Freelancer Survival Tips: Adapt or Die!

1. FREELANCER TIPS Freelancer Survival Tips: Adapt or Die! More freelancertips on www.freelancermap.com...

2. Freelancer Survival Tips: Adapt or Die! • Times have most definitely changed for freelancers and those who have yet to recognise this fact will face an uphill battle to survive. Day rates have gone down while costs have gone up. In addition, demand in traditional areas has decreased while competition is on the rise so how does a freelancer succeed? Our research shows that there are steps a freelancer can take to help adapt to our current economy. Here´s four things to consider.

3. Acceptthereality. • We know how hard this process is particularly if you´re an established freelancer who has seen better times. Technology, a recession, education costs resulting in more aspiring freelancers fast-tracking their way from private courses and a new confidence in the population to start businesses means we must adapt to survive. There are fewer high paying freelance roles now as more employers are doing it themselves and competition is driving down the price. Equally jobs that used to pay thousands such as fashion commissions, weddings or corporate work now pays hundreds. 

4. Adaptor die. • Over the past few years we´ve seen a complete shift in our industry. Take photography for example. More companies and individuals are now doing it themselves as they are able to produce half decent shots with their phone and a filter or buying off the shelf stock images. Copyright grey areas and a new sharing society is making it very hard to protect images too. Yet, there has never been a time when content is so much in demand. Every blog, online shop, digital magazine and even corporate company require content and lots of it. Look at markets that need fresh, bespoke content and tap into them. We spoke to a photographer who provides style bloggers with bespoke images on a regular basis and a makeup artist who runs corporate pamper sessions during lunch hours. There are new ways to make money, it´s a case of assessing what´s on the up and filling the gap in the market.  

5. Go niche. • It´s very scary to go niche. It seems counter intuitive as you´re eliminating sectors that could pay. Our studies show a different picture however. More employers and private sector clients are looking for experts in their field and often choose a freelancer who specialises in one area than another who can do it all.  With competition at an all-time high, it pays to stand out and be unique. One rule to follow, if you do go niche, make sure it´s in an affluent area where there´s plenty of paid work. 

6. Nofreework. • Unpaid work is something we campaign against within our industry and an area we´ve spent a lot of time researching. With over 15 years freelance experience, speaking with hundreds of freelancers each year and witnessing the effects of unpaid work first hand, it is clear that it´s creating a negative impact on freelancing in general. So long as there are freelancers willing to work for nothing, employers will continue to exploit this. It heavily devalues our industry and is contributing to a decline in day rates. 

7. The Freelancer Club. • The Freelancer Club only posts paid work or test shoots on our jobs board and continues to talk about these issues at universities, private courses and schools. To show your support, sign our #NOFREEWORK petition here and update your Twitter Header with one of our free downloads. 

8. AbouttheAuthor: • Matthew Dowling the Founder of The Freelancer Club. With over than 10 years experience in the freelancing market he is helping freelancers to succeed in the early stages of their career • Blog/Website

9. Further freelancertipsavailableon http://www.freelancermap.com/freelancer-tips Contact freelancermap.com Contactperson: Doreen Schollmeier - International Affairs Mail: info@freelancermap.com Skype: doreen.schollmeier Phone: +49-911-37750286 facebook: www.facebook.com/freelancermapInternational Twitter: freelancer_INT