by Anna Codrea-Rado
While it’s a scary time to be self-employed, there are steps you can take now to minimise the impact of coronavirus on your freelance income. Developing additional revenue streams isn’t as hard as it sounds, you already have the transferable skills you need to expand your income possibilities. While there’s no such thing as a get-rich-quick scheme, investing time in developing one or two additional revenue streams will pay off dividends.
- Start a newsletter: The popularity of e-newsletters continues to grow and now readers are willing to pay a subscription to receive their favourite ones. Platforms like Substack enable you to start a subscription-based newsletter that can bring in regular income.
- Teach online: If you have a skill that others want to learn, such as writing, audio editing or photography, you can teach it online. Some universities offer part-time distance learning modules, or you create a course independently on platforms like Skillshare, Udemy and Teachable.
- Start a podcast or video channel: As everyone stays at home, content consumption is high and now is a great time to start a podcast or video channel. Once you start to attract listeners, you can sell adverts or you can use platforms like Patreon or YouTube to run an audience-funded monetisation model.
- Social media writing: If you’re a natural headline writer, social media writing might be for you. Writing short captions and pithy posts for a company’s social media channels is an in-demand freelance skill and can lead to more writing opportunities.
- Ghostwriting: Writing content for other people can mean anything from penning a book to drafting thought leadership blogposts. The good thing about ghostwriting is that often the projects are regular and ongoing.
- B2B writing: While it may be harder than usual to land commissions with traditional media outlets, businesses still need written materials. B2B writing, copywriting and content marketing are all lucrative ways to increase your day rate. You can find these opportunities through content agencies or on platforms like Contently, Skyword and Clearvoice.
- E-books: While self-publishing a physical book can be costly, writing your own e-book can be lucrative. The main advantage of e-books is that the income is scalable – if your e-book is successful, you can continue to sell it for years to come. If you’re interested in writing e-books, this guide will teach you everything you need to know.
Anna Codrea-Rado is a freelance journalist who writes about business, culture and technology. She also writes The Professional Freelancer newsletter about making a happy and successful self-employed career.