In general, you need experience in order to win more and higher paying freelance projects… but it’s those freelance projects that ultimately give you the experience. It’s a catch-22 that freelancers face all the time: How to get experience if you don’t already have it. Here are some ideas to help: 

1. Blog. Blogging prolifically about your project is a great way to demonstrate your ability in the subject matter. It shows that you think a lot about the topic and that can sometimes replace (or be better than) actual experience.
2. Work pro bono. Offer your skills to a charitable organization for free. Focus on just one or two areas where you’d like to get business. (For example, if you want to do some freelance graphic design, offer to design their next campaign for free).
3. Work on the cheap. Find a desperate entrepreneur who needs your services but doesn’t have the money to pay you. Work for them. Point out that it’s a limited time offer and try to secure some kind of extra benefit (such as attribution or a glowing testimonial). I wouldn’t recommend this as an ongoing way to run a business but it can be an easy and fast way to get your foot in the door.
4. Offer additional projects for free. Rely on your money-making deliverables but offer a free deliverable as a bonus. When I first started writing, I had no direct marketing experience but I wanted some. So, since most of my projects were web-content related, I offered a free bonus of direct marketing content with every purchase. I was thrown into the fire and honed my skill on the fly and ended up with a pile of good references at the end of my promotion.
5. Work on commission. This isn’t that unusual in some parts of the freelancing world but it is pretty unusual in other parts. By working on commission, you are simply giving your work away free now but hoping that it earns enough in the future to pay you back. Depending on the work, it could end up earning even more than if they paid up-front. The only challenge is that you need to stay on top of your payments and make sure that they are sending you money when you deserve it.
6. Reference old work. Before you were a freelancer you worked as something else. Those experiences can play a role, too. Before becoming a freelancer, I was a sales manager, so I created and performed a ton of training. When I became a freelancer, I referenced those “career” successes and it helped me acquire several training content projects. 

Please don’t misread what I’m saying: I don’t want an army of freelancers who are angry at me for suggesting that you undercut the competition or work slavishly for next to nothing. However, I recognize that you do need to climb the ladder and it requires you to start at the bottom rung. It’s no different than a regular career: You don’t start at the top of the business; you start as the part-time mail-room lackey who works late for next to nothing to prove your ability. Then you move up. Freelancers do have opportunities to gain plenty of experience to get better jobs. 

And here’s a bonus tip: Don’t ever stop doing this. I’ve been freelancing for 15 years and I still do this. Whenever there is a new skill I want to learn, I run through nearly all of these tips and gain enough of an experience base and portfolio in that skill that I can add it to my services.