5 Must Read Books for Freelancers

As a freelancer, you don’t have one person telling you what to do or how to do it.  You have to find your own work. This may involve meeting and working with a bunch of clients. Your brain is a command center and is fully responsible for your success.

Independence can be scary. If you don’t market yourself well, you may not get as many jobs or the best jobs that you can. It’s possible to be incredibly profitable as a freelancer if you play your cards right.

Fortunately, there are some resources for freelancers that can help them market themselves well and become more profitable. Below, we detail some books that are important for freelancers to read. So before jumping into a sea fool of sharks, trust me, freelancing isn’t as easy as it looks, be sure to prepare yourself with useful knowledge. Getting a leg up on your competition will never hurt. 😉

The Unlimited Freelancer, by Mason Hipp and James Chartrand

This book was written to help freelancers who want to become more profitable. The book focuses on three main points – technology that be beneficial to freelancers, constructing a team of freelancers, and what assets will help you gain more revenue. The technology that the book discusses includes software that can help freelancers manage projects, tips for automating accounting, and platforms that can help freelancers market themselves.

Regarding constructing a team, the book gives tips on how to find freelancers to work under you for a smaller wage and how to find other freelancers that you will work well with. Lastly, the book helps freelancers find the assets that will make them the most profitable. This book offers comprehensive advice to seasoned freelancers who want to make more money.

Buy $48.00

The New, New Rules of Marketing and PR, by David Meerman Scott

This book can help freelancers market themselves well online technology. The book emphasizes that businesses (or freelancers) that want to be successful need to have a strong online presence. While Twitter and Facebook can be good resources for freelancers to use for marketing, Scott recommends blogs. Blogs give you more power. You can write what you want and communicate via comments to your potential customers. Scott also remarks that freelancers need to have a personality.

You need to keep things fun in your online marketing to draw as much positive attention as you can. This book is ideal for freelancers who are looking to improve and capitalize off of their web presence.

Buy $18.37

How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer, by Cyan and Collis Ta’eed

This book is clear and formatted to be an easy read, using lots of bullet points and short topics. The book essentially offers freelancers a wide range of tips that may help them deal with the problems of freelancing and become more successful. This book is not written for seasoned freelancers, as it contains a lot of basic tips that they might not find useful, such as how to not get lonely as a freelancer or whether you should work from a home or office.

So, this book is ideal for newer freelancers whom are still trying to find what works best for them. Some passages that freelancers may find useful include essential client skills, pricing yourself, and handling all of your work. The brevity of this book makes it a good manual for new freelancers to read and refer back to later.

Buy $19

My So-Called Freelance Life, by Michelle Goodman

Goodman’s book is written for people who are considering freelance work but have no experience in it. Freelancing can seem elusive to many because of the convenience that it provides. Nearly everyone wants to have a job where you can wake up when you want, enjoy a nice breakfast, and then begin working from your couch.

Goodman gives tips on how to start up as a new freelancer and how to be successful. Some of these tips include websites and companies that are reputable to freelance for, how to maintain a good working relationship with clients, and even just general encouragement to motivate new freelancers to get started.

Buy $12.77

Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition, by Michael Stelzner

This book is written for freelancers who are already working but want to beat out their competition and become more profitable. The book gives tips on how to attract people to your business, both clients and employees. It also details how to keep your clients satisfied, by expertly fitting your work to their specifications. It also gives advice on networking and how to connect with the most influential people. Making these connections can bring you a lot of business.

Buy $16.45

Conclusion and Honorable Mentions

There are many books out there that can be helpful to new or seasoned freelancers. Books on topics such as social media marketing, starting up as a new freelancer, and outperforming your competition will never hurt. So if you ever have some free time on your hand, be sure to read up on those subjects.

Clearly there’s a vast variety of freelance books. Here are some honorable mentions that didn’t make the list, but shouldn’t be overlooked: Creatively Self-Employed, by Kristen Fischer, Escape from Cubicle Nation, by Pamela Slim, and Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies, by Amy Porterfield.