Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the freelance community.

Each week, we’ll feature a selection of the best job opportunities posted for the week. This week, we’re featuring jobs in Graphic Design, Java Programming, Web Development and more!

To apply for any of these jobs, simply pick up a FreelanceSwitch membership for an affordable $7 a month. See something you like? Join now!

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Freelancers in every field face a constant challenge to achieve and maintain a high level of productivity and quality in their work. One of the ways that you can improve your results is by developing systems or routines for various aspects of your work.

Most likely you do some of the same things day-after-day and week-after-week. Having a proven system for getting these things done can bring several positive benefits. In this post we’ll look at why you would want to develop you own systems and some areas of freelancing life that lend themselves to systematization. Continue Reading

Emergencies happen. The very nature of the beast is that we don’t have any warning and we can’t stop them.

More often than not, a true emergency means that you don’t really have time to worry about your freelance business — you may stress out about letting clients down, but you have your hands full.

If you can spend time emergency-proofing your business ahead of time, though, you can reduce your stress in the moment. It’s important to set up your business so that someone can step in during an emergency and keep everything running smoothly until you return. Continue Reading

As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to begin thinking about next year’s goals for your freelance business.

Maybe you’ve played your freelance marketing strategy loose so far in your freelancing business. Or maybe you have put together a roughly functional marketing plan in the past but want to improve upon those past efforts.

No matter your level of business marketing skills, building an effective marketing plan for the upcoming year is doable. It is also highly recommended as it will help you with your budget, marketing methods of choice, and results. Plus, you will feel much more confident and organized in your marketing efforts with a set of guidelines in place. Continue Reading

When you’re a new freelancer, it can seem impossible to get anybody to hire you. It’s easy to feel like you can’t get a job without experience, or experience without a job.

But you can break the cycle of being brand-new at this by marketing your budding freelance business. Concentrate on finding better-quality clients, and you can move up quickly and start earning a real wage.

Remember that every successful, six-figure freelancer out there today once started with no samples or experience. Somehow, they managed to build their portfolio and start getting lucrative assignments — and you can, too.

Which marketing strategies work for new freelancers? Here are my 10 best tips: Continue Reading

Now you’ve created and set-up your Facebook Page, your next step is getting people to become Facebook fans and Like your Page.

In this post, I show you how to increase likes on Facebook, drive Facebook fan engagement, and overall grow the number of your Facebook page fans. Learn how to get a bunch of Likes on your freelance Facebook page.

We’ll take a close look at the type of people you want to like your Page, and share tips and tricks for turning these people into engaged Facebook fans. Continue Reading

After you’ve been freelancing for a few years, you generally get a clear idea of who makes a good client.

You may have things very narrowed down, to the point that you can cite industry and demographic information, or you may have a broader idea, but you’ve probably got enough of a feel for prospective clients that you can identify who’s a good fit by looking at their website or talking to them at a networking event.

But what do you do once you notice a good prospect? There are plenty of things you can do to get on someone’s radar, but if they don’t already have a project in mind, they aren’t likely to become clients.

If you can keep track of potential clients who you may want to work with in the future, though, you can come back and check in with them on a regular basis, both as their businesses evolve and as you have opportunities to take on more work. Continue Reading

Is your holiday gift shopping done?

There are plenty of good deals to be had on high quality presents for freelancers. The clock is ticking down to that big present opening occasion. It’s time to get those purchases finalized, gifts wrapped, and sent off in the mail (or email for digital purchases).

The best gifts for freelancers are those that assist them with expanding their client base, help them organize their schedules, keep them in the work groove when on the go, and allow them to streamline their business more efficiently. We have an awesome assortment of gift ideas that fill those needs.

All of these gifts are practical and would help freelancers in their business, though some are more on the wishful end of the spectrum, like finding a new iPad mini under the tree. Jump into this freelancer holiday wish list and check out all the cool hardware, useful accessories, mobile apps, cloud services, and top quality gear to go.

Be sure to link to this post on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, which will make it easier for Santa to add this to your holiday wish list. Continue Reading

Once a week, we feature a fantastic freelance-themed comic from the talented N.C. Winters. Why not also take a look at our comic archive? Continue Reading

When I started my own design business, one of the first things I put in place was a well-written contract. Before I spoke to an attorney about drafting an official document for me, I made sure I had my design process established.

I also did a lot of research as to what other design firms and freelancers were including in their agreements. With something as subjective as design, there are lots of gray areas that need to be clarified as much as possible on paper.

If you’re in the process of drafting a client contract, or if you are considering revising one that already exists, I would recommend including the following list of items:

1. Estimate Terms

When starting a new project with a current or prospective client, I’m always sure to estimate the project time first. In my experience, giving yourself a bit of extra time on the estimate is a good thing. It will cover you in the event any unexpected snags come up.

My clients are only billed for the time I spend on their projects, so if I don’t use up all the time allotted on my estimate, I look like a hero who came in under budget. On the flip side, if I find the project needs more time for completion (for whatever reason), I’m sure to notify my clients before continuing work and racking up additional hours. Continue Reading

It’s possibly the most baffling question that faces new freelancers: What in the heck am I supposed to charge for my work?

You don’t have a sense of market rates yet. Your prospect doesn’t want to tell you their budget. Figuring out what to charge for your freelance services is intimidating.

If you’ve been freelancing for content mills, or on bidding sites, or responding to Craigslist ads, you’ve probably seen loads of offers at rates that wouldn’t support a hamster. It’s confusing to know what fees are appropriate for what type of gig.

You don’t want to bid too low and essentially rip yourself off. But you don’t want to bid too high and lose the gig, either.

Maybe you have a dim sense as a new freelancer that you should charge a bit less than experienced pros in your field. But how much less?

The way to solve this pay-rate question is simple: research. There are tools and resources out there you can use to get a good idea of what freelancers in your line of work charge. Here are seven of the best types of resources for discovering what freelancers are getting paid:
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Facebook Pages, in Facebook’s own words, “give a voice to any brand, business or organization to join the conversation with Facebook users.” To engage on Facebook as a brand, business or freelancer, you need a Page. As Facebook puts it, “Everything you do on Facebook starts with your Page”.

In a Freelance Switch screencast I showed you how to create your Facebook Page, which covers basic facebook page setup.

Once you’ve created your page, you’re ready to configure it. That means getting a profile picture, a cover, and a vanity URL. It also means filling out your about page, and tweaking your Page settings. Continue Reading