In this post I’m going to introduce you to 9 freelance skills you can learn online that actually pay well.
I have personally tried my hand at every one of these skills over the years, and even turned a couple of them into my full-time career. So, I’m not just blowing smoke.
In fact, I’m confident that you can learn these skills, start freelancing, and make good money doing them.
The real question is, are you ready?
Good. Let’s jump right in.
Pinterest Marketing
Pinterest is a beast when it comes to driving quality traffic to websites. In fact, a significant percentage of traffic to BeTheBudget comes from Pinterest. And the best news is, Pinterest traffic is highly-engaged and interested in the topics we write about.
If you learn how to harness the traffic-driving power of Pins, you can make a lot of money managing Pinterest accounts on behalf of other businesses.
But there is a big difference between operating a personal account, and a business account. Pinterest for business requires strategy, consistency, and a deep understanding of how the platform works. Additionally, you need to learn how to create appealing pins, schedule and share pins through Tailwind, and properly monitor Pinterest analytics to adjust and improve your strategy.
Recommended Course: Pinterest Traffic Avalanche by Create and Go
There are a number of great Pinterest courses out there, but after a lot of research, Pinterest Traffic Avalanche was the one we decided to take. And let me just say, it is awesome!
Need a little proof? Well, before we took this course, our Pinterest account had 3 followers (yeah, three), and less than 1,000 monthly viewers. Now, in just a few short months, our Pinterest account has over 1,000 followers, over 100,000 monthly viewers.
Plus, thanks to this course, our Pinterest account drives thousands of monthly visitors to Be The Budget every month.
At the time of writing this, the course costs $197. And honestly, with how much insider info they provide in this course, (even for an avid budgeter and frugal freak like me) it’s a steal!
Click here to learn more about Pinterest Traffic Avalanche
Facebook Ad Management
These days, digital marketing is a complex, and ever-changing world. With so many different marketing platforms, strategies, and tactics, it’s nearly impossible for business owners to operate their business effectively, while also maintaining order in their digital marketing.
When it comes to Facebook ads, many business owners are so intimidated and overwhelmed by the thought of this tactic, that they avoid it altogether. And, that’s where you come in.
For the people that know how to run them effectively, Facebook ads can be an amazingly powerful digital marketing tactic. And if you learn how to properly implement, monitor, adjust, and optimize Facebook ad campaigns for small businesses, you can make a pretty penny.
Recommended Course: The Complete Facebook Marketing Masterclass by Diego Davila
This course is super in-depth and Diego Davila is a great instructor. If you take this course in its entirety, you will have all the knowledge needed to start running Facebook ads for small businesses. At the time of writing this post, the cost of this course is $199.99.
Related Content: 11 Key Tips To Start A Thriving Side Gig
WordPress Development
If you are looking to learn a highly-valuable skill that can pay big money, WordPress development should be at the top of your list. It is in extremely high demand, and growing.
Think of it this way–in this day and age, if anybody wants to run a successful business, they are going to need a website. And with WordPress being the go-to platform, you will have to fight business owners off with a stick if you can build websites.
The good news is that you don’t need to be a coding master in order to develop in WordPress. You just need to learn the ins and outs of WordPress, how to set up hosting, how to work with premium themes and page builders, and how to maintain live sites. And believe it or not, all of that isn’t as hard as it sounds.
If you’re up for a steeper learning curve, and want to develop WordPress websites and themes from scratch, there are options for you as well. You will have to learn PHP, HTML, CSS, and at least a little Javascript. But, once you learn all those things, the payoff for custom websites can be significant.
Recommended Courses:
If you are interested in developing websites with pre-built themes or page builders, we recommend The Complete WordPress Website Business Course taught by Rob Percival and Gregg Davis. I have personally taken this course, and can’t say enough good things about it.
For those of you interested in custom WordPress development, I recommend Become a WordPress Developer: Unlocking Power With Code, taught by Brad Schiff. This is one of the best online courses I have ever taken. Each lesson is clear, in-depth, and extremely easy to follow. With this course, you will be developing custom WordPress themes and websites in no time.
Related Content: 25 Odd Jobs To Make Extra Money On The Side
Photoshop
If you have an artistic eye, and the idea of photo editing piques your interest, there is a lot of money to be made for people that know how to use Photoshop. And with so many resources for learning Photoshop, you just need to find a niche you can serve.
For instance, I know for a fact that many photographers struggle to find time for the photo editing portion of their jobs. After all, you can’t stand behind a camera and edit your photos at the same time. So, why not fill that need for them by offering to edit photos so they can get out and take more photos.
Recommended Course: Ultimate Photoshop Training: From Beginner to Pro taught by Christian Doru Barin
Christian, the instructor for this course, is a certified Photoshop expert, with a real knack for teaching. His course is thorough, yet digestible, and will provide you with the know-how to make money with this lucrative skill.
Content Marketing
We are in the golden age of digital marketing, and the best news is that quality content is leading the charge. After all the years of spammy web marketing tactics, click-bait advertising, and black-hat marketing methods, we have arrived in the golden age of digital marketing, where quality content is king. And, you can get in on the action.
If the idea of creating compelling video, audio, or written content with the purpose of engaging with a specific audience, then content marketing might be right up your alley. Plus, with the average base pay for a content marketing manager sitting at $81K per year (source), just think of the money you could make as a freelancer with an uncapped earning potential!
Recommended Course: Content Marketing Masterclass: Create Content That Sells taught by Brad Merril
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Ah, the world of SEO. I can speak a lot to the fact that this is a skill that nearly every business needs, because I spend hours optimizing websites each week as a part of my full-time job. I also know that most business owners and marketing directors have too much on their plate to spend time analyzing, optimizing, and monitoring their websites. That being said, they know it is a base that needs to be covered. And that is what makes this skill so valuable.
If you are the kind of person that can spend hours solving technical website problems, then SEO might be perfect for you. And you can charge a pretty penny to do it. Plus, you’ll be able to use your SEO skills on your own website to drive quality leads to your freelancing business. Can you say, win-win?
Recommended Courses:
- SEO Training: How To Drive 10X FREE Traffic + WordPress taught by Ali Abbas
- Complete SEO Training + SEO For WordPress Websites taught by Arun Nagarathanam
Paid Search Management
For almost every ad you’ve ever seen on a Google search results page, somebody was probably paid to create and manage it. And honestly, it was probably a good chunk of change.
Paid search management is a highly-valued skill in the world of digital marketing. Furthermore, you can make some serious bank. Why? Because properly managed paid search campaigns can drive massive revenue for businesses. Yet, because it’s complicated, and takes time to learn, most business owners prefer to hire out the work to somebody else.
So, are you an analytical problem solver? Are you constantly challenging yourself to achieve bigger and better things? Well then, paid search is probably right in your wheelhouse.
Recommended Courses:
- Ultimate Google Ads / Profit With PPC taught by Isaac Rudansky
- Google AdWords For Beginners taught by Corey Rabazinski
Graphic Design
Graphic design is an appealing and marketable skill, with a ton of different niches. Honestly, you can go just about anywhere, and do almost anything you want if you are a talented graphic designer. You can be the mind behind brand identities, website designs, print advertising, email marketing campaigns and so much more.
As an example, I once knew a graphic designer that made a decent amount of cash designing posters for local bands.
I will caution you though, graphic design is one of the most complex and broad subjects out there. It is a combination of art, technical skill, and psychology. So, it may go without saying that there is a lot of information to learn.
That being said, the sky’s the limit once you learn graphic design, and there are plenty of online resources to do just that.
Recommended Course: Graphic Design Bootcamp: Part 1 taught by Derrick Mitchell
Video Marketing
I was originally going to make this part of the post all about YouTube. Though, with the prevalence of video on platforms like Instagram, and more recently, Pinterest, I decided to broaden this section to video marketing.
Video is one of the most valuable and consumable forms of content online, and it is on the rise. So, if you become a freelance marketer, you will be on the newest frontier of digital marketing.
Let me put it this way, similar to paid search marketing, every time you are served a video ad online, somebody likely got paid to create it. That could be you!
The only thing standing between you and a nice video marketing paycheck, is the skill set. But, here are a couple online courses to remedy that.
Recommended Courses:
- YouTube Masterclass – Your Complete Guide To YouTube by Video School Online
- Premier Pro CC For Beginners: Video Editing In Premier taught by Phil Ebiner
Final Thoughts
In today’s digital world, there are a plethora of unique skills that can pay big money. And, with so many companies searching for freelancers instead of taking on the overhead of a new employee, the time has never been better to learn new skills.
But, you don’t need to spend years developing and honing a skill in order to make money as a freelancer. You just need to find a good niche, and the right course to teach you.
If this post helped you in any way, or you are looking to learn a new skill and start freelancing, leave a comment and let us know about it. We can’t wait to learn about your unique and brilliant freelance skills, and how you use them to make money!
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