Hi friend, welcome back!
Today, I’m very excited to talk about something that has changed countless lives, including mine—freelancing!
If you’ve ever wondered how to turn your skills into a side hustle or even a full-time career, this post is going to be for you.
We’re going to walk through everything you need to know about starting a freelancing side hustle online.
We’ll cover how to pick the right freelancing niche, set up your profile, land your first clients, and tips on growing your freelance business.
And stick around until the end, because I’ll share some advanced strategies that can help you scale and turn freelancing into a significant source of income and even a full time career, if you’re interested in that!
You may be wondering, “is freelancing really still a profitable side hustle today?” And the answer is definitely yes.
Let’s take a look at some of these rates in the arena of freelance writing.
In just the area of writing alone, beginner freelancers can make anywhere from $15-30 dollars an hour, and experienced freelancers are making upwards of $150 per hour, or as much as $24,000 per month.
Just look at the freelancer in the photo below, who is able to charge $100 (US!) to write just one minute of content for a client.
That’s right! One minute of content for $100!
And this is no fluke guys, you can clearly see she is legit, she’s had tons of customers.
And even if this takes her an entire hour to complete one minute of content (and I doubt it), she’s still be making $100 per hour.
At a rate of working 40 hours per week, she could easily be making at least $16,000 per month. At least.
If it only takes her half the time for each minute of content she writes, she’d be able to make double that amount – up to $32,000 per month.
Another example is this lady, who is able to charge almost $1,800 to write copy for 3 website pages.
And here’s another example of a guy who is charging $1500 to write a 1 hour script for someone.
So you can see how legit and scalable these freelancing businesses can be.
Of course, these numbers might not be where you start out, but it can certainly be a goal to work toward.
And again, this was just one of the profitable freelance niches that we’re going to be covering today, but we’ll get into the rest of them, and their earning potentials, in a little bit.
Now, you might be saying: Rebecca, I’m interested in all of this, but I’m a little confused. What exactly is freelancing?
And that’s totally fine.
Freelancing is essentially having your own small business where you work for multiple clients or companies on a project basis, without being tied to one employer.
So instead of working a normal job for one company, you instead get to do specialized work, whatever you’re best at, and can do that thing for as many clients as you’re comfortable with.
This gives you the advantage of being able to streamline and scale your specialized services to as many clients as you can, or want to, personally handle, instead of being tied to just one employer for 40 hours a week.
And, as your small business grows, you also have the option to hire and train employees under you to expand your business if desired.
Now in freelancing, you can offer a wide range of services, from writing, graphic design, programming, to marketing or even virtual assistance. And we’re going to go over all of these in more detail in the next section.
But the beauty of freelancing is that it’s super flexible—you get to decide when and where you work, as well as what you want to do for work.
For example, in my freelancing business, we cover small business web-design, social media management, and virtual assistance, because those are our strengths.
Now this brings me to the first crucial step: choosing your freelancing niche.
This step is all about identifying your strengths and passions. You want to offer services that you’re good at and you enjoy, but also that people are willing to pay for.
Start by making a list of your skills, hobbies, and professional experience.
For example, if you’re great at writing, you might focus on content creation, blogging, or copywriting. If you’re skilled in design, maybe graphic design or web design is your thing.
And if you’re worried because you’re not sure what is the best niche to choose and what people will be willing to pay for, don’t worry.
I have prepared a list of some popular and profitable freelancing niches:
>> Writing
First off we have writing, which was my example a little earlier. Within this niche, you can consider content writing, copywriting, technical writing, and more.
And with this freelance business, as we mentioned before, beginners can make anywhere from about $15-30 per hour, while experienced writers can make all the way up to $150 per hour or more.
Of course, if you’re working 40 hours a week, that means you could be making upwards of $24,000 per month or even more.
>> Graphic Design
Graphic Design: The second niche is going to be graphic design. This can include offering designs such as logos, social media graphics, branding, etc.
In this niche, beginners can make anywhere from $15 - $35 per hour or $50 - $200 per project, while experienced graphic designers can make as much as $10,000 or even more per project.
>> Programming
The next profitable freelance niche is going to be programming. This can include skills such as web development, app development, and software engineering.
Beginners in this field can make anywhere from about $15 - $40 per hour, while experienced programmers can make up to $20,000 per project, or even more.
>> Digital Marketing
Alright, so the next profitable freelance niche is digital marketing. Digital marketing freelancing can include everything from Social media management, to SEO, to Pay-Per-Click advertising.
In this arena, beginners can make between about $15 - $35 per hour, and experienced digital marketers will be able to make up to $15,000 or more per project, earning them over $20,000 per month.
>> Virtual Assistance
And finally, our last profitable freelance niche is virtual assistance. This arena includes things such as administrative tasks, email management, and customer support.
With this freelance business, you can make about $500-$2000 per month as a beginner, while experienced virtual assistants will be making something more like $50-100 per hour.
That means they could be earning over $16,000 per month.
So now that we’ve gone through these niches, go ahead and compare your list of skills and interests and decide what’s the best match for you.
Once you’ve chosen your niche, the next step is to set up your freelancing profile.
Think of your profile as your resume—this is where potential clients will decide whether or not they want to hire you. So you don’t want to skimp out on this part.
Start by picking out at least one platform where you will showcase your skills. Some popular ones include:
- Upwork: A great place for finding long-term clients.
- Fiverr: Best for quick gigs.
- Freelancer: A mix of project-based and hourly work.
On these platforms, you’ll need to create a profile that stands out. Here’s how you do it:
Upload a clear, professional photo. First impressions matter!
Write a catchy headline that highlights your expertise. Something like ‘Experienced Graphic Designer best for Branding and Logo Design’ works great.
Your bio should be concise but compelling. Mention your skills, past experience, and why you’re the person for the job.
And finally, list your skills and include any relevant work samples or portfolio pieces. The more you can showcase your past work, the better.
Now each of these platforms may have some slight differences, but they will each be similar and should include the 3 steps we just went over.
Now that your profile is set, let’s talk about the most important part of freelancing—finding and landing clients.
This can be the hardest part when you’re just starting out, but once you get the ball rolling, it becomes much easier.
To get your first few clients, you can:
>> Browse job postings: On platforms like Upwork and Freelancer, you can actively apply to gigs.
>> Offer competitive rates: When starting out, you might want to set your rates slightly lower to attract clients. You can raise them as you build credibility.
>> Send personalized proposals: Each proposal you send should be tailored to the job. Mention why you’re a good fit for the project and how you plan to meet the client’s goals.
Make sure to focus on delivering high-quality work and getting positive reviews. That social proof is key to attracting more clients down the line.
Now let’s dive into something that a lot of new freelancers struggle with—setting your rates. Pricing your services can feel tricky, but here’s a simple strategy to help you figure it out.
Start by researching market rates in your niche. For example, if you’re a freelance writer, find out how much other writers are charging per hour or per word.
Then, consider your own experience level.
So again, like we just talked about, if you’re just starting out, you might want to charge on the lower end of the spectrum in order to gain your first experience and credibility.
However, as you gain experience and build your portfolio, you can definitely start to raise your rates.
And the last thing that you want to look at while setting your rates is that you need to factor in your time and expenses.
Make sure you’re charging enough to cover your time and any additional costs like software, internet, or tools you might need for your work.
Once you’ve landed a few clients, it’s time to think about how to manage your freelance business efficiently.
Freelancing isn’t just about doing the work—you also have to keep track of deadlines, invoices, and communication.
Here are some tools that will help you stay organized:
1. Trello or Asana for managing tasks and deadlines.
2. FreshBooks or Wave for invoicing and tracking payments.
3. Slack or Zoom for client communication.
The more organized you are, the easier it will be to juggle multiple clients and projects.
Okay, so you’ve got a few clients and you’re earning some money on the side. But what if you want to take it a step further and really scale your freelance business?
Here are a few strategies to help you grow.
First, consider building a personal brand.
This means creating a professional website, showcasing your portfolio, and using social media to attract clients outside of freelance platforms.
Now if you’re worried that building a professional website is too difficult, don’t worry because I have a free course on how to build your own business website from scratch as a complete beginner.
You can grab that here:
Like I said, the course is totally free, I’ll walk you through everything, and I even have free text-coaching available directly with myself in case you need any help along the way (it's in the course!)
Ok, the next part of scaling your business is to offer premium services.
For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you could offer full branding packages instead of just logo design. By packaging your services and offering higher-value options, you can increase your income.
And finally, to scale your business, you want to work toward outsourcing certain tasks to other freelancers or even employees.
This is great especially when you’re overwhelmed with work, and it can also allow you to take on more clients and projects without burning out.
Before we wrap up, let’s go over a few quick tips for ensuring long-term success as a freelancer:
1. Keep learning: The freelance market is competitive, so always work on improving your skills.
2. Communicate clearly: Be upfront with clients about deadlines, expectations, and deliverables.
3. Deliver quality work: Always aim to exceed client expectations. Happy clients will come back and refer others to you. Don’t underestimate this power!
And that’s it! You’re now ready to start your freelancing side hustle.
Remember, the key to freelancing success is consistency and delivering value to your clients.
It might take time to build up, but with persistence, you can turn this side hustle into a significant source of income, or even a full-time career.
If you made it to the end of this post, I’m so honored that you would take your time to be with me and I truly hope this information was helpful to you.
If it was, let me know in the comments, what freelance niche are you considering?
And until next time, just remember that you are loved, you are not alone, and you’ve got this!