19 Awesome Ways To Make Money As A Freelancer From Home
Are you looking for a quick escape from the drudgery of your daily 9-5 grind? Do you day-dream about working for yourself? Being independent and flexible? Setting your own hours? Earning the kind of money that you deserve? Do you want to know how to make money from home as a freelancer?
You’ve heard about people “freelancing” online but you have trouble imagining how you could make that type of lifestyle possible for yourself.
You’re convinced that you need to have “specialized skills” in order to become a freelancer. Or maybe you’re not totally convinced that you can actually make a living doing it?
Tisk, tisk….
Freelancing is something that many people consider from time to time, but rarely do they take the plunge. And the reason why is primarily that they don’t even know how they would get started.
Freelancing is something that many people consider from time to time, but rarely do they take the plunge. And the reason why is primarily that they don’t even know how they would get started.
This post has been created to show you that it’s far easier than you think. Here we share 19 awesome ways to make money as a freelancer from home. Everyone needs help with something, and more often than not they are willing to pay for it.
We put this article together for those of you who don’t truly believe that freelancing is a legitimate option for you to earn a real income. If you would absolutely love to be your own boss, but don’t think you have any talents that people would pay for…. then read on. We want to change your mind, and get you on the path to freedom as a freelancer.
All it takes is a little creative thinking to get you into the right mindset. People are making crazy dinero every single day freelancing, so why are you any different? We’d say it’s simply because you haven’t realized YOUR unique value. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the examples below.
People are out there right now making money in many weird and wonderful ways. Freelancers are crushing it with businesses such as mobile pet massage, online laundry and even test-knitting!
We want to empower you to realize that there is nothing stopping you from achieving your ambition of freelancing, and have compiled the following list of ways that others, just like you have taken the plunge and made their unique talents work for them. These will hopefully inspire and help you to generate ideas and find your niche, which could ultimately lead to a legitimate and consistent source of income.
As you look through this list, have a think about your own skill set, and think of ways that you could leverage your talents to make money. Use the resources we have shared, but don’t leave it there. Take it a step further…..be creative, think how you can monetize your abilities… success as a freelancer is closer than you think.
Click Here to Start your Freelance Journey Today: Learn about the 5 freelancing tasks that even beginners can have success with on Upwork.
1. Write
Dust off the typewriter! Okay, so the reality of making a living as a writer may not include the romantic images of hiding out in a deserted log cabin, while you compose your masterpiece on your grandfather’s typewriter. We’d like to think it is actually even better.
You only need internet access and a computer to get going, and then the world is your oyster!
There are many platforms available that connect freelance writers with clients, and it can be very lucrative, especially if you develop your knowledge base in one particular area and become an expert in that niche. Upwork.com is a great resource for finding writing project. This platform turned our whole business around, and we started from scratch! If you are interested in finding out how we leverage UpWork to make serious money, check out the Freelance Hustler Challenge, which you can access here. There are people searching for someone to write their memoirs, creative pieces, resumes, web copy, blogs, sales copy and more. There are many opportunities available, so you are sure to find a writing gig that suits your style and area of expertize.
Just keep in mind, this one is a craft that takes a little time to perfect, so don’t ‘write yourself off’ too quickly 😉
2. Do Translation Work
If you happen to be bilingual, or multilingual (clever you!) then you have a fantastic skill to leverage through translation. There are many places online that will connect you with work. Once again, we suggest starting with a platform such as UpWork.
There are also specialist sites available, such as ProTranslating .com which has been established over 4 decades. It can be a great place to start, connecting you with numerous clients looking for a range of translation services. They boast perks such as:
- Highly flexible scheduling and easy remote access
- Prompt payment (within 30-45 days of the project)
- Our managerial team’s full support
- The latest CAT tools and software
So if languages are your game, zut alors, what are you waiting for?
3. Become An Online Tutor
Do you have a specialist subject, or are you THE ultimate nerd in a particular realm? Why not share your knowledge by becoming an online tutor? Tutor.com offers searchers access to specialists 24 hours a day, with personalized support on a huge variety of subjects. Just look at what one online tutor thinks of it:
I enjoy tutoring with Tutor.com because I can just sign in and immediately be matched up with a student from anywhere in the country. I love the flexibility and ease of access this provides. In addition, I find that the students who use Tutor.com are engaged, motivated, and are overall a pleasure to teach. – Andy H., Algebra, Algebra II, Calculus, Discrete, Finite, Trigonometry, and Pre-calculus Tutor
Sounds good to me! And if you are currently employed as a teacher, another resource that you can leverage for teaching gigs on the side is InstaEd.com. Perfect for extra cash during school holidays!
Online tutoring is a great way to keep your own knowledge fresh and up to date. Plus there is an undeniable feel-good vibe that comes from helping people in need.
4. Help People Out With Their Social Media Presence
Maybe you are a social media whizz. Do you find yourself running facebook groups and sharing enough material to be a ‘page’ rather than a ‘profile’? Do you know how to #hashtag like a pro and get everyone sharing and liking your stuff? If you are nodding your head, then many individuals and companies could really do with your help.
Some people simply want support in building a facebook page, others with scheduling posts across their platforms, so why not get on board?
Companies are aware that social media is an extremely powerful marketing tool, and this is driving many small businesses to look for freelancers to help them out with it. Back in 2014, Hubspot found that 92% of marketers felt that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating that their efforts increased traffic to their websites.
Social Media Examiner .com, reported that 97% of marketers are currently participating in social media—but a surprising 85% of participants aren’t sure which social media tools are the best to use. Now that sounds like a gap in the market to me!
Don’t be fooled that the social media craze is nothing more than a passing phase. It is an extremely useful tool to build brand recognition and brand loyalty – 2 things that are notoriously difficult to achieve in this volatile market – and a huge headache, especially for large companies who are slower to move with public opinion. Social media allows them to stay current, and relevant.
Some companies have got it just right – and are killing it. Just take a look at these amusing examples by well known brands…and be sure to follow them while you are at it.
So if you have a quick wit, and a sense of humour (that doesn’t overstep corporate boundaries) this could be a perfect direction for you to build your own freelancing business.
[content_upgrade cu_id=”799″]Jumpstart your Freelance Career from home today: Access our Upwork Starter Kit[content_upgrade_button]Download Now[/content_upgrade_button][/content_upgrade]5. Teach People How To Improve Their Sales
If you have a natural flair for sales then why not consider sales consulting as a freelancer? This is great if you are someone who is seriously motivated by money, as your income is often tied directly to the amount of sales that you make. You can represent companies selling any number of products, and the beauty is that you won’t need to commit more than your time to make it work. No need to cover manufacturing costs etc, you get to sell and go.
6. Help People With Their Legal Work
Many people have a need for legal advice, or some form of legal service at some point. If you have qualified in a particular area of law, why not step out alone and make yourself the go-to-guy for that niche? Even if you are not a qualified attorney, you can work in this field as a freelancer. There are many career options in this field. Paralegals, legal secretaries, court reporters, legal interpreters and more.
As a legal freelancer you can service numerous clients across the globe, providing them with fantastic value, while you get to manage your own time and develop a varied skill set. Check out FreelanceLaw.com which is a great platform to connect with new clients.
To get ahead of the pack you will need to be aware of changing laws. You can make yourself indispensable by highlighting the gaps in company knowledge. One such legal storm that is currently brewing is centred around data protection. It may sound innocuous, but there is potential for large fines for corporates that are not compliant.
7. Become A Graphic Designer
Always dreamt of being paid to draw? Well if this is where you talent lies there are a myriad paths you could take to reach your goal, all while freelancing. Even small companies need graphic designers, but, it does not tend to warrant full time employment. Freelancing to the rescue once again!
You can find projects to design logos, design layouts (eg for magazines, newspapers, book covers, advertisements, marketing material – both on and offline), packaging and so much more. Upwork has a many jobs that you can browse through to find something that is right for you. We use a few simple tips that make UpWork a very lucrative platform for freelancing. You can access them on the Freelance Hustler Challenge here.
8. Be A Virtual Assistant
If organization is your game, why not consider starting out as a virtual assistant. Each role may vary greatly, but you can expect to manage diaries, respond to simple requests, input data and other administrative roles.
9. Teach People To Use The Internet
One service that is in high demand is internet tuition. As mentioned earlier, baby boomers want to know how to browse the net, make a skype call and other things that we might consider obvious. What a joy to show someone around the information superhighway – while getting paid for it!
10. Edit Digital Photos
Do you know your way around photoshop? Why not market yourself as an editor for digital photographs. Everyone’s a photographer nowadays with smartphones on hand – but expectations for a great pic can be high, and the reality doesn’t always match. This is where an editor is needed! You can airbrush, nip, tuck and add filters to produce the perfect photos that your clients hoped for.
11. Help Book Travel
Are you a whizz at booking flights online? Do you know all of the tricks and are pretty well travelled? You may not have considered it, but you have a lucrative skill! Take a look at flightfox.com a platform which connects flight experts with customers to the benefit of all involved.
It’s nice to have someone on your side to do all the work and use their deep industry knowledge for you. Not only do you get better flights at the lowest prices, it’s fun too 🙂
12. Help People With Their Accounting
Nobody wants to do their own books! Book-keeping, inventory and taxes are all things that people love to outsource and delegate. So if numbers are your forte, find some accounting software and get going.
13. Become An Online Researcher
Know your way around Google? Consider marketing yourself as an online researcher. Yes, people really do get paid for this service.
14. Start Data Mining
Got an eye for detail? Maybe try data mining, where you glean information from websites to fill spreadsheets. Once again, this is a service that people really do need, and people are out there getting paid for data mining right now.
15. Produce Podcasts
As more entrepreneurs crop up, so does the need for someone to create a slick podcast for them. You can help people to set up interviews, edit their sound, upload to iTunes and more as a freelance podcast producer.
16. Edit Online Video
If it isn’t podcasts, it’s videos! Once again there is a need for people who can shoot, edit and compile great videos to be shared on sites and social media.
17. Project Manage Your Way To Big Bucks
If you have got this far, and are feeling frustrated right now, irritated that none of these roles is suitable for you why not think outside of the box a little? Are you someone that is great at project management? Why not recruit a team to complete jobs for you. Think about it – you could be the one to win proposals with new clients, and then recruit the best people to complete them for you. All remotely of course. You can negotiate rates that ensure you get a cut – and bingo! Everyone is happy.
18. Find Jobs on Upwork!
Feeling inspired yet? Don’t worry, even if you are still unsure about where to turn to start out on the path to becoming America’s next top freelancer (did you think I would say model?), or Ukraine’s hippest multilingual translator, or even India’s most trusted online tutor for algebra, we have an easy answer for you.
Check out a freelance platform such as Upwork to get you going. It can often take a bit of trial and error to find your niche, and Upwork is a great way to find a client to get started. They have tonnes of people looking for every service from transcriptionists, testers for websites, writers for resumes, assistants to manage their calendars….all the way up to the most skilled roles. We have created Freelance Hustler Challenge, which goes into more detail on finding jobs on Upwork. You can access it here to find out more.
19. Just Be Your Goofy Self!
Still unsure? If you really believe that you just have nothing that anyone would want to pay for then read on.
Let us demonstrate how you can literally monetize any talent – even if it isn’t something that you would necessarily class as talent! Let’s look at Fiverr, an interesting and unique site which allows individuals to market a whole range of services, for the rate of $5. Clients can log in and search for anything including graphics, marketing, writing, animation, audio and MUCH more. Freelancers can choose precisely what they will offer for $5 (an example is ‘a compelling about page’), and there is of course the opportunity to up-sell. You can add extras to your offering for an additional fee.
This is a great place to start, to at least build confidence, tweak your offerings and meet new clients. Who knows, you might become an overnight sensation like ‘The Funny Guys’ who will sing happy birthday to you, from a river, dressed as jungle boys!
Comments
Post a Comment