For most people, freelancing jobs are something that’s done out of necessity or at the beginnings of a career when money and opportunity for advancement are less important than getting some experience in a particular field. However, these jobs could be more than that. If you choose a job that has the potential to become something greater, and decide to treat it with all the seriousness and discipline you would an ordinary job – it could become a serious source of income. Also, it can sometimes be difficult to determine which of the freelance jobs are here to stay.
Affiliate marketing
With a decline of trust in traditional media, affiliate marketing is becoming an increasingly important way to advertise products and services. Bloggers use their popularity with the readers to promote certain businesses and services. The key part is – popularity. Before you can make a career out of affiliate marketing you must create a relationship with the audience and make the readers trust your judgment. Once you’ve done this, starting affiliations with companies is the easy part. Also, once you do, make sure to let the readers know that some of the content on your blog is sponsored.
Tutoring
The internet is pretty good at connecting people who want to learn how to do something with those who are willing to teach them. If you have any sort of specialized knowledge, there is a market for it online. The most popular courses are usually about IT and programming, but language lessons are also high in demand. With a well-organized schedule, this can soon become a full-time job.
Taking surveys
Companies are always curious to find out how their products and services are being received by consumers and clients. This could also be a solution for those who don’t know how to get paid online. By taking these surveys and giving a detailed feedback, you can earn a substantial amount of money. This could also turn into a full- time job if you know how to organize your schedule and truly commit to the job.
Virtual assistant
A lot of businesses are now working from a virtual office with employees from all over the world. This makes labor less expensive and leaves more room to hire talented people. However, even virtual businesses need assistants to keep everything organized and everyone on the same schedule. Skills required for this job are the same as with a real assistant – it takes someone with attention to details, good personal skills and with great time management abilities. One person could actually do the job for a number of companies if they know how to organize their obligations and find a way to manage everything properly.
IT consultants
Most IT consultants do freelance work because their services are not needed that often and they can easily manage to work for several companies at once. The job consists of assessing and improving the IT structure of a particular business. It’s not something a beginner could do, so a lot of experience in the IT industry is a plus. The hardest part of this career is getting started as there’s no market for these services. In most cases you’ll need to know a business owner in need of assistance in the IT department and after that, it’s word of mouth until you get some traction.
Design and illustration
This often seems like an easy career path, especially to those with artistic skills. It’s definitely true that you need artistic skills to make it and that being creative isn’t really something you can learn or teach, but that’s only one part of the job. First of all, finding clients can be difficult even if you already have a body of work. The only thing you can do is stay motivated and offer your services to a lot of potential clients. Once you establish yourself – things will get much easier and one job will lead to the next.
Freelancing can be turned into a full-time career. It isn’t an easy task and it takes a lot of guts and work, but if you stay persistent and offer a good product – you can do it.
