These are the top 8 ways to make money as a freelancer.

In this week's issue, I want to share my top eight ways you can earn some extra money as a freelancer.

While there are numerous ways to make money online, I have found that these eight are easy to set up with either free (or low-cost) start-up fees, need very little tech, and require zero additional employees.

As you know, I am not a big fan of the scaling models of a traditional business. To earn more you need to employ more people.

I am more interested in being a diversified designer, meaning that I am a one-person business with multiple income streams.

If that also excited you, then welcome, you're in the right place!

By the following short guide, I hope that you can get started with one or some of the suggestions so that you can be free of having to work for time again.

Let's jump in.

__

1. Selling unused artwork as art prints on Etsy

Sell your unused artwork, illustrations, designs you name it you can sell it. Just a quick search on?Etsy?reveals over 7 million searches...which is A LOT I know.

Many people are making good money as you can see in the second image below. One product on;y is doing almost USD$12k per month.

The secret:?get specific and sell in a niche

2. Sell templates online at Creative Market

Creative Market?is a website where creatives can sell just about anything from fonts to web themes.

The secret:?see what is trending and in high demand. I found one handy tool and a. great starting point for you is the?Top 100 Search Terms on Creative Market?spreadsheet, which will give you insight into design trends.

3. Monetise a high-quality newsletter

I recently moved this newsletter from Kajabi to?Ghost?so I could have more creative control over my content. I also wanted to use a platform that I can scale easily as my business grows.

At the moment my content is free for all to read. However perhaps, at some point in the future, I may choose to add a premium tier to the subscription.

The power is I get to choose, rather than having to bolt that feature on at a later date. If you'd like to see more premium content you can email me at:?[email protected]?with your content suggestions.

The secret:?write your newsletter so it speaks to a specific person (example: freelancers)

4. Turn your knowledge into a course

A great way to earn more money as a freelancer is to create a course on a specific topic. Maybe you're good at design software, or photography, or writing...you can create a course about it and sell it.

Some platforms to consider are?Teachable,?Podia?and?Thinkific.

The secret:?sell your course idea to your audience before making it.

5. Recommend affiliate services to your clients

Recommending affiliate services is an easy way to earn a few extra $$ promoting things you already use or love.

If you are not sure what affiliate services are, affiliate services are when you receive a commission for promoting a product or service.

Some examples are your favourite email marketing or accounting software. You can even recommend your own camera or video setup and earn commissions from Amazon and other retailers.

Below is an example of someone who is using?KIT?to promote his camera equipment.

6. Build an audience through a blog

Building an audience online is one of the best ways to earn more money as a freelancer and an effective way is to start a blog.

You can earn money by monetising your articles with advertising or affiliate marketing and more.

Techcrunch?is one of the most popular tech blogs in the world, ranked 3rd by search engine Technorati. Started in 2005 as a blog about dotcom start-ups and quickly became one of the most influential news websites raking in millions of dollars each year.

The secret:?just start

7. Start a brand and drop ship on Printful

Printful?is a drop-shopping platform that prints and delivers your products to your customers, without you having to hold inventory.

Pretty amazing right?

It makes starting an online brand super easy as you don't have to worry about buying t-shirts and holding stock in your third bedroom.

The secret:?study your competitors before diving in

8. Create a recurring niche membership

The last way to earn extra money as a freelancer is to start a membership site and collect a monthly fee from your members.

I'm really bullish on this, as I love leverage-based businesses.

Membership allows you to set your product at a more affordable price point, lowering the price barrier for many of your clients and making it easier for them to budget in their monthly bills.

It's also perfect for you as you can schedule content when you want. Perhaps once per week and with bonus content every month. Done your way not the hard way.

ps. I will be launching my own membership on the?Circle?platform soon.?Sign up here to go on the waiting list?and save 50% when we launch.

The secret:?Purpose. No successful membership community is without a sense of purpose.

See you again next week.

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you.

1. Grab the Freelance Starter Kit?here

2. Join the free Six Figure Designer community and connect with designers who are growing their businesses.

It's our new Facebook community where smart designers learn to get more income and independence. Click?here

3. Join our CLIENTS program and get clients.

If you're finding it difficult to find consistent monthly income. I'm working with a few designers for the next 10 weeks to help them sign clients and hit $5k/mth – without ads, funnels, or tech. If you'd like to get some clients this month,?email me a message with the word CLIENTS?and I'll get you all the details.

Have a fun weekend!

Huw