If you’re searching for the Top freelance sites in Nigeria, then you surely already know how profitable freelancing can be.
Freelancing is one of the best ways to make money online in Nigeria, especially as a beginner.
This is because you do not need to make any investment upfront or have any marketing experience.
Top Freelance Sites in Nigeria
These freelance sites are free to join and have paid millions of dollars to their freelancers.
1. Fiverr:
Fiverr is one of the largest freelance marketplaces, especially among Nigerians.
The platform currently has millions of monthly buyers thereby making it an amazing source of revenue for freelancers.
Fiverr has a wide range of categories thus making it accessible to freelancers with almost any type of skill.
Name a talent you have, it almost probably going to be on the Fiverr marketplace.
To be really successful on Fiverr, don’t limit yourself to the generic freelance services you hear around like writing, graphics design, website development, and so on.
If you can sing, play instruments, or maybe even design interiors, your services are most likely needed in the marketplace.
One thing I love about Fiverr is how they offer PayPal and Payoneer payments and require barely any identification process to get started.
So if you need my opinion on the best freelancing website to try out, it’ll be Fiverr.
Just make sure you understand what it takes to rank on Fiverr and actually get people clicking on your gigs and you’ll be good to go.
Watch this video to learn the exact skills I used to make $1000/ Month on Fiverr.
Read this article to learn my simple step-by-step process for making money on Fiverr in Nigeria
2. Upwork
Upwork hasn’t been the best platform for me but what I do know is that Upwork has made a lot of Nigerians rich and you can be next.
With Upwork, things are a bit more different than on Fiverr.
First, you are going to have to bid for jobs on Upwork.
Contractors or business owners come on to Upwork and make job postings. Freelancers then apply with proposals to get chosen.
To get chosen, you need to make sure your proposals are intriguing, eye-catching, and convincing enough to land you the job as opposed to other freelancers that apply.
This makes UpWork a lot harder than Fiverr where you simply have to list your services and wait for clients to reach them.
The one thing Upwork has over Fiverr though is its high-ticket potential, let me explain.
On Fiverr, you might make only a few dollars per gig especially when you’re just starting out but on Upwork the earning potential is crazy.
I’ve seen services posted and priced at several thousand dollars.
3. LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals, the platform is also a powerful resource for freelancers online and guess what? You have control over how you get clients.
LinkedIn provides freelancers with all the resources they need to land clients right on the platforms.
Just like Upwork, you can apply to job listings on LinkedIn’s Job boards, you could also make your services public on your profile and for the most common way freelancers use LinkedIn to get jobs, you can reach out to ideal clients yourself.
Asides from Fiverr, LinkedIn is one of my Top Freelance sites in Nigeria. This is because the platform has so much potential.
How To Freelance on LinkedIn
a. Choose a Niche
To make LinkedIn work for you, you need to make sure you choose one particular niche market to serve and make sure to stick with it.
You can be a graphics designer, but on LinkedIn, I need you to serve one particular market with your skills, this makes you a lot more attractive to potential buyers.
You could decide on being a graphics designer for NFT Companies or coaches, just to suit yourself.
b. Optimize your LinkedIn profile:
Once you’ve decided on a Niche, it’s time to optimize your LinkedIn profile as this is just like your Mini-Resume.
It needs to be as professional and concise as can be while stating all the necessary info needed to convince your potential client that you’re credible and up to the task.
Remember to keep your Niche market in mind while optimizing your profile.
c. Send Connections:
LinkedIn is like Facebook for professionals, and just like you can send friend requests on Facebook, you also get the chance to send connection requests.
Your connections are your network hence you need to be strategic about who you send requests to.
LinkedIn only allows 100 connections per week, you, therefore, need to maximize it.
Only send connection requests to people who might be interested in your service, because most LinkedIn users will be checking your profile before accepting your connection requests, this is why you should only send requests to people who’d be attracted to your profile.
d. Engage with them and create content:
Unlike what most Gurus will tell you, you need to create content on LinkedIn.
If you think you’re just going to send a couple of messages pitching your services after your requests are accepted and get clients that way, then you must be kidding.
People need to know, like, and trust you before they make a decision on whether they want to do business with you.
Hence make sure you’re building relationships and also sharing content that pertains to your service. e.g your design projects and client work.
This way your connections see your content and if you did your niche research well and connected with the right people who are in need of your service, you’ll definitely start getting messages from clients looking to work with you.
You can also pitch your services naturally when they trust you better.
4. People Per Hour:
PeoplePerHour is another freelancing option for Nigerians and people like to rank the platform as the best next to Upwork.
The platform is just like Upwork and you also get to apply with proposals to job postings made by potential clients.
With PeoplePerHour, a huge caveat is you might or might not get accepted based on the quality of your application.
So when applying to the platform make sure to fill out all of the details.
Just like the other platforms, People Per Hour has a wide range of service categories.
Sure, maybe not be as robust as Fiverr, but it’s still a sure website for freelancers to get high-quality jobs.
5. Freelancer.com:
Truth be told, this platform is my least favorite platform of all the freelancing platforms on this list, the jobs available on the platform barely make freelancers any money.
Talk less about the crazy competition that exists on the platform.
I haven’t had any success with this platform but if you’re a freelancer looking to create multiple streams of income from your freelance skill, you could consider trying out this platform.
One thing you’ll need to keep in mind is the fact that the platform has so many spam applicants and clients as the case may be. So I’d rather you don’t focus solely on it as your main revenue source.
6. Guru:
Guru is another job freelancing site also with a wide range of services for the most common freelance services in the likes of web development, writing, and graphics design, you get the point.
Unlike the other freelancing websites, Guru is more of a job board where you submit proposals just like on Upwork although not as robust.
Guru is a much better option in light of the competition present on the platform in comparison to that on Upwork.
7. Craigslist:
Craigslist is an all-in-one platform for making money online, and as expected it’s most definitely a useful resource for freelancers.
Craigslist is available worldwide and you can leverage its job board feature to find job listings tailored to your skill.
There are remote jobs available with international clients and you call the shots and keep all of the commissions unlike the other platforms on this list.
8. Dribbble:
Dribbble is more like a social media platform for graphics designers. You heard that right, to all my graphics designers out there, this is the platform for you.
Freelance graphics designers make posts of their work, optimize it to rank on the platform, and get potential clients looking at the projects.
Dribbble has millions of active users and images on the platform get to rank on google images and that’s definitely an added boost of traffic.
Dribbble provides you with features to help clients reach out to you in need of your services.
So if you’re a graphics designer and you have so many project photos and client work, it might be of good use to put them to work by uploading them on the platform.
9. Designhill:
It feels like graphic designers win when it comes to the many platforms that provide job listings for their service.
Designhill is a freelance website just like Upwork and Fiverr and this platform is made for designers only.
Projects are listed, while designers upload their best work to bid for these projects in hopes of having their design chosen at the end.
Designers can also apply to the different design jobs available on the platform. Other freelance platforms for designers include Designcrowd and 99 Designs.
10. Owodaily:
This freelance platform is made in Nigeria for Nigerians.
It worked quite differently from the other platforms on this list but still makes Nigerians earn a reasonable income online.
On Owodaily, you don’t get to pick the services you offer, Instead, business owners and entrepreneurs pay you to complete microtasks.
These tasks can be done by anyone even with just a phone. Some of them include: subscribing to a YouTube channel, signing up for an account, and much more.
If you are struggling to make any money online, I highly recommend you try Owodaily.
You can start making money on the platform as quickly as from day 1.
So if you’re a complete beginner looking to make money fast in Nigeria, Owodaily is the easiest way to get started.
Read this article to learn everything about making money on Owodaily
With my list on the top freelance sites in Nigeria in hand, you are more than equipped to make money as a freelancer in Nigeria.
Freelancing on these different platforms has made several Nigerians financially free but if you want to truly grow as a freelancer online, you’re going to have to start your own freelance business and market it yourself.
Offering your freelance services on the above listed platforms isn’t secure.
You don’t own the audience and you can get kicked out at anytime.
With a freelance business, you take up te task of finding freelance clients and marketing your services to them.
Luckily for you, we have a host of free resources to help you get started.