Finding Work as a Freelance Writer

When many people make the decision to become a freelance writer, they are inevitably intimidated by all of the options that are available. Once they get over that intimidation, they start trying to find work as a freelance writer. And they usually come up empty handed. Is it for a lack of jobs? Nope. It simply happens because newbies to the game of freelance writing have no idea whatsoever where to find freelance work as a writer. As a result, they give up without ever giving themselves a fair shot. That is why I will be talking about finding work as a freelance writer in this article, in the hopes of giving newbies a fair chance at becoming successful

5 Tips for Finding Work as a Freelance Writer

Tip #1: Check out Craigslist

Yes, it’s true that Craigslist has gotten a somewhat bad reputation in recent months with stories about people getting hurt after responding to a Craigslist ad, but none of this applies to writing and Craigslist still is one of the best places online to find work as a freelance writer. I myself have found several projects through Craigslist and it remains a solid place to find work. You can find work on Craigslist by checking out the jobs > writing/editing section, as well as the gigs > writing section. Don’t just check your local city, but rather, check the top cities in the United States, as most of these jobs will be telecommuting and the employer will not worry about where you are based.

Tip #2: Elance

Some people have bashed Elance because it charges a monthly fee for 15 or more bids. However, I have found that Elance is an invaluable source for finding work as a freelance writer. In just the month or so I have been there, I’ve already won 3 projects paying around $300. There are hundreds of new projects posted every month, and since it is a paid site, you will be competing against only 1-15 other people in your bidding. Plus, it is only $9.95 per month to join, so it is a really small investment for great work opportunities.

Tip #3: RentaCoder/GetaFreeLancer

I really cannot say enough about RentaCoder. Since joining there about a year ago, I have made around $4450 in writing projects. It is a constant source for work, and most projects pay pretty well, too. Sure, you are competing against lots of other bidders, but if you emphasize that you are an American/British/Canadian writer, you will have a leg up against the competition. GetAFreeLancer is also a terrific source for writing projects.

Tip #4: JournalismJobs.com

If you’ve gotten tired of using freelance project bid sites, it might be time to check out JournalismJobs.com. This is a site that will show you all of the available telecommuting writing jobs currently available, and a good amount of these are very well paying. While you will not find as many project possibilities with this site as you would on a freelance site, you should find some quality work here.

Tip #5: Always Provide Samples

If you have tried the sites listed above and have come up empty handed, don’t fret: you still can win projects, and it’s possible you’ve missed out so far for one reason: you didn’t provide samples. Since you are new to freelance writing on the internet, buyers will want you to prove that you have “it” and can write quality articles, ebooks and guides for them. The best way to prove this is to provide samples of your writing work when bidding on any projects and show the buyer that you are competent. If you do that, you will win projects and make money online as a freelance writer.

Often, I am asked by aspiring freelancers just how to get started in freelancing. It’s something that, admittedly, isn’t as straight forward as one would expect. Thus, it is something that really requires a bit of an explanation. What I have decided to do is create a 5 part series on this site for aspiring freelancers. In it, you will find all the information you need to become a freelancer and make money.

First Things First

Before you can begin to freelance, it is important to first figure out where your strengths lie. If you’ve already done work in a particular field, you might already know this. If not, it’s time to figure it out. Let’s consider the opportunities in freelancing.

Writing

Believe it or not, but writing is perhaps one of the most opportunity-filled jobs in all of freelancing. There are lots of businesses and individuals who are looking just for good writers that can produce content for them. I should know, as it’s something I’ve done for a while now and made a good deal of money from it.

So why is good writing in such demand? Well, most freelance sites are filled with writers who may not speak English as their primary language. As a result, the content they produce is not of a very high quality. Therefore, many businesses and individuals are looking specifically for high quality American, British and Canadian writers.

By now you might be asking “what if I’m not an amazing writer?” It’s OK. Most people can’t pen a novel like Stephen King. You don’t have to be a great writer in order to become a freelance writer. All you need is decent English skills and the ability to follow the buyer’s directions. That’s it.

Web Development

Another in demand freelance field is that of web development. There are a lot of people who need simple or more complex web sites built, as well as those who just need someone to install a forum, Joomla, Wordpress or another piece of web software. You might be surprised at how much people will pay to get a web developer to install something as simple as Joomla. I myself have installed forums for as much as $85 a piece–and it only takes an hour or two to install them.

If you don’t know how to install such software, you might want to buy a web site, set it up and practice. Once you teach yourself how to install this software, you’ll have a lot more sell-ability to potential customers.

Should I Limit Myself?

Some potential freelancers think that they need to limit themselves to just one field. That’s not true, though. In fact, it is a good thing to be diverse and be able to do several different things. I currently do both writing and web development, allowing me to constantly stay busy and really make good money. So don’t think that you need to limit yourself–you can do as many things as you want as a freelancer.

This concludes Part 1 of the series. In part 2, I will be discussing where to find work and much more.