Make money online as a freelancer
Businesses
of all sizes (from one-person-operations to large corporations) are using freelancers
in rapidly increasing numbers. Why? Because a lot of money is saved by going
virtual. There's no reason to pay for an office building when workers can connect
through the Internet, and there's no reason to incur the expense of hiring employees
for temporary projects. Here are just some of the popular projects that you'll
find in demand.
- Virtual assistant
- Data entry
- Project management
- Web/graphic design
- Copywriting
- Programming
You'll often find freelance requirements less focused on "education", and more focused on "skills" and ratings/testimonials. Fortunately, many of the skills can be gained quickly through online courses, self study, or simple experience. Good ratings and references will come with time and effort.
To get an idea of how you can make money online as a freelancer, and which skills are in demand, start by having a look at these websites: Elance, Rentacoder, and Guru.com.
Also, visit your local Craigslist.org pages, and browse through the "gigs" section. Even though many of the projects are web-based, some people still prefer to work with local freelancers, which gives you an advantage.
Master one piece of graphic design software
If
you know Adobe Photoshop ($) or the free Gimp
software, you have the skills to make money online in the following ways:
- Create logos for companies
- Design t-shirts for sale on CafePress.com
- Produce website layouts/proposals
- Design banner ads for webmasters
- Create clipart for sale on iStockPhoto.com
- Restore old/damaged photos
- Turn photo scrapbooks into DVDs
- And much more!
There are plenty of free tutorials to be found on Google, eHow, and YouTube for learning Photoshop and Gimp. Once you've gained the skills you need, advertise your services on Craigslist.org, send postcards to local businesses, scan open bids on the freelance sites, and perhaps try a competition or on 99designs.com.
Also, before the next holiday, check out the free software called AndreMosaic. This application takes hundreds of photos and combines them into one large photo. Although it's super easy to do, the results make for extremely personal/romantic gifts, and you'll be able to charge good money for your "amazing skills" (others won't know how you did it, or how simple it is). And it won't cost you anything, except printing expense at Snapfish.com or Costco.com.
Make money online with outsourcing arbitrage
The most successful web developer I know barely has any web development skills at all. Instead, every time she gets a new project (usually through direct marketing or craigslist), she outsources the development work through sites like Rentacoder.com. Although she does have enough design knowledge to create initial layouts (mockups) and instructions for freelancers to follow, she does next-to-none of the actual development work. And she makes close-to-all of the actual profit.
Over time, she has built up good relationships with talented developers, designers, and writers that she trusts, which makes the whole process quite efficient.
Regardless of the type of service you offer, utilizing the freelance talent will enable you cut costs and gain a real edge over your competitors. Better yet, you'll instantly increase your skill set, knowledge base, and "apparent" abilities, which will make your services more marketable.