How to Become A Freelancer With No Experience

Freelancing can be a very rewarding experience if you know how to take care of business. The truth is that if you can’t find a full-time job, there are several ways to make money today as a freelancer. Freelancing is one of the best ways to make money online. Now on to the burning question…

I actually have several years of experience as a freelancer for CNN, where I wrote about various subjects, including breaking news.

Because of the COVID pandemic, the definition of the traditional job has stretched a bit due to the circumstances. The reason why this is important is because it means that freelancing has also changed.

If you don’t have any experience or very little, it may be difficult to get a job as a freelancer, but you can do it. The key is to expose yourself to jobs, gigs and hustles that pay money.

As with anything, it helps tremendously if you know someone within the company or organization you’re applying for.

If you don’t happen to know a current employee or have another inside track, that’s OK. You just have to apply for the job and have some patience.

Freelancing involves working for a company on an as-needed basis or as a contractor rather than an employee. Contrary to popular opinion, many freelancers have full-time schedules with their clients.

In some cases, freelancers may even qualify for insurance and other benefits that are typically only eligible for full-time workers.

You may want to know how you can become a successful freelancer so that you can work at a pace that works for you. Let’s go over some steps you need to do.

Because you’re a free agent when it comes to business, you will need to brand yourself by investing in some marketing tools that will help you.

Some things you can do to help your business include creating a website, compiling a portfolio and getting some business cards. No matter if you choose to go all in on advertising yourself or just marketing yourself passively, it’s always good to invest in yourself and your abilities.

To get started as a freelancer, you need to tap into your network so that you can get exposed to some job opportunities. Contact your former co-workers and others in your circle to see if the company they’re with has some work for you.

And don’t forget about social media. Other networking opportunities may exist on sites like LinkedIn, Alignable or Facebook.

At this point, it’s time to find work to fund your freelance career. There are several freelance-friendly websites that make it worth your while to join.

Here are some online resources that frequently post and hire freelance jobs.

• Alignable
• Amazon Mechanical Turk
• Fiverr
• Freelancermap.com
• Freelance Writing Gigs 
• LinkedIn
• PeoplePerHour
• Toptal
• Upwork
• Wingspan

4. Over-Deliver

Once you land some freelance gigs under your belt, you want to make a great impression. One way to do that is to over-deliver on the things you do best.

Not only will your work speak for itself, but the extra mile you go could lead to more jobs and — more importantly — invaluable word-of-mouth references to keep your business afloat.

You can make some really great money as a freelancer, especially after you earn the trust of your client.

As a freelancer, you can control how you want to receive payment, either by electronic payment, direct deposit or cash. Metro Atlanta’s hot economy has slowed of late due to the COVID-19, but that’s OK. Check out our Coronavirus Resource Guide and find out how to make and save money.