How to Start Freelancing – 5 Steps to go from 0 to Rs.50,000 per month

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

Earning money online is hard.

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.

Throughout this article I’ll be using a popular freelance site called ‘upwork’. But you can apply the same method to any freelance site.

I recommend upwork for beginners because it’s the most popular site right now. Thousands of new jobs are posted there, every day.

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. First, go to this page. You will see a list of various fields you can work in.
2. Take a look at the different categories slowly with patience. I know it’s a long list but if you take time you might find something which you truly love to do.
3. Select the field in which you are most skilled or experienced in. (or simply select a field which you’re interested.)
4. Take a look at all the jobs posted in that category.
5. See if you can complete some of them. If you find that you can do it, proceed to the next step.

If you find that you do not have the skills required to complete the task, try picking a different category from the left sidebar.

The simplest jobs which most people can do are listed under the Writing, Admin Support & Translation section.

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 Google search away.

STEP 2: Join Upwork & Create your Profile

Found tasks you can complete?

Yes?

Great!

Now you can register and start creating your profile.

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

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

To do that, first go to this page, choose your field again and select a freelancer.
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 upwork profile:

1. Your photo: A high quality smiling headshot of yourself.
2. A Professional Title
3. 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.
4. Hourly rate : Select your hourly rate based on other freelancers in your field.
5. 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.

Again, if you need ideas, see the profiles of top freelancers in your field.

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

Once you’re done, submit your profile and choose the free plan: Freelancer Basic.

After you submit your profile, upwork team will review it to check for quality. It usually takes about 3-5 hours.

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

STEP 3: Bidding on Your First Job

Now comes the exciting part: Bidding on jobs

Once your profile is approved, it’s time to start bidding on jobs posted by clients.

This is done by submitting a 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.

To submit a proposal, first click ‘find jobs’. You’ll see a list of jobs suitable for your skills. Scroll through the list to find jobs you’re interested in.

You’ll find two types of jobs:
1. Fixed price jobs:
In fixed price jobs you get paid a specific amount on completion of the task.

2. Hourly jobs:
Hourly jobs are jobs which pays based on how long you work. For example your hourly rate is $10 and you work on a job for 5 hrs, you will get paid about $50.

Once you find a job you like, click it and read the job description carefully to understand what the client needs.

If you’re interested, click submit a proposal.

Remember: You can bid on about 30 jobs per month as a free member on upwork. So keep these points in mind when you’re bidding:

• The newer the job, the better it is. If it’s a old job posted few days ago and the client is already interviewing several other candidates, then it is better to skip that job and apply for another one.
• Prefer clients with high hire rate and a good rating.

Don’t bid on every project.

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

“Can you deliver?”

In other words:

“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.