Is Freelancing Worth it in 2022? Top Skills for Beginners

Feb 10, 2023

Let’s cut the long story short: Freelancing is not just worth it, but is one of the hottest business ideas in 2022. The sheer reach available to individuals today on the internet, especially if they come from countries where markets do not price their skills the same way as those in more developed markets do, makes freelancing an incredible opportunity.

Freelancing enables individuals to garner all the benefits of being their boss—from deciding on their working hours to managing their business expenditures and deciding on how to structure their clientele in a way that is not unhealthy from a work-life balance perspective.

If you’re wondering how you can tap into this lucrative field in 2022, this article is for you! We will guide you on the top freelance skills currently available, how you can go about learning these skills for free, and how you can effectively monetize these freelance skills once you’re proficient in them!

Top skills for freelancing in 2022

We live in the era of digital content and online marketing-driven sales. Even if you start a channel on YouTube or sell products through a drop-shipping store, your freelance skills repertoire requires proficiency in digital marketing. Thus, learning digital marketing should be your priority.

The best way would be to go onto Google’s online course platform, called Digital Garage, and go through their free course on Digital Marketing. It will also help you monetize your freelance skills through digital marketing. It will also give you some invaluable insights to keep in mind while structuring your digital ads on social media and content platforms.

That said, here are some top freelancing skills to consider in 2022:

Video editing
Photo Editing
Teaching languages
Teaching finance
Coding
Coaching others on coding (and associated activities like Data Science)
Dropshipping or starting a digital thrift store
Detailing productivity applications and techniques (including meditation)
Fitness coaching and diet-planning
Teaching photography
Creating written content
Translation
Starting a blog
Designing logos, pamphlets, catalogs, etc.
UX design, and so on.

How to learn freelancing skills for free?

You can learn these freelance skills through free online courses on YouTube and various websites like Coursera and Google’s Digital Garage. It is possible for individuals from across various categories to engage with the content—enabling people ranging from professionals to students to get started on the same.

Some skills, such as financial investments and course creation, which have the additional benefit of being passive income opportunities, have enormous potential, making them some of the best freelancing skills for students to learn.

How to monetize your skills?

The last step is how to monetize your freelance skills after you have gained proficiency in them. Make sure you have learned your skill of choice to a high degree to ensure that you have proof of work. Most freelancers depend on the reviews that people leave for them.

After doing the above, you can follow through on the following steps to monetize your freelance skills:

1. If it is a skill that you can offer to individual clients on a one-on-one basis, put the same up as gigs on Fiverr and Upwork. Monetize your services through advertisements on social media platforms like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, etc. It includes skills like photo-editing, video-editing, content writing, etc.

2. If it is a skill that you can teach others, create videos and/or courses on the said topics on content-oriented platforms like YouTube, Skillshare, etc. It will help you to tap into various markets of people who want to learn the skills you have proficiency in, as you once would have, and generate income from teaching them the same – through ads or paid courses.

3. If it is a written-content-oriented activity, like analysis pieces or blogs, you would need to establish a domain on a website like WordPress or Squarespace. Then write articles on your chosen topic area (like traveling, learning languages, sports analyses, etc.), and, again, market the same on social media pages through advertisements to direct traffic. You can monetize your blogs by turning on ads on your website or through affiliate marketing.