Freelancer Guide Archives

Tip: Promote your Freelance Service through Article Directories by writing your domain related Articles

Latest: Here are some more tips added for Freelance Writers

What are Article Directories?
Article directories are websites that host free articles. These articles are usually put there for promotions by people who own the copyright to them. Each article has an owners information placed under it so that those who sooner or later read the article will know who wrote it (or who owns it) and will be able to get in contact with or visit their website for further information. Articles directories are also a good source for back links, but right now we will focus on its benefit to promote your skills and services as a freelancer.

Why to use Articles Directories?

Articles directories are a great place to put your articles for following main reasons:
  • Build customer confidence
  • Building your credibility
  • Bring you some freelance work queries
  • To make money, depends on your efforts (will discuss this in more details, some other day)
How:
Remember people who are looking for some service, will must be looking and searching for information related to that service. And if that search brings them to your article that shows some in depth knowledge of the subject, you can make an impression.
I am not saying that posting article will bring you instant buyer, but think of this in term of time.
  • You spent about 2-3 hours to write a good article related to your field of expertise
  • Can take about 1 more hour to submit on some good article directories
  • Then you can leave them, no more efforts from your side
  • But this is your asset, that will keep on promoting you for many more years to come
Even if you cannot write on subject you want to promote yourself, for example if you run an affiliate website (that is also a way of freelancing), you can always hire a writer to do the work for you. Getting a real quality articles written can be expensive up front, but it will pay for itself in long run, either through affiliate sales or selling your own services.Freelancer Article Writing

Let’s take a real life example:
Let say, you are an accountant working as freelancer from home. You write an article on an accounting related topic and post it on multiple article directories. Now, people looking for the subject you wrote about will read this article, and can realize that you have the skill and expertise that is needed to do a related job for them, and contact you via email of visit your website. Your article just gets you a new potential client who may become your regularly freelance buyer, but will definitely give you some nice profit at minimum once.
There is more to it, since you have posted it on a free article directory, other affiliate websites about accounting will certainly use your article for their website over time. Since they must attach your author information to it, this can bring you even more exposure for every website that re-posts your article.
There are numerous article directories out there for you to utilize. In my personal opinion, I always first post my articles on ezinearticles.com and once it get approved from there then post it on many other article directories.
Remember an article will cost you only once but is a life long asset for years to come.

A bit about freelancing
A self-employed individual who works as a professional for different employers is considered as a ‘Freelancer’ or “Freelance Worker” provided he/she is not engaged to a specific employer on long term basis. The word ‘Freelance’ is itself conjunction of two words ‘Free’ and ‘Lance’. This refers to the fact that during medieval times, warriors (or Lancers) used to offer their services to any kinghood at their specified amount. Now the term is coined to freelance journalists, writers, editors, proof readers, graphic designers and web programmers instead of medieval mercenary warriors. Majority of Freelancers work from home and use broadband internet connection for project delivery and client’s communication.Freelancing

Usually freelancing is based on verbal commitments and occasionally it requires client to sign a contract. This also depends upon the type of work or project assignment. Some freelancers can even request payments before starting work for a particular client or employer.

The amount which a freelancer can charge also varies. It is related to both skills of freelancer and type of work e.g. quality and quantity. A freelancer can charge on hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. He/she can also charge on project basis. For lengthy projects a freelancer can take payments on milestones basis.

Sometimes freelancers can produce their own work and opt for different publishers to publish their creative work. In this case the copyrights are owned by freelancers. They can sell copyrights to publishers.


How to initiate as freelancer?

Before starting as a freelancer you may require some resources. The foremost thing is that you must be skilled in your work. This does mean that you should possess a dynamic profile and sound portfolio. Your sample work should be evolved with time and technology. There should be instances of your previous work experience both in resume and World Wide Web.

You must have some money saved in your bank. This will allow you to work for couple of months without getting paid. This is due to the fact that freelancers are sometimes paid on project’s result basis e.g. Search Engine Optimization projects. Excessive amount also comes handy if you do not have a client base which is common in beginning phase.Freelance Setup

There should be a nice or atleast comfortable workplace of yours. Mostly freelancers work from their own homes. Your room for work should be separated from noisy sections e.g. TV lounge, Garage. The environment of your work place should be neat and clean.

You should possess necessary tools to start with. These tools can be software, hardware or communication devices. Especially your internet connection must be broadband. It will allow you to interact with clients online and also update your work in efficient manner.

You should design a business plan based on current market analysis. Distribute your business/visiting cards among former colleagues, companions and friends. You need your presence felt in competitive market. Social networking both online and offline will help you to not only identify yourself but also accumulate potential clients. Online job boards can also offer you a lot.

Be a part of social gatherings and increase interactivity with those who are successful in their own occupations. Chat with them in confident manner and do not show them any sign of desperation so that they can trust you.

Freelancing is not limited to finding a client and doing his work for money. Freelancing is beneficial only if your client is satisfied with your service. Remember a satisfied client is your permanent client. In order to satisfy a client your objective should be success and timely completion of project. And as mentioned earlier for this effective communication with client is necessary. For this stay intact with client. Be a part of thorough discussion(s) with him. Phone, e-mails and usage of Instant Messengers keeps you get connected with client.

Finally a factor which plays a key role is your self-belief. You should be sure that freelancing is right option for you. If you want to enjoy a persistent and successful career as a freelancer then always act with a professional attitude and also keep a balance on your work-health relationship.

Become your own Boss

Now I am a successfull Freelancer Guide, but when I first heard about freelancing, I thought that it is a type of job designed for students, elders and disabled persons who want to earn a little by utilizing their free time left apart from routine work. That was my wrong perception. Freelancing is not a mere self employment but a career which has lot to offer. Though we may run out of words while defining advantages of working as a freelancer but want to highlight some which are mentioned below.

The Boss will be none other than a You

It is you who will be managing yourself while working as a freelancer. You will not be eyed by anyone. No more nightmares (in which your Boss haunts you), workplace politics and office distractions. At all you are totally independent. This independence can bring innovation. This is the mental freedom which will force you to allow productive experimentations in work. So it is you who will command your own work.

Freelance Jobs saves both time and moneyBecome your own Boss

Working as a freelancer saves both time and expenditure. First of all you are not going anywhere because most freelance jobs requires to do work from home. So there is no need to travel and waste an hour on it. Secondly there is no need to pay public/private transportation costs and cafeteria bills. The expense on the fuel of your own transport is saved too. No more formal dressing. You can work while dressed in casual wear. This may keep you relaxed and comfortable while doing work.

Select what you want to do

A freelancer has no compulsion to do each and every thing. He will be doing what he can deliver as a best work product. It is a freelancer who will select project of his choice to work with. The work required to do in office based jobs is mostly repetitive. As a freelancer one can face variety of work to do e.g. my previous project was related to shopping portal but now I work for technology blog.

Fetch International Work

A freelancer can do assignments belonging to an employer of a different country. Working as a freelancer gives drive to do both international and quality work. Even if you are living in third world you can earn dollars, euros and other stronger currencies by working as a freelancer. We can can tell you more in our Feelancer Guide.

Earn according to your will

Some freelance jobs are based on hourly basis. The more hours a freelancer can dedicate to an employer the more he can earn and vice versa. Similarly if a freelancer may do maximum work the more he/she will earn. For instance in web content writing assignments employers used to pay per written page by a freelancer. So if he writes x number of pages then he will be paid x times specified amount per page. It is a freelancer who will decide how much to earn by deciding how much he will take to work.

No Work Load & Stress

If you are working as a freelancer then you will be taking work according to your capacity. So there will be no work load if you will be doing things in timely manner. Since there is no boss so there will be no external pressure. The only thing is to manage your work not people.Freelance Freedom

Enjoy Freelancing Flexibility

For a freelancer there is no headache of following specific time. If you are a freelancer then you will work during the timings of your choice. There is no one to hinder you from viewing sporting event or to relish meal at popular food chain. All in all a freelancer is committed to meet project deadline (if he is not working on hourly basis). In freelancing you can surf multiple websites (apart from those related to your work) in order to do online shopping, getting information without being bothered. A freelancer can also enjoy occasions and festivals with his/her family without being worried.

No Commitments & Bondage

You are committed to your work only. You are not bound to any “prior notice” type thing. You as a freelancer are free to leave your current work (after completion and payment) and opt for better opportunity without fulfilling any commitment of half/full month notice (employed in office based jobs).

These are some of the benefits (in general) of doing work as a freelancer. It is recommended that if you want to pursue a career of freelancer then go for it but with full confidence and self-belief. Here we can guide you more in our Freelancer Guide on how to achieve this freedom.

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