Freelancer Survial Tips: Adapt or Die!

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FREELANCER TIPS

• Freelancer Survival Tips
• Adapt or Die!

More freelancer tips on www.freelancermap.com...
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Freelancer Survival Tips Adapt or Die!

• Times have most definitely changed for
  freelancers and those who have yet to recognise
  this fact will face an uphill battle to survive.
  Day rates have gone down while costs have gone
  up. In addition, demand in traditional areas has
  decreased while competition is on the rise so how
  does a freelancer succeed? Our research shows
  that there are steps a freelancer can take to
  help adapt to our current economy. Heres four
  things to consider.

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Accept the reality.

• We know how hard this process is particularly if
  youre an established freelancer who has seen
  better times. Technology, a recession, education
  costs resulting in more aspiring freelancers
  fast-tracking their way from private courses and
  a new confidence in the population to start
  businesses means we must adapt to survive. There
  are fewer high paying freelance roles now as more
  employers are doing it themselves and competition
  is driving down the price. Equally jobs that used
  to pay thousands such as fashion commissions,
  weddings or corporate work now pays hundreds. 

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Adapt or die.

• Over the past few years weve seen a complete
  shift in our industry. Take photography for
  example. More companies and individuals are now
  doing it themselves as they are able to produce
  half decent shots with their phone and a filter
  or buying off the shelf stock images. Copyright
  grey areas and a new sharing society is making it
  very hard to protect images too. Yet, there has
  never been a time when content is so much in
  demand. Every blog, online shop, digital magazine
  and even corporate company require content and
  lots of it. Look at markets that need fresh,
  bespoke content and tap into them. We spoke to a
  photographer who provides style bloggers with
  bespoke images on a regular basis and a makeup
  artist who runs corporate pamper sessions during
  lunch hours. There are new ways to make money,
  its a case of assessing whats on the up and
  filling the gap in the market.  

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Go niche.

• Its very scary to go niche. It seems counter
  intuitive as youre eliminating sectors that
  could pay. Our studies show a different picture
  however. More employers and private sector
  clients are looking for experts in their field
  and often choose a freelancer who specialises in
  one area than another who can do it all.  With
  competition at an all-time high, it pays to stand
  out and be unique. One rule to follow, if you do
  go niche, make sure its in an affluent area
  where theres plenty of paid work. 

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No free work.

• Unpaid work is something we campaign against
  within our industry and an area weve spent a lot
  of time researching. With over 15 years freelance
  experience, speaking with hundreds of freelancers
  each year and witnessing the effects of unpaid
  work first hand, it is clear that its creating a
  negative impact on freelancing in general. So
  long as there are freelancers willing to work for
  nothing, employers will continue to exploit this.
  It heavily devalues our industry and is
  contributing to a decline in day rates. 

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The Freelancer Club.

• The Freelancer Club only posts paid work or test
  shoots on our jobs board and continues to talk
  about these issues at universities, private
  courses and schools. To show your support, sign
  our NOFREEWORK petition here and update your
  Twitter Header with one of our free downloads. 

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About the Author

• Matthew Dowling the Founder of The Freelancer
  Club. With over than 10 years experience in the
  freelancing market he is helping freelancers to
  succeed in the early stages of their career
• Blog/Website

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