Starting a Freelancing Career

Hi Freelancers,

Most of the new Freelancers will be in confusion to start a freelancing career. In this post I have explained few points to get started.

First of all spend some time in Freelancing sites to complete your profile. It is important because when you place a bid on a project, the client will check your profile. The client will mainly check your reviews. Since new joiners won't have any reviews they have to concentrate on profile. 

You will have measures in Freelance websites to view your profile status. It will be helpful if you can complete the profile as per the measures. Enter all your Academic details and upload certificates if required. You should choose the fields you are interested like Translation, Web designing, Graphic Design etc.

Make sure that you provide correct Contact Details. Provide details like your email ID, mobile number, Skype ID etc. You should check your mails as frequent as possible. 

Portfolio is very important. It is nothing but the previous work you have done to show case. It will help in attracting clients. Choose the best in your work to show case. For example, if you are a Translator, you can upload a translated document. It will be great if you have a blog or web content link to show your work. Creating a blog is easy. I used to show my Wikipedia articles which I have translated in my portfolio. If you are graphic designer, you can upload the image files you have done. If you are a Video Editor, Create a Channel in YOUTUBE and upload your videos and paste the links in portfolio. You need to spend time while creating your portfolio as it will play major role in show case your skills.

Many of the portals conduct Tests in different fields. It will be really helpful if you can complete all tests relevant to your job profile. Getting a good score will help you. Most of Freelance sites provide Certificates for the Tests you have completed. You will have option to Display these Certificates in your profile. If you are looking for translation related jobs, just complete the language related tests. So whenever you have free time, go for the tests.

Cover Letter will play major role in winning projects. Once you find a post related to your profile, you have to place a bid. As I explained in my previous blogs, Placing a bid is a Crucial part in winning a project. Cover letter is a part of placing bid. Different Freelance sites have different names for this part. In this part you will have a Text box where you can write your comments. Bring your best out to write a good Cover letter. Especially freshers should be careful while writing a Cover letter. It should be simple but brief. Explain whatever you want to convey in simple paragraphs. 

In Cover Letter, you can explain how much you are interested in this project and the previous experience you have in that field. if possible leave links to your work. You can explain your availability. To create some interest you can ask questions relevant to the project. Asking questions will showcase your experience in this field (Only if you ask relevant questions). For example Translators can ask about font requirements and formats etc. 

All of the above points will play their part in bringing projects to your hand. The most important things is Positive Attitude and Patience. Not everyone can win projects in their first bid. It will take time to understand the competition and prepare yourself to that. Spend some time in Reading other's Cover letters before you start. It will help you in understanding the project. If not today, you will definitely get a project tomorrow. Patience and Attitude is all we required. Some Clients will reply you the reason why they didn't select you for the project. Make note of those things and don't repeat any mistakes.

Be Punctual in replying to clients. Clients may ask many questions regarding the project, your skills, deadlines and deliverable. Be quick and smart in resolving their queries. Many of the Freelancer portals have Interview option. If the Client is interested in your profile, he will call you for an Interview. Mostly they prefer Skype or Gtalk. Give your best to impress the clients. Be realistic in requesting for time to complete the project. Don't promise which is not possible to do. Ask questions and get more details on requirements.

Once you win a bid, the game is not finished. In fact it is just started. Try to meet your deadlines. Don't get irritated if the client is asking for status of the project repeatedly. Try to understand their situation as well. All you have to keep in mind that the Reviews you will get. I strongly believe that Reviews are more important than money. Reviews will bring more projects and hence more Money. Reviews works like a marketing team for your profile. Some clients will directly call the freelancers with good reviews to place bids on their project.

Keep these points in mind and go ahead and bid. All the best !!!!!!

It's the time to start....

There are many types of jobs available in freelance sites. You can select any one of the job and place your bid. There is a huge demand for Web designers, Programmers, Graphic designers, Writers and many more categories. If you are a Professional designer or programmer you can more than 1000$ per month. Not only these jobs, There are many other job types. You will know clearly most common jobs you can online in future posts.

If you don't have knowledge on designing and programming, You can start your career as an Online writer or Data entry worker. Every day 100's of jobs are posted in freelance sites for Online writers and Data entry workers. The other common jobs we can see online Search Engine Optimization, Transcription, Translation, Video uploading, Logo Design, System Administration, BPO and so on.

The major Jobs available are Programming and Designing. In programming category clients are looking for the providers who have good skills in .NET, Java, C, C++, C#, PHP, HTML, Perl etc. In designing category, 3D designing, Flash, Illustration, Photoshop, Maya, Banner designing, Logo Designing, Video editing, Audio editing having good number of jobs every day.

Whatever category you choose you must have good portfolio to convince your client. The new freelancers are also getting number of every day. It depends on your skills and your communication with the client. So lets start bidding....

Freelancer's must read guide....

Hi Again,

In this post I am going to tell you about every thing you need to know if you want to work as a freelancer. To work as a freelancer we have to know few words which we use more often in freelancer sites.

First of all What is Freelancing and Who is a Freelancer. A freelancer is simply a Self employed person who independently works for clients for short term or long term based on contracts. The person who do freelancing is a Freelancer. So we works on different contracts for different persons. So we simply sell our services to different clients.

Here is the words which helps you to start your career in freelancing.

CLIENT: A client is simply a person who pays us for our services. So clients have work. We have to get the work from them and we have to complete it. We must get more clients for more work. In some Freelance websites Clients also referred are Employers. Clients will post their requirement in freelance websites. You will go through the requirements and if it suites you, we will make a contract to complete the task. We can check Client's details by reading their reviews. Before accepting any work from any client, it is a best habit to read their reviews.

BIDDING: According to Freelancing, A bid is a contract that we propose to a client. When a client posts a project on freelancing site, The Freelancer members in the site will be able to see it. If it is belongs to our field of work then we have to place a Bid. In simple words, We are providing a contract to Client to complete the task. In the bid we will tell the client about our previous experience, How much money we charge to complete the project and In how many days(time) we can complete it. The client will see the bids placed on his project and will select one or more based on his requirement. If you win the bid you will be notified by the site you are registered. Once you win the bid, you will start working on it.

DESCRIPTION: While placing a bid we have to write a description. It can be Called as "Asking Questions" and "Cover Letter" as well in different freelance sites. A description is very important thing which plays great role in winning a bid. This is the first message you are sending to the client. It should be simple and to the point. We have to learn how to write a good description. In the description we have to tell him how much we understood the project. Try to ask questions. Don't place "I can do it" such words. Specify your experience and skills. Try to check Spelling and Grammar mistakes.

MESSAGE BOARD: A message board is a place where we can communicate with the clients. In some freelance sites it is called as "INBOX". If you have any queries about the project you can resolve them through this. Don't send your contact details like your email or any other details to your clients. It is strictly not allowed in most of the freelancing sites. If you do it, your account will be suspended. However, once the Contract is made you may be allowed to share your contact details. Try to check your message board or Inbox more often to make sure that you won't miss anything from clients. Our availability is one of the best factor that will impress the clients. It is possible through Message Board. Whenever you get message from Client, be quick in answering them.

ESCROW or WALLET: An escrow is an account which is established by the freelance site. It is referred as different terms in different freelance sites. However the basic idea is same. This escrow is used to hold the funds. Once we have won a bid and contract made, our client will transfer the money into the escrow account. It holds the money until we complete the work. Once you complete the work and submit it to the Clients, he will review the work. After he approves the work he will release the Amount in Escrow. Then it will be transferred to your account. When the money is in escrow, neither you nor the client will be able to access the money. Either you need to complete the task or you need to break the contract to get the money from the Escrow. It will be very helpful in saving from cheaters.

REVIEW: Reviews are the impressions you got from your clients as a freelancer and vice versa. After completion of a project, Your client will give you reviews describing your performance. If you got better reviews, it will be helpful to you to get good work from other clients. So you must work hard to get good reviews.

In online if your client is not satisfied, it will spread very faster through the reviews you got. It is in our hand to make sure that we deliver what we have promised. Don't promise what you can't deliver. A review is the Closure of the project. If you get chance to do small projects which can give you better reviews, go for it.

As a provider you have a chance to give reviews to your client. Give best reviews to him so you can get future work from the same client. If you face any problems from the clients like expectations which are not in contract and all, mention in reviews so that it will help others. 

These are the most common terms we usually see in freelancing sites. If you have any doubt leave a comment. I am always ready to help you.

Regards,
Freelancer