Dos’ of freelancing

Hey there newbies! I hope you all are doing great and have started freelancing. If you don't have orders rolling in right away, don't worry, as with all the good things in life, freelancing also takes time. But, I wish to reduce that time therefore I’m here to discuss some tips you should be aware of.

These tips are not hard to implement and have a huge impact on the client’s buying habits and your overall freelancing career; half of these tips might seem as common sense to you and you'll probably wonder why I am pointing out stuff that you already know. So, I'm throwing some light because :-

A. They are important.
B. Even though you know them, you often will forget to implement them.
So, without any further adieu, let's start.

1. Upload an amazing cheese profile picture.

Having a profile picture tends to increase client’s reliability on you. A study revealed that people with their faces as their profile picture have 26% more chance of getting hired. And this amount doubles when you are smiling in your picture, smiling portrays that you're friendly. It will help you look more attractive and a positive person to work with.

2. Be courteous

Being polite and respectful will make you stand out among the pool of million freelancers. Always run an extra mile to serve your clients, follow them up to know if you have missed out on anything. Make sure everyone is 100% satisfied. As I pointed out before, a 3 star rating is worse than no rating.

3. Use client’s name

Using a person’s name is a neglected trick and people don’t realize its potent. Doesn’t “Dear Yash” sounds better than “Dear Sir”? This trick makes the client feel that he’s respected, it is a sign of courtesy that we all should abide by. Start your message with the client’s name and you already have their attention. Developing a personal connection with the client is important and nothing is more personal to a person than his own name. So don’t forget to keep your approach personalized!

4. Market yourself, put in the efforts

Just like a bank’s representative goes on a field spree every day to get more clients, you need to market yourself daily. Cold e-mail companies, follow up with your previous clients, engage on social media.  Daily marketing helps to keep the momentum of your sales.

5. Prioritize

 Freelancing may seem overwhelming at first and with the flexibility you might ignore your health and wellness. Have a fixed schedule, wake up early and prioritize what you need to do that particular day. Working as a freelancer means working, treat it like an actual job.

You’re probably starting out and I want you to avoid the mistakes that I did and tell you what I learned over the time. Hopefully this guide is helping you. I will be going over a lot of do’s and don’ts in the coming articles. Stay tuned.

As always, I’m all ears to your doubts and questions.