Freelancers, raise your hand if you’ve ever used an off-the-wall method to try to get more gigs? We’ve all written stuff down on vision boards, tried a hand at viral social media marketing, set up superstitious rituals, and passed business cards out to every single person we run across. But what if we told you there’s a better way to get gigs and keep your lifestyle as a self-made freelancer?
Freelance marketplaces can be amazing tools to find gigs and grow your freelance business. But not all marketplaces are created equal, and you want to make sure you’re working with the ones that can best help you grow your business. Read on to discover some of the best freelance marketplaces you can work with.
One of the biggest mistakes freelancers make when they’re using a freelance marketplace for the first time is bidding on too many jobs. It can be easy to get into the mindset of “I’ll take any work I can get my hands on” when you’re working freelance. But when you start working with a reliable freelance marketplace, that mindset can leave you overwhelmed and missing deadlines.
Instead, work to cultivate three to six primary clients who you can work with on an ongoing basis. Not only will this leave you with plenty of time to get everything done that you need to, but it can also make your freelancing feel less crazed. And with your client profile more diversified, if one job goes away, it will be little more than a small inconvenience for you.
Upwork is one of the most popular freelance marketplaces on the web. You can pick projects from categories like web, mobile, and software development, writing, customer service, administrative support, sales and marketing, and more. Upwork will use your selections to highlight projects you may be suited for in the future.
You can also use Upwork as an online workspace to communicate with your client. You can send and receive files and communicate through video, text, and chat features. The Upwork desktop app even lets you track hours while working on a project and bill your client automatically.
FreeeUp operates off of a similar type-based work model as Upwork. You can select from eighty-five different skill sets, including e-commerce, web design, content creation, administrative support, accounting, and more. The FreeeUp marketplace is very selective, so you’ll need to be prepared for a rigorous application and interview process.
Once you’ve been accepted into the FreeeUp marketplace, you can begin browsing the Open Projects board, where gigs are listed with short descriptions. You can apply for jobs as they come up and interview with clients through your FreeeUp account. Fee negotiation, billing, and payment are all handled through the FreeeUp platform.
Freelancer is a wide-ranging freelance marketplace that offers more than 1,350 categories of work. These range from web design and internet marketing to SEO, graphic design, and more. You can sort through their job market using filters to sort out jobs you might be interested in applying to.
If you get hired for a job working on an hourly basis, Freelancer will pull 10 percent of your final payment as a fee. For fixed-rate jobs, they’ll take either 10 percent of the payment or $5, whichever is higher. You can also join in on contests that help you win reviews and cash prizes through Freelancer.
Guru is a great option if you’re looking for more flexible billing in your freelance marketplace. They have a selection of more than three million professional services ranging from design and programming work to translation and sales work. There are a variety of other specialties you can choose from, depending on your niche.
With Guru, you can choose from four different types of payment plans: pay by milestone, pay by task, pay per hour, or pay using recurring payments. They have a SafePay feature that you can use to securely receive payment from your clients. You can set up your invoices to run automatically or only when you manually issue them.
PeoplePerHour is a freelance marketplace based in the UK that is highly exclusive. You can expect a similar level of rigor to the FreeeUp marketplace application. But once you get accepted, you’ll have access to a bank of jobs from all over the world.
You can set up a profile on PeoplePerHour with your experience and story, as well as a portfolio of examples of your work. Clients can browse your profile directly, or the platform can intelligently match you with potential projects. You can send up to fifteen project proposals through PeoplePerHour free of charge and buy additional credit to submit more proposals.
Fiverr is a freelance marketplace designed to make things simple for workers and clients alike. You can find listings for developers, designers, writers, video editors, musicians, social media marketers, and more. You can also set up gig packages with three different versions of your service at different prices.
One of the best features of Fiverr is their education courses. You can take lessons from the experts on how to pitch your services to clients and develop your skills to reach even more customers. And you can keep 80 percent of whatever you make on the platform, with 20 percent going to Fiverr as a fee.
When you’re working as a freelancer, finding new gigs can feel less like finding a needle in a haystack and more like trying to spin straw into gold. But with the right freelance marketplaces at your fingertips, you’ll be calling yourself Rumpelstiltskin in no time. Browse the millions of jobs available through these platforms and start growing your freelance business today.
If you’d like to find another amazing freelance marketplace, check out the rest of our site at SEO Clerks. We have the largest freelance marketplace in the world, with opportunities for art and design, content and writing, graphics and logos, and more. Join today to start selling services and building your freelance business today.
