Establishing a profitable web business can be a challenge. If you’re starting from scratch, it can take years to earn a consistent income online.
Today I want to show you how many people have cracked the online income code much faster, by offering services.
Selling services online is one of the best ways to make a consistent income. Unlike starting a new web business, the income is virtually guaranteed. It’s also consistent, provided you continue to put the work in.
Many top marketers started out by offering services online, then watched their venture blossom into a full-blown web business.
There are basically two steps you need to start making money selling services…
Step 1: Decide what services you can offer
Of course it all starts with nailing down a few services you can offer.
That’s really the easy part. Nowadays there are so many services that businesses need and so many easy ways to offer those services.
A few ideas you should consider are ebook ecovers, ad banners and graphic design, and professional voiceovers.
Here are a couple great resources you can use to offer those services to clients:
All of your clients’ graphic design needs can be handled with Canva, including ebook ecovers, ad banners and more.
Canva has countless pre-designed templates you can use that save you hours of design time. You can complete projects in mere minutes by simply selecting a template and changing the text to suit your client’s needs.
If you do not have a Canva account, you can get one for free!
Step 2: Find Clients
Once you decide on what service you’ll offer, it all comes down to finding clients. Here are the top marketplaces you can go to sell your services.
Marketplace #1: UpWork
UpWork is one of the largest freelancer marketplaces on the internet.
The way it works is pretty simple. People who’re looking for freelancers post up a job description. You look at jobs that you may be interested in and place a proposal. If you get picked, the money goes into an escrow account until you deliver the work.
As far as raw traffic goes, UpWork has a lot. In fact, they now boast more than 1.5 million clients!
Upwork lets you offer hourly or per-project work as well as entry-level projects. Regardless of where you are knowledge wise, Upwork is likely to have clients for you.
Marketplace #2: Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace, connecting over 30 million employers and freelancers globally from over 247 countries, regions, and territories.
This marketplace puts more of an emphasis on technical projects, like web developers, video editors, software, mobile and administration. But there is pretty much something for everyone at Freelancer.com.
The best way to create a consistent flow of income here is to find your own stable base of clients who hire you for repeat projects.
Marketplace #3: Guru.com
Guru.com has a very intuitive interface and is simple to use. Their rating system is top notch, secure and easy to understand. It’s no wonder they now boast more than 3 million members.
What freelancers tend to appreciate about Guru.com is its SafePay system. This system more or less guarantees that freelancers will get paid quickly once the job is done.
Marketplace #4: Fiverr
Fiverr is a marketplace where everything is sold for $5 and up. Any service you can think of, from voiceovers to creating cartoon videos to generating eBook covers can all be sold on Fiverr.
Fiverr is a fantastic place to go if you’re just getting into online freelancing and want to see some quick cash. Once you get established you can offer higher and higher priced gigs.
Many people now make a full time income from fiverr — maybe you can too.
Marketplace #5: Craigslist
Craigslist services is another great place to sell local services. And it’s not just for lawn mowing and guitar lessons. More and more marketers are offering from graphic design and related services on Craigslist.
While Craigslist tends to focus on local services, if you’re offering web related services, clients are out there. Especially clients who prefer to meet their freelancers face to face in coffee shops. (You’d be surprised how much business is done this way nowadays.)
Be sure to also look in the Gigs section to see if others are looking to hire someone of your skill set.
In closing…
These are the top online marketplaces for selling your services. Offer a few good services at a few of these sites and you’ll be on your way.
As you gain clients, be sure to add them to an opt-in list so you can announce future services to them.
Once you get established and start making some money with your services, take time to set up a blog as well, showcasing your services.
Many top marketers have grown a profitable web business by starting out selling services. This may be a great path for you to follow as well.
The best part is that you can be making money all along!
