Simple Strategies for Finding Higher Paying Freelancing Gigs

When I first started out as a freelancer, as most of you know, I spent a lot of my efforts in oDesk, optimising my profile, applying for jobs and working with clients I found there. And while this worked well for me for the first 12 months, it wasn't long after that time that I wanted to find higher paying freelancing gigs.

Initially, I still stuck with oDesk (now Upwork), because it had served me really well. And the minute I increased my rates, I started to get a higher ‘class' of clients and even some that wanted to work with me directly.

But for your situation, Upwork or similar sites to it, might not be the right fit for you.

So how do you go about finding higher paying freelancing gigs?

5 Simple Strategies for Getting Higher Paying Freelancing Gigs

1. Look in different places

Don't swim in the same pool with everyone else. If you want to find higher paying gigs, you need to look for them. I use a number of different tools to do this.

The first is Google Alerts. I set up an alert for specific keywords or job descriptions and every time these are mentioned on the world wide web, Google sends me an alert. This is a great way to be one of the first people to apply for a gig. Set yours up here.

The next one is LinkedIn. I joined a few different groups that match the types of gigs I'm looking for – you'd be surprised at how often people post job posts within a LinkedIn group.

And the third is to check out professional association websites – they often post jobs there as well. Industry trade publications are also a great place to check out too.

Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer are great places to start, but by expanding your reach a bit more, you'll quickly start to find the higher paying gigs.

[Tweet “oDesk, Elance and Freelancer are great places to start…”]

2. Tap into your network

This is pretty obvious, but reaching out to your network and asking if they know anyone that is looking for someone to do what you do, makes complete sense.

Check your social media feeds – Twitter is brilliant for this. You can search on Twitter for specific keywords using a hashtag + your keyword, it will show if anyone is talking about this in real time.

Do you attend any networking events? If you do, this is also a good place to find out where the best places are to find higher paying freelancing gigs.

Be friendly and approachable to start conversations, soon enough people will happily tell you where they've found some great jobs.

3. Speak to your existing clients

Let your existing clients know exactly what it is you do, not just what they've hired you to do (if this is the case, of course).

Let them know how else you can help them out. I've used this strategy with some success – not all clients want to be upsold, but some clients really appreciate you taking the forethought to approach them, particularly if you know they are snowed under and can help them out of that bind.

Definitely worth doing if your clients aren't aware of your full skill base.

4. Use the Remora Method

This might come as slight left field for a few of you, but give it a try! The Remora, if you didn't know, is a fish that goes around and cleans stuff off other, larger animals as they go about their business throughout the ocean. The Remora Method, which was coined by James Clear, sums up a great way to access higher paying gigs and more clients by teaming up with other bigger, more established businesses.

Basically, you're going to offer your services to them to help lessen the load on their fully employed staff.

Your aim is to:

1. Find a business that your product or service can help
2. Then partner with them and share in the profits

This is a great strategy to use, particularly if you have a bit of spare time or are just starting out

5. Use speciality job boards

I couldn't not include job boards here. They are a great strategy to find clients and they can also be great for finding higher paying freelancing gigs if you choose to only use job boards that are specific to your particular skill or niche.

Not all job boards were created equal, so you definitely want to avoid sites like Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer here. Instead, focus on these sites:

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• Coworks
• OnSite
• Gun.io
• 99u Freelance Jobs
• Problogger

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These sites are what you want to aim for because they are exclusive and specific to certain niches. They only attract quality clients who are looking for high-quality work and they are willing to pay top dollar for that to happen.

Use any of these strategies and you'll reap the rewards and start to enjoy higher paying rates and better-paying clients. Do nothing, and you'll simply get what you've currently got!

Do you have any special strategies that you use? I'd love to hear what they are – leave your comments below!

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