Your ability to succeed as a freelancer over the web will be heavily dependent on your ability to out advertise your competition. If you can get your name, number, and the URL of your site in more places than your competitors, then you will get more sales as a result. Regardless of how skilled you may be, if your competitors are able to reach more people than you, then they will prosper at your expense.
Pay Pay Click Advertising, also known as PPC for short, is one of the newest and most effective forms of advertising available in the world. In a nutshell, PPC basically works like this. A company or individual pays to have their ads displayed on the search pages of major search engines, and when people use keywords which are related to the products or services they offer, and they see these ads, and click on them, the advertiser will be charged a fee for each click. The positioning of your ad on the search pages is dependent on how much you bid; if your competitors bid more than you, then their ads will be displayed more prominently than yours.
The most popular PPC program on the Internet, as of this writing, is Google Adwords. Google was the company that pioneered the PPC industry, and though it has become wildly popular, most people, especially those who don't make money through the Internet, are unaware of its existence. Even if they are, many people don't know how to properly use Adwords. Just opening an account and getting your ad listed is not enough. We recommend purchasing or acquiring additional books on Adsense and PPC to learn how you can gain an edge over your competition.
In order to maximize the exposure of your business, we highly recommend opening an account with Adwords. Both Yahoo and MSN also have their own PPC programs, but these are not as famous as Adwords. However, you may want to give these two programs a look as well. One thing that you must keep in mind is that the vast majority of people who work as freelancers, even over the web, will not use the many strategies we've discussed so far in this book. This will give you a powerful edge.
Between Craigslist, Back Page, and Google Adwords, there is no reason why you should not be getting a steady stream of customers. If you choose to learn SEO and either optimize your site, or pay someone to do it for you, this will bring even more targeted people to your website, and if you have taken our advice and developed skills in an area which is high in demand and lucrative, as well as an area you like and are naturally good at, then you have set the stage which will allow you to thrive and make a competitive salary, regardless of how the larger economy is doing.