With the covid-19 situation hitting a lot of people, making money from home is fast becoming the new buzzword. If you’ve lost your job and you’re wondering how to become a successful freelancer, we’ve got you covered.
This list of jobs are all the kind of thing you can learn in a few weeks, and all pay a decent wage. As a freelance worker though, it can take time to master your craft and build a client list. So although these are good ways to start making money from home, you might not see a return tomorrow, or even next week.
Don’t have skills? There are lots of great sites where you can study all sorts of specialisms for cheap or free. Check out these sites:
PPC Marketing Expert
Pay per click marketing is a big industry. Businesses need people who know how to optimise their Google pay per click ads, or optimise their Facebook ad campaigns. It’s tricky work for those who aren’t experts but… The good news? Becoming an expert isn’t that difficult.
With a few weeks of study, you can be up to speed on the intricacies of PPC marketing.
Income: In the UK, a good PPC manager can make from £25,000 to over £35,000 per year. You could also offer a freelance job rate or hourly rate – around £150-200 a day.
Freelance Accountant
Managing finances is a tricky job which a lot of people really can’t stand doing. A freelance accountant is actually a great opportunity to find a secure job without ever needing to go into an office ever again… Why? Small businesses and freelancers will prefer to pay a small retainer rather than hiring a full time accountant. This means you can build a decent portfolio of clients and make around £100-£150 per month per client.
Now the bad news. It can take up to 4 years to train as an accountant in the UK.
Income: The good news is that even entry level accountants can expect to make around £30,000 per year. Once you have some experience you’re looking at up to around £70,000 per year.
Financial Trader
Always wanted to be a high flying hedge fund manager? OK, this isn’t quite that but it’s a good start. Trading stocks, futures, forex and crypto is risky business, no question, but it can be exceedingly profitable. You’ll need to be a particular breed of person who is both a combination of brave and deeply analytical. Gung ho poker players need not apply…!
To train as a trader really is just about mastering the software, which is usually Metatrader. You then need to understand how to read the charts, set limits and understand your own trading style. Expect to spend 6-12 months learning and mastering your craft.
We recommend using a copy trading site such as eToro when getting started to help you understand the intricacies of financial trading. It’s also a very good idea not to trade with real money until you’re confident you understand the way the markets work.
Income: It’s hard to say how much the average income is for a financial trader. Successful traders can be making anything from a few hundred a week, to thousands. It also depends how much you’re trading with, as starting with $1000 won’t get you into the big leagues fast.
Content Marketing
Content is everywhere, and marketing is big business. But what exactly is ‘content’? In general, content marketing refers to written content such as blogging, website content and social media. However it can also refer to videos, podcasts, images or games. Basically, consumer content…
The good thing about content marketing, especially content writing or copywriting, is that you don’t need much training. A bit of natural talent and maybe an online course to hone your skills means you could be working in weeks.
The bad news? It’s a popular and heavily saturated market, but there is plenty of work out there for the talented. Finding clients can be the tricky part, with most heading to the content mill platforms.
Income: A good content writer can earn anything from £20,000-£60,000 per year depending on experience. Video editors can expect similar rates.
‘Influencer’
Yeah, so I put this in quote marks for a reason. An influencer is a real job, but it’s damn hard work getting there. Also, you need to niche hard and be super active on social media to become a successful influencer – plus it takes time.
If you’re good looking, charismatic, quirky, funny or have any other natural charms then you’re already in with head start. Apart from that, you’ll need a good camera assistant to snap you at the right time, and probably you’ll need to learn how to edit video.
An influencer can cover anything from a YouTube-er, Linkedin networker or prolific Instagrammer.
The monetisation comes from your following, so if you have hundreds of thousands of followers you can charge brands big bucks to promote their products. So, its a no brainer that the time to success depends on how quickly you can build a loyal and engaged following.
Income: Hard to say, but even low level influencers can be making £1000 a month for their work. Once you get into the upper leagues you can start looking at multiple thousands a month.
Business Coach/Consultant
If you’ve successfully run a business before and you have the portfolio to prove it, people would always love to hear how you did it. A good business coach can make a lot of money from courses, one to one coaching, networking opportunities and other valuable guidance for entrepreneurs.
You’ll need to be a good ‘people person’ and be able to both listen and offer your own wisdom. The reason is, you’re identifying what it is that this person can do to make their business a success.
There is little training involved, except learning how to make your website and manage your software. But you do need some experience and wisdom to offer your potential clients.
Income: This is a potential ‘sky is the limit’ income situation. A high end business coach can make hundreds of thousands per year. However, a more down to earth figure will be in the £35,000-£70,000 bracket.
Social Media Manager
Being able to build up your social media following is hugely important to a lot of different brands and businesses. It’s a big job and one that a lot of people don’t want to do themselves.
Although spending all day on Instagram or Twitter might sound like a dream job to some, the reality is a little different. Optimising images and videos, scheduling posts, responding to messages and using tools to analyse your success are all key features of being a social media manager.
As freelance and remote jobs go, social media manager is one you can get good at pretty quickly. A few online courses and you’ll be up to speed.
Income: Asking how much do social media managers make depends a lot on experience and track record. Starting out, you might find pay is minimum wage (around £8-10 per hour). But a full time social media manager for a company can make upwards of £25-30,000 per year.
Virtual Personal Assistant
If you’re an organised person then the role of a remote personal assistant could be the role you’re looking for. Busy business people hire personal assistants to do everything from schedule meetings, book travel, file tax returns and other odd jobs.
The remote personal assistant has grown in role in recent years and there’s lots of potential to work for an interesting range of clients. You might find yourself working full time for one client, or perhaps having a portfolio of different clients.
In terms of training, there isn’t much you need to do, although some proof of your organisational skills might be useful. This might be previous experience as an office manager or personal assistant, but in general you can get up and running with this in a very short period of time.
Income: A remote personal assistant can make anything up to around £50-60,000 per year, although the average is nearer £25-30,000. Entry level assistants are looking at around £10-15 per hour.
Coder/Developer
Often touted as the best choice for remote workers, a software coder or developer can be a great job if you’re technically minded. The truth is, it’s pretty hard work, with a lot of time spent in front of a screen fiddling with code.
Getting to be a coder or developer also means studying code, which can take a few months. Also, bear in mind that there are different types of code and picking the right combo can have an impact on your work. Examples are Python, JavaScript, HTML and Ruby, to name a few… HTML is a good place to start and go from there.
Income: Programming software code can make you anything from £25,000 to around £100,000. A good average is around £30-40,000 per year.
Transcriptions/Audio Typist
Got a good WPM? Copying audio to text, typing up old documents to digital and other transcribing based activities are a good way to make money from home. It’s not the highest paying job on this list, but it’s easy to get started and work from home.
Income: Expect to make around £20,000 a year as an audio typist.
Translator
If you’re lucky enough to speak two or more languages fluently, then working as a freelance translator can be a great gig. You might find yourself working on anything from business documents, emails or website content to subtitles for video – and a good translator could end up with a wide range of clients.
European languages are always in demand, although there can be a bit of competition.
Income: Depending on the demand for your language, you might get consistent freelance demand. Average wages for translators are around £20-25,000 per year.
How to find freelance clients
Whatever your work from home goals, finding clients is the tricky bit. We’ve looked at this in detail before, so read up here.
