By now, we’ve all heard about the wonderful things the gig economy is doing for freelancers who want to bolster their existing incomes or forego traditional office hours in favor of schedules they set for themselves. There’s a lot of talent on the other side of computer screens these days, and each freelancer is looking for ways to help marketers fill their skills gaps and enhance their businesses.
But, where are all of these awesome freelancers hiding?
The easy answer is—we’re not hiding at all! We’re working on platforms that bring businesses like yours together with the talent you need to complete your projects. Let’s take a look at some of the types of freelancers you might be looking for (and the places you’ll find them).
1. Content Writers: WriterAccess
Every business today needs a website, which means every business needs content. While you might consider writing your own content, this is one of those things that’s often best left to the experts. Content writers know how to write for the web. They understand the importance of breaking up content so it’s easy to read, captivating, and informative.
WriterAccess wins the platform for finding content writers because the writers are vetted and the support of the WriterAccess staff is incredible.
2. Graphic Design: PeoplePerHour
Whether need a logo overhaul, or you’re just starting out with your business, it’s imperative to create designs that make sense to your audience. The freelancers at PeoplePerHour can help you come up with ideas, design incredible graphics, and bring unique ideas to real life.
3. Photography: Thumbtack
Do you need professional headshots of your C-suite so you can create an About Us page that helps your audience relate to your company, or are you trying to steer clear of stock photos in favor of images that truly speak to your brand’s mission and vision?
In either case, Thumbtack offers an assortment of talented photographers who can present visual storytelling in a way that’s not available through amateur lenses.
4. Content Strategy: WriterAccess
They say you have to know where you come from to know where you’re going, but that’s not always the case. When it comes to creating an awesome content strategy, it’s helpful to have baseline information from which to build success, but sometimes, you’re starting from the beginning.
WriterAccess’s CEO Byron White wrote the book on content strategy—literally! The Content Strategy MasterClass is filled with information that’ll help you uncover both the arts and sciences involved with creating outstanding content strategies. Beyond that, the platform also offers a team of vetted and approved content strategists who will easily become part of your team as you journey down the path to excellence.
5. Editors: WriterAccess
That’s right—WriterAccess takes this cake with this one, too. Reason being, the platform offers an assortment of editing options, enabling you to find freelancers who fit within your budget. If you’ve purchased content creation from WriterAccess, you can easily add editing services onto your order so you get a second set of eyes on your content before you send it into cyberspace. You can also bring your own already-written content to the platform so professional freelance editors can give it a once-over (or a completely new face).
This platform offers a range of services, including simple reviews, general proofreading, and chief editing, with a number of options in between.
6. Web Design: Upwork
Great web design is critical. It’s no longer just about having a website; it’s about having a great website that facilitates a positive user experience, loads quickly, and delivers a ton of information without feeling overwhelming or cluttered.
You’ll find tons of skilled web designers on Upwork, many of whom have been designing sites for years and years.
7. SEO: LinkedIn
Search engine optimization is summarized in three simple letters that are used regularly in every marketers’ world, but the task of actually optimizing for search engines is far from a small feat. You need someone who loves to dive into analytics, eats numbers for dinner, and can’t do anything without comparison graphs. You also need someone who has a marketing mind and wishes to see the ways words actually resonate in the world around them.
That’s a big order to fill, and it’s a lot larger than most people realize. LinkedIn is the place where you’ll find SEO pros who befriend Google for a living.
8. Social Media Management: CloudPeeps
Most marketers have a love/hate relationship with social media management. Is it essential? Absolutely. Is it way more time-consuming than most people realize? Yup!
This task requires a balancing act that hangs on a tight rope that often doesn’t have a net below it, particularly if something goes rogue on the web. You need to have people posting blogs, engaging with your followers, and sharing other information your readers might find valuable, but that takes time.
Freelancers can help free up your staff’s time so you can focus on the rest of the tasks at hand.
9. Script Writing: WriterAccess
Here’s the thing: script writing is tricky. We’re putting ourselves on the list because we know we have an exceptional team of talented writers, some of whom specialize in writing scripts. Thanks to our community of super-supportive staff and highly talented writers, we’re sure you’ll find someone here who can deliver scripts that make your audience want to learn more about you.
There’s a trick, though. Scripts are typically super short (in terms of word count), so the project-per-word setup doesn’t usually work well in this scenario. If you’re interested in hiring a scriptwriter, be sure to shop prices so you’re aware of the going market rate. Writers on the WriterAccess platform can accept flat-rate payments that make up for per-word costs that would otherwise be irrelevant to this particular task. Be sure to communicate with your writer throughout the process, though, to ensure you’re coming up with a fee that’s acceptable for people on both sides of the screen.
10. Voiceovers: ACX
Amazon’s audiobook platform offers an assortment of actors and producers who can help you create impeccable video content for your site and social media blasts.
If you’re like a lot of people, you may not like your voice when it’s played back to you, which can make the process of video creation cumbersome for a small business that has a limited staff. Fear not! Professional voiceover actors and video producers can take care of this part of your marketing on your behalf.
WriterAccess proudly boasts of an army of talent that’s thousands of freelancers deep. As you can see, we’ve got plenty of talented folks who can take on many different aspects of your company’s tasks. Are you ready to get started? You can begin building your team today!
Kristin B is interested in anything that teaches her something new or gives her a different perspective on something she already knew. She’s a self-proclaimed Learn Nerd, which means the world is her educational oyster, and she’s always seeking opportunities to learn from life’s experiences and her clients’ assignments.
