4 Tools Every Beginner Freelancer Needs

Here’s how you can get started on your freelancing journey

A couple of years ago, I decided to start thinking seriously about freelancing. I had a full-time job, but I’d been accepting some editing/copywriting jobs on the side to help out friends. I hadn’t thought about making it a career until I got the sense that I would be resigning soon (which is exactly what happened). That was in 2018. A year later, I resigned and I’ve been doing freelance in events — both virtual and in-person (at least when lockdowns and social distancing did not yet exist) — as well as some content writing, proofreading, editing, and the like.

The first few months as a “serious” freelancer were challenging. If you go online, there’s just so much content about how to start, what to do, why you should do it, how to motivate yourself — the list is endless. And as a beginner freelancer, you’ll often find yourself trying out everything that everyone suggests until you find something that works for you. That’s what I did, too! Eventually, as the days rolled by and I read more on freelancing, followed successful freelancers, and gained more experience, I realised that there are key things that are important for freelancers. Here’s what I think they are:

1. A Professional Website

I wasn’t a big believer in having a professional website to showcase your portfolio before, but after a year or so of freelancing full time, I’ve learned how important it is to have a self-hosted website with a domain of your own. If I could go back in time to the start of my serious freelance writing journey, I’d definitely get a professional website — immediately and without question. Here’s why:

1. It serves as your portfolio. Are you a graphic designer? Content writer? Video editor? Having your own website gives you a chance to showcase that to potential clients. Instead of having to pull links from different parts of the web, you can consolidate them in one place and send them to someone who would like to take a look at your work.
2. It’s more professional. Of course, you can always go with free versions that include the name of the website that hosting your blog (e.g. freelancewriter.wordpress.com or graphicdesigner.blogger.com), but it isn’t as professional as having your own website with your own name. You also get more control over the template and layout. Plus, it looks so nice and impressive when you have your own professional e-mail.

Up until this year, I would house my portfolio and redirect any potential clients to a website that I build on WordPress.com. It wasn’t self-hosted and I didn’t have my own domain name. After much deliberation and going roundabout where a professional website was concerned, I finally decided to get one of my own.

Recommendation: Go with a self-hosted WordPress website.

If you aren’t confident to build your own website, from scratch, you can try with The Free Website Guys. They were the ones who built my professional site TheWriterLyz.com and I must say that they did a very good job! They were also easy to work with and helped me when I couldn’t decide on my template or how I wanted the blog to look.

If you are more adventurous and want to try building your own website from scratch, you can try LyricalHost.com (use my special code “TWLmed2021” for a 10% discount!). I cannot recommend Lyrical Host enough for how they made my first attempt to set up a website ever so smooth and easy! Their customer service is phenomenal and you can work hand in hand with them if you want to transfer from another host or run into any bugs or difficulties. My website about events, Eventuallyz, is hosted by Lyrical Host.

2. A Well-Built LinkedIn Profile

If you aren’t familiar with LinkedIn, it’s a professional platform where you can connect with people who are in the industry where you work. It’s not just a platform for individuals, however, but companies can also put up company profiles or groups or even job openings. There’s also a portal called LinkedIn Learning where you can learn about the topics that interest you and get certificates for courses that allow you to skill up. Take note, though, that while LinkedIn is a networking platform that allows you to connect with others so you can learn about possible job opportunities, it doesn’t allow you to spam others when you try to market yourself. LinkedIn gives importance to connections that are genuine and sincere and the people there will most likely ignore you if you keep spamming them with “hire me” or “check out my content” requests.

Recommendation: After you’ve set up your profile, run it through Resume Worded. You’ll want to craft a good headline and an About Me section. HR managers and other people can run searches on LinkedIn to look for potential employees and freelancers. If you are a writer, include the niche you write for in your headlines. Let your “About Me” section tell a story and include searchable keywords.

(Note: While you’re at it, you might want to run your resume through Resume Worded as well to see if the keywords you place match the job description people are looking for. Companies don’t spend their time reading every resume that comes their way, but often let it pass a resume scanner first so they can filter out resumes that don’t fit the job description or what they’re looking for. When I first ran my resume as an event planner through Resume Worded, I got something like data analyst instead. Ooops.)

3. A Serious Productivity App (Or Three)

I’m a huge fan of productivity apps and after trying a lot of them, I’ve found several that have helped me.

• Bear. I love this sleek, writing app that can be synced across your devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac). I use it to write my articles when I don’t have access to my computer. I like that you can create folders and subfolders and even format your text so you can see how you want it to look in a post.
• Evernote. If you don’t have Apple products, Evernote works just like Bear does. It’s a seamless writing app that can also be synced across your devices. If you have articles from websites that you also want to save and read at a later time, you can download the web clipper and let it work its magic for you.
• TickTick. This is my latest find and one of my favourites. It’s a to-do list that lets you create tags, folders, notes, and lists to help you remember the stuff you need to get done. You can also set and track habits (exercise, drink water, learn a language) and there’s even a built-in Pomodoro Timer.
• Trello. I can’t recommend Trello enough. It’s a to-do list app that lets you create boards and collaborate with other people. I know a lot of companies use it to keep track of assignments and tasks. I use Trello to keep track of the articles I’m writing and the articles I’m done with. Trello is also the home base for the content strategy for my events website.

Recommendation: Find the app or apps that work for you. I use a mix of all of those I recommended above and more.

4. An Amazing Community to Keep You Going

Let’s face it. We all need a little bit of inspiration sometimes on the days when it’s hard to do what we need to do. Sometimes, no matter how much you try to motivate yourself, you can’t do it alone. You need people who will give you a boost and help you through the ups and downs of freelancing. That’s where a community of like-minded individuals comes in. I have two current favourites: Digital Nomad Girls Community and Freelancing Females on Facebook. If you’ve got questions or concerns where clients are concerned, you can take them to the group and ask for some advice. There are days of fun and games, and some of them gather together online via Zoom for a co-working session now and then.

I’m inspired by the ladies in those communities because a lot of them have been freelancing or have been digital nomads for the longest time — something I’ve always wanted to do. They have a lot of experience and advice to offer, no matter what industry you’re in or what kind of work you do. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot from them, no matter where you are in your freelancing journey.

Recommendation: Find a community that inspires you when the going gets tough. Join one of those above or build one of your own.

Note: I only recommend products/apps/services that I would use. The above post may contain affiliate links that will allow me to earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.