Nowadays it is not strange to become a freelancer. In fact, the digital nomad lifestyle keeps growing. Indeed, freelancers make up 35 percent of the U.S. workforce. People who work off-site are in demand since they help companies meet their business goals. Freelancers are useful for companies as they don't require contracts that other employees do. Besides, they are hired for project, which maximizes their productivity. They are not getting paid per hour, out of which they might spend time on social media, and they are not paid for holidays or sick leave.

Whether you are looking for another source of income, more professional development opportunities or like the freedom freelancing offers, you just need to get out there and find these opportunities to start earning money.

If you are wondering where to find these opportunities, here's a list of websites where you can find freelance job opportunities. Before you shop around these websites, try to establish a portfolio of past work.

Upwork

With over 1.5 million clients, Upwork is the most popular freelance job site on the Internet today. From short to long-term projects, hourly or per project work, and both expert-level and entry-level projects, the website suits everyone regardless of where they are in their career. When you first start out, they take a 20% part of your earnings, but this will decrease as you get more experience.

This is a great website for beginners as it allows you to make a profile right away and gives you payment protection. Upwork has been praised for representing the ultimate informal workplace communication, employing social media tools and cloud-based applications to encourage productivity. This reduces search friction, maximizes productivity and efficiency, and, therefore, benefits the economy as a whole.

Guru

Also highly popular, Guru is a good alternative to Upwork as it doesn't charge you Upwork's high service fees. Over a million freelancers use this platform to find both fixed and hourly jobs. They just post their profile and the website has a feature that matches new job opportunities with your experience and what you are looking for.

Freelancer

Apart from allowing you to apply to freelance jobs, Freelancer also features contests for freelancers to compete and prove their skills. Although the website is relatively new, it already has a huge base of users; as there are so many customers and clients, it is an excellent place to showcase your abilities and get more jobs.

Toptal

Unlike the other websites, Toptal targets seasoned freelancers. Even though the website has a meticulous screening process, once you pass it, you get access to meaning projects with huge clients (including JPMorgan, Zendesk, Airbnb, etc) and fair compensation (no low-bid contests).

We Work Remotely

This is the ultimate job board for freelancers. Jobs include customer service, programming and more. Despite offering jobs in all areas - which traditionally require an office - the website showcases freelance jobs only.

Onsite

Onsite is an invite-only platform that requires you to provide work examples to be considered for admission. Once you are in, however, you'll have access to a large marketplace of fantastic freelance opportunities.

Matchist

This platform allows its users to submit a project idea they want to take off. The website then assigns a project manager and matches them with experts to make it happen. The site allows you become one of these experts and benefit from the job opportunities.

Indeed

You might have seen Indeed while searching for a job. The reason why Indeed is all over the place is because the site compiles data from job opportunities around the Internet all in one place. The website's reach is so massive, you might be able to get over a thousand job opportunities on one go.

Freelanced

With that name, you already know they kept freelancers in mind when they built this platform. The site allows you to set up your profile, set your rates and apply for job postings on the sites.

Skip the Drive

The database includes remote and telecommute jobs in business, accounting, web development, human resources, customer service, engineering and more.

Working Nomads

The site offers a list of freelance jobs that get sent straight to your inbox. They had freelancers in mind when they built this website so everything you find on its database will be relevant to you.

Giant Amazon acquired Whole Foods and, subsequently changed the world of everyone in the business of selling, supplying or hauling groceries.

With its $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, Amazon.com has become one of the major players in the U.S. grocery industry. The move could also turn into profits for food manufacturers, other supermarket chains such as the nation's largest by market share, Kroger, and for the biggest seller of groceries in the U.S. which is Walmart. The online seller getting into the world of groceries could also create a challenge for companies that deliver groceries, including Fresh Direct and Peapod.

Once Amazon is a player in the industry, anything can go, said Joe Agnese, senior food retailing analyst at CFRA. The big threat is what else they can do. Now that they have a retail presence with (more than) 400 stores, long-term they can expand on that threat. They can (bring) pricing pressure. They could bring down prices and everyone would have to match them or lose share.

Over the years, Amazon has explored new markets and introduced online shopping to new areas of business such as books, electronics, clothes and household items. Amazon has changed the world of retail by offering the opportunity to customers of buying these products online for less money and then getting delivered them to their doors. As online shopping is more efficiently than buying from a bricks-and-mortar shop, Amazon entering these areas of businesses meant the demise of smaller shops as well as big household names.

The Amazon.com empire doesn't end in the acquisition of Whole Foods. I don't think that this will be the last of Amazon's purchases, said Rafael Romero, vice president of Florida-based real estate firm CREC's retail division. They fully recognize that brick and mortar and online retailing is all retailing and you need both.

Amazon's success in every retail industry is thanks to their research of the market and adaptation to the market. Thanks to Amazon's expertise in crunching customer data, they are ready to attract new markets. Amazon also means the future as the new generations are more used to shopping online, and Amazon is already a giant in this area. The new generations are used to using their smartphones and with a few taps on their phone they buy something they want.

I think it's a great idea, Trish Wichmann of New York said about Amazon's reputation for speedy service. (Consumers are) used to texting. We're used to instant gratification. That's what we want. I think industries are trying to do that.

Thanks to Amazon's ability to crunch the numbers, they know what customers want and they are ready to offer it to them. That is why the big food stores that haven't adapted themselves to the new day and age, or they haven't done market research, are catching on. Amazon knows how to use technology to target its customers. For instance, they pay attention to a customer's shopping history and they use that make suggestions for new purchases. This way they keep their customers shopping while Amazon grows and grows.

Amazon is smart about mining data. They own data like Saudi Arabia has crude oil. Data is going to become only more (important) for those in grocery store business, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com.

As Amazon continues to grow and has already create its own brand, food manufacturers and producers have to catch up as well unless they don't want to be swallowed by the giant online seller.

If Amazon does indeed get to monopolize this area of businesses, they will also be able to control the price of it. There would be no competition so they will have immense power. If Amazon is able to gain the kind of scale they want in this space, they'll be very tough in commanding a price, Hamrick said.

If Amazon cuts Whole Foods' high prices - which is likely to do - mass retailers now selling groceries as well as supermarkets need to gear up and become more competitive in order to keep their customers.

With new competition entering the market, Walmart's era might be over. For almost three decades, Walmart has been the biggest threat to the supermarket industry and ever since the chain began to add profitable clothing, it has also been competing up against clothing retailers. Apart from Amazon entering the market, Germany's Lidl and Aldi have entered the market and with their varied products and low prices, they have created an extremely competitive environment. Times are changing and traditional businesses have to gear up in order to survive.

When you are the owner of a startup, it can be difficult to be seen on the Net. To start with, you don't have the massive budgets other giants do and, therefore, you cannot advertise as much as them. That is why you need to find alternative ways to drive traffic to your site and this is how:

Facebook remarketing

This day and age, marketing has much to do with Facebook. Social media allows you to access a huge market and reach the audience you want. Whether you are in the B2B or B2C industry, Facebook is an excellent promotion tool. It allow you to set up remarketing audiences by installing a Facebook tracking pixel on your site, which allows you to market to customers who have visited your site; in other words, it allows you to reach potential customers who have already expressed their interest in your product. This is a great way to create return traffic to your business blog or website.

Facebook email custom audiences

With Facebook, you can reuse that email list of your customers. Upload that list into Facebook and capture the social accounts of anyone that has their email address attached to it. With this feature, you can reach those users directly on their mobile devices.

Twitter remarketing

Similarly to Facebook, you just have to install the pixel and then target your sites visitors on Twitter. The only difference is that to start advertising with Twitter, you'll need a higher minimum of audience.

Ad's headline

Most people will only read the headline of your ad, so you should be focusing on making your headline the best you can. Your headline is your ticket to grab your audiences' attention and persuade them to visit your site.

Build an email list

You can also use emails for social promotion. A way to do this is by emailing newsletters. Make sure that you have a newsletter opt-in on your website.

Blog

This is a great way to drive traffic to your site. Just make sure you have a link on your site that will drive your audience to your website. Don't forget to promote your blog on social media, as you won't get traffic on your website from your blog if nobody knows your blog to start with. You should have a campaign constantly running that is featuring your blog posts and that is aimed at your custom audience.

Optimize your site for SEO

Use a software like SEMrush to give you a complete SEO audit and show you what you should fix. You should optimize your site as much as possible for the search engine robots that will be all over your website.

Exchange blog posts with other sites

Find other blogs in similar industries as yours, then reach out to the administrators and ask them if they would like to swap blog posts so you can reach more audience.

Automate your emails

Most companies work with marketing automation. If you think this is too expensive for you, you can opt for lower cost marketing automation platforms such as Autopilot and Hatchbuck.

You should have email campaigns set up for everything, so once you have your software set up, they are ready to go. You should have an automated email campaign when someone fills out a form, downloads more content or signs up for the newsletter. If you keep reaching out to your customers via email, you'll continue to drive relevant traffic to your site.

Become a contributor

Just like swapping blog posts, contributing to other websites is a great way to drive traffic to your site. Every time you contribute, make sure that you mention your website, so readers will know where to find you once they've read your post. This is a great way to reach a larger audience. The more you contribute, the larger audience you'll reach. You also need to improve your writing skills to get audiences interested in what you are selling. Just keep writing and you'll get better with practice.

Host a webinar or webcast

You may have been invited to a healthy lifestyle webinar by one of your friends recently. Webinars or webcasts are fashionable at the moment and they are a great way to reach an audience and convince them they should buy your product. It allows you to showcase it by creating a fun and engaging presentation, and it's interactive: they can ask questions and you can answer them in real time. This is a good way to make an impression on them. They are also able to invite others.

Internet is an ocean of information and your online business is only one small particle of this water. It's a long shot for your business to triumph online, but it is more likely to do so if you follow some simple steps. From a newbie to a professional online entrepreneur, everyone can benefit from this process.

The first step is to do research on what people need and what they are looking for, so you can fill that void in the market. To start with, find a group of people - market - who are searching for a solution to a problem or something that is missing that could make their lives easier or a service that could make them happier.

The way to do this is by visiting online forums to see what kind of information people are looking for or what kind of solution to a problem they are trying to get. You can also do keyword search so you can find out what kind of keywords people are searching for and see that those needs are not being filled by too many sites. Get to know your competitors by visited their sites and take note of what they are doing to satisfy the demand. Once you get all the information you need, you can use it to create the ultimate product for the market you've been doing research on.

Upon completing that step, you must create a copy that sells. To start with, create a headline that attracts your market's interest. Then proceed to describe your product and how it fills a need. Then write about how you are a credible solver of this problem by adding testimonials from your customers and talk about how people will benefit from using your product. Then write an offer and make a strong guarantee. Lastly, create urgency and ask for the sale. Throughout your copy, you have to convince your readers that your product or service is what they need to solve a problem or make their lives easier. Your product or service needs to stand out from your competitors so customers will opt for you.

Now that you have your market and product, what you need is to design and build your website. Remember the key to a successful website is simplicity. First impressions are what count. You only have a few seconds to get your customers‘ attention.

Keep the design simple to get viewers to stay on your site. To achieve this, you must choose one or two plain fonts on a white background. Navigation has to be clear and simple on every page. The purpose of graphics, audio or video is to improve your message; otherwise, they are nothing but noise so don't use them unless they have a purpose. Remember that you need your readers to stay in touch and they way to do this is by getting them to subscribe to your site, so make sure you include an opt-in offer.

Remember that your customer is supposed to be easy to navigate in and it is directed to your customer, so think about your market and what they want to see. Also make it easy for your customers to buy, no more than two clicks; otherwise, they might turn to another provider. Nobody wants to waste their time figuring out a software.

Use search engines to lead your target market to your site. The easiest way to drive traffic to a new site is through pay-per-click advertising. This kind of advertising has two advantages: First, PPC ads show up on the search pages right away; second, PPC ads allow you to test different keywords, as well as headlines, prices and selling approaches. Therefore, PPC ads get you immediate traffic and allow you to discover the best, highest-converting keywords. Once you know which are the best keywords, you can distribute them throughout your site in your copy and code, which will help your rankings in the organic search results. Besides, this kind of advertising allows you to target your audience in particular by tagging their interests and needs.

Then you must use the information you publish on your site to make people believe you are an expert. If you give people information for free, they will automatically go to your website. What you must do is include a link to your site every time give information to other sites. This information can be in the form of articles, videos or any other content that people will find useful.