Online Jobs to work from home – a freelancer’s journey. Where to start?
Online Jobs to work from home – where to start?
Online jobs are on the increase according to Google trend searches. Today, working online is a lot easier thanks to the fact that your work is protected until it’s paid for and that payment is done almost instantaneously. I have been working online for over 10 years now and here’s what my experience has taught me. If you will allow, let me give you a brief heads-up of my journey as a freelancer.
How my online jobs journey started
I embraced online jobs in 2008 immediately after completing high school. The internet was bad back then (in Kenya) but has improved. I didn’t have enough to take me to college so I figured out a way to generate some money. I started frequenting cyber cafes to try and learn how I could make money from something like writing. I didn’t have a clear picture of online jobs but I wanted to work by writing articles, at least that’s what I knew.
From struggling to learn Microsoft Word to typing speed to avoiding plagiarism, everything was a learning curve. I had never used a computer ever before so it was a challenge when you want to start making money from something you haven’t learned to do ????. A few good Kenyans gave jobs and paid, others didn’t but I understood I was just starting out and my work was bound to have a few grammatical issues here and there.
All in all, I learned everything, character by character. I faced another challenge – writing well-structured sentences with good command of the English language. I’m not a native English speaker. My English wasn’t that bad but there was more to writing than I actually thought. I figured out the mistakes I was making, corrected them and wrote better pieces. I was an 800 – 5 Star Rated freelancer on Elance before they switched to upwork.com
Online jobs became the thing a few years later and after getting “fed up” being “underpaid” I decided to look for online jobs elsewhere online. I found elance now upwork.com. I struggled to land my first online job but once I did, it was not long before I couldn’t take more. I did my best on my first online job (which is sometimes hard to come by – when you don’t have reviews).
You have to keep bidding on online jobs if working online is really what you want. Again, the challenge is usually landing your first online job but once you have it, the rest can come if you do a really good job to impress your first online employer! Now we’ve brought the jobs closer home. It’s your turn :).
What a 10-year experience freelancer knows about online jobs that you don’t!
- Working online requires self-discipline. You should learn to manage your time and get the work done!
- The customer is King. I worked online but sometimes my employers were not satisfied but I was always willing to revise the work.
- You need good research skills. Yes, to write a really good piece you need to research well online. Don’t be vague and too general. Employers want specifics.
- Articles must follow the introduction-body-conclusion structure unless specified otherwise. They must be broken into sub-heading with few sentences per paragraph.
- A winning bid is a bid that convinces an employer that:
- You are experienced – you know the do’s and don’ts. Example: Plagiarism and stolen content.
- You are available to work.
- You are willing to revise work if the employer is not satisfied.
- When the above conditions are met, no employer will refuse to pay or delay their payment.
Examples of online jobs to work from home
- Article writing/rewriting
- Copywriting
- Ghost Writing
- Administrative jobs such as data entry etc
- Blogging
- Programming Tasks like web development
- Graphic design
- SEO/SEM
- Social Media Advertising and Google Ads
- Link building, Poetry, eBooks, etc.
The list of available online jobs is large, yours is to find your niche and dig deep into it.
In our next post, we will delve deeper into what is required in each area to help you figure out your strengths. Some people are good social media managers and can actually drive in traffic as opposed to being bloggers or article writers.
Researching and finding online jobs
Do your research online on what areas you have experience in or you want to jump into. You don’t want to spend time learning social media advertising when your interests don’t match. You learn faster when the niche is within your interests. Gather materials to help you learn faster. There are many articles in every niche, be it article writing, programming, blogging, etc and how to actually do them.
What do I need to get online jobs?
You need access to a computer with internet. You can access cyber café or work from home. The thing is you need to access the internet for research and Microsoft office tools. You can use any other device that has these capabilities such as an iPad or tablet if you can access this. You can install Microsoft Office on these devices through the functionalities will be limited. Whatever serves the purpose well, you’re good to go. You can design from an iPad/tablet for example. You can also code and run social media advertisement from your tablets/pc etc.
If you are a transcriber then you may need headphones to listen to the audios. A book and a pen are not necessary but just in case you need to. I don’t know.
To be awarded online jobs you need to bid. For example, you can bid on the available jobs here on our website https://kazipesa.com/projects
Online jobs – Where do I start?
This is usually the million-dollar question. We will answer this in our next post so make sure you subscribe to this website or register as a freelancer/employer and leave the rest to us. We will guide you on how to convince an employer that you’re actually the most suited freelancer. Writing winning bids is good and can get you the jobs but meanwhile, why don’t you practice writing some articles.
Leave a comment if you want to be guided on where you can submit your articles and use them to boost your portfolios. Some employers, when hiring beginners, will or may ask to see sample work. This is by no means a bad thing. Hiring someone for the first time requires a solid understanding that the freelancer can actually deliver.
When an employer is not 100% sure about this, it’s only advisable that you convince them with a good piece which they will pay for if they decide to use. Otherwise, you are under no obligation to submit sample projects – it’s for your own good. You don’t lose by doing, you lose by not doing!
Conclusion
Online jobs are available and yes, you can earn a decent income from working online from home or from a cybercafé so go for them. The only thing that stands between you and earning is knowing how to do it. As mentioned, 10 years of experience is enough testimony, I think, to get you to where you’re supposed to go. Learn, research and repeat by doing. One step after another, don’t give up when your first job doesn’t seem to become. Once you are good and get it, everything just begins to fall into place.
Kazipesa has an escrow system meaning both employer and freelancer are protected. For employers, you only pay for the work you authorize. For freelancers, a milestone is created before you begin working meaning we hold the funds on behalf of the employer as you work. Fair?
We would like to hear your stories too if you like. We believe sharing is caring. That way, we help others avoid the mistakes we made climbing the ladder, for the benefit of us all. We’ll wait to hear from you. You can also read a post on the Standardmedia that highlights the 8 low-cost ways of making money online.
Brian Mulwa
I would like to register for administrative jobs.
Regards.
KaziPesa
Hi Brian,
What administrative jobs are you looking for? Can you be more specific for directions?
Calvins Ongele
Hi, how long does approval of the bids take place?
Peter Mwangi
Nice
Trezeguet Onyango
Hello i would like some advice kindly can i get your contact to consult you?
KaziPesa
Hi. Please send an email to support@kazipesa.com. We’ll be happy to help. Thank you!
KaziPesa
Depends on several factors amongst them urgency of project, expiry etc.You can follow up on the projects you bid on.
Beatrice nyanya
Hi. I wish to start article writing.but am very green where do i start
Beatrice nyanya
Kindly advice
KaziPesa
Hi Beatrice. Thanks for sharing your thought. We are always available to assist you. One, what kind of jobs are you interested in? You need to choose a path which you will pursue as a freelancer. This will depend on your skills and interest. Reply with these pieces of information such as what you want to do online, your current skills etc to be able to help you further pursue online work.
robertkariuki41
Hello. Thank you for your comprehensive advice. I would like to freelance by writing articles on different topics. Please guide me on where I can submit sample articles to boost my portfolio. Can I get topics to write on that are similar to the actual content that the clients ask for? Thank you.
KaziPesa
Yes. We would like to know whether you have already registered here. If not yet please head over to kazipesa.com/register and create an account. Second, yes there are a wide range of articles which we cannot all sum up. The topic a clients wants depends on the kind of niche they blog/write about. These could be product descriptions if they have product stores, health articles for health website, academic articles for institutions, general advice articles etc. Please understand that you can learn to write across all these niches so that when any topic comes up you’re OK to take it up. Versatility is key. Some clients hope to work with a single freelancer which is often not the case. When you’re good across these niches it becomes easier to get longer term projects. This case is similar to programmers. Programmers who are versatile (can code in different languages) get more work and are able to deliver quality work as compared to those who stick with a particular space. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask, should you have any queries. Regards,
Elizabeth kuria
hi am interested but very new to online writing. Am registered with kaazipesa but i don’t know where to start. kindly assist
Ann Anunda
Thank you for that comprehensive information. It is of good help to me since I have been wonderng how I can wn a gig.
Am greatly interested In becoming a freelancer in your site. I have 1year experience in article and blog writing, design, and social media marketing.
My problem is I don’t know which area to specialize while freelancing, what would be your advice and how do I start
KaziPesa
Hello Ann,
Yours is one of the most frequently asked questions are we’re planning on doing a post about how to choose a niche. So stay tuned. We’ll send you a notification once the post is ready.
Lewis Oiti
I need the job
Mary Kitonga
Hi,
I hope this finds you well.
I’m a competent article writer. I’ve been in this field for two years. I produce quality, timely and plagiarism-free work. I specialize in niches related to health and wellness, beauty, marriage and relationships, and any other assigned to me. I respect my clients and their work. Given an opportunity I can prove my determination and skills in this field. My rate per word is $0.02, but I’m flexible to fit the clients budget. I’m willing to work for you. Kindly can you connect me to start working immediately?