In our previous post on 5 proven ways of making money online in Kenya, we had a brief introduction to what freelancing is. A quick recap of what we said is that. Freelancing is one of the great opportunities available online for people to make money.

We also had a brief definition of what freelancing is, and we went ahead to give a few examples. Furthermore, we briefly introduced the sites that offer freelancing job.

Well, in these article we are going to dig deep into Freelancing. We will explore more on what freelancing is, the types of freelancing jobs available, and how you can start earning as a freelancer in Kenya.

What is Freelancing?

Freelancing is an activity of working for certain people (clients) on certain tasks for pay online. This is mainly writing, designing, performing or editing jobs, etc. In short, these activities involve doing work for someone, who intern pays you.

The difference that Freelancing has from other jobs is that it involves short tasks done online. If you do a good work a client can decide to hire you on a long term basis and for longer tasks. A person who engages in freelancing is called a Freelancer.

A Freelancer is a self-employed individual that offers certain services to clients at a fee. It is mainly on a short contract.

For example, a client may want a website designed or some articles written. Instead of him/her doing it, they task you the job. Here you are supposed to do what the client was supposed to do at a fee.

This activity of being given the job and getting paid is what we call freelancing. Whereas, the one being given the job is the freelancer. NB: The pay is usually agreed between the client and the freelancer.

Now that we have a snippet of what freelancing is. Let’s now look at the types of freelancing jobs in Kenya.

The Types of freelancing jobs

1. Writing & Translation

This is a category of freelancing that requires you to write or translate articles. When it comes to writing the content should be unique and grammatically correct. For translation, it is just converting a written piece into the client’s desired language e.g. from English to German.

There are many subcategories, we will have a look at the two most common ones:

• Article writing

Article writing is the process of researching, compiling, drafting, and editing well-articulated content on a certain topic. These are usually for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), attracting readers or to increase product sales on a webpage.

The format may vary depending on the purpose of the articles. Nevertheless, there is one thing that stands out, ‘The article should be of top quality’.

There are different types of article writing mainly: blog posts, website content (about us, terms and conditions), product reviews, and product descriptions.

• Academic Writing

There are many University students and scholars out there who need thousands of reports or assignments written. Most of them lack the time to do that. Due to their tight schedules or because they are busy. Or some are just lazy (take that positively 😊). These makes them to lack the time to research and compile their assignments or reports for various projects.

This is where academic writing comes in. These individuals can outsource these tasks to you at a fee. As an Academic writer you will have to research and write reports for them. It should be of high standards to ensure their supervisors or lectures will not reject it. This is usually using the recommended styling (e.g. APA, Chicago style) as per their preference.

This is a great opportunity online for you to earn.

2. Transcription

Transcribing is the process of converting audios or verbal content to written content. From this, we get transcription as a type of freelancing job. Here the Freelancer is supposed to listen to an audio file carefully and write down what is happening. This can also be video files where nonverbal cues should also be noted.

The type of job is mainly done for filmmakers and theaters for purposes of the subtitles. To succeed in this category you need to be a keen listener. Luckily, there are many tools available online that can help you do this. With that, you will be able to transcribe longer files and thus, earn more.

With rise in filmmakers and movie zones. There is a great demand for more transcribers. Therefore, if you are passionate about this, you can try out your luck.

To learn more about Transcription check out these Transcription Guide

3. Virtual Assistant

As the name suggests a virtual assistant’s job is all about assisting clients in their day to day activities virtually (online). Here you act like a personal secretary to the client. The client expects you to schedule meetings, make phone calls, or even perform some accounting problems on their behalf.

Furthermore, a client can entrust you with managing their websites or their social media accounts. This category is not specific to the services you will be performing, it all depends on the client’s needs. But at least you need to have the following general skills:

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Typing Skills
• Web research skills
• Proper etiquettes
• Proper grammar etc.

4. Content Marketing

When it comes to content marketing, these is a wide area of freelancing. It is closely related to Digital Marketing. It is a combination of a variety of skills. For that reason, it requires great skills and a lot of experience.

It ranges from the creation of contents, editing, publishing, marketing them, and reviewing their performance. If you have all these skills then this is a goldmine for you. The rates for these category are very high. Additionally, you get to interact with your clients directly hence, you can easily negotiate the pay.

As a content marketer here is what you will be doing:

1. Researching and writing the contents.
2. Ensuring the articles are SEO friendly and the keywords are included to boost rankings on search engines.
3. Publishing the content on the clients’ website.
4. Marketing the content on various platforms to bring more visitors.
5. Reviewing the analytics and making the necessary actions.

Moreover, you will need to align yourself with the goals of the site. For example, if it’s to increase sales or increase brand awareness, then you must be ready to deliver.

Note: In some cases, the content marketer is not responsible for writing the articles.

How to start earning?

Now that you know the categories of freelancing. The next question is how do you start earning? Well, to start earning you will first need to train on the category you want. The good thing is that you can self-teach yourself through the numerous materials available online. Here you will have to make Google your friend. You can also enroll for free, or paid courses.

Next, try out doing some similar activities. If its writing, do some samples and let an expert review them for you. Practice makes you perfect, and with the time you will be ready. The next phase is to look for gigs. Here you will need to create an account on a freelancing platform. You can check the Articles on “Sites that offer freelancing jobs for free”

Then start bidding for jobs. Bidding is the process of sending proposals to a client showing them interest to have their job done. You can also look for local clients hiring freelancers in Kenya. Be patient and with the time you will land a job. After getting a job do your best, and let the client be pleased with your work. If the client approves your work, Congratulations you have just earned your first freelancing dollars.

Check out the article on The Best and most recommended Payment Gateways, to choose a payment method the client will send money to.

Note: Freelancing is not a quick earning scheme it requires a lot of learning, practice and patience, in order to start earning huge figures.

Conclusion

There are many opportunities for everyone out there. Freelancing in Kenya is slowly starting to become a great opportunity. Provided you have the skills that the client wants and you to portray them accordingly. Therefore, take this advantage and start earning some dollars. Wish you are the best in your Freelancing career.