4 High Demand Freelance Skills

Freelance job postings rose to over 40% during the second quarter of 2020. Additionally, 33% of Fortune 500 companies turn to freelance sites to outsource their work. As a result, high-demand freelance skills are proving to be more lucrative as we move further into the digital age.

With job cuts becoming more prevalent, everyone from large corporations, small businesses, and solo entrepreneurs are turning to the freelance industry. Companies can avoid the hassle and long-term commitment of interviewing and hiring new employees by opting to work with individuals on a project-by-project basis.

Not everyone who freelances wants to quit their day job either. 25% of freelancers work in the industry to create an extra source of income to manage the inflating cost of living worldwide. In addition, 60% of freelancers have also stated that they can earn more money than they did with their previous jobs.

How to get started as a freelancer?

Most freelancers with high-demand freelance skills start by creating profiles on three leading platforms: Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com. The best way to use these platforms is to offer services at the lowest price bid available. Then, once you get a few positive reviews, you can scale your prices to match the current market as the reviews help build trust with new potential customers.

Many freelancers find success on these platforms and move on to approaching potential clients directly with their portfolio of work as proof of their skills and credibility.

What are some high-demand freelance skills that you can always earn money from?     

Editing (Video and Images)

Photo by Orlando Allo from Pexels

The first high-demand freelance skill is editing images and videos. Spend the next six to eight months learning Photoshop, and you will never need to look for another job again.

Every company, no matter the size, needs visual imagery to reach the masses. Whether it’s for ads, branding, or simply updating social media, a company’s success is determined by the time and money they spend on presenting their potential customers with highly appealing visual content.

Freelance graphic designers can earn up to $85 an hour through major freelancing platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com.

Accounting

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The second high-demand freelance skill is accounting. The entry requirements for this field are slightly higher as you will need to have some level of certification to do this job, but don’t let that deter you.

Accounting clients are always long-term clients, unlike most other freelancing gigs. Once someone chooses to work with you and like and trust you, they will use you for all their accounting needs and will even recommend you to their friends and family.

You no longer need hefty infrastructure to be a freelance account. Simply sign up with online accounting software such as Xero, and you will be good to go. Top earning freelance accountants can easily cross $100,000 every year in earnings.

UI/UX designer

Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels

The third high-demand freelance skill is being a UI/UX designer. UI stands for User Interaction, and UX stands for User Experience. You can choose to only focus on UI or UX, but since the two are pretty closely related, most jobs will require you to be able to do both.

As a UI/UX designer, you will be conducting user research, creating wireframes, and designing workflows for digital products to ensure users have the best experience when using that product.

You don’t need a degree to learn to be a UI/UX design freelancer, as there are plenty of online courses available today to get you started in any field within the next few months.

Pinterest Manager

Photo by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash

Pinterest is Google with informational images (pins). People who understand the power of Pinterest have harnessed it to gain a large amount of organic exposure to their website and brand. More and more companies and entrepreneurs have realized this and are doubling down on using the social media platform the reach new customers.

To be good at the job, the main thing you need to focus on is spending some time learning and understating Pinterest. There is no need for formal education. Now you can quickly get started on building this skill set today by taking a free or paid online course.

Pinterest managing freelancers can make anywhere between $75 to $100 an hour.

Where can you learn these high-demand freelance skills?

You no longer need to be degree certified to do these jobs as a freelancer. What’s essential to be successful in the freelance industry is a portfolio. To build a portfolio, all you need to do is complete a few online courses in the skillset of your choice and create a few sample projects as proof of your capabilities. For example, you could design a few sample websites as part of your training to be a UI/UX designer and include those in your portfolio to show to potential clients. Make sure to treat these sample portfolio work as a real job because that is your resume, your proof of experience in the field that will land you high-paying clients.

To study these skills:

1. Join online educational sites such as Udemy, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning, and edX.
2. Do your research on what skills you need to become a successful freelancer in your field and find the appropriate course on any eLearning platform.
3. Put aside the next six months to build your knowledge, and you could be running a successful high-demand freelancing business by this time next year.

Conclusion

Seeing how prominent freelancing is becoming these days, you can’t afford not to build a freelance profile as an employee. If you are a business, freelancing is the way of the future as you can get the same quality of work as running your own workforce with greater flexibility, lower cost, and no long-term commitment.

You can easily build a high-demand skill, or you might even have a high-demand skill that you can capitalize on. Freelancing is the way of the future, and there is no escaping that fact. So start today and get ahead of the curve before it’s too late.

Diren Alexander

Staff Writer: Diren is an IT Business Analyst that also works as a freelancer. He enjoys writing articles, blog posts and ebooks across a range of industries including business, technology, fitness, pop culture, and health and well-being. In his spare time, you can find him reading a book or working up a sweat at his local gym. He sells his freelance writing services on UpWork and Fiverr, and has his own blog on Medium.com. Click on Diren's name to visit his Medium blog.