Whether you’re new to freelancing or you’ve been at it at a while, you’ll quickly discover that your field, whether it’s writing, design, programming or some other freelance endeavor, changes constantly.  What’s “hot” today might be forgotten tomorrow, and new software, techniques and knowledge keep things constantly changing and moving forward.  If you want to be able to compete as a freelancer, you have to keep up.

Continuing education is a great way to make sure you always know what’s new in your field.  Classes and workshops, of course, are an easy way to stay abreast of the latest search engine techniques or design principles.  But there are other ways to continue your education and keep yourself valuable as a freelancer in an ever-changing marketplace.

Participate in industry forums, message boards and mailing lists.  Before you’re able to find 20 articles online about that new trend in Internet marketing, you’ll hear about it extensively on a business message board. If you’re seeing freelance programmers start to talk about a style that’s taking off with their clients, you’ll know it’s time to look into it for your own business.

Are several of your peers considering taking a certain course or workshop, or learning a specific skill?  There’s a reason for that.  Look into it for yourself so you’re ready when a potential client mentions something that will require those new skills of yours.

Continuing education is valuable for freelancers who want to expand to new areas, too, not just to learn what’s “hot” and “now.”  Take courses in your field to expand your knowledge and make yourself a more valuable freelancer able to do more things and handle projects larger in scope.  If you’re a web designer, for instance, consider learning the basics of writing for the web, so you can take on complete websites in the future rather than just handle the design.  If you’ve only ever written grants, look into learning how to write search-engine optimized articles or sales letters.

And don’t overlook continuing education for you when it comes to personal productivity.  Don’t limit yourself to learning only about your work; take workshops and classes on how to organize yourself, how to keep good records and how to find new clients. If you can learn new skills in business organization and financial record-keeping, it’s time well spent and will let you devote more time to actually doing your work.

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