eLearning freelancers: who are they?
We know, if you exclusively think of the benefits, freelancing sounds really good. Being your own boss, having full control of the projects you take on, creating your own working environment and schedule, writing your own paycheck, who would not want that? However, switching from a full-time job in an organization to freelancing might be challenging from a variety of perspectives. So what do eLearning freelancers do? ?Over my five years of freelancing, I did it all?instructional design, e-learning development, QA, and project management?, said an eLearning freelancer in an article we?ve just read.
Between client management, business management, and project management, I was constantly fine-tuning my effective hourly rate to factor in my operating costs, my software, my health insurance, my marketing efforts, not to mention my years of training and experience?, he stated, talking about the challenges of being an eLearning freelancer. However, as he mentioned, there are multiple benefits that comes along with being an eLearning freelancer:
While freelancing may not have been the easier life I?d initially envisioned, it certainly was a rewarding one. I can?t remember a time when I?ve learned so much about myself and took such pride in my work. And along the way I learned that I?m much more resilient, capable, business-savvy, creative, and resourceful than I ever imagined. After all, when you?re doing it all on your own, you?ve got no choice but to make it work?.
The question is, what can eLearning freelancers do to make the most of their profession, while overcoming the challenges that come with it?
eLearning freelancers: you should do what you like most
Working in the eLearning industry for a while now, we have met various trainers and freelancing content creators who need to deliver their training, while growing their personal branding, and staying in touch with their clients. If you are an eLearning freelancer reading this article, we?d love to hear from you, as we want to focus more on your business needs. We have been offering our eLearning platform to companies and universities, to organizations from different industries, with different learning needs.
However, we want to expand this to the field of eLearning freelancers. Why is that? Because we know that having your own application acting as an eLearning environment would be beneficial and would foster connectivity between you and your learners. We know that eLearning tools such as in-depth analytics, training tracker, webinars, video groups, mobile learning, training paths are valuable not only for organizations, but also for professionals like you.
We know that networking is important for your business as an eLearning freelancer, so the possibility of integrating with a CRM and social media platforms would be more than a nice to have. You could manage your content easier, encourage learning accessibility, make the most of social learning and collaboration, and increase the use of technology to drive the employee training demand.
Tips & tricks for eLearning freelancers
Researching this field, we?ve come across a few aspects that might improve your overall activity in the industry.
- eLearning freelancers, start with investing in you
As we?ve mentioned above, freelancing might be challenging, especially in the eLearning industry. That?s why you should focus not only on your clients, but also on your own growth, reading everything you can about the niche you want to specialize in, eLearning tools that fit the profile of your clients, and functionalities that might make your work easier, taking some responsibilities, such as managing the content and delivering analytics.
- Always offer something extra
There are so many eLearning freelancers out there, trying to gain a competitive advantage and offering valuable learning experiences to learners. Go the extra mile and offer your possible clients something they cannot find anywhere else, such as the access to a learning community where they can learn among their peers who are passionate about the same subject. Keep them close, offer them the services they?ll need and they will keep using your services. There?s no need to change providers when you have everything you need a bit more, isn?t it?
- Keep networking
Make sure that people know that you are an eLearning freelancer offering courses in their area of interest. Connect with people who match your target audience, make yourself visible, attend conferences and events where you can meet these people in person, and always promote yourself to new audiences to expand your network and client base.
To wrap it up, eLearning freelancers, we admire your work. We know how challenging it is to work in the eLearning industry even when you are an organization with a team of professionals taking care of the learning and development tasks. We know that it?s even more challenging when you are a freelancer doing everything by yourself. That?s why we are committed to making things easier for professionals like you.
