This article is a step-by-step guide on everything you need to know on how to become a freelancer. I will cover why freelancing is a good idea, who it will appeal to and how to start freelancing with the Fiverr platform.
What Is A Freelancer?
If you want to know how to become a freelancer, you must first know exactly what it is. Being a freelancer essentially involves completing contracts for other people and businesses.
So an example would be perhaps you’re a logo designer and someone is interested in buying your gig (explained later). You can then create a logo for them, as per their requirements at a pre-arranged date in exchange for a set price.
As you can probably tell there are some very strong advantages to being a freelancer, here are some just to name a few:
- Flexibility– This is the most appealing aspect of becoming a freelancer by far. You can work when you want, with who you want, wherever you want. You are not fixed to any timetable, location or obligated to work with anyone.
- You are your boss– Although you have to satisfy requirements for clients, you have control over pretty much every other aspect of your work as a freelancer. The amount of money that you have in your pocket comes down to you and not someone else.
- Diverse market– It’s not just businesses you can interact with, but individual people who are interested in what you have to offer. There is no shortage of people wanting things done for them.
- Different every day– Working with the same people/companies all the time can be stale, but being a freelancer means that you work with different people all the time.
Hopefully, at this point, you’re already wondering how to start freelancing. If you’re still undecided, let’s talk about who it’s going to appeal to and why.
Who Will Freelancing Appeal To?
If you’re into projects and you have a high sort after skill or set of skills, you could most certainly become a freelancer. The beauty of being a freelancer is you don’t necessarily have to exercise your skill to the highest level either. Some freelance sites accommodate intermediate and even beginner-level skills.
Becoming a freelancer is going to be ideal for people who want a bit more freedom in their lifestyle. Maybe that’s because you like travelling or perhaps your routine doesn’t allow you to work the conventional 9-5. Full-time mums, students, frequent travellers are some of the types of people that will love freelancing.
Equally, the option to become a freelancer will be just as important to people who perhaps don’t like being employed (at least full time) for whatever reason. The ability to work at your own pace from home and filter your job offerings is also going to appeal to people who are perhaps older. This is because you won’t have to take on too much work and not to mention, it’s statically harder for someone older to get a new job.
So not only does it host a lot of benefits, but can also appeal to a wide variety of people who may not otherwise find it as easy to make money.
How To Become A Freelancer Using Fiverr
Now you know what a freelancer is and whether it will appeal to you, you’ll need to know how to get started. I’ve created a step by step guide on how to get set up with one of, if not the biggest freelance platforms.
This is personally a site I use all the time, not just to earn but to hire and learn. The site is called Fiverr and here are a few reasons why I think it will be the best platform for you:
- All skill levels– A standout feature that separates Fiverr from the rest is that it accommodates all freelance skills levels, meaning you can earn and learn at the same time.
- Accessibility– Fiverr is accessible to over 160 countries!
- Ease of use– Once I take you through the guide once, you should not have any trouble finding what you need in the future due to how easy it is to navigate.
- Category variety– Fiverr currently offer over 200 categories for you to work in and are constantly adding new ones.
- Total users– At the time of conducting my research, Fiverr has over 5.5 million buyers!
So firstly what you’re going to want to do is click any of the Fiverr links and you’ll be taken to this page.
All you need to do it click on the join button on the top right-hand side, then you can create an account using Facebook, Google or your email.
Next, all you need to do is come up with a username and password, after this, you will have officially created an account with Fiverr. Just confirm your email address through the message you receive in your inbox. The message will look something like this (it may have changed as I joined a while back).
After you click through the link you will be able to access the main Fiverr interface, which looks like this. The gigs below (just another word for service) will be customised to what niches you buy from as well as gigs that you’ve favourited and so on.
For you, it will say on the top right-hand side ‘become a seller’, simply click this and you will be taken to this page.
Clicking the yellow button will then take you here, where there is an introductory video on how to become a freelancer on the Fiverr platform.
After watching this and continuing, you will be shown a list of ‘things to avoid’ when becoming a seller.
Have a little read and then progress onto the next page.
Here you will be asked to fill in your credentials, personal info and link any other accounts to your Fiverr account. Answer honestly and don’t worry too much if you feel like you don’t have many credentials, you will always learn over time!
Now after that, you will be classed as a seller, all you need to do now is set up a ‘gig’. This is merely an advertisement for the particular service you are offering. You can set up as many gigs on as many aspects of your skills as you like.
To create a gig, just click on your profile, then press Gigs. Here you will be given the option to create a new one.
You’ll then need to fill out the gig title, tags and other relevant information. This should only take you about 5 minutes, just makes sure you don’t rush it because everything that you put down will be visible to potential buyers.
Once you have progressed through it, click save and your gig will then take a day or so to be approved. After it is approved it will be available for all who are interested to see. All you need to do is sit and wait.
It may take a little while to take off, but once you start getting good reviews and begin to climb up the search results you’ll be in good shape. You need to know how to market yourself if you want to become a freelancer as well so bear that in mind.
Congratulations you now know how to become a freelancer using Fiverr!
Next, we are going to look at some other aspects related to freelancing and how to utilise Fiverr.
How Much Can You Earn As A Freelancer?
Of course, the answer is going to be very subjective, coming down to what your skills are and to what degree you exercise them. Factors such as your reputation on the Fiverr platform can play a big role too (reviews etc). So the answer is as much as you want, there is no cap on your earnings.
This means the opportunity for scaling is endless!
Different Ways To Utilise Fiverr
Not only can you just directly earn money as a freelancer from Fiverr, but you can also do a list of other things. It would be wise for you to at least consider these aspects as they can help you in the future. Here are a few more ways you can benefit from Fiverr:
- Learning-Fiverr also branches over to teaching (Fiverr learn), you can buy courses to acquire knowledge with which you can then base a gig around. This creates a continuous cycle of expansion, not just the information you acquire but also your pocket.
- Build other incomes– I use this platform for all work that I have no knowledge of and have done so for the past year. Look into services that could increase your income over time, examples could be if you have a website and you need it search engine optimized or perhaps you’re an affiliate marketer, then you can purchase targeted traffic to increase conversions, etc.
- Management of an income stream-These types of platforms are also powerful because if at some point you create a business and need it maintaining, you can pay people to regulate the particular aspects they specialize in to free up some more time for you.
These are just a few extra ways you can take advantage of the platform.
A Conclusion On How To Become A Freelancer
I hope this guide has gone a long way in showing you exactly how to become a freelancer. If you do, then it’s mission accomplished for me! If you enjoyed this post on how to become a freelancer I recommend you have a look through other blog articles I have on making money.
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