Jumpstarting a freelancing career as a content creator can be done with the knowledge taught from school as well by copying how others do it. There could be a need for a slight adjustment to the academic writing style just to better entice the market to find your work tasty. Truth be told, it is not easy to get started on freelancing yet it is a possibility.
I don’t subscribe to the taught that being in Africa or anywhere else where internet connection is not stable is a stumbling block to starting and gaining traction in the freelancing space. Often times there is no need for constant connection but those few moments are good enough to update posts, share videos and interact with the market. In other words, this article might be directed to Africans like me but the information is applicable to anyone who takes interest in jumpstarting their freelancing career.
What I know is that once one has chosen a niche, got started doing what others elsewhere do to make money as freelancers, chances of success are almost certain. The misunderstood part is the time it takes to see results from your work. Most starters expect immediate success yet online things turn around slowly. The fortunate part about this slow growth is that once the momentum has been gained, it becomes easier to maintain it.
I find the two platforms that I shall recommend friendly in two ways;
- No restrictions to Africans. I have joined myself and will be trying out these platforms for a fair review later on.
- Monetization option from the start. If your content is appealing to your followers, you can start earning from your followers.
The starting point
Don’t ignore the planning stage. This is where you will decide on the following:
- The niche to work on. It works better if you choose a niche based on your passions and what you are interested in knowing more about. Avoid being money driven over a niche because money is not a good motivator as it might not come in at a time or as frequent as you’d like for it to come.
- Target market. This is best defined as the persona of your clients. This is where you define who your customer is, what their pain is, how they can be assisted and how they can remain loyal to you and/or your products and services.
- The type of product to sell. Options include digital products (such as videos, articles, e-books, codes, software, e-courses), hardware, affiliate products, etc.
- Frequency of updates. Some products need periodical sharing or updates. These are the likes of newsletters, magazines and blogs.
- When to start. A premature start can ruin a good initiative. You must be ready with the basic resources that will keep you going with your activity.
- Who to work with. Sometimes going solo does not work or rather it will make your progress very slow. The internet space is one place that works faster and better if you work with a team or at least outsource some of the work.
- How you will support clients. Customer support is important in keeping your business alive. There is no point in continuing with it if there is no one who benefits. Make plans on how you will interact with clients and keep them happy for loyalty.
Next I share the two platforms that I recommend for a good start to a freelancing career.
Buymeacoffee.com
The type of content to sell is entirely up to you. There a number of options to use to earn some money for yourself with buymeacoffee.com.
- Donations – This is an option that people voluntarily give you some money just to support your work.
- Membership – you generate exclusive content of any form and only allow subscribers to have access to it.
- Extras – sell consultancy services, digital downloads, templates, codes, tickets for events, etc.
For every amount you earn, buymeacoffee will take 5% as commission.
Patreon.com
This is a membership platform that allows your followers to support you directly. You have an option of selling digital products to them. Setting up a shop is easy. For every sale you make, patreon will take 5% commission.
Conclusion
The reality is that you need an audience to make progress on these platforms, let alone making some money. You must be ready to spend a lot of time and effort into making this work. You must aim at giving benefits to your followers for them to be willing to pay you. You must relentlessly promote your pages in each of these platforms.
I would like to conclude by inviting you to collaborate with other freelancers in this website who are listed in the page ‘Freelancers’. You can do so by filling in the profile template from this link “Profile template” and send to admin@freelancinginafrica.com.
I often get requests in a number of services, of which some I do not offer. I share some of these requests in my TikTok profile. If a request comes my way and it meets your profile, I will undoubtedly pass on the work to you.
