As a freelancer, sometimes you must be facing some quiet periods. For a certain period of time during the year there will be a dry period where the projects are fewer and there is nothing much to be done. Succeeding as a freelancer takes some time and you require the skills to acclimatize.
So when you have some days without work, instead of just sitting around and feeling like a failure or worrying about the future, you should have a list of things you can do to take advantage of the time to get more things to do. Here is a collection of 15 useful tips on what you can do on slow days and in dry times.
1. Work on long-time projects
Not having any short-term deadlines coming up doesn’t necessarily mean that you have nothing to do. If possible, work on long-term projects. It will make you engage and will save your time later on.
2. Look at your marketing efforts
Try different innovative ways to promote yourself. Think of something different from what you’ve done earlier. Confirm your representation in social media, you can make some offers and adopt new methods of promotion. Have a look at the expense you have done so far for promoting yourself and make a decision if this is adequate. Maybe you can do some adjustments and modification here for the future that will compensate you by getting more paid projects throughout the whole year.
3. Look for potential “side-niches”
If you discover the right enlightenment or support, then there are a lot of opportunities. You must read other peoples blogs and websites and find out what they do. There are chances that you may come to know there are other things which also you can you put forward to your clients. Now your mind can also start thinking of new ways of adding to your assortment of services. The brainstorming practice around this can be very rewarding in several means.
4. Update your portfolio
Creating and keep on updating the portfolio of your freelance work is one of the most vital tasks you should carry out regularly. It’s necessary that your portfolio is updated with your best and fresh projects. It is always a good initiative to show your multi talent as well. So, make use of your dry times to get the definite updating done if possible. This process can also be an investment in your future.
5. Have a look at your overall efficiency
Look at past objectives and observe if they have been achieved or not. You should discover new program and practices to work even more proficient. Reading on freelancer related blogs can also be helpful for this purpose.
6. Build Plans for the Future
Fortune doesn’t support every person at the time he or she wants. So always set goals for the future. It is better to take protective actions regarding what you desire to do in the future. Planning is very essential to be flourishing in one’s life, since it gives you direction someway that where you should exploit your skills.
7. Enhance Your Skills
Though you may have proficiency and capabilities in you but still always there is a room for improvement, as no one is perfect in this world. So in your dry times you can enhance your skills by surfing internet, reading journals, watching videos related to your work etc. This will enable you to get different and inventive thoughts which you can employ in future in your freelancing work
8. Go through your Finances
Check that everything is up to date regarding all the invoices, investment plans, savings and bills. This will help you in making decisions related to your current dry days. Make an overall evaluation of the current situation to find if you need to put some more deposits to cover up for times like these.
9.Contact recent clients
This is an important tip for freelancers to get success. Refresh your contact list and make contacts with the clients you have worked for in the past. Hear about their well being as well as work. Many times this contact from your side reminds them of their pending things. They will also like that you memorize them and then you can get some projects from them.
10. Update your own blog/website
If you have your own blog/website, then it’s necessary to update it regularly. If you want fresh clients, it is important that they see your updates on your website. Write up a post related to what you do. Additionally, there must be a lot of things which you can not include in your site/blog because of less time. So you should take the benefit of your dry times to update your blog/website with some new stuff.
11. Write
Being a freelancer, don’t give up writing any time. In your dry period write about the subjects of your interest. There is a good chance that some website may show interest in publishing you as a guest blogger. There are many websites that offer payment for guest blogs. So you can get both money and get some valuable marketing at the same time.
12. Work on personal projects
You must have various personal projects but you never get the required time to work on them. It can be your artwork, articles or other things else. If you are facing a slow time, this is something you should consider working on. And the feeling of doing something you love is just priceless anyway.
13. Forums/Message boards
There are enormous forums and message boards related to freelancing, design, art, finances are available on internet. By registering and going through these you can get tips from others who are in the same situation as you. You can get help, new tips, connect with new people and maybe find new clients.
14. Selling “leftovers”
Usually you are paid for what you’ve uploaded useful and worth. But you can also make money for the left over files of good quality just collecting dust in your system. It’s better to go for this option than just deleting them or leaving them there without getting to use. There are people who make good money from these things by choosing the right websites. This is also great marketing for yourself and you can even get new clients by this way.
15. Clean up
You must backup and clean up your computer, office space and more. This can be one of the best uses of your dry times.
