If you are not sure which career path as a freelancer you should choose, you are on the right blog post. In other words, this article is going to provide you with a list of all the popular and lucrative freelance skills so that you can easily decide which one is suitable for you.
[PS: If you are wondering how to become a freelancer in 2024, Here is the Step-By-Step Guide]
Table of Contents
List of The Most Popular and Growing Freelance Skills
1) Writing
Writing not only includes fiction or novel writing but also the areas of advertising copywriting, web content writing, technical manual writing, etc are all covered in this field. Professional writers in any of these areas are always in demand on a freelance basis.
2) Editing
Editors are responsible for making arrangements and corrections in the write-ups or content pieces created or developed by writers.
3) SEO Content/Blog Writing
Search engines like Google, Bing, etc are more likely to rank on the first page of their search results the articles which are SEO optimized. Freelance SEO content writers help websites to display more in front of their potential customers in search engines by writing such SEO-friendly content for them. These SEO-friendly articles are keyword optimized, well structured, relevant to the visitor, and engaging as well.
4) Digital Marketing
No one can imagine any significant growth in any business without marketing. It simply means that marketing is the most crucial part of a business. Nowadays, businesses make use of various available means of digital marketing like email marketing, content marketing, Search engine optimization, Search engine marketing, social media marketing, etc.
However, a team of permanent and regular employees is there in the marketing department of all businesses. But, still, freelance marketers are always in demand. The reason behind this is that they are generally more skilled than the regular employees of the company and they cost less too as compared to the regular employees.
If you are comfortable with the marketing field and want to make your freelance career in the same, you can either develop marketing skills in almost all of the available marketing channels or specialize in a specific aspect of marketing (like social media marketing, SEO, SEM, etc).
5) Graphic design
Companies are always in need of talented and reliable graphic designers. If you are comfortable with this space and planning to make your freelance career in graphic designing, that’s really great. Freelance graphic designers are usually in high demand.
6) Web Designing
Both small and large organizations need a website for going online. Web designers are experts in developing the layout and looks of web pages. Freelance web designers are hired by businesses on a large scale.
7) Web Development
Coding languages, tools, and other similar things related to web development go through transformations over time. So web developers need to keep their skills and experiences up to date with new technological expertise. Freelancer web developers are always in demand due to the fact that they keep their skills and knowledge updated with the emerging trends in web development.
8) WordPress Development
WordPress is the most popular platform for creating websites/blogs. And, WordPress development skill involves the development of WordPress plugins, etc.
9) Animation
Drawing illustrations for television shows, films, games, etc is another skill that can be considered as a path for your freelance career. Businesses are always in need of animators who are skilled in drawing infographics and icons.
10) Video Editing
Video content development is, no doubt, a booming industry. Video editors are responsible for ensuring that the overall content of a video is according to the story of the video. They perform the tasks of adding graphics, audio, etc while editing videos. They also need to look for errors and fix them accordingly.
11) English Proofreading
English proofreaders perform the tasks of checking the typographical, grammatical, and spelling errors in copies and transcripts by reading them thoroughly and carefully.
12) Java Development
Being the base for many open-source projects, Java development skills are also in high demand. And, the need for freelance Java developers is not going to be less in the future too.
13) Voiceover Artist
Voiceover artists record video game voices, e-learning instructions, animation dialogue, YouTube video script, etc using their own voice. Freelance voiceover artists can work for businesses or individuals from any part of the world.
14) Android Development
Professionals skilled in developing apps for Android mobile phones are in demand in today’s world. So you can also choose and develop this skill as a freelancer.
15) iOS Development
Just like Android developers, freelancing in the field of app development for iOS devices is also possible and popular these days.
16) AutoCAD
An AutoCAD designer is skilled in creating 2D or 3D designs with the use of AutoCAD (a CAD software from Autodesk).
17) 3D Design
Today, various advanced software’s are available for creating 3D designs of products. Companies are outsourcing their 3D designing projects to freelance designers on a very large scale.
18) Illustration
In today’s era, customers prefer a personal touch and transparency. Illustrations are a great way to deliver such a personal touch. They offer a softer approach as compared to the images, resulting in their higher demand.
19) Accounting
Accounting is another skill to be considered if you are wondering which skill to choose for your freelance career. Though various accounting software’s are available out there for making the account tasks easier. But, still, there are so many complicated tasks, which has made the accounting skill an in-demand skill.
20) Excel Work
There is no doubt that MS Excel (a software from Microsoft) is very well known to everyone. Almost all have the basic skills of using this application. But still, there are some complicated projects that require little advanced and professional skills related to MS Excel. If you are an expert in this skill, there are also several freelance opportunities for you.
21) Virtual Assistant
Entrepreneurs and people with high posts/positions in organizations are generally in need of virtual assistants who can assist them from remote locations. Being a freelance virtual assistant can also be a good option for you if you think it is suitable for you. Virtual assistants help their clients in the proper management of various tasks like scheduling appointments, responding to emails, etc.
22) Bookkeeping
Business owners or management teams of businesses can easily spare more time for focusing on the growth aspect of their business if they free themselves from their bookkeeping tasks. Hence they tend to hire freelance professionals to handle such tasks.
23) User Experience (UX) Designing
Users are more likely to keep using a website if they are offered a great experience when they visit the website. The same rule applies in the case of an app also. Hence businesses hire UX designers for enhancing the user’s experience with their apps or websites.
24) Shopify Developers
Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform. Shopify developers are hired for developing websites and applications for this eCommerce platform.
25) Photography
Last but not least in this list of the various popular freelance skills to consider is Photography. Commercial photographers are also in demand on a freelance basis.
Bottom Line
So these are the most popular freelance skills that you should consider before deciding your career path as a freelancer. Before finally selecting a skill to go for as a freelancer, you should consider whether or not you are passionate about it. You should not choose a skill that you are not comfortable with.