With the emergence of technology, freelance coding job is one of the best jobs to go after. Even more, the internet has given programmers the opportunity to work as freelancers from just about anywhere in the world.
As technology is evolving at a fast pace, freelance programmers are in high demand. This article is for programmers who want to take advantage of the freedom that a freelance coding job has to offer.
Freelancers in the United States alone collectively contribute $1.4 trillion to the economy every year.
The potential to earn money through freelance coding is huge. But despite having the necessary skills, you may still not know how to attract clients. The struggle is real. And generally speaking, it sucks!
So, here are five reputable websites where you can land yourself your next freelance coding job.
Upwork
Without a doubt, Upwork is one of the most popular freelancing platforms for freelance coders.
If you are familiar with programming languages such as PHP, Java, Python or even Swift, then know that Upwork has tons of freelance coding jobs available to you.
Top businesses such as Microsoft, Airbnb, etc are constantly in need of remote workers willing to help with their tasks.
Some of the categories of freelance coding jobs are Desktop Software Development, Game Development, Web Development, Mobile Development, etc.
One of the features I like about Upwork is the reputation that they have built over the years. As a result, more and more business owners are utilizing Upwork for their projects.
This also further implies that the coding jobs and opportunities on Upwork are constantly rising on a daily basis.
Without a doubt, there is a high demand for programmers on the platform.
PeoplePerHour
Another popular freelancing platform is PeoplePerHour. This is a UK based freelancing platform that was founded in 2007.
According to their website, they have paid their freelancers more than 100 million dollars till now.
With thousands of businesses utilizing this platform on a daily basis, it makes PeoplePerHour one of the best places to land your next freelance coding job.
Just like Upwork, there are multiple different job categories for programmers. And each job category holds hundreds, if not thousands of projects that you can take part in.
I like their easy to use interface, which makes it easy for freelancers to create a nice portfolio and apply to jobs.
Toptal
All the way from Silicone Valley, California, Toptal is another giant when it comes to a platform for freelance coders.
Toptal is in the game since 2010 and since then, it has managed to build a good reputation among freelancers and businesses.
Although there is a high number of coding jobs available for freelancers, Toptal has a screening process that you have to go through.
In order to take advantage of the freelance coding jobs, you need to show that you possess the right amount of skills.
Now here’s the good thing. According to Toptal, only the top 3% of freelance talent get through the screening process. So this means that there is less competition among freelancers when applying for a job.
This is definitely something that I like about Toptal. Less competition means more freelance coding jobs for you!
Freelancer
Probably the most popular in my opinion is Freelancer. Thousands of companies from around the world are always in need of programmers to complete their tasks. And one of the most trusted platforms by them is Freelancer.
With millions of projects posted on a daily basis, there is a high number of freelance coding jobs available to programmers.
Just like some other freelancing platforms, Freelancer also offers a wide range of programming categories that you can easily explore. You have to bid for projects. After that, if you get the approval from the job poster, you get the opportunity to take the task.
Freelancer also hosts competitions among freelancers. You get the chance to take part in the competition and prove your skills. This gives you the opportunity to showcase your skills and attract more clients.
Fiverr
Last but not least, is Fiverr. Definitely, one of the best platforms out there to utilize your coding skills.
Unlike other freelancing platforms, Fiverr allows freelancers to offer their services instead of freelancers going after projects.
As a seller, you can create services that you can offer to clients worldwide. If a client is in need of and likes the services that you are offering, they will buy it from you.
Fiverr also has a wide range of categories under which you can offer your programming services.
The feature that freelancer gets to sell their services, is what makes Fiverr unique among all the other platforms on this article.
So if you have a service in your mind and ready to offer it to the world, check out Fiverr now.
3 Essential Tips on How to Land Your Next Freelancing Coding Job
Knowing just where to find freelance coding job is not enough. That’s why I also want to emphasize three of the top tips on ways you can land your next freelance coding job.
1. Get a Website
It is important for you to have a website of your own. It shows professionalism and authenticity.
Build yourself a good looking website first. List your skills and experiences on the website. In addition, showcase all the projects that you have worked on in the past. This should create a great impression on potential clients.
Having a website also means you need to get traffic. And when it comes to traffic, I am talking about potential clients.
But to get the traffic, you have to optimize your website and have a strong SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy.
I am not going to talk about SEO too much in this article. This article’s goal is to discuss landing your next freelance coding job.
However, researching the right keyword and targeting people who are specifically in need of web designing services should be your first step towards SEO.
Moreover, build high-quality backlinks.
It is important to know that gaining traffic through search engine optimization takes time. You have to dedicate yourself and be patient.
While you can search engine optimize your website by yourself, you can also outsource this part.
A lot of freelancers over the internet offer digital marketing services. They help other websites to gain exposure and rank well on the search engines.
I recommend checking out Fiverr.com for some great SEO services that can boost your search engine ranking.
When you rank well on the search engines, you gain traffic. And more traffic means more potential clients to your website.
2. Utilize Social Media
My second essential tip on how to attract freelance clients would be to use social media.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are powerful tools for getting clients. Open up profiles or pages for your business and post regularly about your services.
At first, work on getting social media followers through friends and family. Ask them to like and follow your social media pages.
Ask them to promote and share your posts with their networks.
Another way to gain followers is by using hashtags. Research on the popular hashtags that are trending.
Use the trending hashtags related to your services regularly on your posts and tweets. This should help you to gain followers and bring more public exposure to your social media page.
Once you start to build followers, start directly promoting your services to them.
Talk about your services and how you can help.
But don’t spam. Don’t flood people’s inboxes. Nobody likes that. It will eventually kill your reputation as a web designer. Ultimately, you will lose out on the opportunities to turn people into your clients.
3. Share Your Expertise
I am pretty sure you have come across a lot of tutorials on the web that somehow tries to refer you to their services or products. Well, this is a powerful way to attract clients.
Since you know how to program and code, offer free tutorials and guides to people through YouTube or via blogging.
Create high-quality content that teaches people something valuable that you know. Then promote your services through the contents.
Do remember that it is crucial to create high-quality unique content.
Focus on bringing value to your readers or viewers.
This will establish a good impression to the world about your brand.
You may not get clients right away with this method. However, in the long run, it pays off.
Meanwhile, you can further utilize your tutorial content to create an email list or maybe even gain YouTube subscribers.
Once you gain a good amount of YouTube or email subscribers, you can easily offer your services to them.
As a bonus, here is a fantastic infographic from beebom.com on how to start a successful career as a freelancer.
Conclusion
I recommend you to check out all the platforms that we talked about here. In this way, you will be able to familiarize yourself with how each of them works.
Then once you feel like you have found your place, stick to one and be dedicated.
I not only discussed the websites that you can look into but also some of the essential tips that help to attract clients for freelancers. So, keep those in mind as well.
Remember, it is not an overnight success. You will need to work hard and be patient. And trust me, hard work eventually pays off.
It’s just a matter of time until you land your next freelance coding job.
How and where did you land your first freelance coding job?