As a freelancer that wants to be paid for their hard work, there are a number of things that you will need to take into consideration all the time. First of all, you must understand that there are a lot of people who are looking to do the same thing that you are doing, and for this reason you may have to face up to a lot of competition. That should however not leave you cowed. There is a good chance that with the right ideas, you will easily come to appreciate what you are doing, and lots of clients will also come to appreciate working with you.
The first thing that you need to know about this so that you can get paid is to get into contractual agreements with clients. There is nothing as important as being able to get someone tied down to a contract, which they have to honor or they face the wrath of not honoring the contract.
Most of the time a lot of beginner freelancers go about their work without taking time to think about this, and only wish things would have been different once they have been scammed. This is a situation that you should not allow yourself to get into, and because of this reason, always make sure that you are armed with a contractual document between yourself and the client, and this should spell out the reasonable terms and conditions of a breach of contractual obligations.
Next you need to market yourself if you are to be paid. No one will come looking for you in your house to offer you a paying job. You have to take the initiative to get out there, search for paying clients, and ensure that you discuss the terms of your arrangement with them.
The one important thing that you have to realize about freelancing is that it is a never ending cycle of marketing your skills and abilities to those who you want to work with. While companies spend their time marketing their products and their brands, your role is to ensure that you get to aptly market your ability to deliver to the clients' needs and demands. Most importantly you should possess the ability to make their work one of a kind, if you want to be paid, and paid well for that matter.