Highly motivated to earn more money, I always wondered what were the most effective ways to supplement my income. Today, I will explain in detail a very effective technique to supplement your salary: freelancing.
Before etreunrenard.com, I was like most of you. I was looking to earn more money, enough to supplement my income. I had enough to cover my expenses, but a little bit more (eg 500 euros) could really have brought much more comfort to my life.
The real effective and applicable way for everyone to create additional income without really getting tired is called freelancing. Internet connection? Check. Computer? Check. Motivation and ambition? Check.
Congratulation! You have all the necessary tools to start making money. Freelancing allows you to work from home doing tasks on your computer for someone else.
For example, a UK company may need a Frenchman to translate their user manual; a self-employed person may need an extra hand to set up his website; Another entity may want you to write an activity report, summarizing the current year.
Your mission ? Respond to all these requests in the best possible way.
The good news is that other freelancers have done it. They managed to earn more money than necessary thanks to freelancing, it is quite possible to live from this profession .
Freelancers used to be considered “ninjas”. Silent. Mysterious. Shadow workers, invisible to the general public. Few people knew they existed; even fewer understood what they were doing.
All of that is changing.
The economic crisis has affected many people, and companies are increasingly calling on external people to reduce costs. More and more individuals are jumping on this opportunity, and the number of freelancers is increasing every year. As you will see, the numbers speak for themselves.
The Freelance Industry Report published in 2012 surveys nearly 1,500 freelancers on various aspects of their work.
It shows that almost 70% of freelancers earn between and per hour .
And only 7% of freelancers earn less than per hour .
By comparison, the majority of freelancers report having much more free time than when they were employed: this is particularly true for photographers (75%), assistants (61%) and writers (50%) .
The observation is clear: 90% of freelancers say they are happier since leaving their job as an employee .
Whether you’re looking to earn extra income or want to become a full-time freelancer, the cash flow can be similar to that of a full-time job. Of course, that won’t happen on Day 1. But, with a little experience and applications in the jobs that pay off, earning a solid income is not impossible.
This is THE most demanded job in freelancing. Some manage to release more than 100,000 euros per year by writing articles for the press or magazines . It takes time to find the information, put it together and write it down, but the big advantage is that you don’t need any investment to get started. A computer and an Internet connection are the only tools you need . You don’t need to be Sartre or Voltaire to land these jobs, you just need to be able to write coherent texts without spelling mistakes.
If you are bilingual, doing translations can be a great opportunity to earn some quick cash. Many small SMEs are looking to expand overseas and need to translate their products and manuals. Using expensive translation companies, using freelancers is a way to reduce costs .
To make a difference: obtain a certification to prove to your future clients that you are a recognized translator. That’s good, the University of Paris 3 offers certification in translation methodology.
A photographer who specializes in wedding photos can easily start at 2,000 euros for a few hours of photos. The newlyweds are ready to spend a lot of money so that one of their most beautiful moments in life is forever highlighted. With in addition, a fixed price for touch-ups and you can easily go up to 3,000-3,500 euros per wedding. Of course, start with small jobs (eg photo editing) and then move upmarket.
A sector that did not exist barely 5 years ago, the emergence of social networks has brought with it new jobs. As a result, many businesses aren’t up to date with the latest trends and helping them build their online presence can result in big money inflows. Some freelancers can be paid from 20 to 200 euros per hour, depending on experience and past achievements.
To make a difference: focus on companies that have industries that are remote from the Internet and therefore completely outsource their website and online presence.
With the rise of websites and the fact that today setting up a website can cost as little as 20 euros per year, many companies have started. They built a site. To make themselves known, they need to apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques: it is a set of techniques allowing them to be well ranked in search engines, including Google. The problem is that this knowledge is specific and little known to companies.
As this field is very specialized, some freelancers charge more than 1000 euros per hour . The average is around 300 to 500 euros, which is still very correct. Beginners can start at 50 euros per hour .
The cool thing is that becoming an SEO expert isn’t very hard. You don’t know anything about it? No worries, I have everything planned with 2 very well done courses on OpenClassrooms: The SEO of your website and Improve the visibility of your site thanks to SEO
Conclusion: if you are creative, then for sure you can make a lot of money with freelancing. Writers, photographers, translators, SEO experts… you will find easy and well-paid work. By accumulating experience that will help strengthen your reputation, you can even match and exceed your salary as an employee.
Now, I’m going to show you how a very, very simple technique will make it easier for you to find assignments AND set you apart from 98% of other freelancers.
To find a job easily, you will have to put yourself in the minds of your clients.
It’s very rudimentary….And yet many freelancers have no idea what the people who are about to hire them are thinking .
If you want to be recommended on freelance sites, your first jobs must be those to which you bring the MAXIMUM attention. You must be beyond reproach.
Now….how do I know what my customers think?
It’s very simple… just ask them .
Start by going to well-known freelancer sites. Many are English (it makes no difference), but visit for example the sites of Jacob Class, Brad Colbow or Tyler Galpin. All of these links take you directly to projects they have worked on.
You then have a list of clients who hire people like you, and who are looking for people who have your qualities. Send a quick email to take the temperature and see if you can pick up some tips from them. You’re not going to try to rob them – just get in touch with them and ask them a few questions.
What should you ask them?
People are always very fond of being considered as “experts who come to ask advice”. And your response rate will be much higher because you’re not trying to canvass them .
Follow this formula and contact a maximum of 10 people.
Here is how I would phrase the email:
You will probably have to send a few emails before getting a good response. But there are MANY companies that you can approach by looking a little bit.
By sending an email like the one above, you are sure to know:
All this information…in one email.
Effective. Fast. Convenient.
Can’t find French contacts? That’s good, here is an initial list of companies that have called on freelancers to improve their business.
In the following paragraph, I am particularly interested in Elance. The procedure is exactly there same with Odesk.com or Freelancer.com
The next chapter gives you all the basics and the pitfalls to avoid in order to start earning money fast.
Let’s go !
There are 2 major freelancing sites: elance.com and odesk.com
I will use elance.com to explain how it works.
In a few simple steps, here is the procedure:
Here we go, step by step:
Go to the home page: www.upwork.com. At the top left you can register.
You are asked if you want to recruit or work. You want to work, so check “I want to Work”
Elance then asks you for information to register your account.
Don’t forget to fill in “Individual” in the “Account Type” field
You will then receive a confirmation email in your mailbox, click on the link to validate your registration.
Now you will need to fill in your profile.
Sign into your account. At the top right, next to your nickname, click on the arrow and the following menu should appear:
Click Profile.
Fill in ALL the information on this page : your bio, your skills, verify your identity (Verify Your Identity on the right), add images to your portfolio.
There are many people on Elance. Completing your profile is THE thing that will differentiate you from all your competitors.
Congratulations, your registration is complete!
Now we can start improving the NUMBER ONE differentiator that will allow you to stand out from other freelancers. The tests.
Here is how they work: in order to check that you have excellent knowledge on a given subject, Elance or Odesk offers you quizzes on these subjects in order to prove to the site and to your future employers your level.
These tests generally consist of ten multiple-choice questions. At the end of your test, you get a score and you will be ranked among all the other freelancers who took the test before you.
The real interest of these tests is to obtain the famous “badges” . If you’re in the top 20%, you’ll get the “Top 20%” badge released publicly. An employer who would appear on your profile would therefore be CERTAIN of your qualifications. So :
Try to do in as many areas as possible, and always get a result above 750. This places you de facto in the best.
To apply is very simple. In the “Find work” tab, click on “Search Jobs”:
You arrive on THE main page of UpWork.
Here you can:
For example, if I am looking for a job in marketing, here is an overview of what I find:
More than 3000 offers!
Click on an offer to access its description.
You will then see what the employer specifically wants, when they want their task completed, who they are specifically looking for and how much they will pay you.
You will find that there is a HUGE mass of offers. There are indeed MINIMUM 80% which are only “poorly paid” offers. So you have to be smart to find the best deals.
For this, several tips:
If an offer suits you, you will have a simple form to fill out to apply.
This is your proposal. These two large forms ask you to explain WHY and WHY YOU . This is where it all happens. You have a few lines to tell the difference.
In this text, here is an ideal path:
Part 1: Introduce yourself and your skills . Highlight the Elance/Odesk tests you have previously passed.
Part 2: Explain your previous work , if these are visible online fill in the address! Explain how you have contributed and what your achievements are
Part 3: what you are going to put in place to meet the employer’s request : your methods, your schedule
Part 4: Indicate when and how you will communicate with the employer : weekly reports? monthly? what information will you include?
The employer must easily understand that you are the Man for the Job : he wants to be convinced that your work will be done very well, quickly, and with attention to detail.
In the first text box, here is a good way to introduce yourself:
[Part 1]
[Part 2]
In the second part, here is how you can explain your work:
[Part 3]
[Part 4]
So :
You CLEARLY explain who you are
You demonstrate in a few sentences your FIRST QUALITIES
You announce a CERTAIN DATE OF COMPLETION
You are ready to LOSE MONEY in case of delay
JACKPOT!
Then, enter the amount you want to be paid further down in the form. Below you will see the amount that will actually be charged to the customer (the difference represents Elance’s commission).
Validate,
And There you go ! You applied.
All you have to do is repeat the operation to apply for as many offers as possible.
In a few days, come back to the platform and you will see if a job has been assigned to you:
Freelancing thus makes it possible to build up a little extra each month, ideal for investing and, for example, constituting a contribution for a rental property loan.