Its no secret that as thousands of new “freelancers” flood the online marketplace, it’s becoming harder to get work. Quite a bit harder, actually. May was the first month since I began freelancing that I did not have at least one private client. Thankfully, I had some companies to fall back on but overall its been a mess. Even after stepping up my marketing efforts, I’ve yet to secure any new project work on my own.
While, I am thankful for the companies that I can find little bits of work from while I await the call or email of a private client, relying solely on them is not possible. The first reason is that these companies are small — so small, that they don’t always have work. The second reason is that they don’t pay as well as my own clients pay me. While they don’t pay an outright insulting wage, the fee that I receive from my services is often not enough for the amount of time or effort that goes into these sort of projects.
This dilemma, coupled with not being able to get any outside writing work, has caused me to seek out freelance opportunities outside of the writing field. Maybe its for the best. Here are some things that I have considered doing myself.
1. Revisiting my art marketing. I’m also an artist. While it is possible to obtain a small commission here and there, you have to be some type of demi-God to live off of the art style that I have chosen to specialize in.
2. Online telecommunications work such as customer service or technical support. While this field is even more cutthroat and difficult than writing, its still worth a shot. After all, what have I to lose at this point?
3. Trading cards. Recently, I got lucky by finding some very valuable trading cards. I’ve decided to sell them and reinvest in a new set. If I’m successful, this could pan out into some very decent side income.
4. Freebie trading. Back when I first started working online, I was involved in freebie trading at freelunchroom.com. I’m not sure why I gave it up at the time but this time I think I am going to stick with it.
5. Building new affiliate websites. I’ve got some pretty good niche’s going for me right now and when I have the extra money, I’ll be making about three more websites to try to offset the cost of this one. We’ll see how it goes.
6. Avon, anyone? Yes, I joined the team. Before you think I am old-ladyish, I signed up with one of their child product lines called Mark. Mark is geared towards the younger-women demographic (16-25). Perfect.
While none of these things are super-powerful on their own, combine the right ones and you could be making a decent living at this thing we call self-employment. Wish me luck. Today is my one-year freelance anniversary. I wish you the best of luck on your personal freelance journey.