Freelance Skills That Will Give Your Business More Bang For The Buck

One of the best things about being a freelance writer is that it’s a job you can easily do anywhere. In fact, I’m writing this article while hanging out on my back porch in rural Michigan!

It also means that I can build my skillset in ways that make sense for me, instead of following directives or getting training from a company.

That said, there’s something to be said for having skills beyond those required for your work. These are the ones that have made me most successful as a freelancer.

10 Most In-Demand Skills for Freelancers | Expert Talk

Takeaways
1. Acquiring in-demand skills can make your freelance services more valuable and attract higher-paying clients.
2. Developing expertise in specific niches can differentiate you from competitors and open up unique opportunities.
3. Effective communication and negotiation skills are essential for building strong client relationships and securing profitable projects.
4. Continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends can help you stay competitive and relevant in the ever-evolving freelance market.
5. Building a strong professional network and seeking collaborations can lead to mutually beneficial partnerships and increased business opportunities.
6. Time management and organizational skills are crucial for maximizing productivity and delivering high-quality work within deadlines.
7. Offering exceptional customer service and going the extra mile can result in repeat business and positive referrals.
8. Balancing competitive pricing with fair compensation for your skills and expertise is key to ensuring sustainable profitability.
9. Leveraging technology and digital tools can streamline your freelance operations, enhance efficiency, and improve client satisfaction.
10. Emphasizing creativity, innovation, and problem-solving abilities can help you provide unique solutions and stand out in the freelance marketplace.

Table of Contents

1. Become A Brand

The idea of being a ‘brand’ is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but what does it mean?

Being a brand means that you are seen as the go-to expert in your industry. This makes you more valuable to clients and will help you charge higher rates for your services.

To become a brand, follow these steps:

Think about who you want to be known as (i.e., dog whisperer). What are their characteristics? How do they act? How do they talk? What do they say? How would they respond in certain situations? These things will help guide how you present yourself to potential clients and build trust with them over time

Identify any gaps between how people perceive your current self and how others see them (i.e., what is missing from their perception of who “you” are?)

Research some successful professionals or companies who have similar traits as those chosen during step 1 above (and who also have established themselves as market leaders). Learn from them, observe their work habits/processes/systems and emulate them where possible

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2. Improve Your Social Media Presence

Social media is one of the most effective tools you can use to market your business and attract new customers.

Before venturing into social media, you need to see what other businesses are doing in terms of engagement on social platforms.

You also need to make sure that your brand personality is consistent across all of these platforms, otherwise, you may appear disorganized or unprofessional.

The best way to get started with using social media properly is by creating a plan and sticking to it throughout the entire process: what will be posted when and where?

Keeping this in mind will help keep things organized while also ensuring that there is consistency within your company’s message across all platforms (Twitter handles @this_pub_is_great vs @ThePubIsGreat).

Here are some tips for making sure that your presence on different networks doesn’t go unnoticed:

3. Make Yourself Accountable

When you’re working on a project, you should always keep in mind the end goal. When you know where you’re headed, it’s easier to get there. For example, if I’m training for my first 5K, I need to have a schedule and plan of action that will get me there.

It’s important not just because it keeps us focused but also because our motivation tends to fade as time goes on. If we haven’t established any type of accountability system beforehand (e.g., paying someone else or yourself), then we won’t feel obligated enough to keep going after the initial burst of excitement wears off over time.

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4. Keep Expenses Low

While it’s important to be frugal, it’s also important not to be too tight with your money. If you’re worried about spending too much money on things like travel and marketing, consider getting a business credit card that gives you cashback rewards or miles for each dollar spent.

This will help keep your expenses low without cutting into the funds needed for business growth.

Another way to keep expenditures down is by using coupons when shopping for items such as office supplies and software subscriptions.

You can also research other businesses in your niche that offer similar services at a lower cost; try contacting them directly to see if they have any deals going on right now that would benefit both of you (in other words: negotiate).

6. Find A Mentor Or Join A Mastermind Group

Remember when you were a kid and all the cool kids had a mentor? Well, it’s time to be that cool kid.

We know what you’re thinking you’re too busy and have too many tasks on your plate to add another one. But we don’t think so! And here’s why:

Mentors can help with getting started in your new business they’ve probably already been through the process before, so they can point out things like where to find cheap office space or how much money it takes for basic equipment and supplies.

They’ll also be able to lend a hand with marketing strategies, which is an essential skill that needs to be learned from someone who’s done it before (not just because it will save you tons of time). If there are any questions about finances or taxes, they’ll know where to go for answers as well.

A mentor can help with specific problems in your business when I started my freelance writing agency (and yes, this means I’m now considered an expert), I had no idea how difficult it would be sometimes just to find clients who were willing to pay me what my work was worth.

But if you can look at someone’s portfolio and see how much work they’ve done for other businesses like yours then maybe some advice would come from them on how best to approach potential clients without having them think: “She doesn’t know anything about my industry.”

And guess what? As soon as I started telling people at networking events about my company name (the one thing every single person who wants their website written has seen), people approached me wanting help!

7. Attend An Industry Conference

There’s no better way to learn about your industry than by attending conferences. Not only will you have the opportunity to meet new people, but also get a chance to network with other freelancers and make connections that can help you grow your business.

You can also learn more about the industry as a whole and gain valuable insights into what it takes to be successful in it.

If you haven’t attended any conferences yet, now is a great time for you to start! Here are some tips:

Find out what conferences are happening around town or online (or both). You could search on sites like Eventbrite or Meetup or even Google “industry conference” + “your city” + “your niche” (e.g., “conference marketing New York City SEO”).

These events are usually held at hotels or convention centers near airports so attendees don’t need to travel far away from home which means they’re easy enough for freelancers who don’t have much spare cash lying around!

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8. Don’t Be Afraid To Invest In Yourself And Your Business

Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your business. You don’t have to be a millionaire, but you do need to be willing to spend money on things that will help you grow your business.

In the early days of starting as a freelancer, I was very hesitant about spending any money at all on marketing but I quickly realized that if I didn’t spend anything on marketing, then no one would ever find out about my services!

I wrote down everything that came up during my research phase (which we covered in our previous post) and then put them into a spreadsheet with all the different categories they fell under. This way it was easy for me to keep track of what type of marketing tactic had worked best for each category so far:

Print Media

Magazine ads were great for branding me as an expert in my field; newspapers were okay but not great due to cost per click; direct mail pieces were not worth it because only 1% responded positively (and those responses weren’t high enough quality).

Online Advertising

Google AdWords ads were expensive but effective at generating new leads; Facebook Ads gave mediocre results compared with other marketing efforts such as email blasts or print ads;

LinkedIn Ads get low click-through rates but tend towards higher conversion rates so overall may make sense depending on campaign goals like lead generation vs lead nurturing/retention/etc., etc., etc…

9. Be Confident In Your Abilities

Confidence is one of the most important skills. It’s important to believe in yourself and your abilities, and it can help you build a successful freelance business.

When you have confidence, it will translate into how you present yourself and your work to clients and it may even enable you to ask for more money or better assignments because of the perception that comes from being confident.

One way to develop confidence is by asking for help when needed, especially if someone else has done something similar before.

Be wary if someone says they’ve never seen anything like what you’re working on before; they should be able to point out other projects that are similar enough so that they can offer advice.

When working with clients or general partners, don’t be afraid of admitting when something doesn’t make sense or isn’t right according to their needs that way everyone knows where things stand at all times instead of wasting time trying something without knowing whether or not it’ll work out well in the end (or worse yet: making assumptions).

10. Treat Your Customers Like Real People, Not Just A Transaction

Every customer is unique and they deserve to be treated as such. You can’t just treat them as numbers on a spreadsheet or objects that need to be managed.

Treating them like people means understanding their needs and wants, communicating well with them, making sure they feel valued, and helping them see how you are part of a community that will help improve their lives in some way.

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11. Start Building An Email List Now

Email marketing is a powerful tool that can help you build a relationship with your customers. It’s also one of the best ways to market your services and products, which means it’s not only free but also pays for itself over time.

Email marketing should be treated as an investment in your business, not just another expense. Once you have an email list, you can begin sending out offers, promotions, and discount codes for free or at a discounted rate to those who have opted in to receive updates from you periodically.

12. Take On More Work Than You Can Handle At First, But Don’t Take On Too Much Work At Any Point After That

The best freelancers can take on more work than they can handle without being overwhelmed. This allows them to get ahead of the game and build up their portfolio, but it also shows clients that they’re reliable and have a lot of experience.

If you take on too much at once, however, then you might end up getting buried under all the work and not being able to make any money. To avoid this pitfall, just be sure to evaluate your workload at least once per month or so (and maybe even more frequently if your schedule is particularly busy).

If you don’t have enough work going on right now, try pitching some new projects! Clients will appreciate seeing that you’re proactive about finding new opportunities for growth in both yourself and your business.

Improving Your Business As A Freelancer

As a freelancer, you have to be aware of your business’s strengths and weaknesses. By looking at what you’re doing right and wrong, you’ll be able to see where your time is best spent.

Focus on the things that are in your control: If a project isn’t going well, don’t beat yourself up about it focus on the things that can be changed.

For example, maybe there was an issue with one of your team members or clients’ responsibilities were unclear. In this case, take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again!

Focus on improving the skills you already have: It may sound obvious but don’t forget about taking care of yourself as well as others when working with clients or managing projects at work!

Be prepared for difficult situations by learning how other people handle stressful situations so that if anything goes wrong during work hours (or even outside), know what steps need to be taken next time around so nothing gets forgotten after working hours end.*Focus on taking responsibility:

Always do what’s right even if no one else believes in doing so themselves – because there will always be consequences when someone tries stepping over another person just because they feel like they own everything around them without thinking twice about who might suffer from their actions later down the timeline.”

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Conclusion

So, there you have it! We’ve introduced you to several skills that will help make your freelance business more successful, and even more lucrative. It takes some time to build these skills up, but if you stay persistent, we’re sure that you’ll see the pay-off in the long run.

And once again, let us remind you that this is not an exhaustive list there are plenty of other ways to grow as a freelancer. Don’t be afraid to do some research on your own and see what else is out there!

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Pages Do I Need?

The amount of pages you need depends on what you’re writing and how long it is. The average page length for a blog post is 1,000 words, but that’s not set in stone.

If your content is shorter or longer than that, that’s fine! It’s just a good idea to know roughly how many words you’re aiming for so you can adjust as needed.

Do I Need An Outline?

A: We highly recommend having an outline before writing your content. It will help keep you on track and ensure that the structure of your content makes sense and flows well. If you don’t have an outline, we’ll work with you to create one before starting the project so we can get straight to writing!

How Much Time Should I Give Myself?

We recommend giving yourself at least two weeks (14 days) before starting any writing project with us. This gives us plenty of time to brainstorm ideas together and come up with an outline for your piece (if needed).

It also gives us enough time to write the first draft without feeling rushed or stressed out about deadlines looming overhead.”

What Are The Most In-Demand Freelance Skills?

The most sought-after freelance skills have to do with writing, design, and tech. These skills can be learned online so you don’t need any prior experience.

What Are Some More Advanced Skills That Will Make Me Stand Out As A Freelancer?

As you gain experience, try learning how to code or manage social media accounts. These are two areas where you can help a business grow its online presence.

Can I Use My Freelance Services For My Own Business?

You bet! As your business grows, you’ll find more freelancing opportunities and it can help you save money on overhead costs if you’re able to do some work yourself instead of hiring an employee or contractor.

Costantine Edward

Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.