Over the years, the freelancing economy continues to take over the global workforce as big and small companies have recognized the benefits of hiring remote workers. Thanks to the evolution of digital technologies, it has become easier for individuals to quit their 9-to-5 jobs and become full-time freelancers. As long as you have skills in marketing, design, accounting, information technology, and other in-demand expertise, a freelance career could be right for you.

Although being a work-from-home freelancer has numerous advantages, it also introduces one problem: competition. With more people entering the freelance market, finding clients to work with will be challenging if you can’t stand out from the rest. The freelance community is generally supportive and helpful to their fellow freelancers. But when a client has to choose one freelancer, you’ll be competing with the others for attention in hopes of securing a job or project.

Thus, if you’re determined to have a successful career as a freelancer, you’ll need to know how to become competitive. This article will show you helpful tips on becoming a competitive freelancer and increasing your chances of landing exciting jobs and other opportunities.

Invest In Upskilling Yourself

It’s hard to upsell yourself to prospective clients if you don’t have the skills they are looking for. So, make some time and effort and invest in upskilling yourself. Focus on learning new, in-demand, and high paying skills such as copywriting, web designing, or web development so you’ll have expertise that will help you get high-earning gigs. Upskilling will not only increase your skillset, but it can also give you more confidence to navigate the world of freelancing. Knowing you have something unique to offer will motivate you to find clients and compete with other freelancers.

You can upskill yourself by:

• Reading books or industry articles
• Taking courses (in-person or online) and workshops
• Attending seminars
• Listening to podcasts
• Joining webinars

Upskilling yourself can build your credibility, boosting your chances of getting high-paying gigs. So, take these steps to keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date with the latest trends and demands in your field and ensure you remain competitive in the market.

Create An Impressive Resume And Online Portfolio 

What makes freelancing interesting is that it’s similar to applying as an employee and being an entrepreneur. This means you’ll need a resume (like a regular employee) to show off your skills and a portfolio (like an entrepreneur) to exhibit your services and what you can offer. Both documents are necessary to communicate your skills and expertise and sell yourself to prospective clients.

But to ensure your resume and portfolio have that competitive edge, you’ll need to fill them with impressive but factual information about yourself, such as:

• Your basic information (Full name, age, etc.)
• A professional photo of yourself smiling (to exude a positive attitude)
• A brief ‘About Me section
• Your specialty or niche
• Relevant work experiences
• Educational background
• Best outputs or examples of your previous work
• Endorsements from your previous clients, feedback, or recommendation letters
• Contact information (cellphone/telephone number, email address, social media accounts)

Your resume and portfolio will be your main tools and tickets to landing great gigs and becoming successful.

Choose A Niche And Focus On It

While it sounds impressive to be good at multiple things, clients are more impressed by people who are genuine experts at one thing. So, choose a specific niche and focus your time and energy on excelling at it. Focusing on one niche enables you to accumulate valuable skills and knowledge and become more experienced. Furthermore, it’ll make it easier for you to market yourself to specific clients who are looking for the services you offer.

For example, suppose your chosen niche is content writing. To become an excellent, competitive, and well-rounded writer, you may consider learning different types of writing skills and services, such as copywriting, technical writing, ghostwriting, and press release writing.

Learn How To Promote Yourself

You may have an impressive resume and portfolio, but if you don’t know how to promote yourself, your target clients won’t be able to recognize you or even know you exist. So, learn how to put your name out there and prove yourself as an expert in your selected niche.

To do this, you can start a website where you can set up your online portfolio and showcase your experiences, skills, qualifications, and services. Then, you can create a LinkedIn profile to serve as your online resume. It’s also recommended that you become active on social media platforms so your prospective clients have multiple channels to choose from when they need to contact you.

Another excellent strategy to market or promote yourself is by joining industry-related forums. By doing so, you can actively participate in the conversations and share tips or advice about your field. This will make you more visible online and boost the chances of clients running into you and your website. If your previous clients are impressed with your services, you can ask them to promote you through word-of-mouth referrals.

Build A Positive Reputation

Besides the resume and portfolio, some clients also rely on ratings, reviews, and overall reputation when choosing a freelancer to work with. If you’re a first-time freelancer, you can build a good reputation by delivering your projects on time and consistently providing high-quality service.

If you’ve been in the freelancing industry for years, you can leverage your existing reputation by aiming to work with clients with bigger and more complex projects. If you’re able to complete these high-quality projects on time, you can increase your rates for your next clients due to your added experiences.

Building a great reputation also translates to better customer loyalty. If your performance is consistently excellent and you always leave your clients impressed with your outputs, they’ll keep coming back to you, helping you maintain good relationships with them.

They’ll also be more likely to help build your reputation by recommending you to their social circle. And remember, when you have a positive and well-known reputation, you won’t anymore have to work hard on competing with other freelancers as the clients will likely be the ones to look for you.

Offer Discounts On Your Services

Among the common challenges of first-time freelancers is landing their first few clients. With little experience and a lack of connections or referrals, you may struggle to prove your worth to your target clients. One way to stay competitive despite being a beginner is to offer discounted service rates.

Understandably, freelancers who’ve been in the market for several years have gained a lot of experience and referrals, enabling them to set higher rates and prices for their services. However, there may still be clients out there who are on a budget and looking for a freelancer whom they can afford.

By discounting your services, you can make yourself more marketable to clients on a budget. You may be doing your job at a lower rate than you expected. But, in exchange, you can earn valuable experience and have an opportunity to build a reputation through your clients’ satisfaction.

Key Takeaway

Ultimately, the key to becoming a competent freelancer is to consistently demonstrate your value. Sure, hundreds and thousands of freelancers are joining the industry, but many of them aren’t inclined to go the extra mile for their clients. Through these tips and strategies above, you can differentiate yourself as a freelancer and put yourself in a much better position than your competitors.

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