7 Golden Rules To Follow For A Successful eLearning Career
Creating a good reputation and enjoying your eLearning career is always within reach. You just need to lay the groundwork beforehand and seize control of your own professional success. There are a lot of paths to get you there. You will likely devise your own formula for the best way to grow and maintain your eLearning career through trial and error. However, there are 7 secrets that almost every eLearning freelancer discovers at one point or another. Read on to find out what seasoned eLearning experts already know, and start putting them into practice today.
1. Create Original eLearning Content
This goes far beyond of not plagiarizing or failing to properly cite the work of others. Creating original eLearning content shows you are really actively engaged in your eLearning career. Creativity is at the crux of standing out for clients. Don’t resort to cheap gimmicks or fads, but really carve out your eLearning niche in your field. Developing a reputation as an eLearning expert in certain realms will go a long way. You will quickly become the go-to person in that area, and start getting referrals rather than having to seek out work.
2. Treat Your Long-Term Clients Like Gold
These clients will get you through the lean times, when finding new eLearning projects just isn’t as easy. Every eLearning professional experiences an occasional work dry spell. This is why relying on your long-term clients is so important. Developing strong relationships with your long-term clients will also lead to honest and helpful feedback that you can use to improve. Sometimes new clients are hesitant to be critical, and you miss opportunities to advance. Ask your trusted clients what they would like to see from you the next time you work together. Your entire eLearning client base will benefit.
3. Stay Active In The eLearning Community
Learn the rules from people who have been there. Since eLearning is a digital career, it comes as no surprise that there is a strong online community of eLearning experts out there. They will give you tips and advice to get the most out of your eLearning career. They are also an excellent source of information about what is going on in the field. You will need to stay on top of what clients want, and often eLearning forums and closed social media groups are a great place to find out what’s happening.
4. Monitor Your Own Success
Creating a digital archive of your best work will save you time and stress. It can be difficult to keep all of your past eLearning projects straight while you are constantly working. However, when a client asks if you have worked on a particular type of eLearning project before, you can refer to this list. A success "database" is also a great resource to have handy when you are trying to get new work. You will be able to cite real examples of past eLearning projects that went well instead of referring to them in vague terms.
5. Develop An Online Presence
This is a great way to entice clients to come to you with work. It is also an excellent way to establish a reputation and gain the trust of potential clients. When employers are looking at resumes, they will often do a quick online search of the candidates. eLearning career opportunities are no different. Also, your clients should have a professional website to land on when they look up your name. You can also use this online presence as a way to build up a digital eLearning portfolio of past work. When a potential client asks for samples of work, you can send them a clean link instead of a jumble of random PDFs. The online eLearning portfolio should also give people a way to contact you about working together so that you can get new clients through your website traffic.
6. Take Breaks
There is a tendency for eLearning freelancers to overwork themselves. Without regular work hours or mandatory overtime rules being dictated by human resources, it's easy to exhaust yourself. This can lead to burnout and make you enjoy your work less than you should. Instead of working all day every day, set times for yourself to get things done. If there is an emergency situation, then handle it out of these hours. Otherwise, it can wait. It might be tempting to work constantly as most eLearning freelancers are paid hourly, or they want to wrap up eLearning projects quickly to move onto the next. However, if you get into that habit, your work quality may suffer and your clients will definitely notice.
7. Keep A List Of Your Favorite Clients
Even if they weren’t long-term clients, knowing who you enjoyed working with is a great plan. When you develop a new skill you want to test out, you will know just where to look. Staying connected with these clients can be an incredible pathway to more eLearning projects, as well. Bonus, if you already have a good track record with the client, they're more likely to hire you over a new contractor. So, keep a running list of your favorite clients on hand.
eLearning careers are growing in popularity due to the excellent benefits and broad range of work available. If you are considering getting into the field, you need to keep up with the daily work maintenance, just like with any other job. Stay involved in the field and engaged with your eLearning client base to ensure that you have a steady stream of work and a winning reputation. Not to mention, the job satisfaction you will experience if you follow these 7 golden rules.
Are you ready to start your successful eLearning career? Download our Free eBook How To Build A Successful eLearning Career to find out how to choose your eLearning niche, promote your services, and establish your eLearning expertise.
