Freelancing can be both a scary and rewarding means to earn a living. On one aspect, the stability of your income depends on your available contracts and clients, which scares many people who are used to traditional jobs and receiving regular pay.
On the other hand, it can be financially rewarding because your skills for freelancing and years of experience will dictate your pay rate and earn you more income.
Freelancing allows you to choose your working hours, use your skill specialization, skip commute hours, and spend more time with loved ones. If you feel that freelancing will be your next career move and want more opportunities and higher-paying clients, all you need to do is upgrade your skills for freelancing.
Easy Skills to Earn Quickly in Freelancing
To become a freelancer, you must be computer literate and have a working knowledge of the internet because everything from communications to job tasks is online. The key to starting freelancing for beginners is finding your niche and upgrading your skills to make it suitable for freelance work. Below, you will find essential skills for freelancing you need to learn and learning resources.
Data Entry
If you know how to type in a computer, you already know how to do data entry. It all comes down to your computer knowledge, typing speed, and proficiency in data entry tools. The most common tools used are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, and Google Spreadsheet.
What are you going to encode? Companies deal with numerous data every day, and some of it comes in non-editable or hard-to-read formats. Because it is a meticulous and time-consuming process, they hire data entry specialists to clean up their data and transfer it to a more readable and editable format. The type of information data encoders deal with are usually clients’ contact details, information from various research, email addresses, and company-related numbers.
Udemy – Udemy is an online course provider that offers a “Comprehensive Data Entry Course” to teach you how to enter text and numerical-based data. This course will show you an efficient way to use Excel for data entry and different techniques and formulas to help manage data and place security on confidential information.
Typing-lesson.org – This site is called Peter’s Online Typing Course, and it’s a free site with very comprehensive typing instructions, including free videos and typing exercises. It is perfect for those who want to type faster, know the function of every key in the keyboard, and learn shortcuts for faster output.
Google Workspace Learning Center – If you want to learn more about Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google offers free tutorials on their support site.
Job Opportunities
Data entry is one of the best jobs to start your freelancing journey because it is easy to learn, and chances are, you already know how to do it. You can find data entry jobs working from home or go to popular freelancing sites such as Upwork and Fiverr to look for jobs. Search for job titles such as “Lead generation data entry” or “List builder data entry,” but some employers would post “Data encoders” or simply “Data entry.”
Transcription
Transcription service is a data entry job wherein you listen to an audio recording and then type down what you heard. The medical, legal, and business industries are the ones that usually avail of these services. There are also podcasters, Youtubers, life coaches, and executives who need these services. They record audio sessions of their activities and have a transcriptionist transfer it from audio to text for better documentation and data processing.
Skillshare – Skillshare is an online course provider offering a beginner’s course entitled “Step-by-step Transcription from Home” that will help you launch a new work-from-home career as a transcriptionist.
Colleges and universities – Some colleges and universities offer certificate programs in medical and legal coding and transcription. For instance, Hudson County Community College provides a purely online “Medical Billing and Coding Certificate” course to familiarize you with medical terms and help you become a medical transcriptionist.
GoTranscript Practice – This is a free practice transcribing page that previews the platform, format, and type of audio you will encounter in your transcription work.
Job Opportunities
The highest-paying transcriptionists are those familiar with legal and medical terms because it is a specialized skill mostly hired directly by companies and institutions. There are websites where you can apply to become a transcriptionist and work entirely from home for beginners. Some of them are TranscribeMe, DailyTranscription, Rev, and Crowdsurf.
Content Writing
If you are good at writing and grammar, you are one step ahead of becoming an online content writer. But content writing is not free-flowing creative writing. You need to understand the technical aspects of online writing, such as search engine optimization (SEO), keywords, and writing for an audience.
Hubspot – Hubspot has free and paid courses on content creation that will give you an idea of how to write for an online audience.
Skillshare – Skillshare has an “Online Content Writing Class” that allows you to pick whether you want to learn to write as a blogger, for website content, to edit, to proofread, or simply to improve your grammar.
Job Opportunities
Content writers are very much in demand because almost every industry needs them. You should concentrate on a niche and market yourself with the topic you are most comfortable writing about. It can be about health, fitness, cryptocurrency, sports, legal, entertainment, or creative writing. You will find many employers seeking writers on Upwork and Fiverr. You can also apply with agencies that handle writers to have a steady flow of writing assignments without worrying about getting clients.
Best Skills to Learn to Earn Big Money in Freelancing
If you are an experienced freelancer looking for a different job niche to explore that offers a higher rate, we have something for you. You can upgrade your skills for freelancing and find more clients and a better pay rate. Below, you will find some of the most in-demand freelance work online.
Amazon Virtual Asssitant
An Amazon Virtual Assistant provides administrative assistance to e-commerce businesses. They can create pages, write product details, research, call suppliers, or fill orders. This job will give you in-depth learning of e-commerce and someday be your stepping stone to having an online e-commerce business.
Numerous videos on YouTube can show you the process of Amazon FBA. However, no one video can show you everything, so you will have to watch several to grasp the tasks. For instance, you can watch an Amazon FBA for Beginners video and watch an overview of how Amazon Virtual Assistants work.
Job Opportunities
You will find employers seeking virtual assistants in online job sites such as Upwork, LinkedIn, and Fiverr. You will encounter job titles such as Amazon Marketing Virtual Assistant or Amazon Product Lister.
Graphic Design
Many industries seek graphic design services for logos, websites, and marketing collaterals. Fortunately, this is a job you can do online. Graphic design is a good option if you have creative genes coupled with a passion for tech and digital arts. Many graphic designers are self-taught, but if you want to learn techniques fast, many online resources can help.
CreativeLive – Here, you can learn the “Fundamentals of Graphic Design” in an 18-video lesson that will teach you how to layout, web design, and build brands. It is for beginners, those who want to switch careers or upgrade their graphic design skills.
Pluralsight – Pluralsight offers this Graphic Design course that is not software dependent but will show you solid terminologies that will build your foundation to becoming a true graphic artist.
Job Opportunities
Employers seeking graphic artists post job openings on their website or online job search, especially if they seek a full-time artist. However, if you are looking for a project-based gig, Upwork, LinkedIn, and Fiverr can get you clients. You must build your portfolio first to have something to show during your interview.
Website Building
Almost every business these days needs a website, so plenty of employers seek talented web builders who can give them a fully functioning website. Building websites is a job you can do remotely, and you will find that it pays well, too, depending on your level of expertise.
WordPress – There’s no better way to learn than to go straight to the source. They offer WordPress Courses so you can learn straight from their experts.
Codecademy – Already know the basics? It’s time to get more technical. You can check out Codecademy’s “Learn How To Build Websites,” which includes HTML, CSS, GitHub pages, Flexbox, and many more.
Job Opportunities
Building your portfolio or creating your website or blog page is the first thing to do so you will have something to show your clients. You can then offer your services on social media sites and online services. You can also post on job sites like Linkedin and Upwork, and clients will surely start pouring in.
Conclusion
Exploring new skills for freelancing is a journey toward self-improvement and professional growth. It’s about embracing opportunities that align with your passions and strengths.
Remember, the key is not just learning but also enjoying the process. As you embark on this venture, stay curious, be patient, and celebrate small victories. Each acquired skill opens doors to diverse freelancing avenues.
So, keep honing your abilities, stay adaptable, and, most importantly, enjoy the fulfillment of continually evolving in your freelancing career. Your unique set of skills will undoubtedly carve a path toward success in the dynamic world of freelancing.
Angeline Licerio
Angeline Licerio is the blogger behind Dollarmize.com. After working online as a writer and SEO strategist, she decided to start this blog to give advise to people who would like to earn money online. She is also the founder of SEO Tutorials for FREE, a Facebook community that helps aspiring freelancers and SEO specialists to kickstart their work from home journey.