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Are you new to freelance writing and wondering how to find writing projects?
It’s common for new freelance writers to be unsure of how to find work. Having trouble finding work is even common for a seasoned writer.
Here are five ways to find freelance writing jobs that may help you.
Methods for Finding Writing Jobs
Here are five common methods that freelance writers use to look for work:
- Apply for jobs at a blog that lists gigs. There are a number of great blogs that go out of their way to find new freelance writing opportunities on a regular basis. Two of these are Freelance Writing Jobs and About Freelance Writing. When you apply to a gig listed on one of these sites remember that many other freelance writers are probably doing the same thing.
- Bid at a bidding site. Bidding have the reputation of driving down freelancer rates, and in many cases they do. However, many freelance writers get a good start at one of these sites. Two popular bidding sites are Guru.com and Elance.
- Querying a magazine. Is writing a magazine article your ambition? With the write querying skills and some persistence you can get an article published. Here are some tips from James Adams, How to Write for Print Magazines: 10 Tips.
- Get active in social networking. As I wrote here, social networking works! Not immediately, but in the long-term. But, you have to do it with intent and purpose.
- Target businesses with your copywriting skills. Last week I shared a great resource that can help nearly anyone learn copywriting. As I explained then, writing for businesses really does offer some of the highest paying writing opportunities.
What Works for Most
Most writers use a combination of the methods listed above to find work. The best way to get started is to pick several methods that appeal to you and use one of them for an hour (or so) every day. You may need to spend more time looking for work if you are between projects or just starting out.
Finally, if one way of looking for work doesn’t seem to be working for you, try something different. Go back to this list and pick another method or try something else you’ve learned. Flexibility is part of freelance writing!
How do you find your writing projects?
14 responses so far ↓
1 Chris Garrett // Apr 19, 2011 at
What worked best for me to get the higher paying gigs was to talk about my freelance writing on my own site and in guest articles (most allow at least an author bio if mentioning your freelancing is not relevant in the content). People who like how you write are more likely to be better customers or referrals than people who you have to bid for 🙂
2 Laura Spencer // Apr 19, 2011 at
Hi Chris!
First of all, great to have you as a reader. 🙂
I do agree that blogging is a good way to get work (that’s why I maintain this blog). Having a blog is almost mandatory for a freelance writer, at least in my opinion.
Originally, I was aiming this post towards new writers who may not have set up a blog yet. At the last moment I broadened the scope and added in seasoned writers.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of bidding sites. I used them a few times in the beginning, but moved on. However, I do know a few writers who (still) claim to have gotten good results there–so I left it on the list.
3 Debra Stang // Apr 19, 2011 at
Most of my clients find me through my website and blogs. If I’m going through a dry spell however, I’ll go to the job sites and apply for anything that looks halfway interesting and profitable. I’m not proud! LOL.
4 Laura Spencer // Apr 19, 2011 at
Thanks Debra!
I think it’s definitely important for a freelance writer to have a blog. 🙂
5 Patrick Ross // Apr 21, 2011 at
This is a very helpful article, thanks!
I have a blog, but my freelance web site is separate. They’re linked, and there’s overlap (my writing samples are on the blog site) but the blog is also a tool for me to build an audience and experience for my creative writing.
My most recent client came through another social media avenue, LinkedIn. Someone saw an update I did, someone else who knew somebody who was looking for a freelance writer on that topic saw it, and the other person emailed me. It felt like magic!
6 Laura Spencer // Apr 21, 2011 at
Hi Patrick!
Thanks for the feedback and the nice story about LinkedIn. I definitely believe in the power of social media. 🙂
I think it’s fine to separate your blog and your freelancing site. What would worry me would be a freelancer who had little or no online presence.
7 M.K. // May 16, 2011 at
Freelancing can be a pretty hard gig to get into. I’ve been doing it for almost a year and I’m still sort of scrambling around, trying to find my place. I did come up with some tips, though, that I’ve learned since starting my career as a writer. These are some things I wish I’d been told before I jumped in head first without a backup plan haha: http://www.best5everything.com/best5ListPages/waysmakefreelancewriter71362.php
8 Laura Spencer // May 17, 2011 at
Hi M.K.
I agree that freelancing can be a struggle. But, it is one area where hard work can really pay off. 🙂
9 Ajay // May 19, 2011 at
Sites like Guru.com, Elance, freelancer.com are more hit than miss. They operate in very grey area.
The best way to find a freelance job is to search for it. There are plenty of job sites dedicated to freelancing jobs. Such as http://www.freelancejobsforall.com, http://www.wordpressfreelance.com etc.
10 Writer Blog // Aug 14, 2011 at
Great tips… bidding site obviously force you to work for peanuts as there is so much competition. And it really pays off – work whenever, wherever whatever you want 🙂 I love being a freelancer!
11 Ray // Aug 23, 2011 at
@ Ajay said, “Sites like Guru.com, Elance, freelancer.com are more hit than miss. They operate in very grey area.
The best way to find a freelance job is to search for it. There are plenty of job sites dedicated to freelancing jobs. Such as http://www.freelancejobsforall.com, http://www.wordpressfreelance.com etc.”
The problem is global positioning. I consider myself to be a good writer but don’t think that it’s worth the effort to try and compete for work. Brad Callen has just launched a service called iWriter where freelancer’s can write for $2-4 an article! I live in New Zealand so it just doesn’t make sense to me to compete for work.
12 Christine // Oct 1, 2011 at
Fiverr.com is another site where budding writers can get a number of jobs (or gigs) to fill in between better paying jobs. It also gives them the opportunity to get their name out to a much wider audience. I’ve used it a number of times and for the good writers I’m always happy to pay them a little more when they eventually move on from Fiverr.
13 Laura Spencer // Oct 2, 2011 at
Hi Everyone!
Interesting comments.
Ajay–I agree that bidding sites tend to be hit or miss. They do seem to work for some, though.
Ray, I think the best strategy for those of us who live where the cost of living is higher is to find multiple private clients who are willing to pay for quality and reliability. Price should not be our main selling point. Fortunately, there is quite a demand for writing and writing clients often become repeat clients.
Thanks Christine. I typically don’t recommend Fiverr.com to freelance writers simply because five dollars is too low of a price for most writers to accept. I can’t think of too many projects small enough that this could be a sustainable source of work for freelance writers. Also, typically low-budget clients do not morph into high-budget clients. You state that you pay them “a little bit” more, but I would contend that “a little bit” more than five dollars is probably really still too low.
14 A Beginner’s Guide to Freelance Writing | Freelance Critique // Sep 5, 2012 at
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