How Much Money Can You Earn as a Freelancer?
Posted May 9, 2012 in Getting Started, Marketing
“How much can you earn as a freelancer?”
I’m probably asked this question more than any other question when people hear what I do for a living. It’s also a question I dread because there’s no set answer and there are certainly no guarantees.
When I worked in a corporate job, I could easily give a salary range for what I did. I could even state my exact salary if I wanted to.
As a freelancer, it’s not quite so simple.
In this post, I’ll take a closer look at some of the very real issues behind the question of “how much can you earn as a freelancer?”
Freelancing Must-Have #1–a Marketable Skill
To become a freelancer, you first need a marketable skill. But not all marketable skill sets translate well into freelancing.
Creative types often transition easily to freelancing. The freelancing community is full of writers, designers, programmers, photographers, and other creatives. These skills seem to be easy to market.
Other jobs are not quite so easy to take freelancing. This is particularly true of jobs that require you to be at a specific place during a specific time in order to get the job done. A bank teller, for example, or a nurse–these skill sets are not so easy to translate into freelance income.
When someone asks me how much freelancers earn what they often mean is “how much can I earn if I start freelancing?” I really can’t answer that without knowing whether they have a marketable skill.
But simply having a marketable skill is not quite enough. Many freelancers with marketable skills fail at freelancing. That’s because they don’t have the next freelancing must-have.
Freelancing Must-Have #2–Marketing Savvy
Not only do freelancers need a marketable skill, but they must also know how to market that skill. This is a huge obstacle for many people coming from traditional employment.
In traditional employment, your company brings the work to you. There’s no need to develop marketing skills. Freelancing is quite different.
You may be the best graphic designer in the world, but if you can’t get the word out you won’t succeed as a freelancer.
Creative types are notorious for hating marketing. I dislike it myself, but I also realize it’s necessary if I’m going to earn a living as a freelancer.
If you’ve always relied on traditional employment to provide you with an income, you may have no idea where to start with your freelance marketing plan.
Here are a few freelance marketing tips from the Freelance Folder archives:
- Why Your Freelancing Business Must Have a Brand
- Plan a Marketing Strategy for your Freelance Career
- Two Weeks to More Client Leads
You can find even more freelance marketing tips under the marketing tab on this blog.
Let’s take a closer look other factors that affect freelance earnings.
Your True Freelance Earnings Potential
So what is your earnings potential as a freelancer?
What I usually tell people about freelance earnings is that the amount you can earn depends on how hard and how smart you are willing to work.
Of course, this assumes that you have a marketable skill and some basic marketing skills.
That’s the short answer, but it’s only partly true. The freelancing community is full of talented freelancers who are just barely scraping by because they don’t charge enough for their work. They are in danger of burning out before they realize that they should charge more.
Many other freelancers are part-timers. They may freelance a few hours a week, but they also have a full-time job. Naturally, they earn less–by choice.
Still, I’m really optimistic about freelancer earning potential. There’s virtually no limit to how much a talented freelancer with marketing smarts and lots of drive can potentially earn.
It’s not unusual to hear of freelancers who earn six figures–far more than they could have earned from a traditional job.
Sadly, most freelancers will never reach their true freelance earning potential due to some of the pitfalls I mention above.
Your Turn
How would you answer the question of “how much can you earn as a freelancer?”
Have you reached your true earnings potential as a freelancer? Why, or why not?
Share your answers in the comments.
Image by Peter Gene
Related posts:
- Earn More Money by Growing Your Freelancing Business
- 5 Ways to Earn More Than the Average Freelancer
- How Using Subcontractors for Projects Can Earn You More Money
- 15 Brilliant Tips to Help You Earn More
- 3 Uncomfortable Ways To Make More Money As A Freelancer
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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19 Comments
Pawel Grabowski
May 10th, 2012 at 2:14 amHi Laura, this is a really good post. And, I am happy that you touched on the income issue.
Generating income and sales is something that often tells a freelancer and a small business apart. The former rarely thinks in those terms (I am sorry for the generalization here, what I say is based on my own experience and observations), whereas the latter bases its entire strategy on numbers.
What you earn is not directly linked to the quality of your work alone but to your marketing and most importantly, sales skills.
How well are you with finding people/companies/agencies interested in what you are offering and convincing them to work with you is the key to growing your income.
In other words, the more potential clients you find, the more work you put in into selling to them, the more business you get.
Erik
May 10th, 2012 at 3:59 amI think a large part is about how you sell yourself as a freelancer. Some people may have enormous talent, or contact hundreds of contractors but sell themselves short and lose out to somebody who markets themselves better. The biggest way to market yourself (for experienced freelancers) is to incorporate figures into your sales pitch, or resume. Stating you worked for Fortune 500 companies, or large $ contracts will really make your achievements stand out, and possibly increase your income.
Advertising Copywriter
May 10th, 2012 at 8:05 amI think the answer to this question lies in the word “freelance”, if you set your sights higher as a freelancer (under a non freelance banner) you have a much higher earning potential. We’ve done tests into how our customers perceive our services, more often than not, if we call ourselves an agency, we win the business, in turn making more money! Great article!
Laura Spencer
May 10th, 2012 at 11:04 amGreat comments! Sales is an area that many freelancers just don’t consider–but it can mean the difference between having work and not having work.
Steve Vitek
May 10th, 2012 at 4:01 pmIn many professions your income will depend on the segment of the market that you specialize in.
For instance a real estate agent who sells cheap condos in a weak market will make very little money, while a real estate agent who sells expensive condos in New York or LA may make ten or a hundred times as much, although it’s basically the job.
Are you working for the market segment that pays well?
If not, why not? You could probably make much more money for the same work if you knew how to break into the high end of the market.
Laura Spencer
May 10th, 2012 at 6:27 pmThanks Steve! Those are great insights. I think that’s part of having a marketable skill and the marketing savvy to make the most of it. :)
dojo
May 14th, 2012 at 8:48 pmReally good points. You need to be hard working and talented. But still MANY freelancers have these qualities and still don’t make it. That’s why we need to work on our marketing skills A LOT and also promote. As for ‘how much you can make’? Pretty much, if you know how to sell your services and work smart.
Multifamily Properties
May 15th, 2012 at 3:46 pmI think how much you can make depends on the service that you offer for people. For example, a website developer will make more than someone who just does small tasks on the internet.
Monisima's Life in the Philippines
May 21st, 2012 at 11:47 pmReally good article, Great insights on the need to market oneself and one’s skills. It’s not just about being good, it’s also about letting the clients who matter know that you exist.
Orlando Dropinski
May 24th, 2012 at 8:15 amI have to get across my gratitude for your kindness giving support to men and women who absolutely need help on this one topic. Your personal commitment to passing the message all through came to be exceptionally interesting and has encouraged people much like me to attain their desired goals. Your new warm and helpful hints and tips means much a person like me and still more to my office colleagues. Best wishes; from each one of us.
Freelance Strategist
May 25th, 2012 at 4:04 pmThanks for this post, Laura. For me the key with earning an income as a freelancer is understanding the true value of your services and how you compare with your competition. It is not just about freelance rates but also your approach when making connections. They are absolutely key to building a list of repeat clients whether you’re a graphic designer or article writer.
Denny Mcindoe
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Genaro Peelle
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Megan Diers
June 10th, 2012 at 12:43 pmIts like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
Justin Grice
October 6th, 2012 at 3:58 pmI’d say it really helps to have an entrepreneurial spirit, too. You can make money without it, taking on the projects that you just love and come right by you. But to make a living, you need a certain type of personality.
Neeta
December 17th, 2012 at 5:31 amA Freelancer needs to have confidence in his ability. He or she should be able to utilize his or her inherent strengths. The income will get dictated by what one can get in the market.
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