Freelance websites take the pain out of one of the many struggles side hustles and small businesses … [+]
You’ve researched the market demand. You’ve discovered that you have a high-income skill and you’ve found a way to monetize your expertise. The business infrastructure is all in place, and now you’re ready to accept paying customers for passive income, or take on gigs. But now comes the all-important but dreaded question: How can you find clients to begin with?
Launching out into the unknown and starting a side hustle for the first time is often an overwhelming and nerve-wracking experience. What if no one likes and pays for what you have to offer? What if you can’t supplement your salary (or eventually scale it to replace it altogether) after all? Because of course, a side hustle is not a side hustle without paying customers.
And if you can’t find any gig work, pretty soon you’ll find yourself with no business at all.
Factors To Consider When Selecting A Freelance Website
Thankfully, there is an array of online platforms that allow you to promote your services and make them accessible to a wider audience at local and global levels, making it easier for you to secure client work, contracts, and gigs.
But which one should you choose? Consider this checklist when evaluating a freelance website:
1. Features
Before selecting a freelance platform, carefully evaluate the pros and cons of each. Some have integrations that make it easier to automate your service offerings, such as communication with customers, scheduling meetings in your calendar, or processing client payments. Others do not provide this but simply serve as an interaction platform to acquire clients and to display reviews and testimonials of happy customers.
2. Fees
It’s also important to note that not all freelancing platforms are free; some charge for you to view the contact details of potential leads, while others may charge you a fee, taken as a percentage of your earnings. For instance, Upwork takes 10% of your freelancer earnings. But at the very least, these websites can be your launchpad so you can acquire initial visibility and obtain your first reviews for your services, and expand elsewhere (such as on your own website attracting clients from Google search).
3. Liability
The next factor you need to consider is that since you are a freelancer, you are not covered by the client, whether corporate or not, for any costs such as healthcare or insurance. In addition to taking this into consideration, you will need to monitor and record your income and business expenses, and file your business taxes.
4. Industry
Finally, some freelancing websites are better suited to some industries than others. For example, one platform may tend to favor consulting gigs, while another may work better for technical side hustles such as app and web development. A good example would be ServiceScape, which is more focused on freelance writing and editorial jobs.
Freelance Websites And Platforms
Check out this list of freelancing websites and see which ones work for your side hustle idea:
1. SimplyHired
SimplyHired is a job board that posts thousands of jobs including remote roles and freelance projects, with filters for the date posted, and minimum pay, to name a few. By simply typing “freelance” in the search box, it will generate a long list of freelance roles in your area, or remote, as the case may be.
You can also be more specific and enter search terms such as “freelance content writer” to access relevant gigs. Some of the contract gigs posted can pay as much as $70k a year.
Consider the industry you are operating in and the service you will provide, as this is an important … [+]
2. Upwork
Upwork’s freelancing platform is suited to a wide arrange of side hustle projects which you can promote, such as:
- Brand voice and design consulting
- Fashion design
- Cover art and digital designs for marketing
- Architecture and interior design
- Photography, videography, and media production services
- Web and app development
- Data analysis
- Marketing, PR, and SEO services and consulting
- Content and copy writing
- And a host of other consulting services such as HR, business, legal, and financial consulting
3. Fiverr
Fiverr is another fantastic resource for advertizing your side hustle; it has hundreds of categories and allows clients to pay per project and not by the hour. You are able to get 80% of your earnings, and can choose to work as often or as little as you like. According to the website, you are able to set your fees anywhere from $5—$995 and offer three versions of your service at three different prices, with their gig packages.
4. LinkedIn
While not traditionally advertised as a freelancing platform, LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity for side hustlers to leverage their expertise, network, and credibility established through their profile and presence, to obtain clients. LinkedIn has a freelancing section called “services” which you can add in the “open to” section at the top of your profile.
LinkedIn members who are interested to learn more about your services can put through a project request via this section and you can make the payment arrangements through further conversation. Additionally, when they are searching for a particular service such as career coaching, for example, your profile will appear in the list of search results, as long as it is optimized.
5. Toptal
If you believe you have a strong track record and portfolio, and have experience in business, technology, or design, you might want to consider joining Toptal as a freelancer. Toptal is an exclusive freelance talent network, which you can apply to join if you are a developer (think full stack, back-end, or front-end), UI/UX designer or digital product manager, management consultant (think mergers and acquisitions or financial strategy), project manager, or scrum master. Projects can range from hourly to longer term, from a variety of corporations worldwide.
More Freelance Websites
And here are five more freelancing platforms for you to consider:
- TaskRabbit
- FlexJobs
- Freelancer.com
- People Per Hour
- ServiceScape
Leverage word-of-mouth, a solid portfolio, and customer reviews to build a stronger presence for … [+]
Now that you have this list of platforms, carefully evaluate using the checklist of factors above (features, fees, liability, and industry) and remember that finding your dream platform with thousands of eager potential clients is only the first step of the journey. You now need to continue to perfect your skill set, establish your personal and business brand, gain customer reviews, and conduct ongoing research so you can offer the right services, tweaking them as necessary to ensure profitability and high demand.
Source: 10 Freelance Websites To Promote Your Side Hustle Idea In 2024
