The A—Z of Getting Paid From Working Online
Whether you want to offer your services as a freelancer or work as a full-time employee remotely with a global organization, this is where to begin.
With the current economic landscape, it is now very common for young people to look to different global opportunities for extra income. With the right skills and strategy, you can enter the international workforce and start to earn from many lucrative opportunities either by working remotely as a full-time member of a global team or working offering your services as a freelancer to clients from all over the world.
Whether you’re more interested in working with an established organization or business as a remote worker or seeking independence by offering your services as a freelancer, this is for you. In this blog post, we will break it all down and walk you through the process of launching a freelancing career so that you can start earning in dollars, finding relevant remote jobs abroad while working from your home and receiving payment for your services seamlessly.
How to Make Money Online from Freelancing
One of the more popular ways to make legit money online is through freelancing. Freelancing is a type of working arrangement where [usually] self-employed individuals offer their professional services to clients in different industries on a project or contract basis.
Freelancers are typically independent contractors and they tend to work on a project basis or contract basis and, in many cases, will work for multiple clients at the same time. When done right and for long enough, freelancing is a great way to earn money online, is highly flexible and is a great opportunity to work with a global team.
Ready to start your freelancing career? Here are five tips to help you get started:
- Identify Your Skills: Consider your available skills and compare them to services you can offer. Many freelancers build their career on offering services like writing, graphics design, programming, digital marketing, data entry, website design, etc. Depending on your range of skills, you can choose a niche or settle for multiple niches.
- Build a Competitive Portfolio: Clients typically look for the best possible freelancer to work with and one of the surest ways to determine who the ideal freelancer is is from looking at their past work or projects featured on their portfolio. Having a solid and competitive portfolio will go a long way in getting your foot in the door when it comes to landing clients in your freelancing career.
- Sign-up on Freelance Platforms: When you’re just starting out, one of the best ways to find clients is by signing up to freelance platforms and networks like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, Guru, etc., this way, you can find people looking to hire freelancers offering services you offer and pitch yourself to them.
- Set Competitive Rates: When it comes to pricing for your freelancing career, you must understand the fine line between overpriced and underpriced and pitch your tent in that sweet spot. Truly, this can sometimes take a reasonable amount of time to master but it is not impossible. You can always research industry rates and set your price based on that.
- Put Yourself Out There: So, you’ve set up your freelancing profile on Fiverr or Upwork and are now ready to start looking for clients to work with. Next thing you should consider doing is spreading word about your services across online communities to promote your services and attract clients.
How to Make Money Online from Remote Work
Thanks to the change in the nature of work that came about during the COVID-19 lockdown across the world, remote work has recently experienced a boom, creating an opportunity for more people to find work globally.
Among other things, remote work offers flexibility and convenience and, depending on the quality of the role, can bring a lot of money as well. We have simplified the path to making money online by working remotely into five key points for this blog.
Here are our five tips:
- Optimize your Resume & LinkedIn Profile: Start off by cleaning up your resume and refining your LinkedIn profile to attract recruiters by highlighting your skills and experience and any remote working experience or capabilities.
- Search for Remote Job Listings: On platforms like Remote.co, We Work Remotely, LinkedIn Jobs, and FlexJobs, you can always search for and find remote working opportunities.
- Network with Professionals: Online, you can join groups, forums and communities for networking with professionals in your industry and connecting with potential employers or recruiters.
- Apply Consistently: The surest path to finding your dream remote job is persistence. It is good practice to apply regularly and in many places. Consistent application opens doors faster by increasing your chances of getting hired.
- Prepare for Remote Interviews: Before your interviews, always prepare by practicing answering questions related to working remotely. It is also important to demonstrate during interviews that you’re capable of working without interruption and with minimal supervision.
How to Start a Freelance Career
No successful freelancer happened on success. Every successful freelancing career is the culmination of patience, effort and time. Here is a quick guide for anyone looking to launch a freelancing career successfully:
- Choose Your Niche[s]: Whether you want to focus on a specific area or on a range of areas, depending on your expertise, it is important to be clear from the beginning. This clarity of direction will help you define your freelancing career from the beginning and help streamline your focus. In freelancing, you’re as good as your last best delivery, so it is important to be really capable at whatever niche you choose.
- Build Your Brand: It is not uncommon to see successful freelancers who do not have or have not created a specific or identifiable brand. However, if you want to achieve long term success in freelancing, it is important to create a brand around the services you offer so that you can consistently maintain top of mind awareness with your clients.
- Set Up a Defined Workspace: Ability to lock-in and do focused work as a freelancer is very important and one way to guarantee this level of focus is by defining your workspace from the get-go. In the beginning, you don’t need to go all out; the basics of a work table and comfortable chair and internet connection.
- Find Clients: Use freelance platforms, social media, and referrals to find your first clients.
- Deliver Quality Work: Provide excellent service to build a good reputation and secure repeat business.
How to Find High-Paying Remote Jobs
Finding high-paying remote jobs requires strategy and persistence. Here are some tips:
- Research High-Demand Skills: Identify skills that are in high demand and pay well, such as software development, digital marketing, and project management.
- Target Reputable Companies: Apply to well-known companies that offer remote work options.
- Use Job Boards: Regularly check remote job boards and set up job alerts for high-paying positions.
- Leverage Your Network: Ask for referrals from friends, family, and professional connections.
- Negotiate Salary: Be prepared to negotiate your salary to ensure you are paid what you’re worth.
Where to Find Freelancing Gigs
Finding freelancing gigs can be challenging, but these platforms can help:
- Upwork: A popular platform with a wide range of freelance jobs.
- Fiverr: Allows you to offer services starting at $5 and scale up.
- Freelancer: Connects freelancers with clients worldwide.
- Toptal: A platform for top-tier freelancers with competitive rates.
- LinkedIn: Use the job search feature and join groups to find freelance opportunities.
How to Receive Money as a Freelancer or Remote Worker
Receiving payments as a freelancer in Nigeria can be straightforward if you use the right tools:
Payoneer
For many freelancers, Payoneer has been an option for receiving payment from freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. While this platform offers an opportunity to receive your money, there are many disadvantages to using it including payment delays, limited withdrawal options and fees for receiving and withdrawing funds.
Get Paid in Full by Cenoa
Cenoa is how over 400k people get paid in full. What this means is that when you receive payment with Cenoa, you lose less money than with other platforms because Cenoa only charges 0.5% for deposits to your dollar account, which is almost 50% cheaper than anywhere else. To enjoy this, all you need is to tap on the Get Paid button on the Cenoa app and complete the application for a named dollar account that lets you receive money from the United States.