As the number of freelancers increase, you’ll start to feel the pressure of competition. To stand out from the crowd you have to consistently work on yourself to be the best freelancer in the industry.
Although being the best is not easy, it’s not impossible either. All you need to do is to be committed to following these 6 simple things that will make you a better freelancer.
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Plan your week
Freelancers thrive in efficiency. If your schedule or routine is disorganized, it can affect the quality of your work and the speed of your delivery.
That is why successful freelancers make sure they plan ahead of time. They plan their year, quarter, month, weeks and days in advance.
You may not have to plan that far but you should at least have a clear picture of how you want your month to be, the goals you want to achieve and the exact things you need to do during the week to make sure you get there.
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Develop your skills
Freelancers never stop learning. If you want to get better then you need to set aside time everyday to hone your skills and develop your craft.
Which aspect of your skills do you think needs a lot of work right now? Dedicate time to improve that skill. The more you work on it the better you will get.
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Under promise, over deliver
Clients love freelancers who are able to satisfy their needs far above their expectations. The way to do that is to under-promise and over deliver.
Most freelancers promise heaven on earth when they pitch to their clients but hardly put in the work that will meet that standard.
A good freelancer will stay humble about their promises and then strive to give their clients the best.
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Exercise to stay healthy and stimulate brain activity
It’s sad that few freelancers
\engage themselves in regular exercise. You may be working from home but you must never neglect your health.
Set aside time – at least three days a week – to exercise your body.
Exercise helps to stimulate brain activity. This will help you stay sharp and alert while working on client work. Exercise also helps to boost your mood.
If you can, try to schedule exercise in your planner everyday so that you begin your work pumped anytime you’re ready to work.
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Build your personal brand
Your potential clients won’t get to know you if you just hide behind freelancing sites like Upwork. To increase your reach you need to work on building your personal brand.
Share valuable tips on social media, create helpful content on your blog, and engage with owners of brands and companies. Put yourself out there and let people know about your skills.
As more people get to know you and what you are capable of offering, you will be seen as a go-to person in the industry.
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Collaborate with other freelancers
Freelancing is a lonely business, but you need to realize that you can’t succeed as a freelancer alone. Collaboration pushes you to reach out to make friends with like-minded people in the world of freelancing.
As you collaborate with other freelancers it’ll expose you to a larger audience, plus you get to learn more about the trade from the eyes of another freelancer.
Do you have any freelancing tips to share? Please do share in the comment section below.
Yes definitely need to work on planning better! Thanks!
Thanks for reading Dani.
This was an interesting read, especially #5. I am still currently a high school student, but I am working a job as a software developer, and have been programming since I was eleven. However, I feel as if the only way to move up in the software development/engineering world is through your freelance work, outside of your professional job (if you have one, that is). I will take these tips to heart, especially in the future when I finish school (both high school and college) and look for a job.
Oh nice. Good luck with it all.
Developing yourself – learning more is one of my growth philosophy. Everyone who has done great in life developed or invested in themselves in some way…
Great post. Great tips. Cheers
I agree. We have to continue to invest in ourselves. Thanks for reading hun xx
I suspect I should stick with my day job for now! These are great tips that I’ve pinned so that I can work on improving in all the areas I’m lacking in.
Oh good Razena. Thanks for stopping by.
These are all great tips. I have found that collaborating with others is very helpful, especially when you’re newer and trying to build your brand.
I agree!
For ten years, I was working as a freelancer and I totally agree. I would add ‘don’t fall in the self-exploitation trap’; I worked much more for much less as a freelancer than I do in my current job.
Great tip. I agree.
These are great tips. I REALLY need to get better at these things, be more organized and plan. Thanks for the reminders!!
Thank you for reading.
These are such great tips! I am currently trying to get my self into routine as if I were still in a full time job. Hopefully I will get more done!
I am sure you will.
This is a good read. Freelancing is difficult, especially when you are just starting out and trying to get your foot in the door. I would say developing your skills is the best advice. We must never stop learning and this would bring in more potential clients if your portfolio can offer them a variety of tasks.
I agree. Thanks for reading.
I’m blogging for passion so still not feeling the pressures even though love to see lot of traffic on my posts so your tips has been so interesting for me.
Seeing traffic is always good.
Great tips. I believe taking some short courses to learn a new skill would be great. Collaboration with fellow freelancers would be a big help too. It is not easy to establish a name out there but if we keep honing our skills, we’ll pull through.
I agree. Thanks.
Nice post
Thank you.
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