Which freelance skills are in demand?

It is no longer news that companies do no longer focus on degrees alone when hiring but also focuses on individuals with multiple skills. Therefore, rather than just focus on having a college or university degree, also focus on having the most in-demand freelance skills will land you your dream job faster.

Freelancing is seen as one of the fastest side hustle ideas to begin, and also one of the fastest means of growing employment in the world. Perhaps if you don’t have any freelance-able skills immediately, it can be frustrating to know where to begin, the good news is that you have the ability to learn new skills that are in-demand and pays well.

In this post, we’ll explore the highest paying freelance skills that are in demand:

• Content Writing

Content writing is one of the most demanded skills that come to mind when you think about freelance and although it is a very saturated freelance area, there is still an incredible opportunity in freelance writing if you know the nitty-gritty of the skill. Some of the popular niche you should focus on include but not limited to; product description writing, food recipe writing, love story writing, scriptwriting, business writing, CV writing, copywriting, and motivational writing.

Most freelance writers charge by the word, anywhere from $0.05 to $1 per word that translates to between $50 and $1000 per 1000 words. The BLS states the average hourly rate for writers and authors is $30 but most importantly, the more experience you have and the type of content you’re writing will impact your rates.

• Digital Marketing

The advancement of technology is making marketers and entrepreneurs dive into digital marketing to create brand awareness. Digital marketing is vast, broad, and requires patience, determination, and hard work to hone the skill.

Some of the popular niche you should focus on include but not limited to; Data analysis, SEO and SEM skill, Email marketing skill, CRM skill, Social media skill (including paid social media advertising skill), Mobile marketing skill, Writing and editing skill, and Organization and management skill. Lots of Digital marketing agencies and consultants charge $50-$150/hour, while well-known SEO experts command rates of $1000 an hour or more.

• Graphic Design

As a result of businesses having the need to project themselves to their audience, Graphic design skills are in high demand. Even with the invention of lots of software people can use on their own to create awareness for their business, not many business owners are patient enough to sit and create noteworthy designs. An average graphic designer earns about $52,000 a year, or $25 an hour

Some of the popular niche you should focus on include but not limited to; Logo Design, Advertisement Design (Pamphlet, flyers, posters, banners etc.), Illustrations, Merchandise design, and Product packaging design. Some of the software you need to learn are: CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Adobe InDesign, GIMP, Inkscape, and Xara Xtreme.

• Website Design/Programming

Several Companies and organizations require a website to showcase their product or service to their prospective customers. Not everyone can build a user-friendly website themself, they would be willing to pay handsomely to get one created for them.

Programming is usually one of the difficult skills to develop but at the same time, one of the most profitable and highly sought after skill and many web developers charge well over $50/hour.

Some of the popular niche you should focus on include but not limited to; Mobile application programming, Back-end web development, Front-end web development, Data Science work, and Enterprise Software. Alternatively, you can take up a full-time job with a reputable tech-savvy organization.

• Video Editing

People lookout for someone who can help them collate clips that will communicate their product or service in the desired manner as People engage more with videos and brands are realizing that video content projects their brands better.

A 60-120 second marketing video by AdVids will run $1000-5000 and firms like Harmon Brothers, which made the “Unicorn Poop” Squatty Potty ad and other viral hits, charges much more. In addition, video editing is a skill that brings recurring customers and this is because a brand will continuously patronize a video editor that already understand their communication style and can convey the right feeling to its target audience.