Freelancing is no longer just a side job; it is an accepted career route. From digital marketing and copywriting to graphic design and coding, freelancers are thriving in all fields. In some cases, freelancers earn a higher income than those with full-time jobs. The truth is that freelancing is not without its challenges. To be fully successful as a freelancer, you need a set of effective freelancing strategies along with the skills.
In this post, we’ll discuss 8 tried-and-true freelancing strategies that the most successful freelancers implement to earn more money, save time, and deliver better business results. Whether you’re new to freelancing or have been freelancing for years, these tips will help you take your freelance business to the next level.
Key Highlights:
- Freelancing as a Career
- Strategy for Success
- What is a Freelance Strategist?
- Freelancing Strategies
- How to Scale Your Freelancing Career
- Effective Marketing Strategies for Freelancers
- Client Retention Strategies for Freelancers
- Conclusion
What is a Freelance Strategist?
A freelance strategist assists freelancers in maximizing their creativity through their businesses, focusing on long-term success rather than simply doing the work and getting paid. While an independent contractor delivers quality services, a freelance strategist considers areas underway in a freelance career. These areas can include working on how to attract high-paying clients, develop a personal brand, and developing a freelance business that allows for a freelancer to scale. A freelance strategist combines industry knowledge with strong business acumen to assist freelancers in flourishing in their businesses.
Freelancing Success: Why Strategy Matters
Freelancing is more competitive than it has ever been. There are many freelancers working long hours without an increase in pay. Most of the time, it is because they lacked a strategy. Successful freelancers understand that freelancing strategies are not just about getting clients and completing jobs; it’s about the right mindset, tools, and practice for a successful career in the freelance space.
Having a solid strategy will help you:
- Focus on high-value clients and profitable projects.
- Use time management tools to work smarter and not harder.
- Be clear on goals for scalable growth, from raising rates to expanding services
Freelancing is not really about working hard; it’s about working strategically. When you structure your work appropriately, it will help you generate higher income, avoid burnout, and build a sustainable freelance business.
Freelancing Strategies 1: Never Undersell Yourself
One of the most common mistakes new freelancers make is undervaluing their services. Starting, it’s tempting to charge lower rates to attract clients, but charging too little can seriously undermine your earnings in the long term.
Utilize a time-tracking software such as Tivazo to track the time you spend on all of your tasks, from research through revisions. This information will help you support your rates and provide your clients a value assessment.
Pro Tip: Use time tracking software to track billable hours.
Freelancing Strategies 2: Master Your Niche
If you want to make more money freelancing, you should own your niche. By specializing, you can charge higher rates, you will draw in better clients and you will stand out in a saturated market.
Actionable Tip: Start by looking at your skills and your interests. What do you do well? What does the market need? Then, zero in on expertise in that segment of the market, and you will easily become the freelance go-to for it.
Pro Tip: Stay in your lane, don’t get too stretched out across the board; you can expand and get skills to go further but become very good first within your niche.
Freelancing Strategies 3: Build a Professional Online Presence
A good online reputation is necessary for winning high-value clients. Showcase your skills and past work, and solicit recommendations on your website and LinkedIn.
Actionable Tip: Create an effective portfolio website where you showcase your work and personality. Include case studies, and testimonials from satisfied clients, and be clear with what your call to action is for potential clients to reach out to you.
Pro Tip: Invest time optimizing the LinkedIn profile you have set up to show your skills and expertise. Modern employers are expected to have a good picture, a description of your services, and at least one or two recommendations.
Freelancing Strategies 4: Learn to Negotiate Like a Pro
The freelancer is not only doing the work, but also negotiating the rates, deadlines, and terms with the client. Negotiating is one of the most beneficial skills to be able to earn more.
Actionable Tip: You can practice negotiating with actual clients. When discussing pricing, try using a script or template, and be sure to back up the reasoning behind your rate with data from your time-tracking program.
Pro Tip: When negotiating , be an active listener. If you know the pain points of your client, it is easier to pitch a solution that provides them with extra value.
Freelancing Strategies 5: Upsell and Cross-Sell to Your Clients
Upselling is about providing more value to the client and pushing the client to spend more money. It could be providing branding in addition to designing, or offering a content strategy if you are offering writing. Upselling will increase the project scope and your income.
Actionable Tip: Ask your client about additional services after the project is completed. If you seek blog posts, for example, ask them if you could do the SEO optimization and/or the social media promotion as an additional service.
Pro Tip: When upselling, make it specific to the client. Demonstrate how the additional service can affect their business.
Freelancing Strategies 6: Time Management is Crucial
Freelancers can face a severe time management challenge without the structure of a traditional office job. You’ll want to make the most of your billable time and not get burned out, so tracking and optimizing time spent on activities is necessary.
Actionable Tip: Use time tracking tools such as Tivazo to see how long you spend on a task. This will allow you to set realistic expectations when you speak to a client, and allow you to monitor deadlines on a task as well.
Pro Tip: Make sure to put time aside to take breaks and time aside for big idea thinking. Working too much will lead to burnout and lack of productivity.
Freelancing Strategies 7: Know When to Walk Away from Clients
When you’re still new to freelancing, it’s common to be worried about losing clients. Nonetheless, it’s essential to know when to draw the line with clients who don’t meet your expectations or are not even close to your rate.
Actionable Tip: Have a client evaluation process. If they are unwilling to meet your rate or expectations, it’s okay to let them go. Your time and energy are best spent on clients who value you and your work enough to pay accordingly.
Pro Tip: When letting clients go, maintain a professional relationship. Be respectful, and offer to help referrals if it’s appropriate.
Freelancing Strategies 8: Keep Learning and Evolving
In order to continue to be relevant and to keep increasing your rates, you must continue to learn and expand your services. If you’re not constantly evolving as a freelancer, you run the risk of being left behind.
Actionable Tip: Invest in a course, workshop, or mentorship that will help you grow “your tool belt” of knowledge and enhance or add to your services.
Pro Tip: Set aside time each month for a new learning activity. This may be a new marketing strategy or completing your first tutorial on adding a new software tool into your skill set. Either way, make sure that you’re thinking ahead so you’re not left behind.
How to Scale Your Freelancing Career
Distinguishing Scaling From Growth: Many freelancers misunderstand scaling to mean growth of their business. Growth means more clients and more work, while scaling means making more money with little increased work. Some examples of scaling may include raising prices, hiring subcontractors, or automating aspects of your business.
Actionable Tip: If you want to scale, try one of the following:
- Outsource administrative tasks: Hire a virtual assistant or use software such as Tivazo to automate time tracking and invoicing.
- Hire subcontractors: If you’ve reached your capacity, begin hiring trusted subcontractors to help with overflow work. This will allow you to spend more time on higher-rate, more strategic work.
- Create passive income: Consider an online course or an e-book based on your niche in freelancing. This will allow you to earn money while not actively trading time for money.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Freelancers
Marketing is essential to get high-paying clients. Even the best freelancers will not be able to get a sustainable income without the right marketing.
Actionable Tip:
- Build your personal brand: Position yourself as an expert freelancer. Educate others using blogs, videos, or guest post articles. Once you build your brand, clients who will pay a premium for your services will start to find you.
- Utilize social media: Social media is a great lever for freelancers. Use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to promote your work, engage potential clients, and engage industry leaders. Being consistent with your content creation will keep you at the top of mind.
- Run targeted ads: If you have a portfolio website or service to promote, you may want to run Facebook Ads or Google Ads to businesses needing your freelance services.
Client Retention Strategies for Freelancers
Client retention is just as crucial as acquiring clients. The best freelancers don’t just find clients. They want to build meaningful, longstanding relationships with clients.
Actionable Tip:
- Exceed expectations: Always deliver more than you promised to the client. Whether it’s finishing early, adding valuable ideas and thinking, or providing more services than they purchased, when clients see that you care, they build loyalty.
- Ask for feedback: After completing every project, ask your client for constructive feedback. It helps you improve your skills/services and shows your client that you value their opinion. You can also modify your services or solutions based on client feedback, which strengthens the relationship.
- Offer discounts for loyalty: Whenever a client returns for additional work, offer some type of discount based on their loyalty.
Conclusion
You can now take your career to the following level by implementing all of these eight freelancing strategies. If you’re starting as a new freelancer or are a veteran, always ensure that you have a solid strategy in place to bring mentally and financially valuable clients, raise your rates, and prevent burnout.
Put these strategies into practice today to gain new clients, increase your income, and better your work-life. Possible next step? Use Tivazo to help you track your time, manage your projects, and maximize your freelance income.
