Hi before I begin, let me
introduce myself. I am a working professional. Like many of you there I have
been hit by the idea of making more money out of the internet. There are a
number of programs on the web which offers you money for reading emails, taking
surveys, clicking ads….. the list is endless. If you are one like me who had
used this programs, you know how frustrating it is to spend hours before the
computer connecting to this sites, clicking on ads, reading emails, taking
surveys and what do you get? A mere trickle of few cents in your account.
One needs to understand that there
are numerous opportunities which the internet provides. The difficulty is finding
the right place to start. One thing we need to understand is that for every
opportunity there are in the internet, we have to spend our time with the internet
doing something.
The question is, are the type of
job we are doing in the internet to earn whatever little penny it offers to
bring to us worthwhile? The answer is Yes and No. While for some who have
plenty of spare time to leisure around it may be paying doing mindless jobs
like checking and sending bulk emails, filling out online survey polls and so
on.
But after some time this brings monotony
to the job and you start feeling bored. Then, there are online available jobs
which offer you to showcase your skills, your talents. The fun part of joining
such programs is the freedom of choice it gives you. The satisfaction you get
doing a job in which you are comfortable. And above all a job where you are not
the only one competing for the job but scores of people who may be way better than
you.
A very good example of one such
site is freelancer.com.
Freelancer.com is by far the best
website which offers millions of users worldwide to source online jobs and also
bids for jobs online.
I am a user of freelancer.com for
a couple of years, although I am yet to make much bucks by freelancing
services, it is the belief deep down the core of my mind that this is the only site
which offers to explore your potentialities to earn money from the internet.
In the following few steps I am going
to present why it is necessary to understand freelancing concept and lessons
which can be learnt. These lessons can be taken as lessons for good practice to
follow to become a successful freelancer.
STEP 1
Showcase yourself as a Product : You may be a very good programmer,
a prolific writer or a fine designer. But what is the use if you are not able
to showcase your talent to the world? But how can you showcase your talent? How
can people know that you have that talent?
The internet is also a like a big
supermarket of shops, arcades and malls. Like in the real world, a supermarket requires good visibility for people to step in
and explore. Again, there may be good number of supermarkets in the area. However,
it is the location of the supermarket, the surrounding areas, accessibility,
the architecture of the building, facilities for recreation like parks, parking
lots, cafes etc which attracts shoppers.
Think of the internet also a
place similar to this supermarket. And think of yourself as the product people
come to buy. You will like to showcase yourself in the trendy supermarket, where
people with money always steps in. Like-wise in order to showcase your talent
you need a good website to showcase your profile.
Think of a website as a mall or a
shopping arcade. Choose a website which has the best visibility. Choose a
website which has a well structured layout. Choose a website which offers easy
accessibility. Choose a website which provides you a personalised profile.
And last not least choose a website which has a large number of users.
Lessons learnt :
- Search for best internet based business websites.
- Look for ease of use and accessibility
- Look at user followings
- Look for testimonials and user feedbacks
- Follow your instincts and mind
- Be sure of creating your online profile in the website
- Show your photo or an avatar of yourself in your profile
- Give as much information as possible
- Detail out the skills you possess
STEP 2
Set your Price : If you have followed the above step and created
your profile, it’s the time to set a price of yourself. Before you start by
setting a price, think what is the best price that suits me! How can you
ascertain which is the best price for you?
If you have started by thinking
yourself as a product, you will realise how big or how small you are. I do not
mean how big or small your size is but, how big is your ego! Yes people are
egoistical and tend to pretend what they are not. What I mean to say is that,
you should be absolutely sure of what you are good at. You cannot go about and
brag about your designing skills or your writing skills, if you don’t have one.
The point is, what is key to
setting a price about yourself is the level of confidence you have in a task,
the requisite expertise required from you and in what way you can present your
skill which separates itself from the others. Like all commodities which have
its own USP or Unique Sales Point, you should also be able to present your own
USP.
To be able to set your price
right, you have to be honest with yourself. You need to identify your skill set
and you also need to develop trust in people. So it would not harm you if you price
yourself lower than the others. By doing so you are not compromising with your
dignity. You can price higher than the others, if you are 100% self confident
and you make a USP.
Lesson learnt :
- Bid for projects which you are sure you can do
- Quote a price which are competitive and lower than the best competitive bid
- Give samples of your work
- Specify duration in days you can complete the task in
STEP 3
Value for service : A
consumer will pay certain price to buy a product. All products have a shelf
life. For consumer durables it’s the period of years it will work without fail.
If the product is serviceable, then service should be available at all times
without fail.
What this interprets is the product
for which the customer is paying for should at least give a value to the
consumer. Value here is the number of years of trouble free operation or use.
This represents to the customer a value for money for the product and gives credence
to the quality to the product itself.
Like-wise if you visualize yourself as a product, then the user who is paying a certain amount of money buy
the product, should be in a position to get a value for money or a quality
product. If your work is of good quality, the user will be well satisfied by
your work. He will know that you can do good quality job. This gives credence
to your nature of work and the skills you are having for the work.
Next time when you bid for a job
from the user or users to whom he has passed information about your quality of
work, will give greater weightage for selection.
Lessons Learnt :
- The work or job you do should meet the requirement of the client
- The work should be done exactly as you have promised or stated will be done
- The work should be done well within the stipulated time
- The work should bear user’s originality – that means no plagiarism
- If the work requires continuity or follow up work, you should be able to fulfil it.
I have tried to present few
practices which I feel every freelancer should follow to get counted as a
successful Freelance developer
You can also visit http://www.freelancer.com/affiliates/joyprsinha/ to explore other possibilities of earnings from freelance.com
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