Hi friends, in this article, I’m going to explain how I earned $100 from my first freelancing project. If you’re someone who has been trying to get into freelancing or has faced several rejections, don’t worry.
I was once in your place too. In this post, I’ll share my journey of how I got my first client, the steps I followed, and how you can do the same. Let’s get started!
Step 1: Learning a Skill
When it comes to freelancing, having a skill is a must. You need to know something well enough to offer it as a service to others. For me, I chose to learn WordPress.
WordPress is a website builder that allows you to create websites easily using a drag-and-drop system. It’s a great tool for beginners and professionals alike.
WordPress is widely used by small and mid-scale businesses because it is cost-effective, easy to use, and comes with a lot of customization options. In fact, around 43% of websites on the internet are built with WordPress. That’s a huge number!
Learning WordPress didn’t take long either. I spent around a month learning it from scratch. The best part is that you don’t need to spend any money to learn.
There are plenty of free resources on YouTube, where you can follow tutorials and create projects. I created websites in different categories like:
- Tours and Travels
- Bike Rental
- E-commerce
- Affiliate Marketing
- Blogging
Once I was comfortable with WordPress, I even created my portfolio website. This is a very important step because when you approach clients, you need something to show them. Having a portfolio website adds value and helps you stand out.
Step 2: Getting Clients
Finding clients is probably the most challenging part of freelancing. Even after learning a skill, the real struggle begins when you start looking for clients.
When I started, I didn’t know where to begin. But I decided to approach my friends and relatives first. I did some projects for free or at a very low cost just to get some experience and build my portfolio. I built websites for:
- A badminton court — link
- A photo studio owned by a friend — link
- A nail styling business for an office friend — link
With each project, I gained more confidence. Slowly, I started to feel comfortable approaching new clients and offering my services.
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Using Freelance Platforms
After working with friends and relatives, I signed up on freelance platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com. But guess what? I didn’t get any projects initially. I checked Fiverr and Upwork every day, hoping to find a job, but nothing came up.
For a whole week, I kept checking and refreshing the pages, but nothing changed. I got frustrated, but I didn’t give up.
The Importance of LinkedIn
During this time, I was active on LinkedIn and learned a lot from freelancers who had been in the industry for a while. I also watched videos on YouTube to understand how to attract clients.
One key thing I learned was that clients tend to prefer freelancers who already have experience and a portfolio. They are hesitant to give projects to newcomers.
One freelancer I connected with on LinkedIn suggested that I should ask my friends and relatives to pay for the websites I create for them on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork so that my profile will grow there.
But as I reached out to everyone I knew already and done some works for them before getting this idea. So, I had to think of a new strategy.
Cold Calling
That’s when I came up with the idea of cold calling. I used Google Maps to find businesses that didn’t have websites and I called them to offer my services. This is a technique known as cold calling in freelancing.
I started by creating a list of businesses in different categories like gyms, Bike rental, e-commerce, Real Estate, etc. I created a table on Notion to track my calls. I called over 50 businesses, and 90% of them didn’t show any interest. Some of them said, “Call me again next week” or “Call me next month”. These responses were discouraging, but I kept going.
The Breakthrough
After making so many calls with no positive responses, I finally got a “Yes😎” from one business. It was a bike rental shop. I was extremely happy! They shared all the requirements, and I worked hard to create the website in 3 days.
The client was very happy with the final product. The website was live, and they started getting customers. The best part? They referred me to other clients, and my freelancing career took off!
The Value of SEO
While creating the website, I also did SEO for the site. I created around 15 blogs for the client, which helped improve the site’s ranking on search engines. This, in turn, brought in more clients for the business.
You can track the success of your website using Google Analytics and Google Search Console. It shows you how many people are visiting your site and how many clicks it’s getting. Seeing those positive results was extremely satisfying.
Conclusion
Freelancing is not an easy path, but it’s achievable. I want to emphasize that determination and skill are all you need to get started. If you have the right skills, like WordPress, and if you are persistent, you can find clients and start earning.
Remember, freelancing is about taking one step at a time. Keep learning, keep improving, and keep applying to projects.