Though many people still categorize freelancing as a passion, let’s face it: freelancing is a business. More and more people are moving from the formal employment setting to freelancing which has many benefits, including the ability to manage your own time. Even so, the freelancing world is a jungle and you are left to survive alone. But how will you manage to stay shoulder high with the intense competition and only a handful of viable opportunities? Well, the best thing is to utilize different tools that the internet has played host to. In this article, I am going to give you pointers on useful tools that can optimize your workflow as a freelancer.
Time saving tools
One of the most crucial elements of any freelancer’s workflow is time saving. The faster you complete a project, the higher the chances of you landing another job, which ultimately translates to more income. Utilizing time saving tools is extremely vital to freelancers. These tools include:
This is a professional invoicing tool. It also doubles as an invoicing tool so you won’t have to keep track of your time. It does all that for you and alerts you when the set time is you complete. Furthermore, you will send all your invoices on time and this tool will follow up on them and notify when an invoice is due or has been paid.
The best thing about this tool is that it is easy to use ad will keep track of your time during work. This way, you will be more organized at competing tasks on time and meeting your deadline. What makes this tool stand out from the rest is its ability to be used on mobile devices. So wherever you are, it will notify you in advance that the deadline for a certain task is fat approaching.
Freelancing platforms
As stated earlier, the freelancing world is a jungle and you will have to look for jobs yourself. This is a daunting task for many freelancers. However, by utilizing freelancing platforms on the internet, you are able to secure a job and get an income. Some of these incredible platforms include:
UpWork is global platform that is renowned for marketing jobs. It is a good hunting ground for freelancers of all niches ranging from academic writing, apps design and page design. It is a competitive platform with millions of freelancers registered. The best thing about this platform is that it has a money guarantee system where you as a freelancer is sure to get payment after completing a task. Upwork is definitely a must have tool every freelancer.
Unlike other websites, A-writer is a freelancing platform with an array of professional writers who specialize in specific writing. The content ranges from academic essays, reports and resumes. For a freelancer who is well versed with academic writing sing specific formats, this is the tool t utilize.
Editing tools
Although freelancing calls for perfection in carrying out different tasks, this is not always the case. More often, freelancers, even pros, make mistakes and sought out the help of editing tools to correct either grammar or spelling mistakes. The internet is thronged with such tools that have proven reliable to the user. They include;
This is one of the most sought after editing tools on the internet today. It is a powerful tool that is able to look for any aspect of plagiarism in content. Aside from that, Grammarly is able to highlight common grammar and spelling errors in content and further give recommendations on how to correct them.
Pro writing aid is a resourceful tool that every freelancer should have in his/her arsenal of writing tools. It is a great tool in determining if the content created is well written both grammatically and spelling wise. It is an easy tool to use with other integrated features that show if any part of the content is plagiarized. That way, you are able to edit where necessary.
Publishing tools
After creating any content, it is of utter importance to publish it adequately in order to enable the viewers share it. One of the best tool to do is by use of Wordpress. This is a tool that enables you upload your content directly to your blog. The best thing about this tool is that it is well integrated so you can easily upload your content from other tools such as Microsoft word. Furthermore, it is easy to use. There are other important tools that can be used by a freelancer to design their portfolio and improve it. They include;
This is one of the most important portfolio building tools in the internet today. It is rich in features such as graphic button and photo features. With these features, you can easily customize your profile to your liking with ease.
This tool is slightly similar to Behance. The only difference in that this tool enables you create other features such as “About’ page and even add contact information so that you can easily stay in contact with your audience.
This is an incredible tool for creating a coherent and conclusive portfolio. Aside from that, this tool enables the freelancer publish his/her work for the market. It is a good marketing tool also.