Have you ever wished to make money on Fiverr in Nigeria but, still don’t know how to start making the dream come to reality? Or maybe you’ve been running a Nigerian Fiverr account for years and you’re yet to make a substantial income, if this is you, It’s my pleasure to share some working tips with you today.

Note that before you are able to earn money on Fiverr in Nigeria, you must be a “Freelancer”, because Fiverr is all about freelancing and getting projects done. If you would like to be a successful freelancer, check this guide on how to build a successful freelancing brand.

If you’ve never heard about Fiverr before, you may be thinking that;

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelancers to showcase and sell their services or skills for money. The name is gotten from “Five” because when Fiverr started, services were sold for as low as $5 but that’s not the case now as you can sell a service up to $20,000 or more (depending on the project and agreement between you and your client).

There are hundreds of freelancing platforms in the world but Fiverr stands to be the best in Nigeria. It’s kind of difficult to get an approved Upwork account in Nigeria but Fiverr makes it easy for everybody across the world to use their platform.

Here are a few reasons why I said Fiverr is the best freelancing platforms in Nigeria so far;

Benefits of Fiverr for Nigeria’s Freelancers

• No payment is required to get your account approved
• Registration and Approval is easy (Fiverr freely allow Nigerians to sell or buy services unlike Upwork)
• Fiverr allow you to withdraw your earning easily (in 3 different methods)
• Bidding for projects is Free (you get 10 bidding offers or chances every day)
• You can create gigs to sell your services for FREE
• Fiverr has Level hierarchy to boost profiles and reputation of freelancers
• Active and responsive customer care services
• Easily Navigable, Responsive Website and Mobile Apps
• And so on…

Now, let’s talk about the requirement you need to have before you can start making money on Fiverr in Nigeria;

Requirements to Get Started on Fiverr in Nigeria

• An active email account
• A phone number 
• A laptop (very important)
• A Smartphone
• A PayPal or Payoneer account
• A government-issued ID card (just in case you’re asked to verify your identity)
• At least digital skills
• Patience and Persistence
• Negotiation skills

Now let talk about getting your account;

How to Apply and Get Approved for Fiverr Account in Nigeria

• Click here to sign up for an account

• Enter your email address correctly and click on “CONTINUE”
• Choose a good username and Strong password
• Click on “JOIN” and you’ll be automatically signed in
• Now you need to verify your email address, go to your Gmail or Yahoo Mail to Verify your email address

• After you’ve successfully verified your account, you need to start setting it up

How to Set Up Your Fiverr Account Professionally

• Go to your profile or go to Fiverr.com/my_profile or fiverr.com/yourusername

• Change your Profile picture (by clicking on (1) as shown in the below above)

                          (NOTE: Use a picture that shows your face with a good background, you can also use a logo)

• Click on the Tagline (2) and add a short intro about you. If you’re a graphic designer, you can put “A Professional Graphic Designer” or “A WordPress Plugin Developer” and so on.
• The Question (3): Which Option best describes you? Simply choose “Freelancer”
• Use a Catchy Description (4): This is where you can freely introduce yourself but don’t brag and make sure that your introduction is less than 200 words (make sure you introduce yourself starting from your real name, your skills and what you can do to satisfy your clients).

• Link Your Social Media Account (5): This is not “compulsory” but if you’re okay with it, link your Facebook and other available social media account.
• Add your Skills (6): Here is where you can add all your skills; all you need is to start typing your skill and Fiverr will bring out related skills. Make sure you choose “Expert” on all services you choose.
• Education (7): If you’ve attended any college or university, you can add here with your course or major – This is Optional

• Add Certification (8): If you have any certificate with your name, you can add here – This is also optional

Those are what you need to set up before you can start selling on Fiverr. Okay, let talk about getting started as a seller on Fiverr.

Note that your client is called “Buyer” while you are the “Seller”. You sell services and someone buys them from you.

How to Start Selling on Fiverr in Nigeria

After setting up your account, you’re neither a buyer or a seller until you choose one. Because you want to make money by selling your services on Fiverr, you’re to become a “seller”. Here’s how to do that;

• Click on Become a Seller (9) and you’ll be taken to a page to get started.

• In the new page, click on “Become a Seller” again
• Another page will open, click on “CONTINUE” and keep clicking on CONTINUE till you arrived at “Personal Info” page
• Make sure you answer all questions correctly. Use your real name (because one day, you might be asked to verify your identity)
• Answer all questions until “Account Security” where you will need to verify your email address, add and verify the phone number and finally set a security question.
• After that, you’re now a seller on Fiverr and ready to start making money!

How to Make Money on Fiverr in Nigeria

I’m going to explain this in two parts, which are: How to create the best gig on Fiverr and what to do after creating a gig to make money.

A – Creating the Best Fiverr Gig:

1. Spying on Competitors

Checking on your competitors’ gigs is the first prerequisite to start making money on Fiverr but unfortunately, most people don’t know how important this is, and will really affect their earnings.

So, to create a better gig, look for how others created theirs. 

Here is what I’m saying:

If you are a website designer and want to sell web design services on Fiverr as a beginner, don’t create a gig without spying on your competitors. If you have another browser on your PC, do these;

• Go fiverr.com and search for “WordPress Designer” or “Graphic Designer” (according to the service you want to create a gig for,
• You will see some results, check on the first five gigs that are shown in the results. Study what’s unique and common on the gigs (Don’t copy anything from them!)
• After checking on those gigs (checked the gig title, description, and tags), finally, go back to where you’ve been setting up your Fiverr account to create your own gigs.

2. Create a Professional and Catchy Gig Title

This is the first thing buyers will see, so, take time to create a good one. To create a good gig title that will drive traffic and earn you some money in Nigeria, you need to use a few SEO practices.

• If you want to sell logo design services, don’t just say: “I will Professionally Design a Logo for You” why? Because as far as I know, there are different types of logos, there are vantage, mascot, cartoon, text, etc… 

So, kindly specify the type of logo you can design such as: “I Will Design a Professional Mascot Logo”, from this, the buyer will know you are experienced when it comes to designing the Mascot logo (do these separately for other types of logos like Vintage, etc).

• • Make your gig title simple: Avoid using excessive words, with the intention of attracting buyers with it. Don’t use something like “I will design a good, beautiful and professional logo for your business within 24 hours” – This is too long mehn. You don’t need to put a timeframe or exaggerate what you do.
• Select CATEGORY and Sub-Category: Since you’re offering logo design service, your category will be “Graphics & Design” and your Sub-category will be “Logo Design”

NOTE: I used logo design service as an example, the same methods applied to all services you want to sell on Fiverr.

3. Use Keywords in Your Gig

Remember I told you that we’re actually going to do some SEO practices? Yes, we need to, if you really want to make money on Fiverr in Nigeria because most people who quit Fiverr didn’t understand that SEO is also needed to make sales.

Now, after creating your gig title and choosing a category for your gig, do these;

• • Make sure that the targeting keywords appear in your gig title. For example “Mascot Logo Design” or “Design Mascot Logo” – This is your primary keyword and it must appear in your gig title.
• The keywords should appear in your gig link or URL: Once you’ve got your primary keywords, make sure your URL is catchy and has your keywords

Quick Tips: Before you save your gig, you can leave only your keywords as a gig title. Then after saving it, you can edit and write your gig title normally (such as Keywords + Call to Action).

• Use Keywords in your Search Tags: You’re given an opportunity to use 5 keywords, make sure you find the top 5 keywords relating to your service gig, and use them here.

Quick Tips: Go to fiverr.com with another browser and search for the service you’re creating a gig for, after the results have been displayed, you’ll see some “related searches”, these are the related keywords that people are searching for, pick 3 there and use in your “Search Tags”. Then check top 2 gig results and use two of their keywords (it’s allowed)

• Use keywords in your Description: Your gig description is where you’ll explain what you’re going to do for your clients, make sure you use your keywords naturally while you thoroughly tell your buyers the reason why you’re the right guy for their projects.

4. The Pricing: Don’t Over Sell Your Services

We are now at the pricing page on Fiverr, where you are to shoot your shot again (before your gig description), you have the option to use 3 pricing packages or just 1.

I will recommend using the 3 pricing packages option instead of 1 because you will be able to split your prices here in 3 different ways.

• If you choose the 3 packages (BASIC, STANDARD, and PREMIUM), make sure that the basic is the cheapest (like $10) and the standard can be $25 while the premium can be $50. But this depends on what you will be offering on each package, try to make them look more attractive than others.

Quick Tips: Buyers tend to buy the “Standard” or the Middle packages the most, so make sure you make good use of this place with a nice price and what you want to offer.

Don’t oversell your services and at the same time, don’t undersell.

• Give each gig package an attractive title like Good, Better, Best or Beautiful, More Beautiful and Most Beautiful, etc., for the BASIC, STANDARD, and PREMIUM package respectively.
• Use unlimited revisions for Premium packages only!
• Make sure you put a fast delivery timeframe like 1 day, 2 days, and 3 Days respectively, according to how time-consuming such service is.

5. Avoid Copyright Issue: Use Your Own Files

If you steal anybody’s file such as content, images, or videos, your account might be blocked or your such gig might be removed from Fiverr without informing you.

So design your own gig images yourself using something like Canva.com or a good image editor. Don’t copy any contents on Fiverr, be warned! And finally;

• Upload a good image or video that represent what you’re selling to your gig, this is important
• Ask the necessary requirements from your buyer etc…

6. Preview Your Gig Before Publishing

After setting up your gig, don’t forget to click on ‘save’ at the top right of your screen. Then preview all that you’ve done so far, correct all mistakes, and make sure what you did motivates you, even without publishing it yet.

Finally click on publish if you’re satisfied.

Now let go to the next step;

B – How to Make Money with Your Fiverr Account in Nigeria

1. Publish More Gigs

Don’t sit on one gig you just create, make sure you have at least 5 different gigs in your Fiverr account. You just need to follow the procedure above to create more effective gigs.

2. Earnestly Promote Your Gigs

Without promoting your gigs, gaining traffic, and impressions, then you’re cheating yourself the prime chances of making money with your Fiverr account in Nigeria. Why? Because there are millions of sellers on Fiverr and that makes it very competitive for new sellers to make a sale.

I got my first Nigerian Fiverr account in 2015 but stopped using it for good 3 years. Why? Because I was expecting to start making money on Fiverr within a month or two, but my expectation was greatly disappointed.

In 2018, I came with full prowess, from my 2-years on Fiverr, I’ve noticed that promoting your gigs will really help or boost the chances of earning money on Fiverr in Nigeria.

How to Promote Your Fiverr Gigs?

The best place to promote your Fiverr gigs is Social media! There are many Facebook groups for Fiverr users, where you can join for free and share all your Fiverr links in return to gain some traffic and impressions.

NOTE: Getting more impressions to all your Fiverr gigs will boost the chances of getting more sales. So try as much as possible to promote your gigs on social media.

Quick Tips: To get some impressions quickly, you can buy fake traffic to your Fiverr links or look for a way to generate fake traffic online.

3. Try to Get 5 Star Reviews

I know you’re just starting out as a new Fiverr seller and it’s going to be tough for you in the Fiverr marketplace. Yes, tough but not impossible!

After taking your time to create some (at 5) amazing gigs, promote them to increase your traffic and impressions and now, you need to get 5-star ratings to your new Fiverr gigs.

Getting 5-star ratings will tell Fiverr that you’re selling something that people really love, and in returns, your gigs might be ranked higher in Fiverr search engines; giving a good edge of getting buyers.

QUICK TIPS: Try to sacrifice some money to buy these 5-star ratings. You can tell your friends to open Fiverr buyer accounts and buy your gigs, then give you some good reviews and 5-star ratings.

Note: To buy a $5 gig for review, you will need to have $7. Fiverr will take a $2 processing fee.

So, if you’re planning to buy 5 reviews, that’s going to be 7×5 = $35 (convert this to Naira). But make sure you do things naturally, don’t let people or Fiverr suspect you bought any review. 

If you really want to make money on Fiverr in Nigeria as a beginner, please invest in buying some reviews.

(from that Fiverr groups you joined on Facebook, you can buy reviews from Foreign accounts like the US, Canada, etc.)

4. Send Professional Offers to Buyer Requests Daily

Remember I said one of the benefits of starting your freelancing career on Fiverr is that you’re allowed to bid for 10 projects per day. A lot of people (buyers) post their project requests on Fiverr every day and a seller, you can send a proposal that you can handle their projects.

Quick Tips: When sending offers, don’t brag about what you can do, just do pitch your offer naturally. In your offer, tell the buyer what you understand in his project request, how you will handle the project, and in a few words, tell the buyer the kind of related projects you’ve handled.

If a Fiverr puts $5 in the project request, don’t put $5 in your own offer if you know that $5 is too small or not fair for such a project. But rather put a fair price, if you can handle the project for the minimum cost of $100, don’t be afraid to put it. Don’t worry, the buyer can contact you for negotiation if he/she falls for your offer.

And remember never to cheat yourself or oversell, charge for a fair price and the right buyer will buy from you.

5. Improve Your Negotiation Skills

If you don’t know how to negotiate fairly, then you don’t need to bother yourself about making money from Fiverr in Nigeria. The reason is simply that, negotiation skills are one of the top 1% ways of becoming a successful entrepreneur, business owner, or institution.

If your buyer said you should design a complete website for him for $20, don’t be happy that you got a job yet. Try to negotiate with the buyer that he/she needs to increase the price.

Quick Tips: Don’t just tell your buyer to increase his/her price, but show and tell him solid reasons he needs to. Explain to the buyer thoroughly what you’re going to do, the timeframe, expenses, and how effort-consuming it is. 

Don’t be afraid to negotiate!

6. Build Good Relationship with Buyers

Most new freelancers are after making money only, but business, especially freelancing is not about that.

You need to treat your buyers politely, be honest with them and try to deliver any project awarded to you within the agreed timeframe (it’s not bad to extend delivery date but make sure it’s not your fault). 

If you’re doing things orderly and according to the protocol, you’ll make money on Fiverr in Nigeria or anywhere you are.

Quick Tips: Treat your buyer like a very close friend or family member. Don’t be too professional, try to crack reasonable jokes, use emojis, ask about the buyer’s health, etc., doing this will create a good relationship between you.

7. Join Fiverr Affiliate Program

Another best way to make money on Fiverr in Nigeria is to join the Fiverr affiliate program. Although as a seller, you’re automatically enrolled, you just need to show interest that you’re rea to help preach the good news about Fiverr.

You can simply click here to join.

If you understand how affiliate marketing works, then it will be easy for you to make money with the Fiverr affiliate program.

Conclusion – How to Make Money on Fiverr in Nigeria

Let me address something here; what most Nigerians believe is that It will be so tough to be successful in the international marketplace because of being “black” or some alleged scams about Nigeria. But let me tell you that this is not true.

Although, there are some whites or foreigners that hate dealing with Nigeria (of course, they’re afraid of being scammed) but not all of them. In fact, more than 90% of these foreigners deal with freelancers from Nigeria, India, and Pakistan the most.

With my 2 years of activeness on Fiverr, only one buyer told me that he can’t hire me because I’m a Nigerian, the funniest part is that the man is from South Africa, lol. But after him, all my buyers are foreigners except a Nigerian guy that gave me a simple task.

SO, if you can put these 12 strategic steps into action, you will make money on Fiverr in Nigeria! But, don’t have the mind of scamming your buyer, if you do, you’ll be implicating other Nigerian freelancers on Fiverr like me and I won’t be happy with you (if I know ). Please let be legit and God will bless our hustles.

That’s my working tips about earning money on Fiverr as a Nigerian freelancer. If you have any corrections to make, don’t forget to write to me via info(at)gbolamedia.com, share this article with your social media pages by clicking on the floating social icons here.

If you love this article, you can subscribe to my mailing list here and you’ll be notified anytime I published a new blog and related blog posts.

Are you a freelance writer and you’re thinking of how to get profitable freelance writing jobs in Nigeria? If that’s why you’re here, I will show you the easy step-by-step guide to hit your first client.

Writing has since been one the best forms of communication even with the advent of newer technologies, writing is still relevant in today’s society. There aren’t many blessed with this skill, if you do have this skill, then you can make a whole lot of money from it.

In Nigeria, there are lots of freelance platforms for writers with different level of competence – from amateur to expert. I’ll be showing you best ways to succeed as a freelance writer, how to get freelance writing jobs in Nigeria, billing your clients and many.

Recommended: How to Start Freelancing Business & Build a Successful Brand

So, let’s dive into it!

What is freelance writing?

Freelance writing is a form of writing where you’re paid to create article, blog posts and other forms of writing.

Unlike the conventional writing for media houses, with this type of writing you’re not bound by contract by any employer, you’re at liberty to work for whoever you wish.

Becoming a good freelance writer in Nigeria will surely take some time to master, also, some materials will be needed to compliment your writing skills – you may have good command of English grammar and still be a mediocre freelance writer, you know?!

Freelancing has become common place in our online world, with lots of skills to be offered. Among the many skills on offer, writing seems to be the more popular choice, and yes, people do make money from it but that’s not our focus for now, we’ll get to that soon.

Some requirements to Start freelance writing business

Below are some materials and resources that’ll make you a much better writer in the freelance world;

·       A PC (preferably a laptop)

This is a must-have if you’re going to succeed in this field. This speed of QWERTY typing can’t be compared to any other form of typing. The keyboards on laptops have a larger keypad space where you could flex your hands on. You could start with a smartphone if you can’t afford to buy one, but be ready to spend more time typing.

·       Good internet connectivity

They’ve been complaints of below par internet connectivity in the past years, but in recent times – as technology keeps developing, we’ve witnessed much better internet speeds. A good internet connection is required for research purposes, communication with clients, (most of which you’d meet online). Generally, a good internet with high speeds lets you do more in little time.

·       Good command of English grammar

This is very important as it shows your competence in translating your acquired knowledge to comprehensible words. This doesn’t entail you know all the words in the dictionary, just simply the basics will do. All your research and knowledge will be of no use if you can’t convert them to well structured written words.

Benefits of Being a Freelance Writer in Nigeria

• Spare time: Freelancing in general affords you more time to take care of yourself, engage in other activities and develop yourself
• Money: This is a given, you’re in this to make money in the process. The amount of money you can make is limited by you – there’s no limit to your earnings when you got pretty good freelance writing jobs in Nigeria, it’s totally up to you.
• Knowledge/exposure: As a freelance writer in Nigeria, your client may give you topics to write on various niches which you may not be familiar with, these topics will require you to do extensive research which in the process, you would learn a lot of things which you don’t know.

As with everything that has positives, there are also certain negatives. In writing, there exists some challenges to be faced as a Nigerian freelancer – at least for now;

Some Challenges Faced by Freelance Writers in Nigeria – and Possible solutions

• PAYMENT OPTIONS:

One of the popular means of paying freelancers online is PayPal, it’s quite unfortunate in Nigeria that we can’t receive payment via PayPal. Most freelancers in Nigeria find it difficult to receive their payment after delivering their jobs, even though there exists other means, the charges are quite high and this might be a challenge.

Solution: Get a good PayPal alternative, Payoneer. Click here to learn how to create new payoneer account in Nigeria.

Another solution to payment options limiting the rate of getting job done easily is to use other possible available payment options. Click here to see the top ways to send and receive money in Nigeria to/from Abroad.

• CLIMES VARIATION:

Imagine writing for a client you met from the UK, how do you structure you write ups to sound ‘UKish’? (if there’s a word like that) that’s the big question you’ve got to answer.

As a freelance writer in Nigeria, there exists this challenge where you’ll need to tone your write ups to suit the originating clime.

Solution: Always read books written by foreign authors, watch Hollywood movies, watch some tutorials on YouTube created by foreign vloggers and finally, try to read from foreign websites or blogs.

The purpose of doing that is to learn their tongues and how you can write exactly how the contents will be easier and perfect for your foreign clients.

I lost a job worth $250 because my writing style did meet my US’ client expectation – although he compensated me with $50 but I could have been his regular writer hadn’t been I impressed him in the initial place,

• LIFE-WORK BALANCE:

As you grow as a writer, your work load will invariably increase and this may lead to stress. You’ll need to get to a point where you balance your life and work activities – too much of something is bad. Sometimes it’s important you take a break from work to unwind, and feel more rejuvenated.

Solution: Hire someone else to be assisting you. For instance, I have two active writers that work for me and I pay them per article written. Hiring these two content writers has give me enough space to focus on my web design and digital marketing agency, and I have enough time to enjoy myself.

Now, let talk about the big deal – how you can easily get freelance writing jobs in Nigeria;

How to Get Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria

It’s difficult getting a job in the conventional workspace, the same applies for getting a gig in freelancing – very stressful!

But don’t worry, I’ll be showing some of the best places to sink your net and catch more clients.

A lot of things can the done online with the help of the internet, and as a writer, it’s important you get familiar with the terrain.

1. Get Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria on Social Media

Social media is one the best places to finds freelance writing jobs in Nigeria, and many have benefited in terms of job hunting.

How do you get writing gigs on social media? There are lots of answers to this question but the first is about you marketing yourself.

No one is coming to meet you and hand you a gig, your profile should suggest to your followers what you do before they could consider hiring you. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are some of the best places to find your clients – you just have to make yourself available.

As Zig Ziglar would say; it’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.

2. Get Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria on Freelancing Marketplace

There are some other platforms where you could get writing gigs in Nigeria faster, these are mostly freelance sites which you could choose any below.

Top 10 Freelance Marketplace to Get Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria

1. Fiverr | https://www.fiverr.com
2. Upwork | https://www.upwork.com
3. Guru | https://www.guru.com
4. Freelancer | https://www.freelancer.com
5. Indeed | https://www.indeed.com
6. Freelance Writing | https://www.freelancewriting.com
7. ProBlogger | https://www.problogger.com
8. Jobrapido | https://ng.jobrapido.com
9. Uvocorp | https://nigeria.uvocorp.com
10. People Per Hour | https://www.peopleperhour.com

You need to understand how these freelance marketplace work. The major thing you need to understand is brushing your skills often, learn negotiation and communication skills.

But let me talk about one of the major part; billing a client;

How to Bill a Client as a Freelance Writer in Nigeria

Ah! This is one of the biggest challenges while starting out as a freelancer and it’s important you master this skill because thinking of getting freelance writing jobs in Nigeria. It’s quite difficult even for the pros but there’s a way to tackle this problem.

As a writer you’d be doing rigorous researches, scouring the internet for answers – and for this, you be visiting the internet once again. Going online to find out how others in your field charge for a gig is a good place to start, this gives you an idea of the billing/pricing architecture.

As you get more proficient in your writing, you’d want to earn much more, your level of competence should also be considered, if you’re offering much value you should consider increasing your price – in freelancing, value is key!

• On fiverr and most famous freelancing websites, the average price for writing a 500 words content is $5, 1,000 words is $10 and so on.

But you can earn more than that! I’ve seen a guy who won a freelance writing job worth $300 for just 1200 words.

• Another way to bill your client is PPW or Pay Per Word. You can be charging $0.02 for a single word.

That means if you write a 1000 words content for a client at $0.02/word, then you will earn $20 and you can increase your price depending on the value you’re creating and the client you’re writing for.

Don’t forget to do the necessary arithmetic required for certain factors like transaction charges on payment portals. Most online payment portals charge for using their portal to receive payments.

If you’re dealing with a foreign client, don’t forget to check the current exchange rate for their country and yours.

Pro Tips to Get Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria

1. Always endeavor to meet up to schedule, if you know you can’t meet up don’t accept the gig
2. Connect with others in your field as this exposes you to some of the latest events, best practice and also you get to exchange ideas. Social media and forums are perfect places for this.
3. Read, read, read! As a freelance writer in Nigeria, you need to to know what’s happening around you – this make you a better writer.

Over to you – How to Get Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria

So, here’s what you need to know about freelancing and getting freelance writing jobs in Nigeria, I hope these tips help you succeed in the freelance marketplace (and writing niche).

Don’t forget that you need to build relationship with your clients. A single client can pay you money worth hundred-thousands of Naira, if you build the right relationship with him/her.

So, what do you think about this blog post? Do let me know what you think below in the comments.

Have you ever wondered how top internet marketers are making money online while doing what they love doing? It is through freelancing!

Yes, millions of people are earning hundreds of dollars daily and some can rack up to millions of dollar per month…. This is made possible because they get started with freelancing in the right way while many others are not making a dime from freelancing simply because they lack the right orientations.

Personally, it took me 3 years to earn my first “three-figures” in dollars. Although, I’m still learning to build my career in freelancing but the story is far different from 2 years ago.

What did I do or put into action that get me started with the right orientation?

Here in this article, my guest blogger, Jeff Finder of LaptopCut.com will tell you 5 effective tips to summarise it all.

You can check out my previous article on how you can start a successful freelance business in Nigeria. Before then, you might be asking..

Does Getting Started With Freelancing Really Worth It?

Yes, it really worth it!

Could there be anything more exciting than embracing your zeal for writing or any skills you can offer and making it a source of legitimate income through freelancing? However, as a newbie or fresher, you will have to earn the trust of potential clients to single you out of the numerous competitors and candidates vying for their contracts.

You must know that getting started into freelancing is a big and important decision, and it will require you to make sacrifices because it is a path that comes with obstacles. I want to share with you five tips that helped me when starting my freelance career.

1.   Identify Your Skills You Are Passionate About

At this stage, you should be aware of the expertise or skill you want to work with, and if this is the case, you can skip this step. However, if you are not sure about this, you should reconsider your decision. For those that are yet to decide on what skills to begin their freelance venture with, here are some steps to follow:

• Take time to learn by doing market research;
• Taking a look at a job posting site for freelancers such as Fiverr
• Acquire some statistics, and overall find some skills that are worthwhile and interesting to you.

Recommended: Top 10 Job Posting Sites/Marketplace for Freelancers

Even though you are not afraid to take up a skill depending only on its viability, it is still logical for you to have some interest in it. You should not forget that freelancing is a tough part that is full of challenges, and the last you want is to give yourself more stress by doing something you hate.

On the other hand, if you have a skill you are willing to sell, you have to ensure that there is adequate demand for your skill. It is quite hard to make money selling skill that nobody wants to pay for, but if your expertise ends up not workable, you should either consider quitting freelancing and get a regular job or accept the reality and take up complementary skills.

2. Build Strong Portfolio, No Client Can Deny

One of the first things I considered when getting started with freelancing is to build my portfolio. This step may sound entirely rational and easy-to-do, but you should be aware that are making this mistake repeatedly, wondering why they are not getting any clients. You should never decide to start a freelancing career without a portfolio of your work irrespective of the skill you want to sell.

If compiling a portfolio might not be possible, then you should push the breaks. Working with a portfolio is an essential factor in marketing your products and services as well as yourself. Exhibiting a low quality work will endanger your prospects for success and will set you on the path of failure from the very beginning.

For example, Stephen Olgade is a freelancer who has his business registered with the Nigeria’s CAC and also have a portfolio website here. According to him, he taps multiple and high-paying clients from the portfolio website.

Creating a portfolio is not that difficult, but it might take some time and resources.  If you don’t have any previous work to add to your portfolio, you will need to create some by offering your services for free by working as a volunteer and placing the result on your portfolio or generating a side project for yourself in your free time.

Contact me to help you build a portfolio website and train you how to gets freelancing job.

3. Position Yourself As An Expert & Build a Brand

If you want to be successful in the world of Freelance, you will need to create a strong brand for yourself, which distinguishes you from other competitors. For instance, I created a brand for myself through my blog in the laptop niche with 6000+ words in-depth blog posts. Eg: best gaming laptops under $1000 in 2019. Other mediums you could also employ is a blog or social media page.

Bearing that in mind, you should streamline your focus to a particular industry. Perhaps, as a graphic designer, you might decide to do branding work only for a digital startup business. This sort of specialization will boost your chances of getting attracted to prospective clients and will increase your chances of success.

4. Learn The Art of Pitching

You should only look for paying clients when you can showcase your abilities (and your reputation) with a good and quality portfolio and testimonials is a fact that has been made known. Once you have done so, this is the stage where you begin pitching.

However, who should you pitch?

Now, if you have adequately branded yourself, then you should have discovered who correctly to pitch. With such a narrow and streamlined focus, the probability of potential clients to take you seriously will be high when compared to you offering a general service. Businesses are willing to work with freelancers that came into existence to serve them precisely, and you can generate this illusion through the concept of specialization.

You can find potential clients everywhere from Google to social media to online freelancing platforms and even to your doorstep. There are endless possibilities. Also, the two vital keys to successful pitching are relevance and volume, meaning you should only pitch clients relative to your brand and do the pitching a lot.

5. Be As Deliberate As you Can

Ultimately, guaranteeing freelance work does not come easy, and it is a numbers game due to the vast and fierce competitions that exist. Hence, the more prospective clients you contact, the more you increase your chances of finding work is the equation you should always bear in mind.

If you have a decent skill and have created a quality brand, there is beyond doubt why you shouldn’t excel in the world of Freelance.

TWO THINGS YOU MUST HAVE BEFORE YOU GET STARTED WITH FREELANCING

• A Portfolio

As a freelancer, you will need to prove to your clients how vast you are with your skill through your portfolio. You will require a decent amount of previous works to send out a message to that you can deliver relevant and quality jobs if hired.

• A website or blog

You should also have a website or blog because most clients will make their final decision if they want to do a meeting or hire you by only taking a look at your website first.

I can help you get started with stuffs like:

Writing a comprehensive contents

Creating a beautiful and professional website

Starting a blog, monetizing it and teach you how to handle it

Teach you on how to make money online even with no skill..

Contact me here ASAP!

Wrap Up – Tips t0 Get Started with Freelancing

These tips listed above are what you need to avoid making mistakes as you venture into the freelancing world. You should avoid a poor start by going through failures that you can control. Endeavor not to skip any of these, and you will enjoy a smooth ride as you are getting started with freelancing.

Kindly share this tips with your friends by clicking on the floating social media icons here and don’t forget to ask any question about starting your career as a freelancer.