I think you’ll agree with me when I say:

You’ll come across fraudsters asking for registration fees & surveys/PTC sites which never pay you. Sometimes you might feel like you’re wasting your time, earning nothing. This is why you need to know about freelance jobs.

Freelance is where you solve a client’s problems or needs with your skills and get paid for it.

Here’s the best part:

• You never have to worry about whether you’ll be paid or not.
• You don’t have to pay a single rupee to start earning.
• and you’ll earn money by doing what you’re good at.

This is the basic idea of how freelancing works:

1. A client posts a task on a freelance site.
2. You apply for the task telling the client why you’re suitable for the task.
3. He/she review’s your profile and selects you.
4. You complete the task.
5. You get paid.

Freelancing has helped thousands of people make extra income, working from their home. Many even quit their jobs once they start earning a steady stream of income via freelancing. After reading this post, you’ll know how to start freelancing in the field you’re skilled in.

Freelancing is perfect for people who are skilled at something.

But, even if you don’t have any skills right now, you can learn the skills needed for the field you’re interested in.

Follow the step-by-step process to get started:

STEP 1: Choose the field you want to work in

1. You can choose any fields you want to work in.
2. Select the field in which you are most skilled or experienced in. (or simply select a field which you’re interested.)
3. See if you can complete some of them. If you find that you can do it, proceed to the next step.

If you’re still not able to find anything suitable for you, consider learning the skills required for the jobs you like to do. Know that, everything and anything you want to learn is a search away.

STEP 2: Prepare your profile

Found tasks you can complete?

Yes?

Great! Now you can start creating your profile.

Nearly all clients, who are interested in working with you, will check out your profile page to evaluate you.

So you’ll need to make it attractive to land more projects.

To get some ideas & inspiration for building your profile, take a look at other freelancer’s profiles in your field.

Most people are lazy and write only 2 or 3 lines in their description. Such kind of profiles rarely gets hired. So this is your chance to get an easy advantage by not being lazy and win more jobs.

The following are the things that should be in your profile:

• Your photo: A high quality smiling headshot of yourself.
• A Professional Title
• Overview: List your competitive advantages & strengths (i.e. things that make you unique or special). Try to write everything from client’s perspective. For example: Say what the client will get by hiring you, how will you will solve their problem?; etc. Strictly avoid typos and grammatical errors.
• Hourly rate: Select your hourly rate based on other freelancers in your field.
• Portfolio (very important): Upload some of your work samples you’ve created in the past.

If you don’t have any samples to show, start creating it now. It doesn’t have to be the work that you did for clients. It can be something which you did for practice also.

For example: If you’re a writer, you simply can write an article and add it to your portfolio; or if you’re a designer, you can create a logo for an imaginary company and upload the image.

Don’t worry about making your profile perfect yet. You can tweak it over time.

Once you’re done, submit all your details to CodeCarrot team for development of your website and choose the free plan.

After you submit your details, CodeCarrot team will start developing your website. It usually takes about 1-2 working days.

While you wait for approval and development of website, try taking a few skill tests to make your profile even more attractive.

STEP 3: Share/Promote your website

Once your website is developed and live, it’s time to share and promote it. So, that your website can come under the notice by the clients.

This can be done by sharing the website link social media or creating paid ads.

STEP 4: Giving your first proposal

Now comes the exciting part: Giving proposal

Since you’ll be competing with other freelancers, your proposal is easily the most important factor in winning the job.

A proposal is where you tell the client why you’re suitable for the job and the price at which you can do it for.

Before you give your proposal, it’s very important to understand the biggest concern on every client’s mind when hiring. It is this:

"Can you deliver?"

or

"Do you have the ability to do what the job requires?"

So it is very important to address the client’s needs in your proposal. Tell the client you can get the results that he is looking for.

Clients are smart enough to know the difference between a proposal written specifically for them, and a proposal that was copy-and-pasted.

Most people use a generic copy-pasted robotic cover letters. So stand out from them by personalizing your proposal as much as possible.

Here are some tips & tricks to write a better proposal & win your first project:

• Ask questions: Ask good questions if some information is missing from the job description. This lets the client know that you are knowledgeable and can execute the job correctly.

• Show you’re a good listener: If the client has asked any question, answer them in your proposal.

• Provide similar samples: Add a link to your work sample which is relevant to the job. Share only your best works.

• Tell them you’re new & give a discount: Since you’re new, it is actually better to tell the client that this is your first time even though you have a good experience in the field. Also mention you are willing to give a discount since he/she will be your first client.

• Use speed to your advantage: When you’re trying to get your first job, speed is your weapon. Try to bid on the project as soon as it’s posted and get the conversation started with the employer. The trick is to impress the client before everyone else bids. Keep refreshing your Job Feed page and wait until a project shows up that matches your skills.

• Keep it short: Keep your proposal short and to the point. Minimize talking too much about yourself and focus on what the client will get from hiring you. Talk about how you’re going to approach the job.

• Show your enthusiasm: Let the person know you want to start the project soon. Example: Tell the client you can start working on the project as soon as he/she picks your bid.

• Include time estimation: Tell the client how fast you can complete the job.

Try to do quick jobs that are easy to complete in a short period of time. This will help you get feedback quickly.

STEP 5: How to Choose Your Pricing?

When you’re choosing your price for the job, never give the impression that you’re a cheap freelancer.

Every client wants their project to get the best results. If you bid too low, he/she will think you’re desperate to get the job and won’t provide the same quality as other freelancers.

Bidding low prices will only attract small and petty clients who are better to be avoided.

Therefore when you start, I recommend bidding the average market rate for the job (under the client’s budget). You can also strategically place your bid slightly below the average bid. Also try using the discount trick as stated above.

Do a research on your market and get an idea of the average market rates for the job.

After submitting your proposal: If a client responds to your proposal, always try to reply as quickly as possible. In general, try to be online as often as you can if you are looking for your first job.

STEP 6: Preparing / Setting expectations

When a potential client is interested in you, some might want to talk/chat with you before they give you the job.

A lot of clients use video chat for this purpose, so make sure it’s installed on your computer.

Choosing Your Payment Terms Once you’re hired it’s recommended to clarify your payment terms and the work you’ll be delivering to the client.

Before you start working, make sure the client has made the advance payment according to work. If not tell the client that you can start working only after he/she has made an advance payment.

Also agree on the things you’ll be delivering to the client (these are called ‘deliverables’). For example, a logo, a 500-word article, etc are deliverables.

Specify the limits for the work, such as the number of words in the article.

For large projects: Before any work begins, you and your client should break up the work into small parts (called milestones) and decide how much should be paid for completion of each milestone.

For example, if the job requires you to write 5 articles, make each article as a milestone and ask the client to release funds on completion of each article separately.

For small projects: It’s okay to work without on advance payment on one condition: The client should have a good rating & feedback from other freelancers. If the client is new, do not agree to work without the advance payment.

Be clear on what the client wants: Use a any word processor and allow the client to list all the features they want. Specify the limits such as the number of words for article.

Clearly identify things which you cannot do and tell the client which features will cost more.

This way if the client is asking for more than agreed, you can clearly show them and request additional payment for extra features they’re asking for.

STEP 7: You’re Hired: Go do an awesome job

Check before you accept the Job

Once you find a job you like and interested to work then you can accept the job.

But when it comes to accepting the job, success is a two-way street. It is not only yours’ job to match the required of the client, however, but also the client’s job to match themselves to a position that they know they will like.

Once you start working, communicate with the client & keep them updated.

Your goal should be the client’s satisfaction because that will highly increase your chance of getting more work in the future.

Remember, your online reputation is a major driver in growing your business.

So be sure to go the extra mile to do a great job to get good feedback.

PRO Tip: After you complete the job & the client is satisfied, ask for more projects & referrals. Tell the client about other services you provide.

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