Being a freelancer means that you are responsible for your working setup and running your own business. This might seem daunting, but there are many tools, programmes, and organisations out there to make your life easier – and many are free!
These are some of our favourite business tools for freelancers:
The basics/ general tech:
These might seem a bit silly to include in a list, but they are the key things you need to set up your business.
- A working laptop
- A phone and contract
- Office gear:
This will be a bit more personal to you. But just keep in mind that your home will be your workplace and that you should be comfortable working there.
What is it you need for that and your everyday work routine? A stack of notepads to hand, colourful pens, a mouse and keyboard, a laptop stand, a printer. Whatever it is, it is good to have these ready to go.
A portfolio page/ website, and social media accounts
As a journalist, your portfolio is your shopfront. It is a way for editors and clients to get a glimpse of your work and who you are when they are looking to work with you.
Websites offer a sleek way to have this all in one place, however, there are also many other options that require a little bit less work/ upkeep if a website seems too daunting, including Muck Rack, Journo Portfolio, and Linktree.
Social media accounts
Social media is another way for you to connect with editors, clients, and others in the industry. Twitter often is full of pitch call outs and can be a great way to find commissions, too. There’s no need to be overlay active all the time and sticking to regiment posting schedules, but having an online presence on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram can give people looking to work with insight into you.
Calendars/ Meeting-planning tools
A digital calendar
Be it Google Calendar, Outlook, or the one built into your laptop or phone. A digital calendar is an easy way to track meetings, deadlines, and your daily life all in one. Plus, these are often free!
Scheduling tools
Doodle is a great tool to schedule meetings with people. Rather than having to email your availability back and forth, you can input the dates and times you are free. Once done, you can then send a link with your availability to the people you are trying to organise a meeting with. They will then be able to choose from the options you gave.
Calendly does a similar thing, but you can also automate sending the link. And more recently, Google released a similar scheduling too, but you need to be using Gmail to access it.
Time tracking
Toggl Track is perfect for keeping track of your hours, this tool is an essential for any freelancer, especially if you’re working on an hours basis with your clients. This is also perfect for tracking how many hours you spend on admin and other tasks, as an insight into what is taking up too much of your time.
Another option is Caato Time Tracker. This is another time tracker with a very simple user interface. You can add your project and press ‘play’ and ‘pause’ to track your time.
Project management software
For yourself – Excel/Google Sheet/Numbers
It might be a bit ‘old school’ but Excel/Google Sheet/Numbers is great for creating easily accessible and editable spreadsheets that can help you with different aspects of your career. One thing that has helped me as a freelancer immensely is spreadsheet on which I track pitch call outs and emails of editors I have seen on Twitter, and I also have another spreadsheet on which I gather my pitch ideas and where I sent them to.
For yourself – Trello
Trello is an online tool for managing projects and personal tasks and it is really useful to help you stay organised when you have multiple projects and deadlines (which – let’s face it – most of us do all the time!). You can create boards and categorise and highlight tasks within them , set reminders and deadlines, and overall get a visual cue of what you still need to do.
To work with others – Asana
Project management systems help everyone stay on the same page. Asana is great for smaller collaborative projects, as the free version lets you work with up to 15 people. You can have an overview of any projects you’re working on, break it down into tasks, assign people to them, and stay on top of deadlines.
An invoice template
There are dedicated tools to create invoices, but really you can create and use your own template. Journo Resources have a big collection of guides but their guides on ‘Freelance Rates’ and ‘Invoice and Account Templates’ could be particularly helpful when you are looking for a place to start.
If you do find using a tool easier, there are some options online such as Zoho and some other programmes such as Canva, as well as some bank accounts, actually offer invoice creators alongside their main functions!
An accounting system
Having a good accounting system not only helps improve your bookkeeping but can also help you save money when it comes to your tax return.
Some people just use Excel/Google Sheet/Numbers or this and these programmes really are a great, easy way to keep track of your incomings and outgoings.
If you are not a fan of spreadsheets, there are other options for you, including Ember or Quickbooks. However, something to keep in mind is that these programmes do charge.
A separate bank account
Separating your personal and business transactions will help you see your expenses and income more clearly, without everything merging into one. There are many options to choose from, including Monzo, Revolut, and Tide, which all work well alongside other current accounts and come with extra options to make your life easier. Tide, for example, also helps you create invoices directly from mobile banking, so you don’t have to stress over creating invoices!
Productivity tools
Email trackers/ Email marketing tools
Most email providers, including Outlook and Gmail, have built in email trackers which you can use to receive ‘delivery receipts’ (whether an email was delivered) and ‘read receipts’ (when someone has seen your email).
If you are looking for something with more functions and analytics, or to run email campaigns/ newsletters, Substack and Mailchimp offer easy-to-use interfaces and many options. However, some of these come with a price tag!
Transcriptions programme (Otter.ai)
Otter.ai lets you upload voice recordings and will auto-transcribe them. It also lets you record interviews as they happen and creates a transcript. While the programme does not deal well with low audio quality or accents, it does still save time, as it gives you an overview of what was said at a glance and you can go to the sections you are looking to use in your piece, listen back, and edit the transcription. Overall, it is a great tool to use – plus the free version already offers many of these perks and the premium versions are not too pricey. (Don’t put confidential or sensitive information on there though!)
This useful website is basically the extreme version of the sidebar on Twitter and is really useful for inspiration for stories based on current events and trends. Through an interactive map, you can explore the trends happening now in any part of the world including trending hashtags, often mentioned accounts, and keywords.
Canva
Having graphics in your articles, your website, or your social media, is a great way to make your work stand out. Canva is a great online design tool that lets you make anything from infographics, presentations, social media images, CVs, cover letters and so much more! It has a vast selection of templates and is easy to use even if you are new to graphic design and image editing. Plus, it can do a lot more, too. From sharing between teams, to scheduling content for socials and the ability to create a website, Canva is much more than a design app, and definitely a good part of any freelancer’s toolkit.
A community/ support network
While you might have to run your own businesses when you are a freelancer and self-employed, it does not mean you have to do it all alone. Having a support network can be such a boost to productivity, help you whenever you’re struggling, and just give you the social network you might otherwise have in an office. Many online groups also simultaneously connect you with sources for stories, so you might even find more work in one of them, too (win-win!).
There are so many organisations and online communities supporting journalists and media professionals out there, including – but not limited to:
