusion

If you’ve been so focused on making ends meet each month that you haven’t been able to even think about the future, this is your opportunity to take action on creating the life you deserve!

"What you can create will absolutely astound you, but you have to start now."

- Marie Forleo

If you’re worried about just surviving until the next payday, It’s time to start putting your energy into building a better future and not let fear hold you back. The truth is, you if you never start, you'll always be wondering what could have happened if you didn't let fear hold you back.

Escaping the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and having a more secure future will not happen unless you start paying attention and start taking action to change your situation today!

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Put Yourself In The Right Place At The Right Time

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 00:52:20 GMT

Have you ever wondered how some people always seem to have luck on their side? It may seem like no matter what happens, some people are consistently always in the right place at the right time, and have better luck than others. The great news is, good luck can be CREATED. There is a certain mindset you must adapt to be able to put yourself in the right places to have success.

Continue to read how luck can be created by using these three simple motivational mindset tips down below:

Location
Practice
Relentless

1. Location

The first way you can create luck and have success is through location. Many people who others view as “having good luck” are those who actually put a good amount of effort to be in the right location at the right times.

In fact, successful people know how to make their own luck by putting themselves in the right locations as well as showing up prepared. That gives them the ability to capitalize on whatever comes their way.

As an entrepreneur, being in the right areas where clients can come to you is when you will start to have the most success. This is done by having a realistic expectation of what you can deliver as well as having clearly defined service packages and bundles that you deliver.

Having clearly defined expectations of what you can offer will help you close more deals and attract more clients because people want to know exactly what you can provide.

2) Practice

In addition to being in the best location to create your own luck, the second way to create luck is through practice. Think about it like this, the only way famous athletes can "get lucky" and score a winning shot is because of the thousands of hours of practice that they put in behind the scenes. You cannot expect to have success and be lucky in life if you remain stagnant and don't practice.

By continuing to practice the skills you can deliver and expand on them, you will be in the best position to take advantage of opportunities that arise. Practice showing up every day and show up well. When it comes to being in the right place at the right time, the place is more important than the timing.

An immense amount of opportunities meant for you will come around if you are consistently in the right place. You might get discouraged waiting for your chance, but you can’t allow those things to hinder your consistency. Work hard and be consistent. You will start to see positive results from constantly practicing what you want to manifest, or achieve.

When that opportunity does arise, now you are the best candidate for the job because you put in the work, practiced, and are 100% prepared to jump on it immediately.

3) Relentless

The third way you can create luck and have success is by being relentless. This means "mercilessness characterized by an unwillingness to relent or let up." The unfortunate reality is that most people quit when things get tough. They give up on their goals and dreams because they don't see the immediate results that they want.

That's why being RELENTLESS is essential if you are going to have success in your career and your life. Everyone who has reached a notable area of success has been on the verge of quitting multiple times on their journey.

The difference between them and the others who quit is that they committed themselves to never quit and to keep pushing forward. What if you were climbing a mountain, and it only took one more mile to get to that goal flag at the top? You're not just going to give up, you keep moving in the direction of where you feel called, and you will be placed where you belong.

Having this mindset of relentlessness will push you past your fears, and create luck in all areas of your life. Look failure directly in the eyes and say, “not today.” Yes, there will be challenges along the way such as making hard decisions with anything you are trying to achieve, but no matter the difficulty, never stop being relentless, never give up on your dreams, and never get in the way of yourself being in the right place at the right time. That is how winning is done and how success is achieved!

“It’s about being relentless in the pursuit of your goal and resilient in the face of bad luck and adversity.”

— Nick Saban

Push yourself outside your comfort zone, because nothing worthwhile is ever created without trying. Don't wait to feel confident before you apply action into creating luck and opening doors to new opportunities.

The truth is, the only person getting in front of your success...is you. At times, success may show up when you least expect it. There is no overnight success with the determined individual. Behind every success story lies a person who commits to honing in on their craft. Whatever you want out of life, you must go through a process to get it. The process will take time, energy, determination, sacrifice, and relentless focus. If you want it enough, you’ll find a way to get it done.

In Conclusion

Once you’ve been consistent, and showing up; it’s time to be relentless and take a chance. Make the opportunity come as you speak up a new idea or propose a new plan. Whatever that may be for you, you’ve got to recognize the opportunities you can take advantage of, then take action without hesitation. Do not allow hesitation as that is the enemy of successful momentum.

I invite you to implement these three motivational mindset tips in your life and watch how things change. Never forget that opportunities and wealth are all around you.... But it's up to you to be in the right location, be prepared, and be relentless so you can take advantage.

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

The 5 Most In-Demand Areas Of Copywriting

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 03:30:22 GMT

Copywriting is everywhere you look online .

I've narrowed it down to the five areas in copywriting that have the most potential to make freelancers the most amount of money. These are in-demand areas of copywriting which directly impact a businesses revenue, which makes them the most profitable opportunities to focus on.

These are different areas in copywriting that you can build your skill set around, beyond just writing one-off articles, or writing a blog here and there.

In order to really separate yourself from the competition and ultimately become a very high-paid copywriter in the online marketplace, keep reading down below where I will be revealing what those top five most in-demand areas in copywriting are and how you can capitalize on them.

Introduction To Freelance Copywriting

First, you will want to understand what exactly copywriting is. Copywriting is the foundation of every successful business. Copywriting isn't just writing random words, it's crafting persuasive writing that showcases a product or service's benefits and encourages people to take action.

That is the type of copywriting which helps companies sell more products and more services. It is used to help connect with the target market's pain points and is what ultimately pushes them to make a purchase.

1) Email Marketing

The first area of copywriting that you can make the most money in copywriting is through email marketing. My preferred email marketing platform is Active Campaign.

“Put the right emails in front of the right people”

-Active Campaign

What Active Campaign does: Active campaign help copywriters get their specialized message, promotions, and recent events, out to their businesses or clients they are working with databases.

For these features, a lot of different businesses out there can benefit from using copywriting through Email marketing . There's a lot of different types of emails through Active Campaign that you can send, such as:

Broadcast Emails
Triggered Emails
Targeted Emails

As a copywriter, what you do is you help craft these different types of emails.

When you broadcast emails , you get to reach out to everyone in the business and let them know of a certain promotion, or something new happening.

Then there’s triggered emails where it lets send an email when someone takes a specific action on the company's website.

There are also targeted emails where you can start to send emails to specific segments of your audience and personalize your messaging.

The reason I love Active Campaign is because they have the necessary tools to help you succeed.

One of my favorite tools they provide is their subject line generator. This helpful tool will spit out a bunch of unique headlines you can use in your emails and other copywriting.

All you have to do is select the keyword category: Benefit, Topic, or Pain Point.

Next, you enter the keyword(s) you'd like to target and that's it. Whenever you have writers block or just need a spark of inspiration, give it a try and spice up your copy!

As you can see, there's a lot of different areas just within email marketing alone where copywriters are needed, and this is what helps businesses make more money.

When you can tie yourself to how much money a business is making, and you can look at that email analytics the analytics and show your clients how much business it created, that's when you're going to be able to have the most success as a copywriter.

2) Email Marketing Automation

The second area within copywriting that's the most in-demand, is Email Marketing Automation.

What is Email Marketing Automation? Email marketing automation (often referred to as "drip campaigns") gives you the functionality to set up a sequence of different emails a prospect will receive, based on a specific situation. This grants the ability to craft an ultra-targeted experience for each user, which ultimately results in more sales.

One example of where email automation can be used, is with eCommerce stores. Let's say you get a client who has a Shopify store and they don't have a custom abandoned cart email automation.

As a freelance copywriter, you can set up an email automation sequence that sends emails to those contacts who left early to get them to come back to the store and finish their purchase. The better the copywriting is on each email in the sequence, the more sales they will be able to capture.

Businesses need these emails written from a copywriter that knows what they're doing to get these customers who abandon their cart to come back and make the final purchase.

For this reason, that is how you're going to be able to set yourself apart from a copywriter who's just writing one off blogs and articles, because you’ll be attaching yourself to the revenue what you are crafting can generate. When you do this, you are no longer the same as the competition. You are combining the skill of copywriting with another skill of email marketing automation which makes you much more valuable in the online marketplace.

3) Messenger Bots

The third most in-demand area within copywriting right now, is Messenger Bots .

What Messenger Bots do: Messenger Bots, AKA 'C hatbots' are basically a form of email marketing, but on Facebook and through Text Message. Messenger Bots are geared towards people who are in the digitally savvy millennial generation.

More businesses are recognizing the potential that a Messenger Bot sequence with good copywriting can have on their business. That's because these types of messages typically receive very high open rates as compared to emails.

My favorite Messenger Bot software is a tool called Many Chat.

Photo: by Many Chat

Notably , direct messages drive more sales because people have their phone on them at all times and they're getting notifications on Facebook and Instagram and they want to see what's happening and who’s messaging them.

For example: These messenger bots will send automated messages that look like this:

A powerful feature that Messenger Bots give you is the ability to ask a user questions and provide real time customized messages based on their answers.

To increase your income as a freelance copywriter, you can bundle together the following services:

- Set up a Messenger Bot sequence with your client's Facebook page

- Craft the copywriting needed in each message to drive more sales

- Monitor and update the message sequence based on the data that comes in

Bundling additional in-demand skills with your copywriting will open up more opportunity for you and the clients you work with.

4) Landing Pages

The fourth area of copywriting that's in demand is creating the copy that's on landing pages.

A landing page is a singular page of a website where a business is driving traffic.

As a freelance copywriter, you can craft the copy and headlines on the landing page to help your client convert a higher percent of every user who enters the funnel. Businesses need copywriters who can speak directly to the their target audience through persuasive copy.

In addition, A/B testing different headlines and seeing which one performs best is another service high-end copywriters provide. This opens the doorway for you to build an ongoing relationship with each copywriting client and maximize the amount you can earn from each project.

It also helps you continue to improve the copywriting and build more trust with the target audience.

Landing page copywriting is a very lucrative area of copywriting, because if a customer can quickly understand what a business is offering through relatable copy and compelling headlines, in effect, people will start to trust the brand and convert into customers.

That puts you in the driver seat of your freelance career because you are offering a valuable service which goes beyond what most people limit copywriting to.

5) Paid Ads

The fifth and final area that is in-demand within copywriting, is Paid Ads.

How Does Copywriting Apply To Paid Ads? Billions of dollars are spent by businesses every year running online advertisements for their products and services. These appear on all the most popular websites, search engines, and social media websites people access every single day.

As the online ad marketplace continues to grow and expand, so does the demand for freelance copywriters who can write compelling ads that help turn more viewers into converters.

One of my favorite tools I like to use when writing copy for ads is the Facebook Ad Library.

This super ninja tool allows you to see all the different type of paid ads that businesses are currently running. Want to know what a competitor is saying in their Facebook Ads? Search them on the library tool and you will be able to see exactly what types of ads are running as well as what the copywriting is within them.

Even with little copywriting experience, you can start to offer paid ad copywriting services by doing the following:

Seeing what pattern interrupts they're using in the beginning of their ads
Seeing what calls to action they're using
Seeing what kind of copywriting they're using
Seeing what words/jargon/vocabulary they are using
Seeing what types of emojis they are using

All of that is going to be extremely helpful with your copywriting for paid ads because it will outline a framework which you can follow for your freelance clients.

In Conclusion

To wrap up, working with online clients as a freelance copywriter gives you the opportunity to help your clients craft compelling copy that stands out and encourages users to take action. Look at copywriting as it connects directly to the sales it helps generate.

Once you understand the impact persuasive copy can have and are able to show it in real numbers, you will never have an issue getting clients and making money online again. This secures your future income and actually turns into a stream of cash flow, rather than a one-time gig or side project.

I hope this was a valuable blog that gave you more of a background view on how profitable copywriting can be. It's a skill that everyone has the building blocks for and can open the doorway to a profitable freelance future or additional side hustle for yourself.

Having an additional stream of income never hurts, especially around the holidays that are coming up. It's amazing to be able to give gifts to people, and it's one of the best feelings to be able to create extra cash flow online and have that extra financial security.

My name is Paul Mendes with Profitable Freelancer, and until the next blog, I look forward to your future freelance success.

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Start Freelancing From Home Right Now

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 20:12:30 GMT

There has never been a better time than now to make freelancing a part of your life.

Over 54 million Americans have taken the leap from their traditional job to a freelancing lifestyle. Continue to read down below to find out how you can do the same!

Understanding What Freelancing Is

First, you will want to understand what exactly Freelancing is. Freelancing is for anyone who wants to be self-employed and wants to create the life they desire. Whether you’re a mom, a retiree, employed, a college graduate, etc, freelancing can be a career for you. In fact, every age group has taken an interest in freelancing and have made it their career.

Freelancing is where you are working online from your home or anywhere you want. Freelancers go online to help business owners with tasks they don't have time for or don't know how to do.

Freelancing is also a very flexible position to have because you can do all your freelance tasks on your own time. This makes it very easy for anyone to fit freelancing into their life, even if they have a 9-5 job right now and want to start freelancing as a side hustle.

The freelancing lifestyle provides a multitude of benefits, such as:

The freedom of being your own boss

Working from anywhere you want

The ability to increase your earning potential

You pick your own schedule and can work Full-time or Part-Time

More flexibility and control in your life

You get to work on projects that excite you

You set your own hours each day and can spend more time with family

It's no surprise that freelancing has become a popular trend and more and more people are choosing this way of working.

With the entire marketplace shifting towards doing business online, the demand for freelancers has significantly gone up and is projected to continue skyrocketing.

Since freelancers get paid by offering their services to clients online, they get to work with all kinds of different businesses and on projects that are exciting. Freelancers have this option because they have the freedom to choose who they want to work with. They also get to choose different kinds of projects to work on as well.

If a freelancer doesn’t like the job, once they finish the project they can go to a different client. They are never tied down or strapped to one boss or project.

Another advantage of being a freelancer is you only need a handful of clients to succeed . By getting experience in different kinds of skills, you will find where your talents lie and learn a lot along the way.

The more value you can offer to clients, the more money you can make as a freelancer!

As a freelancer, you set your own prices and have the ability to raise your rates over time as you gain more experience and knowledge. Once being a freelancer outperforms your day job earnings, you can explore the option of freelancing full-time.

The Mentality Of A Successful Freelancer

To be your own boss, you need to have an expansive mindset. You must stay open to always learning and adapting. View life through the lens of abundance. Opportunities are anywhere and everywhere you look.

You need to be in control of your mind because if not, your mind can start to make you doubt your abilities. It can make you doubt the opportunities around that can catapult you to success. It can even make you doubt yourself and you owe abilities, which is something as known as imposter syndrome.

You have to get past that limiting mindset. Freelancing is a very rewarding way of living once you push forward through all the doubt you may encounter within or around you.

Pro Tip: Only surround yourself with other like-minded people or people that are in the position you want to be in. You can use this to influence and inspire yourself.

Also, get started by asking yourself these questions:

Who's got my money?

Who can I provide my services to?

Who can I reach out to today?

How can I expand my network?

By having this “who’s got my money” mentality you will see how it will start to attract more clients and abundance in your life. I talk more about this specific mindset in more detail here.

With that being said, freelancing is not for everyone, and it requires the right freelance mindset in order to achieve success. Just like with any business venture you embark on as an entrepreneur, there will be days where you face challenges and need to overcome obstacles. This is a natural part of life and business.

While working from home is fun and relaxing, it can get disorganized quickly if you don't have discipline. Being your own boss means you are responsible of yourself and getting your tasks done. You can work on your own time, but this does not mean that you don't have to work as much.

The amount of work you put is how much you will get out.

Adopting these mentalities will help put you in the best position possible as you begin freelancing. Always remember that being self-disciplined and optimistic will help you strive forward through anything you may face as you set out on your freelancing journey.

The Financial Security Of Freelancing

If you are looking into freelancing for the first time, it's normal to wonder if freelancing is secure. Compared to the “safety net” you may think you have when in a 9-5 job....the truth is, having a corporate job is not secure at all. It can be taken from you at any moment if your boss decides you are no longer needed.

You are also at mercy to the market and economy. For example, if factors outside of your control change and your business has to lay off an entire department, you are out of luck.

If the company you work for goes out of business...so are you.

So why are there people still working their 9-5 job even after knowing that? It's because some people hold themselves back from ever leaving their "comfy job position" even if the pay is less.

They settle working under conditions such as:

Strict guidelines

Company politics

Uncomfortable uniforms

Restricted salary increases

Set schedules & limited time off

All too often, people limit themselves from ever trying something new because of their false sense of security. They will complain about how they hate their job but won't do anything to fix it. This is exactly why only a select number have what it takes to become their boss.

The freelancing lifestyle requires you to be bold, brave, eager, and ready for anything. Running your own business is not easy and requires you to boss up.

Once you have proven to yourself that you can earn money online as a freelancer it puts you in a more powerful position in life. If any unexpected expense come up, you now have the ability to go online and land another paying client.

As a freelancer, your salary is never capped like it is in a corporate job. When you work for yourself, you can earn how much you want. Being in control of your earnings and working for yourself actually makes freelancing an overall more stable and secure career path as opposed to a typical corporate position.

Gone are the days as an employee where you have to settle for a set salary and small yearly bonuses. Once you become a freelancer, you can get paid for the work that you put in. It is a satisfying position to be in, to know all the hard work that you do is paid off when you are a freelancer.

Once you escape the trap of having a single flow of income and build multiple flows of income , the more freedom and security you will be able to create in your life.

“Doesn’t have multiple sources of income and multiple money-making skills sound less risky than putting all your eggs in one employer’s basket? Freelancing lets you shift gears when the world does.”

- Sara Horowitz

For all the reasons above, many people who are unhappy with their nine to five jobs are beginning to flock to freelancing.

It makes sense, because freelancing is one of the most exciting and sensible side hustles you can start. With dedication and consistency, it can build a more secure future for yourself and your family.

That is something that could never happen as an employee. You will always be building someone else’s empire, not your own. The security of when you're your own boss is priceless and is the ultimate true freedom.

As long as you stick with it, you will have complete control over your future and your earnings sooner than you know it.

Finding Skills That Best Fit You

When you decide you'd like to be a freelancer, the first decisions you need to make is which in-demand skill you want to specialize in.

Picking the right skill to develop is crucial if you want to have a long-lasting freelance career or side hustle that is profitable...

When it comes to services, ask yourself what are you going to sell?

What is the skill that will allow me to have the life I've dreamed of?

Find a skill you best resonate with and can see yourself doing for a long time. For example, If you like writing, and could see yourself writing a blog, then check out copywriting.

If you enjoy creating graphics and images, graphic design is something to consider. If you’re more tech-savvy and you enjoy looking at charts, and numbers, you may want to look at online ad management.

The options of different freelance positions are unlimited. But be sure that the skill you are looking at developing is in HIGH demand so you will always be able to secure new clients.

Some of the most common freelance job opportunities are within online marketing, such as:

Online Ad Management

Graphic Design

Copywriting

Web Design / Development

Social Media Marketing

Etc.

If you would like to see more freelance job categories click here!

When you are deciding which skill to focus on, find a skill that sparks you up and spend your free time learning and start practicing that skill.

Once you build your side hustle up to a point where it's bigger than your job. That’s when you have some room where you can leave that first position if desired to continue building additional online flows.

If you want to improve your income situation and to start creating the life that you know you're meant to live, I encourage you to look at which freelance in-demand skills you can do right away.

If you are interested in learning what the top in-demand freelance skills are, I made a blog that goes over the top 3 profitable freelance skills you can learn at home in 2020 here.

Ways To Start Taking Action

Ready to take the next step? Come up with a clear action plan on how you want to start your own business by using these three steps.

Step 1: Decide

Step 2: Plan

Step 3: Execute

First, decide how far you want to go with your career and what income you desire. At the end of the day, it all adds up and every journey begins with the first action step.

If you are serious about getting started, start planning how you can fit freelancing into your weekly schedule. As soon as you secure your first paying client, you will see how everything in your life changes. That's when you will realize that YOU are in control of your destiny. But it all starts with taking action.

"What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life?"

- Tony Robbins

It all starts by deciding you're going to do it, planning your next steps, and executing by taking action. Don't wait until it's too late to make a change in your life. Take action now so that you can create the life you want.

How To Fit Freelancing Into Your Daily Schedule

Next, decide how you are going to fit freelancing into your daily schedule. See what the best times of day are for you to focus and set aside time.

Are you a night owl and focus well at night?

Are you an early bird and can easily set your alarm an hour or two earlier?

This is a crucial part of planning out when you can fit freelancing into your day. Whether it’s waking up earlier before your 9-5 job, or setting time aside after work. You need to make the decision and put it on your schedule and stick to it for progress to be made.

You may think that you don't " have time" to get the momentum started with freelancing. But the truth is, you do, because you "create time" for what is important to you. We all have the same 24 hours everyday. It's up to you how you spend it.

Even if it's dedicating an hour a day to start freelancing or learning skills you can use to increase your income, it can have a BIG impact. As your income increases, you can start making more time for freelancing and eventually turn it into your full-time focus if you would like.

In conclusion:

The opportunity to create the life you want and get paid for doing what you love is here. The best thing about freelancing is it doesn't have to be scary to get started.

"I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of, ‘Wow, I’m not sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough."

- Marissa Mayer, American businesswoman, and investor

Once you get the momentum going in creating the dream career you always wanted, the rewards and benefits will soon follow.

The best way to predict your future and earn the money you desire is by creating it for yourself. That is what becoming a freelancer can do for you.

Thank you for spending time improving your future. I am excited for you and I look forward to your future freelance success!

- Paul Mendes, Founder of Profitable Freelancer

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

💵 Adopt This Freelance Money Mindset To Explode Your Results 💵

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 02:24:54 GMT

Take a look all around you, there's money always flowing.

Ask yourself:

Who's got my money?
Who can I provide my services to?
Who can I reach out to today?
How can I expand my network?

Adapt this “who’s got my money” mindset and you'll see how it can open more doors to abundance in your life.

Who's Got My Money?

The phrase "Who's got my money?" is a very well known saying by none other than Uncle G, Grant Cardone.

What he means by this, is that no one has the ability to physically make or create money.

Money is someone else's before it becomes yours.

You go out and you earn money from people by trading the value you can provide for them.

This is accomplished by connecting with other people who have your money.

As you can see, making more money as a freelancer or entrepreneur is more dependent on other people than yourself.

This is really a secret of the wealthy and a mindset shift that can open the door to more abundance in your life. Money really does make the world go around!

Focusing on how to provide value for others who are in a position to purchase your product or service is the exact way to increase your income, no matter what industry you are in.

There's a saying out there that says:

"If you want to make a million dollars, help a million people."

When you ask yourself "Who's got my money?" every single day, it put's you in the best position to impact the right people.

That in return will be reflected by the amount of success you have and the quality of life you build for yourself and your family.

Stop Holding Yourself Back

Many people are holding themselves back without even knowing it.

Want to know how to stop holding yourself back?

Stop thinking from a fear and contraction mindset.

Instead, spend your energy on people you know who you can provide immense value to and the money will increase and follow.

It may sound easier said than done, but when you break it down it's actually quite simple.

Look all around you. There's money always flowing.

By doing this, you are putting yourself in the best positions in every area of your life. (career, family, health)

You will be amazed how quickly you can increase the quality of your life and income once you apply these principles into your daily routine.

Rather than continuing to hold yourself back from reaching the next milestone in your career and making excuses...

Spend more time getting in front of people that can propel you forward in your career, and in your life.

Contraction Mindset vs Expansion Mindset

There are two different mindsets in which people can operate from.

From a contraction and fear based mindset
From an expansion and positivity based mindset

If you are always contracting, you are making decisions from a fear stand point where you don’t want to lose anything. You may be worried about what the unknown future holds and this can be a scary feeling.

On the other hand, when you are taking actions to expand yourself , your business, and your relationships, you are expanding your possibilities and the money and success will follow.

When you operate from an expansion mindset, you train your brain to see the opportunities around you. The world in which you live in is shaped by your perspective.

Problems will start to arise if your belief in yourself isn’t strong enough. You must believe in yourself that you can become successful, and be confident in yourself that you have the ability to make an extra $1k-$10k a month.

This is possible because the only limit from making that income is yourself.

By believing that you can, doors will open and abundance will start flowing in...but only if you take the consistent actions that are needed to succeed.

Don’t let the contracting mind limit you from all the opportunities waiting for you.

If you master your ability to think and react from an expansion mindset rather than a contraction mindset, you will always be able to seek out and take advantage of the opportunities that are all around, no matter what conditions are taking place for others.

Focusing on developing a specific skill you can service to others is your best bet, because it has the best success rate, and you can get control of your time and your revenue by being your own boss.

When you do this, you will have the ability to advance your income to however much you desire – and that’s a beautiful thing that providing your own skills can do for you in your life.

The Negative Effects Of Being Too Frugal

With the internet, there are unlimited ways to start earning more for yourself. You don’t have to limit yourself from buying certain things that reward you for all your hard work that you do.

Things such as Starbucks, brands you like, vacations with your family, or even that dream car you’ve always wanted.

You work hard and there’s no reason you should have to cut off things you need or want.

If you keep your attention on continuing to advance your career, connections, and your income, then you can provide yourself and your family everything that you want to.

However, if all your energy is focused on conserving what you have, then you are turning your back to the growth and opportunities out there. Not to mention you will be living a more unenjoyable life like that.

Pinching pennies should never be more important than earning more.

There comes a point where you can only cut your budget so much.

This money is not yours, and you will never allow yourself to get anything your dreams desire with this contracting mindset of holding on to every penny.

Instead, learn how to invest into yourself and your skill set so you can increase your value to the marketplace. Never stop learning.

The truth is, everyday people choose to not spend money on something that could change their lives. Such as an education, investment opportunities, or a new business venture.

They get so wrapped up in daily financial decisions that they forget about the bigger picture.

Instead of being extremely frugal, clipping coupons, and wishing you will win the lottery...

Focus your energy on building your wealth by earning more money so that you can provide more for yourself, your family, and your community.

In Conclusion:

There’s one last quote that says

“What you put out is what you will get back”

My interpretation of this quote is that the actions you take everyday ultimately shape your future.

If you are being ruled by a limiting and fear-based mindset, it limits the possibilities for you to create the life and income you deserve.

Once you break this cycle, you will start to gain the awareness that you can change your own perception, and even start to create your own reality.

It’s these very thoughts and actions that get projected into the world, and like a boomerang it will come back to you.

Just like that boomerang, the money and people will follow when you start to put out great services you can provide for others, and in harmonious exchange you will receive abundance.

So go out there and apply these principles and start by asking yourself “who’s got my money?”

Watch how this mindset will allow you to earn so much more and create the life you want. ��

Leave a comment down below about how this mindset shift helps you!

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Upwork vs. Fiverr | Where Can Freelancers Make The Most Money?

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 01:40:22 GMT

Upwork vs. Fiverr. Which has the most earning potential for freelancers?

First, you will need to decide if you want to work with clients on a long-term basis and make money every single month.

Or...

If you have a specific skill set or a service you can provide that's easy to duplicate and you are not interested in forming long-term clients.

Upwork and Fiverr are two popular online freelance marketplaces that have thousands of job opportunities posted daily that you can use to start earning money online.

Upwork®

Upwork is a great place if you have a specific skill set and you want to get long-term clients that pay you every month for your freelance services.

Upwork is proudly the world's largest remote talent platform. They are well-known for having millions of freelancers registered as well as providing access to up to 5 million businesses needing freelance services.

Whether you’re just looking to supplement your existing income, or you are looking to replace your current position as soon as possible, Upwork is a great place to do so.

In fact I was able to leave my nine-to-five job through this platform and replace it with freelancing full-time by landing a handful of high-ticket digital marketing clients.

Since the pandemic, Upwork has really stepped up their marketing game by grabbing a bunch of new attention.

This has created a broader opportunity for both experienced and new freelancers to find more jobs and perform their services to business owners online right away.

Many businesses are now shifting into hiring more freelance based workers through this platform . Instead of hiring traditional employees, businesses are taking advantage of outsourcing freelancers who are often just as competent but do not need to be located in the same physical location.

The perks to freelancing on Upwork:

There are hundreds - thousands of jobs being posted daily
Build long-term client relationships
Earn bonuses
Have multiple side hustles
Interact with people from all over the world
Get returning clients creating predictable cash flow
Work from home or anywhere in the world
No limit to how profitable you want to become
No limitation to the price you set for your services
You choose what projects are the best fit for you

If you are a dedicated freelancer and have a specific skill set to offer, the sky is truly the limit with how much money you can earn on the platform.

In fact, here are some popular Upwork freelancers who have had massive success.

Here are some of the top skills that you can provide on Upwork:

Web development
Software development
Paid online advertising
Web design
Analytics engineering
Graphic design and creative
Copywriting
Translation
Lead generation
Search engine optimization
Social media
Consulting
Sales and marketing
Email marketing
Admin support
Customer service
and much more

These are just some of the in-demand skills you can provide for clients. For a full list, visit: https://www.upwork.com/hire/ .

Even if you do not have a certain skill mastered right now, you can start with a more general skill and then you can move on to a more advanced skill down the line.

Depending on how you use Upwork, it can replace your full-time career or be a great side hustle to help expand your current earnings. A strong Upwork profile is a powerful source of leads for years to come.

Fiverr®

Fiverr is a freelance platform that is known to be one of the best online selling platforms. This platform is geared towards freelancers who have a specific skill set they can provide that’s easy to duplicate.

If you are looking to service your creative or design services for businesses owners or clients, then you may have a high earning potential on Fiverr.

Business owners use Fiverr to get videos, voice overs, animations, and graphic designs quickly at affordable prices.

The perks to working on Fiverr are:

You can work from home
Friendly platform for both beginner and advanced freelancers
Best for short-term projects
You can make this a full-time job or a side hustle
You can create your own prices and package deals
You get to interact with people from all over the world
You can get returning clients
You can sign up and start earning fast
Less phone calls and client interaction

Fiverr is good for packaging your skill together into a pre-set bundle and offering multiple versions of the service at increasing price points.

This is great if you’re looking to perform a one-time service for clients such as:

YouTube thumbnails
Social media Headers
Animated videos
Logo designs
White-board explainer videos
Voiceovers videos
Social media graphics and designs
Digital marketing assets
Writing and translations
Music and audio recordings
and much more

Fiverr gives everyday people the ability to create a lucrative side hustle that can even replace their current job.

In fact, there are hundreds of success stories of people who are able to earn 6-7 figures on Fiverr.

One of the most popular success stories going around is how a 34-year-old dad made $1.5+ million off his side hustle on Fiverr.

“After just 18 months of offering voice-over services on Fiverr. Young paid off the family’s debt, and now since selling his first service, Young has made more than $1.5 million in income on the Fiverr platform.” CNBC Make I t

This is an inspiring story that showed a determined family man making ends meet and finding a profitable side hustle that turned into his only hustle...

all by simply using his voice, a microphone, and his laptop.

“It was honestly only just the stability and the freedom that I concentrated on. It was about what this way of life meant to my family, what the freedom would enable us to do. This is an amount of money that would have taken me decades to earn without this platform.”-Joel Young

Joel Young is a great example that shows how you don’t need fancy equipment, professional skills, or voice acting lessons to get started making a significant income through this platform!

In Conclusion:

If you want to make money in the long term and build multiple clients, then go with Upwork because it is catered towards larger projects and ongoing relationships.

On the other hand, if you have a skill that you want to provide quickly and can replicate easily, then Fiverr is a great pick for you!

The amount of money you can make with these two platforms are limitless.

My name is Paul Mendes, Founder of Profitable Freelancer, and I hope this blog helped you identify which platform is the best fit for you to make money on as a freelancer.

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

The Top 3 Online Side Hustles You Can Start Immediately

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 20:36:32 GMT

Discover the three most profitable online side hustles you can start performing right away to supplement your existing income.

I believe everyone can and should be making extra money online right now. Whether that's making a full-time income online like I do, or even if it's making an extra couple thousand dollars a month to help you cover bills.

However, there has been a lot of videos posted recently about certain online side hustles... but a lot of those "side hustles" mentioned won’t make you much money and will eat up all of your time.

That's why it's important to be careful who you take advice from. Anyone promoting making money online by watching a bunch of videos or advising you to take surveys all day is not being fully honest with you. Those are not legitimate sources of income. They will end up also wasting your valuable time.

The reason I wanted to make this blog is to provide some content and value for anyone out there that needs a way to start making more money. This is not one of those ways where you're going to spend all day doing something and not get a return. This is not watching videos all day or filling out surveys all day. This is a real way you can build a side hustle that can supplement your existing income or completely replace it.

#1 - Copywriting

The first side hustle we will be going over today is a skill that anyone can provide. That skill is 'copywriting'.

Through copywriting, you are helping companies and businesses make more money by simply writing. The types of gigs and opportunities posted for copywriting freelancers are:

Blogs
In-depth articles
Formal reports
Emails
Online Ads
Print Media
Websites
Landing Pages
Etc.

A good copywriter helps craft persuading words that actually get people to take action. Since more and more businesses are going online, they need well-written copywriting more than ever before.

The best part about copywriting is that it's an online side hustle that anyone can perform. Throughout the entire school system you were most likely forced to write countless essays and produce assignments which required writing.

You can use those same writing skills that you already have to start helping businesses. When performing copywriting as a side hustle, it's important to focus on the pain points and product benefits of the company you're working for.

Copywriting is a great way to get your foot in the door of the online gig economy. From there, you can then start providing more in-depth side hustles which require additional expertise.

Whether you’re a:

College student
College graduate
Stay at home mom
Retiree

Copywriting is a great side job for those looking to make extra cash. For anyone interested in dipping their feet in the water with this skill set, remember that there are tools to help you!

One of my favorite online tools I love using when I am performing copywriting jobs is The Hemingway App. This tool is great for making your writing bold and clear.

The app helps each sentence become more concise and powerful. It also helps make your sentences simpler by highlighting those that are too dense/complicated in yellow and red.

On the right-hand side of the app, you can see a helpful breakdown of how many words are in the document, the readability grade level, as well as the optimization suggestions.

When you are providing copywriting services to clients, you want to ensure you are able to provide top-notch services which is why I highly encourage you run all of your assignments through the Hemingway App.

#2 - Graphic Design

The second online side hustle is Graphic Design. If you are a creative person, graphic design is a great way for you to capitalize on something you enjoy doing and get paid for it.

Personally, I love designing things because it gives me a creative outlet and it also helps me make extra money. If you are thinking about getting into graphic design, the sky is the limit to how much you can earn while crafting fun designs.

With the advancement in technology, creating professional level designs is no longer a complicated skill that you need advanced programs to perform.

Digital design is a highly sought-after skill which means there are a lot of opportunities to get hired. This side hustle is in demand because business owners need help capturing their audience with:

Social media graphics and images
Website content
Print media design
Content creation

Graphic design plays a pivotal role in every businesses online presence. It can either help a business get noticed and thrive, or get ignored and die. If you are interested in design, I encourage you to try out Canva.

This tool is a life-saver and helps you design literally anything . It's what I primarily use with my personal businesses that I own as with my clients.

You can think of Canva as basically a free version of Photoshop. Featuring an easy to use drag-and-drop editor and countless preloaded templates for you to get inspiration from, including:

Logos
Social Media Posts
Youtube Thumbnails
Profile Banners
Print Designs
And much more!

You can start designing graphics for companies today and charge hundreds for each design. On the other hand, if you find a great client and work your way onto their team, you can make much more. ($1.5k - $5k per month on average)

Of course, you're going to have to put some time into learning how to design different graphics, so the best thing you can do is START NOW.

If Graphic Design is something that interests you, I encourage you to try it out. The better you get, the more money you will start to earn.

#3 - Online Ad Management

Online Ad management is the third and final online side hustle you can use to start making money online. With this skill, you're working on platforms you're already familiar with.

But instead of using these platforms as a consumer scrolling, you will be creating and managing content in the form of advertisements. A lot of people don't know this, but the platforms I'm about to reveal are actually not free for you to use.

This is because advertisers use your data in return for you using the platform for free. As an online advertiser, the goal is to target the most relevant customers for your clients. This side hustle is used on a multitude of different platforms, such as:

Google Ads
Youtube Ads
Facebook Ads
Instagram Ads

Online advertising comes in the form of photo ads, video ads, story ads, and lead ads.

By setting up and optimize online ad campaigns, you're helping businesses get their product and services out there which ultimately makes them more money. That's why there's always room to provide this online side hustle and scale your income bigger than your current position.

In fact, managing online ad campaign for multiple clients was exactly how I was able to leave my 9-5 and became a full-time freelancer!

If you want to provide this profitable side hustle but don't have experience, DO NOT WORRY! The best way to get started with online ad management is by using The Facebook Ad Library tool.

This is one of my favorite tools I use which helps me perform behind the scenes market research for my clients. This is a tool that anyone can use to look at what other advertisers are doing on Facebook and Instagram.

The best part about this tool is you're not starting from scratch. If you want to work with a client and provide them online ad management, all you have to do is go to the Facebook Ad Library. You can search a competitor of your client, and see what they're doing.

From there, you can model after what is currently working in the marketplace. Since online ads cost money to run, It's helpful to understand the type of content that's working by seeing what ads are LIVE .

You can tell which types of ads, formats, styles, etc. that are making money because if they aren't, they will quickly be paused and won't be running anymore.

So even if you have no experience running ads for clients, when you take a look at the type of ads other people are running you can get ahead of the pack right when you begin!

In conclusion:

The last thing I want to touch on is that there's a lot of discussions going on about selling physical products online.

Whether that's going through your closet and selling old clothes, or buying baseball cards and selling them on ebay. The truth is, if you want to make real money, I suggest saving your time and avoiding this so called "side hustle".

Selling your stuff might be a great start to make a little cash, but it's not a profitable side hustle that can make you money long-term.

You're going to end up putting so much time into:

Listing those products
Answering buyers questions
Selling those products
Meeting up with strangers
Shipping items and relying on the mail

If you're dealing with physical goods, it's going to take a lot of effort for a little amount of earnings.

If you want to have a long-lasting side hustle that is actually profitable, then start providing the SKILLS and the SERVICES you already have within.

By doing this, you can be making thousands of dollars a month and not even have to touch any physical product.

Now, there is something to be said for jumping into entrepreneurship too quickly. When you are beginning to make money from a side hustle, you should never abandon your first flow of income.

Sometimes when people want to go start a business, they're so eager to jump right in and they think they have to abandon their job immediately (the one that's actually paying their bills).

That puts a lot of pressure on yourself because if it takes a little longer to start your business than you expected and you left your one flow of income, you're out of luck.

Instead, you should keep that first flow of income (your day job) and start performing a side hustle on night's and weekends. That's when you can start to really get ahead.

You can then build that side hustle up to a point where it's bigger than your job. THAT'S WHEN you have some room where you can leave that first position if desired to continue building additional online flows.

If you want to improve your income situation and to start creating the life that you know you're meant to live, I encourage you to start performing one of these online side hustles.

This is what's going to help you get to that next level in life. Start using your brainpower and start to boss-up, because once you do, it will change your life. It changed mine and I know it has the ability to change many others as well.

My name is Paul Mendes, Founder of Profitable Freelancer, and I hope this blog was helpful to you on your journey!

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Why I Left My 9-to-5 For A Life Of Freelancing

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 23:21:31 GMT

In this blog I am going to be going over why I will never work a typical 9-to-5 job again.

I narrowed down three different reasons why I will never work a typical corporate job again:

#1 - Getting Stuck In The Corporate Matrix

#2 - Relying On A Single Flow Of Income

#3 - Trading Time For Money

When I was working all my different corporate positions in the past I always had this feeling deep in my soul. I craved a lifestyle where I had more freedom, flexibility in my schedule, could work from where I want, and earn more money.

If you resonate with any of the desires I mentioned above and if you have been:

Contemplating your job career

Not satisfied with the amount of money you are earning

Interested in taking advantage of the opportunities arising with working online

Then an entrepreneurial life is a great fit for you as well!

#1 - The Corporate Matrix

Reason number one of why I will never work a 9-to-5 job again is because of The Corporate Matrix. When you’re entering the corporate world, you start on the bottom rung of the ladder. There's a lot of different things that come along with starting from the bottom, such as:

Your earning potential is lower

It takes years to rise through the ranks

There's a lot of rules and also politics that come into play

There’s constant negativity and gossip

Your time and energy can get drained quickly if you’re not in the right job meant for you

You have limited vacation time and flexibility with your work schedule

However, when you're an entrepreneur, you can make your own set of rules.

When you are an employee, you have to learn to act under a new set of rules within that specific corporation. Some of the rules are you need to clock in at a certain time, and clock out a certain time. You have to eat lunch at a certain time, and there are strict dress codes. In the corporate matrix, you're not meant to go outside of your role, to think of new ideas, or shake things up. That's not how a corporation works.

When you're an employee, your job is to shut up and do your work. I know that sounds a little bit harsh but if you've been in a 9-to-5 position like this before you know that's how it is. A lot of times there are people above you and they tell you exactly what to do. If you start to get out of line you will start to get even more restrictions. This will knock you down, give you less freedom, and less ability to rise through the ranks anytime soon.

A lot of times people can get trapped into this corporate matrix, and end up getting their life sucked out of them. This is because when people are working on things they don’t care about, they end up getting:

Bored
Stuck in a loop
Depressed
Consumed by negativity

#2 - You Only Have One Flow of Income

Reason number two is because when you have a full-time corporate position, you only have one flow of income. When you only have one flow of income, you are actually:

Limiting your life-time earning potential

Putting all your eggs in one basket

Directly tied to economic conditions

Your life-time earning potential is severely limited at a 9-5 because of how much time, energy, and years it takes to work up to a high salary. In addition, as we’ve seen in this recession, it could all go overnight if something happens to the economy.

If you put all your eggs into a single basket, you are out of luck if the company goes out of business or if they decide to lay off or furlough workers. Many companies are also investing into remote-work based digital teams which puts you at risk of your position being outsourced to someone who can perform it cheaper remotely.

The worst part about having only one source of income is that when things happen in life and in business, it's all out of your control.

On the other end of the spectrum, by having multiple flows of income, you put yourself in a much better financial position, regardless of what state the economy is in.

This is why having multiple income sources is so crucial for your future financial situation.

#3 - Trading Your Time For Money

Reason number three of why I will never work a 9-to-5 job again is because you're trading your time for money. Instead, you should trade your value for money.

Now you might be asking yourself well how do I do this? That is the same questions I started asking myself and why I built my own business. I started my entrepreneur journey while I had a 9-to-5 to build that foundation. By trading my value for money, I became a freelancer and it led me to build my profitable freelance business.

If you're asking yourself well what's wrong with trading time for money? If you trade time for money, you will be working every single day of your life until you die. That's the sad truth of the matter. Instead of only trading your time for money, it's important to learn how to make money in your sleep. The only way to do that is to be able to provide value to other companies, and to other businesses.

Even if you start to get raises and promotions at your 9-to-5 or on salary, you are still required to show up to the office those five days a week. You might get some vacation here and there, but otherwise with a 9-to-5 you're stuck with:

That position for a long time until any raises or promotions

The limited earning potential

The rules of the company

If something happens to the economy again, and you still have your 9-to-5 you are stuck. On top of that you're trading your time for money no matter what. Time is something you can't pay for to get back.

Have you ever wondered what could be waiting for you beyond the corporate matrix? Time is precious, don't let your life keep passing by without exploring other options. If you ever wanted to be your own boss or change your career, listen to that desire.

I have always wanted to live life to the fullest and live on my terms. That's why I ditched the 9-to-5 world for a life of being a Profitable Freelancer. I love being the creator of my own destiny. Once I let go of fear, I realized that there was no limit to creating the lifestyle I always dreamed of having.

Those are the three reasons why I'll never work a 9-to-5 job again. I'm sure some of you are starting to resonate with this message and you might be feeling the same things as I did.

I remember looking out the window at my old job one Monday afternoon wondering how people were out on the streets while I had to be in the office. I would see people walking their dogs, having a nice brunch with their significant other, and driving around in nice cars.

When I dedicated myself to learning how to be one of those people, I quickly realized I had to stop trading my time for money.

The reason for that is, and (this is a secret of the wealthy) the wealthy know how to trade their value for money.

When you escape the clock and can begin providing value to other companies, you will be able to start making money on your own terms while working from anywhere that you want.

You can do this by building your skill set and following that desire to be your own boss. Focus on developing in-demand skills that are tied to customer acquisition so you will always be able to land clients. You will also be able to walk your dog on that nice Monday afternoon instead of being in that office. ;)

In Conclusion:

That's why freelancing has changed my life. I know it has the ability to change millions of other people's lives too. It's no secret that the way the workforce and the economy is moving is more to a remote-work based position.

That means you don't need to show up to the office every day. That is what's opening everyone's eyes to these new work from home opportunities. Especially ones that entrepreneurship and freelancing provide.

My name is Paul Mendes, Founder of Profitable Freelancer. If you liked this content, then be sure to look out for more Profitable Freelancer blogs to come. Also subscribe to my youtube channel. I am posting freelance tips, hacks, news, skill training, and much more.

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Top 3 Profitable Freelance Skills You Can Learn At Home In 2020

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 18:40:23 GMT

These Are The Top 3 Profitable Freelance Skills You Can Learn At Home In 2020

Whether you are already a freelancer or you have yet to embark on the journey, it's never too late to leverage your skills to expand your career possibilities. We all have the skills to succeed already within us. In this blog we will be exploring the highest-paying online freelancing jobs you can do part-time or full-time.

We will also be looking at how to use your existing skills and experiences to start earning money online. By continuing to add more skills to your tool box you put yourself in the best position to succeed and gain an edge over the competition.

If you resonate with any of the bullet points listed below, then freelancing could be a great fit for you!

If you are looking for a a new job or a side hustle that could replace your current income source in the near future
Your lifestyle doesn’t resonate with the regular 9-5 job
You want to make more than you are now
Your income from your full-time job just isn't covering enough anymore
You want to be home with your family, take care of your kids, have more time with your significant other
You crave more flexibility in your schedule and the hours / days you work per week

The best part about freelancing is you don’t need a college degree to do start earning money online. All you need is the desire and an internet connection. A computer charger would be a good addition too ;)

So let's jump right in! Here are the Top 3 High-Paying Online Freelancing Jobs you can do from the comfort of your home:

1) Copywriting | Average Pay: $38/hour | Expert Pay: $250/hour ��

Copywriting is the art of using words to sell. A copywriter masters the ability to craft persuading words that help businesses sell their products and services. When done well, copywriting makes consumers want to buy from you because they enjoy your content and help. Not because they feel pressured to make a decision or purchase before they are ready.

The type of content copywriters create is for promotional use and for marketing use. Copywriting is used on Social Media Posts, in Email Marketing, Blogs, Articles, Landing Pages, Advertisements, and much more. By adding copywriting to your skillset you can bundle monthly service packages together which you can use to up-sell your clients. Whether you are an expert writer or not, chances are you have been writing since elementary school. You can use your foundation of your writing to start earning money from freelance clients immediately.

The Perks of Being a Freelance Copywriter Include:

You get to choose the clients you want to work with
You work on a contract or on a project basis of your choice
You set your own rates
You create your own schedule
You are your own boss

If this sounds like a good fit for you, now is a great time to take advantage of learning how to provide copywriting services to clients. Don't underestimate yourself if you are interested in becoming a freelance copywriter as this is one of the most profitable freelance skills to learn and is an easy way to start earning money online.

2) Online Advertising | Average Pay: $42/hour | Expert Pay: $300/hour ��

Online advertising is another high paying in-demand skill that you can add to your skillset. S ince all companies and brands have shifted gears towards online and mobile advertising, you can take advantage of that and help them. As an online advertising freelancer (like myself) you help build and manage online ads in return for monthly or hourly pay.

So instead of being the consumer of social media scrolling through your feeds, you can spend time creating and managing ads to generate leads and sales on a multitude of platforms! This skill is in MASSIVE demand because businesses need reliable freelancers who they can trust to get them results. Once you can show you are the right person for the job, you have unlocked an extremely profitable relationship that can pay you for years to come.

Online Advertising Is Done On Many Platforms, With The Most Popular Including:

Google
Facebook
Instagram
Linkedin
Twitter
Youtube
Snapchat
And many more

3) Graphic Design | Average Pay: $36/hour | Expert Pay: $275/hour ��

If you are artistic and love being creative, you may have wondered what it would be like to get paid for creating your own designs. If you ever had this thought, then freelance graphic designing could be a great career fit for you!

As a freelance graphic designer you have the ability to express yourself creatively with different text fonts, layouts, graphics, colors, and designs and earn money for it! You get to create designs that meet the client's needs by creating animations, video designs, unique logos, illustrations, graphics and more.

This career is in high-demand because freelance graphic design services are becoming more needed as more businesses shift their efforts online. These business owners need your expertise to capture and visually attract their clients if they want to get their business or brand online noticed, and reach their target audience. Graphic design is a great freelance skill which you can use to increase your freelance rates, especially when you bundle it with other in-de mand skills.

A freelance graphic designer has a very important role in every company because they help with the advertising, marketing, and web design of the business. This job is not going anywhere and will be in high-demand for a long time.

In conclusion:

These three skills are just some out of the many in-demand freelance skills you can deliver to clients. I am a firm believer that everyone should diversify their income streams by securing online freelance clients to secure your financial future.

By taking on a handful of online freelancing projects every month, you’ll also be planting the seeds for what could turn into big job opportunities and even lucrative partnership opportunities in the future.

Now that you know the Top Three Freelance Skills To Learn in 2020, it’s time to start applying action to create the life you deserve! Remember, you’re only one high-ticket client away from having personal, professional, and financial freedom.

***All Illustrations made by Stories from Freepik

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

The Freelance Gold Rush

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 00:17:53 GMT

In order to be free, you need to have the financial resources to support yourself and your family, no matter what state the economy is in.

That’s why in this blog we are going to be diving deep into...

Why Freelancing is Your Golden Opportunity!

Freelancing has the ability to be your golden pathway to success if you approach it right. Online and remote positions continue to increase as the workforce shifts more towards a freelance workforce. The best time to take advantage of these new opportunities is right now.

In fact...

Some of the biggest tech companies in the world like Twitter , Facebook , and Shopify announced recently that their employees can work from home FOREVER!

They also stated that they are shifting towards a remote based workforce moving forward which gives us a slight taste of what the “New Normal” may look like.

There is no time to wait, this is where the workforce is heading and you don’t want to get left behind. Soon, if you aren’t freelancing you are going to be in the minority…

Even if you are currently employed, the events in 2020 have shown how fragile a corporate position can be. With unemployment reaching record highs, it’s time for the world to uncover how freelancing can impact the way everyone works.

In addition to having freedom over where, when and what you work on, freelancing also has the ability to open up doors to multiple streams of revenue. When you begin to leverage the skills you have already developed, you will start to see how achievable a full time freelance career can be for you.

If you are already a freelancer, that’s awesome! This is the time to expand your skills and continue to increase your value to the marketplace. In order to have the most success possible in your life it's important to do your best to anticipate the future and always be ready to adapt to it.

The Traditional Office Place As We Know It Is Rapidly Evolving

Are you ready for that? Do you have your skills sharpened? A personal brand built? In addition, other companies will continue following the tone set by the large ones and will be more comfortable hiring freelancers to fill their positions.

The way companies build and structure teams is rapidly adapting and changing towards the new shift. That’s why Zoom’s stock has risen since the pandemic hit. Because people are adapting and businesses are too. Businesses are seeing that many employee roles can be completed by a virtual workforce.

Now is not the time to get left behind. If you are distracted and do not have a clear direction in your career, you are silently destroying your own future. Getting hyper focused about how you can set yourself up for success is an impactful way to entice change from within.

The choice is yours, and it all starts with YOU taking action.

What You Do Now In Your Career Will Ultimately Determine Your Future Success

It’s inevitable that big changes will occur in our life and we must be prepared to move forward when they do. Freelancer’s Union recently published a study which projected that…

Building A Recession Proof Freelance Business

The good news is that you’re still early enough to take advantage of this freelancing gold rush while there’s still opportunity. If you think poverty is upon us, then you are not viewing this situation from the right perspective.

NOW is the time to develop your skill set and the value you can deliver to the marketplace...

“Building multiple streams of income through freelance clients is a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY for those who capitalize on it”

(-Paul Mendes)

It is up to you to use your time to make your future income recession proof. You can do this by mastering skills that are in demand no matter what state the economy is in. Skills that are associated with helping businesses increase revenue will always be hiring.

By doing this, you and your family are ensured to have financial, personal, and professional freedom.

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

How To Overcome Self-Doubt as a Freelancer

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 00:27:59 GMT

How to Overcome Self Doubt as a Freelancer

When you are your own boss it is common to face stressful and unfamiliar situations, whether you’re just starting out or have been freelancing for a while.

In this blog I am going to be sharing with you my top (3) tips on how to...

kick your doubts and imposter syndrome to the curb so you can unlock the confident and ambitious freelancer you truly are!

A lot of freelancers and business owners I speak to come across at least one of the following common challenges:

How can I charge higher rates?
How can I overcome having Imposter syndrome/self-doubt?
How can I have success if I don’t have a degree or experience to be a successful freelancer?
Where do I find my next client?
Is this income sustainable?

If you are facing any of these challenges, do not fear any longer!

I am going to squash all of those worries!

Tip #1 - You CAN Increase Your Freelance Rates

I know from working a 9-5 job that earning the same salary year after year gets demotivating. One of the biggest reasons I personally became my own boss was to have control of what income I desired to have, and to be able to bump up my prices on my own terms.

By taking the leap into full-time freelancing, I had the common worries of:

Where will my next project/client come from?
How much I should be charging for my freelance services with my clients?
How can I retain my clients for the long-term so I can have predictable monthly income?

I soon discovered that...

The only way to ensure you have control of your income is to increase your freelance rates.

I know some of you may be thinking that if you try and raise your rates you will lose clients or turn off potential clients. But the truth is…

It is highly recommended that you raise your rates on a regular basis, just like every other business does…

While nothing is guaranteed, raising your rates may not scare off your clients as much as you fear, because they don’t want to have to deal with trying to replace someone as good as you.

Inflation is a silent killer that isn’t going anywhere, and neither are your expenses.

Make the time to regularly review your expenses and compare that to the rates you are charging. Based on that you may determine that a rate increase is in order.

The longer you work with a freelance client, the more valuable you become to that client. Once you’ve formed a relationship and built trust, you understand their processes, and, by knowing your worth you’ll know that you aren’t someone who can be easily replaced.

When you have a new client, let them know that you do raise your rates, usually at the end of the calendar date. This helps “train” and prepare them for the possibility of a rate increase in the future.

Business owners need trustworthy freelancers like yourself to help solve their problems. They will happily pay you that increase once you show your worth and have the confidence that you are irreplaceable.

Know that there is always a chance that you will lose clients when you raise rates. Some people just aren’t willing to pay more for anything, no matter how incredible your service or product is. That's fine because you should only want to work with high-ticket freelance clients like I teach all of my students.

Tip #2 - How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome and Doubt

Imposter syndrome and doubt are known to plague even the most successful entrepreneurs in history. Some feelings associated with the imposter mindset are:

Do I even deserve to make more money?
Am I good enough to charge more for my services?
Do I have what it takes to be successful?

If you are having any of these internal questions, here’s some good news: You can overcome these false thoughts!

Did you know that having self-doubt is what actually kills your business growth? This fear of not being good enough will hinder your ability to market your business confidently and land new clients. By getting rid of self-doubt you can focus on what’s important in your business and grow quickly!

If you talk to other freelancers about impostor syndrome, almost all of them will tell you that they’ve felt the same way.

In fact…

“ 70% of people in the U.S. have felt impostor syndrome.”

(source: published in the Journal of Behavioral Science )

If you want to make it as a freelancer, you have to learn how to squash these negative thoughts when they come up. Here are some ways that you can beat impostor syndrome:

Stop being so hard on yourself.
Connect with other freelancers by joining groups on social media so you don’t feel alone.
Avoid burnout, let yourself have a break when you are feeling like you’re spinning your wheels.
Have so much confidence in your product that others will see the value through you.
Don’t compare yourself to others.

Nobody knows how to do something before they actually decide to do it. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world started out exactly where you are right now, and they experienced the same fears and doubts that you’re feeling. Some of the biggest companies started out of an idea in someones garage.

Don’t let a degree or lack of experience hold you back. Nobody is determining based on your college transcript to see if they want to hire you for a freelance assignment. They’re just reading your portfolio and determining the value you can deliver them through your freelance services.

Remember, You become a freelancer because you have special skills to offer that nobody else can offer as a freelancer. Be proud of who you are and the talent that you have right now. Each freelancer is unique and different types of clients will resonate with different types of freelancers. You just have to have confidence in yourself.

You are strong enough to achieve anything you put your effort into. It is normal to feel afraid, but you can’t let fear control you. Keep reminding yourself that you have a lot to offer with your skills and message, that only you can bring to the world.

Most importantly, don’t give up no matter where you’re at in developing your freelance skills because there are business owners out there who could use your help. The more you practice and get feedback from your clients, the better you’ll get which will eliminate self-doubt, and replace it with confidence. (Once you do this, watch how much your business can grow!)

Tip #3 - Having Multiple Streams Of Clients

Did you know...

“63% of freelancers agree that having multiple clients is more secure than sticking with just one. When it comes to job security, the majority of freelancers would rather diversify their portfolio with different clients than stay with a single contractor for extended periods of time. This is probably why the average freelancer has 4.5 clients per month.”

(Source: Upwork )

Cash really does flow when you have multiple clients! In addition to more immediate income, having various diversified clients gives you a level of job security that no other position besides freelancing can.

The truth is, you should only worry if you are stuck with ONE financial flow. If you have multiple streams of clients, you won’t ever have to worry if one client departs off because you will have additional revenue streams as a financial security net.

In order to build multiple flows of income through multiple clients, you need to know how to find the best clients and how to capture their attention.

In Conclusion:

Self doubt is a silent business killer. The biggest reason why many freelancers fail to reach their full-potential is directly because of their mindset.

There’s always excitement in the early stages of any new business adventure but after a few months or years, this positive momentum can begin to decline.

The realities of running a business and all the challenges kick in and it’s at this stage where mindset makes the difference between success and failure.

A poor mindset filled with self-doubt, negativity, anger, and blame, does the most damage to any freelancer’s career. Giving too much energy to self-doubt leads to rash decisions, poor thinking, and a tendency to give up. Which ultimately means giving up on your dreams.

If you’re ready to succeed as a freelancer, it’s imperative to work hard on developing a positive mindset and taking time to continue developing your self-confidence.

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”-Suzy Kassem

Many challenges will arise when you’re following your passion but know that you’re not alone, most successful people have faced similar situations. Don’t let fear, doubt, or even your own mind hold you back from the life you deserve for you and your loved ones.

*Illustrations attribution: Stories by Freepik

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Be The Kevin Hart of Freelancing

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 18:12:01 GMT

Your Key To Freelance Success: Have a Mindset like Kevin Hart

(5 min read time)

In this blog I am going to be sharing with you motivational quotes from Kevin Hart. He shares a powerful message on how his strong mentality got him through all of the challenges he faced while becoming a top influential entrepreneur. (I actually got to see Kevin Hart this year at 2020 10x GrowthCon and took the photo above!)

Before Kevin Hart became a:

Massive Influencer
Successful Entrepreneur
A-Class Actor
Stand-up Comedian
Life Coach

He started out selling shoes and was even offered a life-changing career opportunity with Nike. Kevin turned down the offer and listened to his inner voice which told him to never settle and to pursue his passion. His calling was not to sell shoes. It was to become a comedian. He knew the world had two things in common which is laughter and pain.

Kevin followed his dreams to spread laughter and his infectious positive attitude to the world.

Many challenges arose while Kevin was going on his journey to success.

“I’m not going to stop having problems.” Kevin Hart

Kevin knew he had a mission and no matter how challenging things got, he never gave up on his dreams because he was fueled by his passion.

“I stayed true to my dreams and they came true.” Kevin Hart

Kevin turned his negative experiences into a comedy special that he actually performed on stage. Kevin teaches us that no matter what hardships we face, we can laugh it off and turn it into something positive. This is the true sign of personal development and growth.

“People may hate you for being different and not living by society's standards, but deep down they wish they dared to do the same.” Kevin Hart

Kevin expresses: “Once you get in a new level in life, you embrace with a new mindset, you can either stay at that level or keep leveling up”

If you are stuck in a rut or a plateau in your career, business, or life, Kevin suggests to:

See what you can do better for yourself and push through.
Understand the only person in life that’s in your way is yourself.
Look at life like a game you are trying to succeed.

“Don’t worry about what other people are doing on their journey or their level of success. Banish your fear of failure and establish your why” Kevin Hart

To do what you love, you have to get over those obstacles and hurdles of things you don’t love to do in life. Then you can pursue the passion you are wanting to do.

If you are unhappy with where you are now, use that as fuel and do all that you can and get to where you want to go. Have the mindset to be authentically true to you, don't let anybody tell you that you can’t do anything.

Kevin says to understand who you are, find who you are, work on your flaws, and be authentically true to you.

Don’t settle for less or accept anything less about yourself if you know there’s an improvement to be made. Give yourself a fighting chance and allow yourself to perform at your highest level!

In order to perform at your best, Kevin Hart suggests doing these things:

Embrace the grind
Surround yourself with motivation
Seek a community/support
Reward yourself for your wins
Learn how to deal with unfairness
Take care of your mind, body, and spirit
Take back your power
Stay true to you

“It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of life, it’s important to slow down and make memories with your family, kids, friends, build memories together as simple as taking walks, or even tacos Tuesday nights” Kevin Hart

Before Kevin prioritized his family, he was putting his career first. His lifestyle was all hustle, hustle, hustle. After he was in a serious car accident in 2019, his life changed and his priorities shifted.

He realized where you choose to invest your time is very important. Kevin decided after he did the big projects to then make more conscious time to spend with his family.

“Respect that every moment is a gift. There’s no reason to be angry. Smile and experience life as it is at this moment” Kevin Hart

“Everybody’s success is different. This doesn’t mean fame and stars. I’m not talking about that level of success for everything. I’m saying, whatever your version of success is, to get it, information from someone that’s done it, or that’s partaking in it to some degree will only add to the value of your journey. It’s only going to make it easier.” Kevin Hart

Kevin’s wise words show us that everyone’s version of success is different. However, he knows that everyone can benefit from making a conscious effort to spend more time with loved ones and enjoy every moment we have on this Earth.

He also knows that without action, none of his dreams would have ever come to fruition.

Kevin says:

“The best tip I could give you is to be active. So many people talk about what they want to do, but lack putting action behind their words. Don’t be a talker, be a doer.”

“If you choose not to grow, you’re staying in a small box with a small mindset. People who win go outside of that box. It’s very simple when you look at it.”

There’s no shortcut around hard work and determination. But if you are working towards your bigger vision and goals it will give you the motivation needed to keep pushing forward.

“If negativity tries to consume your mentality, having gratitude will remind yourself that experiencing this life is a gift and a privilege to live the life of your dreams.” Kevin Hart

After Kevin’s car accident, he truly realized that every moment is a gift. He encourages others to cultivate a sense of gratitude because one event could happen in your life which changes everything.

That’s why it’s vital to have gratitude for all that you have.

If Kevin never left his shoe career to become an entrepreneur, we may not have known who Kevin Hart is today...

Ask yourself:

What can you be grateful for right now?
What motivates you to succeed?
What are your goals in your life?
Can freelancing help you achieve those?

Put action behind your words and you will begin to feel the momentum shift.

Let this be words of encouragement that you have a PURPOSE that is worth FULFILLING.

First, find what your purpose is. Second, do it unapologetically.

You may never know who you may influence by staying true to you (just like Kevin Hart). You can do this by shifting your mindset and using your passion as fuel to achieve your goals.

***All quotes are credited to Kevin Hart and all of my sources that I found to include in this blog are Joe Rogan transcript & Brainy Quotes

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

Build a Life You Don't Need a Vacation From By Freelancing

paul@conversionchasers.com (Paul Mendes) — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 02:19:36 GMT

So picture this...

You’re enjoying yourself during vacation, soaking up the sun, laughing and having a great time! But all of a sudden, your paradise is now coming to an end. You come to an uncomfortable realization: it’s time to go back to work soon!

We can all relate to feeling a type of sadness after coming back from a fun retreat.

We think about that "office job" we have to go back to and the grieving begins. Have you ever had these feelings after vacation? Well, I definitely have, and the reason why is because I knew I was coming back to a life I didn’t resonate with or feel aligned with. When I was going on vacation after college, I always knew I wanted to figure out a way to be free.

For me, my fun retreats include going to music festivals all over the country. I've been to the biggest festivals known to man, including Ultra Music Festival in Miami, TomorrowWorld Festival in Georgia, and Electric Forest Music Festival in Michigan. No matter how fun the experience was when it was time to head back home I wasn't excited for what I was coming back to.

I was still working at my office job during this time. I knew after vacation was over that I’d have to go right back into my cubicle all day, and that alone made me depressed. I told myself enough is enough, and I began taking action towards unlocking my purpose. I came to find out that I was seeking the freedom to be my own boss and make my own income.

Fast forward 5 years and I can now go to any event I want to.

And better yet, I come home happy and eagerly ready to get back to the grind.Why? Because I built a life I love through freelancing.

When You Build The Life You Love, You Won’t Need To Escape

When you do this, you build a life that is actually exciting to come back to after vacation is over. So many people are living for the weekend and trying to escape their reality.

People numb themselves with alcohol or by sitting in front of the TV for hours. The sad truth is that these people are throwing away their potential with all of these distractions. Why would you want to keep distracting yourself from living your dream? Here’s a mindset shift, You can create your own reality. You are the artist holding the paintbrush to your life.

You are in charge of making your life an enjoyable experience and not just fun when you’re on that vacation. It all starts with awareness, then putting action steps behind it.

Vacations Are a Temporary Distraction

People who are not aligned with their purpose will book vacations as a distraction from the stress of their daily life routine. You know the ones that spend every penny of their paycheck to go to EDC Vegas? With the hashtag #BookFlightsNotFeelings

Only to come back and be in a worse place, financially, spiritually, physically, and emotionally than when they left in the first place!

Every time that vacation ends the temporary happiness is gone.

While going on a vacation can be very rewarding, it is even more rewarding coming back home to a life you have created. That's exactly what I did and why I am sharing this with you. Freelancing has provided me with a sense of purpose and the financial, personal, and professional freedom that I was after.

It’s Time To Create The Life You Dream Of Having

By mastering skills that are in-demand, you will be in control of your life, be able to take a vacation on your own time, and live a life where you don’t need to escape from.

Freelancing gives you the capability to remove all the restrictions that don’t need to be there. To me, making a profitable income for my family while in return providing my clients with great value is a win-win situation.

What could possibly be better than working for yourself, being there for your loved ones, and creating a life you are passionate about?

In my opinion, there’s nothing more freeing than that and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Paul Mendes

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

What It Truly Means To Have Personal, Professional & Financial Freedom

paul@conversionchasers.com (Paul Mendes) — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:32:45 GMT

When I Was Working My 9-5 I didn’t Know a Life of This Kind of Freedom Existed...

A life where there is no RESTRAINTS or control.

A life that I create.

Where I get to make my own schedule.

A life where I get to take back my control.

The true meaning of freedom is unique and personal to everyone.

My form of freedom is that I wanted to leave corporate to pursue my dreams and passion of being my own boss.

I wanted freedom in all areas of my life financially and personally.

Learn new skills and make more significant contributions to the world; connect with like-minded people, and ultimately make a positive impact on society.

So what does it mean to be free?

“The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”

The truth is...

If You Suffer Through The Work That You Do Almost Everyday, You Are Not Free

If you are feeling like this person in the picture or are experiencing any of these restrictions down below, then you are not fully free:

�� If you want to move away from where you live, but you can’t because of your job, you are not free.

�� If you dread the work you do and live for the weekends... you are definitely not free.

�� If you ever need personal time, a vacation, or a more flexible schedule, but your job can never accommodate you, then you are not free.

�� If you are expected to accommodate your schedule around your boss's time. This is not freedom at all!

If you are experiencing any kind of restraint then you are not free.

When your soul is not aligned with your career or lifestyle, your purpose is diminished and unfulfilled. I know this because I've been there...

Even when you are making good money, if your soul isn't fulfilled you will wake up every day dreading what you do.

If You Are Relying On a Single Flow of Income, You Will Never Reach Your Full Potential

It’s even worse If you are labeled “non-essential” you are now down to zero flows of income.

“Just like with luck, when it comes to freedom, you have to make your own”

I am a supporter of the law of attraction and the power of manifestation, but only when you take real actions towards improving your life.

If you want something in your life to change, take action.

You don’t necessarily need clear answers to take steps forward,

“Taking steps forward where your heart takes you, can give you the answers”.

You need to start listening to your passions, what inspires you, what motivates you, and allows it to start guiding you. Have trust.

If you feel a little stuck, unhappy in your current situation, or simply have a desire for something different, more fulfilling, pause for a moment.

Find stillness and reflect. It all starts with awareness.

Rethink Everything You Have Ever Been Taught Growing Up

You already know what your passion is. You’ve just been controlled to ignore it…

This is why when you have a single flow of income you are in a false sense of security. Once the blanket is ripped out from under you, it is too late.

Your purpose is more important than spending your life building someone else’s dreams.

But this is what our school system shapes us into being. It molds us into doing repetitive tasks and listening to authority.

This made great factory workers back in the day.... but is that really what kids should be doing in school?

In most schools, they don’t teach anything about becoming your own boss, how to build good credit, how to start an LLC, how to file and manage taxes, how to create a budget, or even what freelancing is.

That is why self-education is the most powerful tool on Earth. You have access to the information to change your life.

It’s time to start tapping into your power.

Tap Into Your Own Power

You have the power to improve your life, create your freedom, make your schedule, and be your own boss.

Don't undervalue yourself or your worth. No one has the power to control you unless you let them.

What does financial and personal freedom mean to you personally?

It’s time to start spreading your wings and tap into all the amazing potential you possess within.

I truly believe that freelancing is the way of the future and can provide ultimate freedom in every area of your life.

With that being said...Are you ready to be fully free?

- Paul Mendes

Ready To Take Your Freelancing Career To The Next Level?

5 Freelance Work From Home Services To Provide

paul@conversionchasers.com (Paul Mendes) — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 23:54:38 GMT

Want to know 5 of the most profitable freelance skills to learn?

We all have building blocks to succeed within us. In this blog, I will be discussing how you can learn how to build upon your existing skills and experiences to change your life.

I’m excited to share some of the most profitable freelance skills to learn that can help push you in the right direction.

So the question you should be asking yourself is:

"How can I use my existing skills and experiences to build a profitable freelance business?"

Below, I will outline the top 6 freelance skills that are in-demand and consistently increasing in popularity.

It all starts with seeing what you resonate with the most. From there, you can start turning it into a freelance career right from the comfort of your home!

Social Media Video Marketing - Avg. $150 per hour ��

Social video marketing is a highly profitable freelance skill and is in HIGH demand.

Basically, social video marketing is a skill where you work with companies to help them develop and promote videos on social media.

This skill is also ranked 3rd on Upwork's 2019 list of "fastest-growing skills".

Thanks to the booming social media video platform channels this is a skill that needs more freelancers.

Businesses are adapting and they understand they need to create videos on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

This surge in popularity will keep this skill relevant for years to come.

If you’re interested in or skilled at creating video content and sharing it with a target audience, then this may be a good path to explore.

Web Design And Development- $36k-$75k yearly avg. ��

Web Design is the 7th most in-demand freelance skill to learn.

This is a great skill to learn as a beginner to get your foot in the door with freelancing.

There are many website builders today that require no coding and simple drag and drop functionalities.

You’ll be able to build beautiful websites from scratch and start earning more when you offer these kinds of services to the right clients.

Skilled web-developers and designers are in high demand, and as the entire globe shifts to digital commerce, millions of more businesses will need a website.

If you're someone who wishes to jump into web development, now is the time!

Social Media Advertising - Avg. $3,455+ monthly ��

Social media advertising is considered essential in increasing brand recognition in today's marketplace.

Since businesses know how important it is to have a consistent presence on social media, they are happy to hire freelancers to help them run targeted social ads.

Even if you only have a few hours a week you can start helping businesses with their organic advertising and have significant results.

In fact, HubSpot reported that 84% of marketers were able to generate increased traffic with as little as six hours of effort spent on social media per week.

If you are a user of social media you are already have the fundamentals needed to learn this profitable freelance skill.

So instead of mindlessly scrolling through your feed for hours, why not spend time creating content for these platforms that generate leads and sales?

Video Editors/Video Content Creation - Avg. $35k-73k yearly ��

Do you like watching videos on Youtube?

What if I told you all that time you spend watching videos, you could be creating them instead!

Video marketers receive an average of 66% more leads per year than other content forms.

The ability to create and edit videos is an extremely valuable asset to businesses and likely will choose this marketing path.

The demand for video editors in the freelance industry saw a rise in the last few years, thanks to platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

If you’re good at putting together clips and creating awesome video content, this could be a great future-proof career to get into.

Learning this profitable freelance skill will open more doors than you can imagine.

Video editing offers a wide range of opportunities to build a profitable freelancing career, develop your personal brand, and build a lucrative stream of revenue!

Social Media Managers - Avg. $46,000 - $72,000 yearly ��

Social media managers are in charge of representing a company across social channels as the sole voice of the brand.

A great social media manager knows how to create content, compile campaigns, respond swiftly to consumer's comments, and engage leads.

These experts provide organizations with the guidance needed to enhance their online presence.

This role determines how often a company should post on each social channel and is responsible for replies.

In fact, with a quick search, you’ll see that LinkedIn has over 9,000 job results for Social Media Managers in the US alone.

Having a solid understanding of this skill will help you develop valuable marketing strategies for brands and businesses.

Almost every business, including small local shops to big corporate brands, now use social networks to promote their products and brand.

This opened up a massive opportunity for freelancers when most of these brands and businesses started looking for people who would manage their social media channels for them.

Now, social media management is an entire industry of its own that you can get into right away!

Copywriting - Avg. $15 - $250+ per hour ��

*All images by Illustrations by Freepik

A copywriter is simply someone that writes words that helps businesses sell more products/services.

It’s also getting the consumer to WANT to buy from you….not out of pressure, but because they enjoy your content and help.

You’ve been writing since elementary school, and through online social media platforms with posts, messaging, and emails.

Now is a great time to take advantage of that skillset in your back pocket...

Top Upwork copywriters charge up to $250 per hour for their work. Don't underestimate yourself if you are interested in becoming a freelance writer as this is one of the most profitable freelance skills to learn.

In Conclusion

It’s time to start applying action to create the life you deserve.

What profitable freelance skills are you most interested in learning? Drop a comment below!

Paul Mendes

profitable-freelancer

How To Make Six Figures Freelancing

The World of Freelancing

Getting Started Freelancing

Finding The Right Price For Freelance Services

Establishing Your Personal Brand

Setting Yourself Up For Six-Figure Success

Building Strong Client Relationships

Adjusting Your Headspace

Freelancing Challenges

Achieving Your Goals

Pros & Cons of Freelancing

The history of freelancing is more interesting than you might think...

Overview of Freelancing

The Benefits/Pros of Freelancing

The Downsides/Cons of Freelancing

How To Get Started As a Freelancer

Developing a Freelance Strategy

Top Freelancing Takeaways

Freelance Software Developer Salary and Jobs: What to Expect and How to Get Started

How much can I make as a freelance software developer?

How do I become a freelance software developer?

Step 1: Decide what kind of freelance software developer you want to become.

Step 2: Obtain the right “hard skill” sets.

Step 3: Build an online software developer portfolio (don’t panic.)

Step 4: Find the right hiring platform and/or network.

Step 5: Land your first client!

Step 6: Use your experience wisely.

Branching out into a highly technical field on your own can be scary.

How To Start An Affiliate Blog The Right Way

What is affiliate blogging?

How much do bloggers earn on affiliate links?

Don’t make this common affiliate marketing mistake.

How To Get Started With Affiliate Blogging

Step 1: Choose a specific blogging niche.

Step 2: Choose a place to house your blog.

Step 3: Choose the products/services you want to promote.

Step 4: Build your content around your niche and your affiliate product offering.

Above all, your affiliate blog should be based on honesty.

Freelance Digital Marketing: Jobs, Salary, and How to Get Started

What is freelance digital marketing, exactly?

Types of Digital Marketing

1) Content Marketing

2) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

3) Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)

4) Social Media Marketing

5) Influencer Marketing

6) Email Marketing

7) Mobile Marketing

8) Affiliate Marketing

Freelance Digital Marketing Salary 2022

How to Become a Freelance Digital Marketing Specialist

Step 1: Decide what kind of digital marketing services you want to offer.

Step 2: Acquire the skill set you need to offer your particular digital marketing services.

Step 3: Put these skill sets to use.

Step 4: Get very specific about your offering.

Step 5: Apply to your first freelance digital marketing jobs.

Getting freelance digital marketing jobs can feel overwhelming.

Freelance Digital Marketing Learning Resources and Tools

Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Technical SEO Specialists: What are they and how do you become one?

What is a technical SEO specialist?

The 11 Big Technical SEO Topics in 2022

The Benefits: Technical SEO Specialist Salary, Competition, and More

On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO vs. Technical SEO

How to Become a Technical SEO Specialist

How to Land Your First Freelance Technical SEO Specialist Job

1) Build a portfolio.

2) Build your freelancer profile in a freelancer job platform like Upwork, which has a low barrier to entry.

3) Start applying for technical SEO jobs.

Accelerate your freelancing business.

﻿ Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign: 2022 Comparison

What are Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and ActiveCampaign all used for?

Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Pricing Structure

MailChimp

Klaviyo

ActiveCampaign

Email Marketing Software User Experience

Learn the skills you need today to offer in-demand services by tomorrow.

What do you do once you are a bonafide creative project manager?