Looking to boost your freelance business right now? Freelancing can be a great way to earn money flexibly on your own terms. Whether you want to diversify your income or start your own freelance business, you can benefit from setting your own rates, having multiple clients, and choosing when you work.
Let’s say that you’re one of those people who has some extra time right now and you’re eager to invest it in your budding freelance business.
What can you be doing? What are some activities that will boost your freelance reputation—while still being mindful and respectful of everything that’s going on? Luckily, I have some clear action steps for you to take if you’re looking to boost your freelance business right now.
1. Keep Your Skills Sharp
Whether you’re working with clients or nor right now, continue to work on your craft.
If you’re a graphic designer, create a logo for fun or update your own website. If you’re a virtual assistant, schedule some social media posts for your own brand and test out a new strategy.
As a freelance writer, you may want to publish something on your personal blog or publish content to LinkedIn or Medium. Pick a topic you’re passionate about and just write about it.
2. Reach out to a fellow freelancer
We could all use a little extra sense of connection right now, so there’s never been a better time to reach out to some freelance contacts.
Maybe it’s that freelancer that you’ve only interacted with on Twitter, or perhaps it’s somebody in your niche you’ve admired from afar. Reach out with a friendly message to see if they’d want to connect for a video chat, phone call, or even a supportive email exchange. You’ll combat some of the loneliness we’re all dealing with while also building your freelance network.
Believe it or not, one of my greatest sources of gigs and projects has been other freelancers who refer me. So, these connections can really pay dividends.
3. Start Automating
You might just be alarmed by how much time you waste on repetitive tasks that could easily be automated or templatized.
Are you starting every email from scratch or constantly answering the same questions? Start creating templates and systems for your regular processes.
You can create canned responses for emails and use a tool like IFTTT to set up even more automations.
4. Start your wish list
Confession time: I have a document saved on my computer of clients I’d love to work with. It ranges from smaller companies to big-name publications.
Whenever I’m looking for new opportunities, I turn to that document, do some digging, and figure out if there are any places I should pitch right now. It saves me the hassle of racking my brain and thinking, “Who the heck publishes the type of content I write anyways?!” If you don’t already have a similar document started for yourself, now’s the time.
Summary
Growing a freelance business is a constant effort. Realize that small efforts made today can lead to big results later down the line. Use these quick and easy ways to boost your freelance business and increase your motivation and productivity.
