A personal professional website is not only a source of income and marketing but also a platform to showcase skills and knowledge. After understanding the pain of new/medium experience freelancers and the monopoly of freelancing platforms I am reached the conclusion that the personal professional website of a freelancer is the greatest source to get freelancing work.
After answering and seeing hundreds of questions related to freelancing and seeing the new features/prices/bidding and talent management system and policy of top freelancing platforms, my point of view is changed. I want to say to new and medium-level freelancers that don’t depend on such platforms for work and jobs.
They are no longer going to help the community of freelancers. These online freelancing platform websites are now wanted to earn more money rather than helping the unemployed youth. They want to earn more money, new policies are working for them rather than for freelancers and clients.
So following are the ways that will be very helpful to get more clients regularly without freelancing websites:
1. Profile & Portfolio
Clients hire you when you bid on projects. Not all freelancers get a job and not all freelancers are hired by clients. There are so many conditions and policies that new freelancers have to follow and it’s going really tough day by day to get a job and live a life with freedom, flexibility, and wealth.
You’re creating a profile and uploading your experiences on portfolios and applying for projects but not getting any jobs after so much hard work over many months. Even experienced and five-star freelancers are not getting work and are frustrated due to policy changes on such sites.
Freelancing websites are charging more from clients and freelancers. The process of hiring and applying for jobs is changed and it is going tougher for new freelancers to earn money from home. So, what is the point?
The point is why waste a time on such Freelancing platforms that aim to earn money and provide difficult filters that any innocent and honest freelancer got trapped? As you know there are many websites on the internet for freelancers to apply for jobs and projects. And new websites are coming day by day because of the success of top websites.
Do you know why? Because people in our generation and the incoming generation looking to work online and companies also hire people a project-based or hourly or fixed prices for a particular time. It will reduce their cost of production and help clients to hire quickly. This is good so far but now these freelancing platforms are more focused on money rather than on helping new talent to grow.
Creating your own website is a solution and targeting clients on Google rather than waiting for an interview and following their policies and conditions. If you want to work online, if you want to earn money from home, if you want to be a successful freelancer then you definitely will try getting clients from your website.
Create your profile on a personal website and present your skills and show the solutions you’re providing. Upload your previous experiences on the portfolio page and add contacts. Now do the SEO of this personal website, and target a few keywords related to your field. Such as Graphic Designer, Website Designer, and WordPress Developer.
Clients type on Google freelancer first then they go on freelancing platforms.
Don’t get me wrong, it is just my concern. Or maybe you’re not agreeing with my point because currently you have 1-2 clients, and you believe that it will be going the same next year and coming 2-3 years. We just need to keep applying on these sites and clients will hire us. I think it’s the wrong attitude to depend too much on one source.
I believe that never depend on others especially one client, one income source, one freelancing platform, or one method. Create something in which there is no third party coming between freelancers and clients.
Freelancing platforms are selling people. They are selling the best people. That’s ok for them and we are also ok with them. But we need our own platform, we need our own website in which clients come to our website through Google. That’s why creating your own website is important and there are thousands of tutorials on Google and YouTube.
Note: I am not against freelancing sites they are good and we have a great option to get clients. But why not we can build our own platforms in which clients can reach us directly. If any case then we can provide them an option to hire us on freelancing platforms. Another benefit of this is that we have another source to get clients rather than focusing on one platform.
Learn more:
How to get work experience to add to the portfolio on your freelancing profile
How to become a graphic designer with no experience
2. The monopoly of Freelancing Sites
You need to understand clients. Freelancing sites are not clients. They are agents. Clients will go there where they will get talented and skilled people. They are looking for a professional and knowledgeable person in their field. Not all clients are using freelancing platforms. Because not all are happy with these freelancing platforms as it is similar to freelancers.
Here are a few examples of monthly search results on Google related to Graphic Designing and Freelance Logo Designer
Here are a few keywords clients are using in the search for talented freelancers.
Freelance graphic designer in Malaysia – 20 times a month
Freelance graphic designer in Birmingham – 30 times a month
Looking for freelancer designers – 90 time
Looking for freelancers, artists, freelance graphic design agencies, and custom logo designers.
The above is a real example and like this, there are similarly millions of searches done by clients on Google. They don’t have freelancing sites and they don’t want to go but the last option when not to find any good candidates they looked on freelancing sites.
Freelancing websites are coming in the top 10 search results when clients are searching for specific freelancers. They are getting on top 10 results because of us freelancers. Do you want to know how? I will explain it later the whole fundamentals to all of you later.
For example when a logo designer creates a profile and uploads samples on freelancing sites. Then these freelancing sites get content that is original, new, and on the demand. Like Logo Designer, there are thousands of logo designers. So, thousand of logo designers’ data were loved by Google Search Engine.
The process of getting into the top 10 is similar to that website designer, developer, and writer. Clients have no option other than to visit these websites. That’s the point where business real business is started for freelancing sites. That’s why I am telling all of you that if we have our own website with our content no matter whether it is ok or not ok. We just need to get on Google 10 results for skills.
Related: Website building courses online – Learn to create any type of website
3. Make your website content-rich for clients
Your time, your money, your knowledge, your skills, why then waste it on Social Media Sites like job portals or professional network builders? Why not invest this time in your own personal websites? That can be the greatest source of knowledge and income for you in the future.
We are all uploading, sharing, writing, liking, and connecting with each other on social media, and that’s ok if it is intentional. But share this knowledge on your website, write a blog and share your career and business experiences with others. Write to your clients, write your companies, and write to get in the top 10 on Google. Learn to improve your website traffic. Create your own profile, and share skills, and knowledge on your own website rather than uploading content on social media sites.
We are not earning anything even if we are not getting enough traffic from social media then why invest your time to convince others on social media that you’re great or genius? Your karma will be proof of your geniuses. Don’t try to convince others that you’re right or wrong. Just focus on your work, just focus on how to get clients, and just focus on what skill you have that will be beneficial for others. What you can do great for clients. Invest your time in these things.
Also, spend time learning and improving your skills. But no, you don’t have time, because you’re busy smiling on social media. This is good for a few minutes not all the time. I know everyone on this earth is a great mind and everyone is talented. Every kind of human being can be the richest. It’s about belief, it’s all about doing something different.
I will write the whole freelancing business fundamentals later and also I am writing a complete series for freelancers to get more work online and outside or without the use of these freelancing platforms.
Explore: Online Computer Courses: Learn Basic and Advanced Computer Skills
I think clients and freelancers don’t need an agent they just need a social reference. I know it and I will try to provide you with more ideas to get freelance work of all kinds online without giving any money to any freelancing agent site.
Sorry, if something is not clear in my writing, I am not a professional writer, I just trying to communicate with you.
So, I hope you all understand my point of view. Why am I tensioned about it and hope you agree on my points. You can also discuss your thoughts about the monopoly of freelancing sites and why a personal professional website is really important for freelancers.
Conclusions:
- We need our own personal website. All freelancers need their own website to get regular freelancing work. In which they can show the world, who they are and what they do. And how do they do it?
- A personal website is no alternative to getting clients; it is the first and most important asset that helps us in the long run to get more projects.
- Keep using Freelancing sites until your website is not coming in the top 10 on Google for the targeted keywords. And until you are not able to get freelancing work clients directly from Google.
- Forget and live the way you like! I can be wrong. But think differently to get freelancing work.
Your content is very impressive and thanks for sharing this article. its very useful.