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Introduction

Freelance businesses are usually lucrative but only if you make up your mind to put in the time involved to make it a success. If you’ve just started your business and you need some help, don’t worry.

With more and more businesses offering less-than-lucrative salaries and benefits, it’s little wonder why more people wish to work for themselves. But for the self-employed, working longer hours is the norm with no guarantee of success in the end.

So what can you do to increase your chances of being a successful freelancer?

Below are ten suggestions that may indeed help.

 

Establish a Good Online Reputation

 

People will “check you out” online before contacting you in person. This is why having a good online reputation is so important. And by a “good” reputation, we mean a reputation that is both professional and honest. Start as soon as your business is up and ready to go, and continue to improve your reputation every day.

How do you do this? By remaining honest, posting helpful tips for the visitors to your social media sites, and constantly learning more about your field so you can do better at it. When you’re in business for yourself, reputation is everything, so it’s crucial that you build up that reputation. This is the best way for others to trust you and become your customer.

 

Communicate Professionally

 

Communication seems to be a lost art but you’ll need to rediscover it if you want to be successful. Businesses that excel at communication are always the most successful businesses in the end.

If you want to work freelance Philippines or anywhere else, you’ll have to learn how to communicate. This includes verbally, in written form, and even in emails and online communications. If you have to take a refresher course in virtual communications, by all means do so.

It will be worth it in the end because without communicating efficiently, you’ll appear unknowledgeable and unprofessional to clients and customers. Indeed, just one typo in a blog or email could lose you a few clients and when you’re just starting out, you need all of the clients you can get.

 

Go to the Right Platform

 

When you’re a freelancer, there are numerous platforms that can be beneficial. Some of the many platforms available today include Fiverr, Bark, Upwork, and Freelancer, among others.

All of these platforms are good, but you have to pick one to concentrate on in order to get good results. Eventually, you can move onto another platform, but concentrate first on platforms that post freelance jobs online so you can get in on the action.

While it’s true that you can use a variety of platforms, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. You’ll want to establish yourself as an expert on one platform to start with and move on from there. There are many different platforms today with more opening up every day. This means that you won’t have to wonder how to get started when choosing a platform.

 

Know Your Market Value

 

When you’re deciding on your prices, you’ll have to be realistic. This means that they shouldn’t be too high, nor should they be too low. While setting prices lower than average might sound like a way to get clients, it could result in the opposite happening. Clients could get the impression that you’re no good and that’s why your prices are so low.

Research what other freelancers charge for doing what you intend to do, and be competitive. If you keep your prices roughly the same as other experts, customers will trust you more and come to you faster. This step could take some time but will be worth it in the end. Your prices have to be fair but professional, and the only way to know what those prices should be is to do some research on them.

 

Ask for Feedback

 

Feedback is sometimes hard to receive but it’s crucial for growing your business. All businesses need feedback in order to improve their weak areas and this is where social media sites can help out a lot.

Providing ways for customers to leave you with reviews and other types of feedback may make you feel awkward at first, but it won’t do this for long. If you’ve ever visited sites such as Amazon, you’ll notice reviews from real-life customers. This is a great idea for your business as well because you can get very valuable feedback to help your business grow.

Of course, you also have to pay attention to the feedback that customers leave. Take the comments seriously so that you can improve your customers’ experience every time they visit your business.

 

Develop Client Relationships

 

Client relationships take time but they are the backbone of your business. Freelance writing jobs should be professional and come with one free revision. Everything that you offer your customers should be accurate and extremely professional, not to mention error-free. Remember that they can’t do what they’re paying you to do or they’d do it themselves.

Being professional and as accommodating as possible is crucial. Your relationships with your clients are everything. Without providing your customers with what they need from you, you’ll never be able to keep them for long.

 

Always Prioritize Improving Yourself

 

Continuous growth and improvement are imperative if you want to be good at what you do. Attend conferences and classes, network with others every chance you get, and keep up to date with industry publications.

The more you learn, the better you’ll be at your job, and this should be your goal every single day. Reading and learning are important if you want to provide your customers with the best product or service in the end. After all, if you don’t know everything about the product or service you’re touting, how can you effectively share it with everyone else?

If you think concentrating on improvement is selfish, think again. You have decided to go into business for yourself; therefore, you owe it to yourself to do the best job possible.

 

Invest in Great Customer Service

 

When you work with a customer, concentrate on that person and that person only. They’ll need your undivided attention until the end of the job that you do for them.

Once the job is finished, you’ll want your customers to come back to you again the next time they have that same need. And the only way to do that is to make sure they’re satisfied with your work.

Just as with a retail store or diner, customer service is important for the freelancer. You’re selling a service instead of a product, but the customer service requirements are exactly the same.

Furthermore, the best way to do this is to put the customers first and fulfill their needs. Nothing else will do.

 

Be Part of Credible Freelance Communities

 

Networking and learning from other freelance communities are another way to grow a freelance business. And there are tons of them out there so all you have to do is go online and find them.

This includes not only networking groups but informational websites, blogs, and social media pages that allow you to connect with other freelancers so that you can all learn from one another. The more communities you’re a part of, the more you’ll learn about your business.

And if you are stuck on something you’re doing to be successful, one of these contacts might be able to provide you with some answers. Indeed, you can rely on other freelancers to help you grow and improve your business as long as you know how.

 

Create a Website or Landing Page

 

Many customers will go to a company’s website before they contact them in person. They want to find out as much information as they can on their own, without picking up the phone.

This is why your website needs to be perfected before you start your business. People will go there for information and they should not be disappointed.

That being said, you don’t want to give them all of your information because you want them to contact you for additional details. This way, you can show off your attention to detail and great customer service skills!

Just make sure that website has a great landing page and lures customers in with enough information to whet their appetite for more, and the rest should be simple.

 

Conclusion

Freelancers looking for Fiverr or Upwork jobs online shouldn’t have trouble finding work for their freelance business but you have to know how to set up the business end first so that you’re prepared when that first customer comes along.

This means learning to communicate and provide error-free service as well as working on your networking and connections with other professionals in the same field.

Freelancing is a great occupation to have but requires a little preparation before you officially open your doors. It also helps to continuously learn more about your chosen profession so that you never want for customers, regardless of how long you’ve been in business.