What is the best method to make money as a programmer?

marmalade

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Hi, I need to use my programming skills in html, javascript and PHP/MySQL to make some money online. I have recently signed in some freelancer sites as odesk or upwork but there has too much competitive between programmers and it doesn't seem very easy. Every posted job get a huge number of programmers especially experienced joined and bid their prices. I tried but never got a feedback from the clients and it's for about 2 weeks ago that I have started freelancing.
Are there any alternatives to freelancer sites especially for beginners like me to do projects and get paid from clients?
Any comments would be much appreciated. I'm really demotivated after spending all my time looking for such opportunities.
Thanks in advance.
 

Chancer

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Yes starting out can be very tough and you need to have low rates and high promises - you also need to deliver on those promises
Have you read anything on landing clients so far and implemented it? UpWork has a lot of material on that.

Let me give a quick rundown:
- make a great portfolio
- make a good landing page (on UpWorks)
- if possible add videos to your landing page and portfolio
- make you oriented pitches
- do your first job for free
- always (ALWAYS) overdeliver
 

Mike001

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Marmalade,

Breaking into Freelancing can be a tricky task depending upon where you physically are. I have been Freelancing for many years and it took some time to build up a customer base as I began that journey. I also had a full time job when I began to Freelance so I was not dependent upon the pay of the Freelance jobs starting out, that made a big difference in getting started. I was not under the gun to get money rolling in from the start.

Build a portfolio of personal sites to show perspective clients. These need to be live so they can be demonstrated but they do not need to be real businesses just functional sites.

My background is in University teaching and program management. So the first thing that I did was set aside some time every day to market myself as a freelance web designer. I would view local web sites and look for ways to improve those sites. Either in the eCommerce aspect or just plain web design and layout. Then I would develop a plan to approach the site owner and propose my changes. Some of the smaller sites I would recommend ways that they could improve their business and ROI and suggest that they allow me to implement the changes at no cost to them. This took some time to build up a client list but it did work. Do not get discouraged, it takes time and there will be a lot of rejection as you begin. But once you get going it can be very rewarding.

I focused on dynamic design and dynamic web content and at the time I was breaking into the field that was still a relatively new area of web design. I made myself an expert in database design and database normalization for the web. This took a little time but it was well worth it as the web over the last few years has moved into dynamic content in a big way and I was way ahead of the curve on those designs.

Stay away from prepackaged CMS systems. Most customers will want fast, unique and secure products. There is too much involved with trying to deploy in a proper way many of the out of the box CMS systems. Besides they are extremely hard to support and next to impossible to customize on the database side. It also makes the customer question your ability as a programmer if you are using an out of the box CMS. I have seen a few done successfully but those guys really understood the CMS product and that product had become their specialty. Keeping up with the changes to an out of the box CMS can become a full time job.

Look for an area that you can become an expert in. Find something that really interests you and study the topic. Reach out to local web design companies and offer your services to them. Most web design organizations are always looking for programmers that they can add to their remote staff. Have samples of your work for them to see and be ready to answer questions in your chosen specialty. Once you get your foot in the door, if you are motivated and do good work, your skill sets will accelerate at a much faster pace. Being around those types of people you will begin to share experiences and skills and you will be surprised at how quickly you will learn new aspects of the trade.

Attend University seminars. Most Universities conduct quarterly seminars on new technologies and how they impact business. These are setup for local businesses to get to know the technology and introduce graduating students to what is available locally. Attend them it is a good place to meet local business owners and see where the technology is moving in your field. A big part of these discussions over the last few years have focused around eCommerce and how it can grow your business. I have been a part of conducting many of these seminars and they are a great to add to your contact lists.

Keep notes when you talk to a business, obviously not while you are talking with the business owner, but immediately afterwards. Jot down the important key points you discussed. You would be amazed at how many leads I have gotten in casual conversations just by taking notes and following up. Plus they are always impressed that I remembered key points we discussed. Everybody wants to feel important so make them feel important.

Don't get discouraged. It take time to build anything worthwhile and freelance web design is no different. If I would have given up after a few months I would have never made it as a web designer and I would have never met some of the great people that I have met in this industry.

Web Design is not a get rich quick scheme. It does not work that way. You can make a very comfortable living doing it but if you are customer focused and really want to do a good job and build relationships you will probably never get rich. I was interested in being independent and not depending upon anyone else for my income. I achieved that and now can pretty much dictate my own schedule. But I still support my customers and at a moments notice if they need something I or one of my staff will be there to supply it. That is what makes us different from the big box organizations.

One other great point that Chancer mentioned while I was typing this ..... Under Promise and Over Deliver That will generate you many good leads from your customers.

There is so much more I could tell you but I think you get the idea. Stay focused, know your limitations and your skills and add value to your customers deployments and it will come.
 

Miguelito203

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I hear a lot of people say that some place like Craigslist is good for beginners to get jobs doing different things. Maybe you should start there. You should also have a portfolio of work you can point people to, so they can see your work. When you starting out, you might also want to consider charging lower prices. You could call it an introductory price, and tell them it's for a limited time -- only until you get a certain amount of clients.

Joey
 

elcidofaguy

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Hi, I need to use my programming skills in html, javascript and PHP/MySQL to make some money online. I have recently signed in some freelancer sites as odesk or upwork but there has too much competitive between programmers and it doesn't seem very easy. Every posted job get a huge number of programmers especially experienced joined and bid their prices. I tried but never got a feedback from the clients and it's for about 2 weeks ago that I have started freelancing.
Are there any alternatives to freelancer sites especially for beginners like me to do projects and get paid from clients?
Any comments would be much appreciated. I'm really demotivated after spending all my time looking for such opportunities.
Thanks in advance.
If I was you I would develop a service and use ads to get leads online. However before that I would offer free work in order to build a portfolio (locally) in return for testimonials. Get out and about in your local town and ask... Word of mouth is a powerful thing and chances are you'll get more referrals that way.
 

Ron Killian

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Instead of trying to be a freelancer and deal with all that, like what's been said already...

Why not create your own stuff to sell. As we all know Wordpress is hot, plenty of opportunities for plugins for one. And if you have the skills you say you do, it should be right up your alley.

Plenty of run for new or improved plugin's. You could sell them yourself, or have affiliates sell them for you.

Just an idea :)
 

Muzzamil

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Hi, I need to use my programming skills in html, javascript and PHP/MySQL to make some money online. I have recently signed in some freelancer sites as odesk or upwork but there has too much competitive between programmers and it doesn't seem very easy. Every posted job get a huge number of programmers especially experienced joined and bid their prices. I tried but never got a feedback from the clients and it's for about 2 weeks ago that I have started freelancing.
Are there any alternatives to freelancer sites especially for beginners like me to do projects and get paid from clients?
Any comments would be much appreciated. I'm really demotivated after spending all my time looking for such opportunities.
Thanks in advance.
You should set up your own personal website where you sell only your services and only write about yourself like what can you do as a programmer. This way you will have no competition on the platform because it's only you in your website. But you will have to do some SEO to put your website on the front page of Google which is a free method. But there are paid ways to get clients to your website such as facebook ads, twitter ads, linkedin ads, and google adwords. I am telling you this because I heard of some people that are charging up tp $150 dollars per job on their own websites but I personally don't this because I do Internet Marketing. Good Luck.
 

Cameron Hill

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I've heard freelancing is great, but you just need the skills to pay the bills. Then it's all about creating a great profile as others have said.

When I looked into it a while ago (and I'm not really speaking from direct experience here so take this with a pinch of salt ;) ) I found mobile app development to be a pretty rewarding field to go into. You need to make a load of apps though to see good income though.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Cam
 

florahelen

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Signing up to freelancer sites are a good start, but like before me it was said that you should create a portfolio site.

Even making a landing page where you ask the people who end up there to sign up if they ever need a programmer and then you can build your own email list and send out a weekly newsletter what you can offer to them.
 

TCoder

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You can follow the Fiverr model, where you create a bunch of scripts that does a specific service and then sell that service over and over on Fiverr.
 

EpicGlobalWeb

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Hi, I need to use my programming skills in html, javascript and PHP/MySQL to make some money online. I have recently signed in some freelancer sites as odesk or upwork but there has too much competitive between programmers and it doesn't seem very easy. Every posted job get a huge number of programmers especially experienced joined and bid their prices. I tried but never got a feedback from the clients and it's for about 2 weeks ago that I have started freelancing.
Are there any alternatives to freelancer sites especially for beginners like me to do projects and get paid from clients?
Any comments would be much appreciated. I'm really demotivated after spending all my time looking for such opportunities.
Thanks in advance.
On odesk / upwork (same thing now) you're competing against people who have 5 stars, tons of reviews, high dollar amounts next to their pictures, and low-ball prices.

These sites have become havens for business people to outsource work cheaply. Are you sure you want to market yourself there?

Your best bet is to look at your portfolio and see who has already done business with you. Ask them for referrals. Ask them who they know that owns a business and introduce yourself. Upwork shouldn't be your primary source of income because there isn't much for a newcomer there.

However, when you DO get you some jobs offline, ask them to pay you via Upwork platform and have them give you a good review.
 

Rob Whisonant

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Personally I am not a fan of freelance type sites. You are competing against people that will sell their skills for pennies on the dollar.

What I do and what you can do is watch the boards. When a marketer starts asking questions about programming, contact them and offer your help with pointing them in the right direction. If it starts to sound like a large project that needs a considerable amount of programming, offer to JV with them. You program the project and they market it. You then split the profits.

One warning, many of the JV deals will not make any money. Make sure the marketer understands you own the code until a set number of sales are made. Then you both own it.

The few that do make money, usually make more than enough to cover the duds. :)
 

EpicGlobalWeb

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^ What he said

Main problem with those sites is companies and people are trying to use them basically to cheapen the prices across the board. This was what happened when American companies switched over to Indian providers. They all regretted it too.
 
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