Tips on how to be a good freelancer

[Caspera99]

Always keep on top of invoicing. Send separate invoice emails or use automated software if needed and don’t let one bad months performance affect whether you send it or sit on it for a few weeks

[Barokna]

Keep anything you promise or announce. When you tell somebody stuff will be done by a date, it’d better be done by then.

I manage a lot of freelancers and reliability is the most important thing after professional capability. Tbh I stop working with people regardless of their competence if they’re unreliable.

On that note: promise less and overdeliver is key.

[jimthecurator]

In general, I’d say make sure you’re a master of your time, freelancing you can spend lots of time fluffing around so be productive and organised.

Apart from that make sure you streamline client comms, such as get an automated template for results that you can send them every week or month.

Agree with invoicing, make sure these are always on time and chase up!

[petebowen]

Don’t charge £20/hour.

[DealDeveloper]

I strongly recommend that you start or join a team. Freelancing is very competitive. The high earners work in teams. I’m currently trying to hire someone with your skills (and posted to Upwork yesterday).

DM me if you’d like to collaborate.

[PaidSearchCoach]

Having freelanced for paid search in multiple capacities over the years, one thing I’ll add here that often gets overlooked by people considering or just starting out freelancing: accept that you are starting a business; own it. Meaning you’ll want to get acclimated to business fundamentals outside your responsibilities related to providing PPC services, such as accounting (e.g. money in, money out, taxation, invoicing), time/project management, communications, empathy, legal, sales, retention, etc.

Clients may initially trust you with their business based on competence, but unless you really know your stuff, create a solid business relationship, and manage your time and finances well, keeping those clients and/or keeping yourself healthy and profitable may present a challenge.

Some tools / resources that may help you get started in your particular situation:
* Freshbooks or Intuit Quickbooks Self Employed
* Basecamp or Asana
* Toggl
* G Suite (paid version)
* LegalZoom
* Upwork
* E-Myth Contractor by Michael Gerber
* The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
* [BG Theory | How To Run Your PPC Accounts Like A Project](https://bgtheory.com/blog/how-to-run-your-ppc-accounts-like-a-project/) (dated, but relevant)
* PPC Hero has lots of helpful content for agency owners / freelancers (go to their blog section and search “agency”)
* LinkedIn (build your network and manage your reputation)

[SpiffyPenguin]

Reporting is your actual best friend. When you’re working for strangers, you need to establish trust and expertise, and a great way to do that is to send *useful* reports on the regular. Your clients are going to be solicited often by other agencies/freelancers, and people within their organization may see your wages as a cost rather than an investment. You need to be able to prove the value in what you do. Work with your clients to understand their goals and figure out the best way to represent their progress. Also make sure to regularly keep them informed about the tasks you’re working on, especially if there are applications they can bring to other parts of the business. If some of your ad copy A/B tests have concluded, give the client a summary of results and suggest some text to test on the landing page or in an email. Taking a few extra minutes to clean up and summarize the work you’re already doing will not only help you be more thoughtful but will make you look really valuable.

Be organized! It’s really easy to let things slip through the cracks when you don’t have a team. Keep good to-do lists and reminders to make sure that you’re delivering on what you promise. Don’t make your clients remind you to do your job, because they’ll forget until it becomes a crisis. Use a calendar, sticky notes, a productivity app, whatever it takes, just make sure that you’re staying on top of things.

Work when you’re working, don’t work when you’re not working. Figure out what a good schedule is for you, and stick to it as much as you can, at least in the beginning. If you can, have a separate space that you use for work time vs. fun time. Be honest with yourself about the difference between needing a break and needing to focus up and get your work done.

Good luck! Freelancing is hard, especially now with so many folks looking for additional sources of income. Be kind to yourself and remember that it will take time to find lasting success, even if you do everything right and get lucky.