I'll break this into 6 steps.
“You can make anything by writing.” –C.S. Lewis
1/ Find your strengths
I'm not writing this to make it all sweet and suck up to you. The truth is, you get paid if you're good. But the space between your ears probably keeps telling you you aren't good enough.
Do you relate to that?
You already have a strength somewhere in something. Find that, and cultivate that so you can dig deeper into it.
For example, I am currently running the 12th cohort of Summit 21. This was born out of a tweet, all because I am consistent in hitting the gym!
2/ Show your work
You cannot get paid if no one can see your work.
When I used to write on Medium, my articles served as a portfolio and attracted clients. Now, when I hire people, I only accept emails that show me their portfolios.
If you don't want to go online yet, at least build your Google Drive.
3/ Find people who can use your help
One of my students is a designer. He sees people's websites that need improvement and creates a new design outline for them. They are likely to hire him once they see that.
Then...
4/ Cold DM
This isn't just a beginner move. Let me confess something I haven't ever done before:
My $5-figure months in 2024 were only the ones where I could DM'ed people.
I still do it, with so many followers.
So do big names like J.K. Molina.
Once you find people who may need your service, reach out to them.
Show them their improvement areas (problem) and portray your expertise as the way out of it (solution). This will improve your chances of getting a gig.
5/ Freelance marketplace
Go to places like Upwork and Fiverr. I personally only have experience with Upwork and it paid me super well, good enough to get clients so I could quit my job.
(Josh Burns tech is a brilliant YouTube channel to help you with this)
But you cannot always keep going after clients. That's why I recommend you to...
6/ Build your personal brand
This is the only way (that I'm aware of) which can attract opportunities for you instead of you running after them.
Its simple
- talk about something you know
- do it consistently
- engage with others in the same field
This will help you build an audience and attract opportunities instead of running after them.
All the best!
Love,
N