This guest article is written by veteran freelance writer Sarah Russell.
Over the past month, Onibalusi has shared a ton of great information about working as a freelance writer – including everything from writer productivity tips to freelance writing challenges to some of the lessons he’s learned working as a freelance writer.
(And seriously – if you haven’t read those posts yet, go do so right away. Oni’s got some good advice to share if you’re serious about earning money online as a freelance writer!)
But his recent post titled, “Why You Might Never EVER Make Money as a Freelance Writer,” got me thinking. While I think there’s a lot of merit to the factors he included that might prevent someone from earning a living as a freelance writer, I think he’s missing one of the most obvious reasons. Simply put – you won’t ever make money as a freelance writer if you don’t have any clients!
So today, I want to share with you some of the resources that have helped me make money as a freelance writer. I’ve been getting paid to write since 2007 in various capacities, from writing as a part-time job to supplement my day job all the way up to running my own content agency with a staff of 7 writers. I hope you find them useful as you begin your journey to making money as a freelance writer!
Finding Freelance Writing Jobs Online
Let me start out this section by saying that one of the worst things I think you could do as a beginning freelance writer is to go out and start bidding for jobs on sites like Guru or Elance. Your results may vary, but after experimenting with them several times over the past few years, here’s what I’ve found:
- You’ll spend less time writing and more time bidding for jobs (which you won’t even get noticed for if you don’t upgrade to the expensive premium profiles on these sites). Don’t forget – you don’t get paid to draft and submit job proposals…
- You’ll get beat up on price. If you’re comfortable getting paid $.01/word or less, go for it. But if you’re worth more than that, stick to your guns and stay away from these “race to the bottom” sites.
- You’ll wind up being asked to do more than the original scope of your bid. Whether it’s adding a few extra rounds of revisions or writing longer articles than originally requested, it’s incredibly common for employers on these sites to ask you to do more than the original contract without extra pay.
I’m also not going to use this section to tell you about revenue sharing sites that’ll give you a portion of the ad income generated by the articles you post (I’m looking at you – Associated Content…). Although there’s certainly a time and a place for that, I’d rather focus on sites that guarantee a payment for the work I’ve done.
So where can you find good freelance writing jobs online from clients who will actually pay? The following are some of the resources that have yielded the best results for me:
Problogger Job Board – Over the last few months, I’ve been ramping up my freelance writing business again after taking some time off to focus on affiliate marketing, and the Problogger Job Board has been the single resource that’s contributed the most to the $2,000-$3,000/month I’m now bringing in as a part-time freelance writer. Seriously, I think I owe Darren Rowse a pretty big fruit basket…
To get started, simply click over to the board and look for posts that interest you and meet your income criteria. Each listing will specify how the poster wants you to apply, but most of the jobs listed here will involve sending a resume and writing samples for consideration. Simply follow the instructions in each posting in order to be considered for these writing positions.
Warrior Forum Warriors for Hire Board – The thing I love about this particular WF board is that it gives you a chance to interact directly with content marketers – my favorite type of writing clients. These people always have a need for fresh articles, and the true professionals know how much a good article can be worth (which means no writing for a few bucks per article…).
By putting up a listing here (or by responding to posts in the Warrior Forum “Wanted” board), you’re putting yourself directly in front of the content marketers, increasing your odds of finding online freelance writing work that pays.
(On a side note, if you’re active with the Warrior Forum, I don’t recommend running WSOs for your writing services. The people looking for WSOs are looking for immediate gratification, and I’ve found that posting article writing specials – which require follow-up and waiting – don’t perform as well as product download WSOs.)
Flippa – Yes, that Flippa – the place where you can buy and sell websites. It sounds goofy at first, but think about it – where else can you get as much information about websites, their content strategies and the people who own them than from Flippa product listings? For example, if you tracked the listings on the site and found a content-rich site that’s just been sold, why not shoot the buyer an email asking if he or she anticipates needing writers in the future?
And before you dismiss this option entirely, know that my first major writing contract (which wound up topping out at $4,000/month) came about because the company that bought a blog I was selling on the site liked my writing style so much that they asked me to write for more of their websites. If you want to learn more about how I took this single contract and turned it into a five-figure content agency, check out my free series titled, “How to Start an Article Writing Service“.
Social Media/Internet Marketing Consultants – Another favorite strategy of mine is to pair up with social media and internet marketing consultants. These are people who approach other businesses (both online and offline) and offer to help them improve their websites’ performance. The thing about these people is that they often have a need for content for the websites they’re advising, but they’re usually too busy to do it themselves.
Unfortunately, there’s no master directory of social media or internet marketing consultants out there, but you can find plenty of people to connect with by simply Googling terms like “social media consultant” or “internet marketing consultant”, or by hanging out in the forums where they discuss strategy. Once you’ve identified a few candidates, a nice email sharing your experience and a few writing samples is a good way to get your foot in the door – even if they don’t have any work for you immediately.
Learn Copywriting – The kind of long-form copywriting that’s frequently used to sell products online is a particular type of writing that’s always in demand. It can be tricky to learn, as the goal of this type of writing is to employ advanced psychological triggers to make sales, but if you’re willing to invest time in improving your technique, it can pay off big time.
The cream of the crop copywriters can earn upwards of $30,000-$50,000 for a single sales letter, although it’s not uncommon for less experienced writers to make $2,000-$5,000 for average quality work. To develop your copywriting skills, subscribe to the Copyblogger website and post test writing pieces for critique on the Warrior Forum Copywriting Forum. As your skills improve, you’ll likely find plenty of potential clients within this forum alone.
Offline Options for Freelance Writers
For the record, all of my writing experience has occurred online, in part because I’ve had no trouble finding enough work to keep me busy this way. However, there’s a great big world out there – and plenty of people who need good content written – so I wanted to share a few of the best offline options for finding freelance writing work as well.
Advertising and Marketing Agencies – Ad agencies and marketing firms have a constant need for content, whether its written material for their clients’ websites, ad copy or other promotional materials. And given the current economic recession, many of these businesses are cutting expenses by eliminating staff writing positions and shifting their writing work to freelancers instead.
To connect with these companies, research agencies in your local area or firms around the world that specialize in an industry with which you have personal experience. Once you have a few potential contacts, call them up and find out if they ever take on freelance writers and who specifically is in charge of hiring for these positions. Send a portfolio to these people and follow up with them periodically to see if they have projects you can help with.
Small Technical Firms – The ideal candidate here is a small company in a technical field (think computer software developers, medical product manufacturers or other engineering firms with their own products) that’s large enough to launch its own commercial product but still too small to have a writer on staff.
These agencies often have an enormous need for technical writers to work on things like white papers, support documentation and SOPs. If you’re a detail-oriented writer who doesn’t mind the tediousness of writing “how-to” manuals, there’s plenty of work to be found in this field.
Large Fortune 500 Companies – Increasingly, large corporations are moving away from hiring salaried writers in favor of outsourcing work to freelancers. However, writing itself can be difficult to outsource, given the challenges resulting from having work done by a non-native language speaker. For this reason, many of these companies hire freelance writers from within the countries where the content will be deployed.
Non-Profit Organizations – Although the pay might not be as high as what you’ll find working with for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations are notorious for running short-staffed. What this means is that, although they frequently need content for member materials, press releases and more, they rarely have someone on staff with the necessary skills.
Finding work with both large Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations is similar to the process described above for contacting ad agencies. Find the companies you want to work for, figure out who’s doing the hiring and then forward on your materials. Follow up, but don’t be too pushy – remember, hiring managers are often busy and over-worked. If you contact them too frequently or come across as being too demanding, you can bet that your portfolio will be headed for the waste bin!
If you’re interested in pursuing offline freelance writing work, I highly recommend the “Well Fed Writer” series by Peter Bowerman. His books have tons of great information about building a portfolio, finding clients and managing multiple writing contracts, and can usually be found for free at your local library.
Are you currently earning money as a freelance writer using any of these methods? Or do you have another strategy aspiring writers can use to find clients and make money by freelancing? Share your experiences in the comments below!
Sarah Russell is a freelance writer and affiliate marketer who blogs about ethical internet business on her site, Common Sense Marketing. To learn more about how she launched a five-figure content writing service or to see the exact strategies she used to take a group of internet marketers from newbies to successful webmasters in eight weeks, stop by today! (PS – Don’t miss her totally free, no pitch “25 Steps to Awesome Marketing” email newsletter series!)
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Ready to Get Started with Your Freelance Writing Career?
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Excellent post. Flippa is a great place that I have worked with for a while. Not yet tried the other ways. Thanks for your suggestions
Thanks so much for reading!
I’ve tried some freelance writing before (just to see for myself) and I’ve mostly got short gigs in oDesk and Digital Point Forum(much more diverse compared to Warrior Forum though I’d say DP is a race to the bottom with regards to payments).
The Flippa idea sure sounds logical! Surely it would work with other services that needs outsourcing *light bulb moment here*!
Gee Thanks!
Thanks! I haven’t advertised on DP before, but I’ve heard pretty much the same thing. At least on the Warrior Forum, I’ve had better luck finding people who understand what good writing is worth.
Informative post and I am sure that freelance writers will really appreciate this. Thanks for sharing and I will be sure to pass this onto my colleagues that are looking for freelance writing work.
Thanks – I appreciate you sharing it with your colleagues
You have some great ideas here Sarah, I do have customers, but I can always use more, I really like the Flippa idea, it’s great because of the thousands of websites that are on sale you can find ones for niches that you want to write about so that’s really cool. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Jamie
The Flippa one is a fun one, and there are a handful of other website selling sites out there that this technique can be applied to as well.
I recently started freelance writing for websites and this article is very helpful for me.
Thanks!
Thanks Oni for the opportunity to post here! I’m having a total geeky fan girl moment seeing my name in print on your site
If anyone has questions about finding work as a freelance writer, I’m happy to help!!!
Aha Sarah! This is one guest post I can say I’m proud to publish! You’re welcome
Hi Oni,
Thanks for sharing this post with us here. It is really cool and informative
Thank you, Sarah and Oni!
I was actually preparing to launch an ad in the Warriors For Hire forum, right before I got an urge to take a peek here.
I’m sure thankful for that urge, as this article is exactly on target for me.
Hopefully, this will enable me to pick up a client or two first thing tomorrow, so I can keep the bills paid.
Any tips for getting clients FAST, would be much appreciated.
Thanks! Probably the fastest way I’ve found writing clients is through the Problogger board. If you have good writing samples to share, I can’t imagine it’d take too long to find something there.
Great post Sarah, I never knew about flippa and getting freelance writing jobs from there. I’m going to give it a try. Although, I’ve 2 clients now and I got them through direct contact via their website.
I simply visited their site, click on the contact tab and shoot them an email asking if they need freelance writer.
Fortunately, 2 out of 7 contacts agreed and that’s how I started. Freelance writing is profitable, we need to be patient and explore several angles. It works.
Michael – Thanks for sharing
Finding sites you want to work with and then emailing them is definitely a good way to drum up business as well!
This is the best post on freelance writing I’ve read in awhile!! Seriously, these are some advanced tips that can really help you to start making extra money pronto.. I really liked your tips on going to flippa and contacting social media consultants etc.
@ Michael, if you don’t mind, what type of sites agreed?
I second that!
Thanks guys! Much appreciated
thanks for this post, but my challenge is how you get paid for someone living in Nigeria……most online payment system don’t accept Nigerians
Hmmm – not sure on that one. I’d recommend posting your question over in the Warrior Forum, as I know there are people there who have the same problem.
I think Oni should help with this question. Though you can open paypal through the back door and I can help you with that. But its risky.
hi sarah,
this is one of the best article like Oni’s that i ve read. thank u dear we need honest writers like u who want to help others,and surely this is the blog to find genuine help.u guys are great keep it up.
sarah,
i just subscribe to on ur site
tanks again
Thanks so much! Glad to have you on board
Hi Sarah, thanks a ton for this awesome post that you put up. It is really interesting and insightful for me to read. More grease to write more
Thanks – hope it helps!
These are really great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the information. I have just began my freelance writing career a few months ago. I haven’t made much but I am looking for more ways to improve my income. I appreciate this article because you gave me ideas of website. I didn’t know about the majority.
writing articles for new site buyers on site flipa is realy interesting.
good post, i think webmaster forums and freelance sites are definitely a great way to find a job
flippa trick is something new to me. But I agree that their are more chances of getting hired.
Thanks Sarah for informative post. You have opened up a new horizon of freelance writing in front of my eyes. I am dying to apply your methods to get my first client, as a freelancer.
This is what i’ve been exactly looking for. I also got some great ideas from your mini course. I checked the ProBlogger job board and i already applied to one of the offers. Thanks
I’m glad my course and this article could be of help!
BTW I’d appreciate using your name when commenting instead of “130 pound catfish”.
Regards,
Oni
This is great article, i was searching something like to boost my earnings. Most of time i earn money writing for others but was not sure how to increase this. Thanks for your kind writeup. Keep it up
Dear Sarah, I am pleased to find this post here. This post defined the ways how we can get more writing job. I occasionally visit problogger.net site . but never ever think about getting a writer job as I was not confident about myself.
Awesome tips Sarah! Thanks a lot!
I have been searching for writings gigs too but I am not sure my skills are ready!=D
But when the time comes, this post will come in handy!
Thanks again!
Thanks for providing these tips! Finding consistent work that pays decent is probably the biggest challenge I face with freelance writing. I will definitely try out some of your suggestions!
Targeting small technical firms is definitely the way to go as you mentioned, Sarah.
I actually work for a technical firm and let me tell you, they are VERY deficient in this area.
Great read…:)
Mark
Sarah, that was a great post. I agree with Problogger being the best source of income, but I think I’ve relied too heavily on it. Up until two months ago, almost all my income came from there. I also agree with elance, that site hasn’t really given me results.
I would like to explore your thoughts on revenue sharing sites like Associated Content, Suite101 and Examiner. I agree they aren’t as reliable, which is why I haven’t taken the leap. Do you think they are worth it?
Also, selling articles on Constant-Content or Ghostbloggers can be good. Again, these are additional sources. You need to focus on a steady revenue first and then add your more risky revenue models afterwards.
To be honest, I haven’t done much work on revenue sharing sites like Associated Content or Suite 101, so I can’t comment on them too much. I know people who do well with them, but I usually prefer to write for jobs with a defined payment.
But definitely, it’s a good idea to diversify sources of income – you never know when a job is going to get cut!
Nice subject. What I’ve learn from my own experience is that you never should put all your eggs in a basket…I think you know why. So it’s better to try various paths, but not so many that you can’t handle.
Sara. Nice post. To be honest there are lots of good writer out there who isn’t making any money just because they don’t know where they will get client. This post will surely help them to fix those problems.
Thanks
Hey Sarah, thanks for taking the time to publish such a great article that is really informative and I think this will truly help both people looking for freelance writing jobs, as well as those looking to find writers. Thanks again
thanks Sarah. I have been searching for articles on freelance writing like this one. good job
I have tried oDesk before and I’ve done a couple of ghostwriting. A meager $1 per article is what I get for a 500-600 word article and I know that’s way much underpaying. I just have a question, I never had a portfolio since everything I’ve done are ghostwriting articles, would I still get clients even if I don’t have a portfolio?
I think it’s definitely a good idea to get a portfolio set up – even if it’s full of sample articles that you’ve written specifically for your collection, not for a client. I mean, would you hire a writer if you didn’t have access to his or her writing samples?
Amazing article Sarah! You’ve opened my eyes to a lot of potential ideas. I also noted the sites you get clients from. I get most of my clients from Digital Point. I have 2-3 good paying clients that need content written constantly. But the rates are not that good and they are very good clients compered with others. So I’m always looking for new potential clients who are looking for quality content, of course I find it normal to be payed a lot more when delivering high quality content. Anyways thanks for the tips, I’ll check them out.
Great Post and advices, i have my personal on Web design, i still dont know if i m good at blogging, but i m definitely thinking of trying to sell posts..
Thanks for sharing
What an excellent guide. Sarah, you are obviously a professional and the fact that you share so freely is excellent. It is true that there is a lot of work going around for freelancers and sadly, employers on sites like elance and odesk exploit the writers. The best way to help the entire industry would be for everyone to stop writing for minimum wages.
Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening anytime soon when you consider global fluctuations in what constitutes “minimum wages”, but I think that there will always be clients who recognize what good, native language writing can be worth. At least, I hope so!
That is a very nice and informative post.How can i apply for job as freelancer then?It will be helpful if anybody share the thoughts.
Hi, Sarah.
Thanks for this great post, as it is one of the greatest I’ve seen on freelance writing. But I smell one problem here.
I am a good writer who has just chosen the path of online freelance writing, and following by heart, Oni’s training courses & other learning modules. In fact, am just about to launch my first website this month.
So my question/problem is can one get a freelance writing job or contract early in his career, say like within 2months or less? Cos the feeling I have now is that I ought to have been in the game for a very long time and written hundreds of articles to prove my worth before trying out the tips written by Sarah.
Any senior writer can also help here, I’ll appreciate your advice.
Damn, I feel like the latest comer here! lol
Thanks
Hi Oludami,
I won’t lie – it’s easier to get writing contracts when you already have a history of work, but that’s the case in any industry. But if you work hard and develop a good portfolio, there’s definitely work out there for you.
Best of luck!!!
Oludami,
I’d recommend keeping an industry blog. If you don’t have a big portfolio yet, you still need to be able to offer samples of your writing.
For topics, try critiquing the copy on a wide range of websites, offer your thoughts on industry news and standards, and promote it heavily via social media.
Doing this really helped me get on my feet and as I changed my formatting and writing style on my blog, I got to see what worked and what didn’t- so it is also a great learning tool!
Thank you for another fantastic posting. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing and i was looking for more info.
Sarah, as a freelance writer myself I have to say that I love your article. I think that it’s the first time that I read from someone how “crappy” it can be to try to get some writing jobs on places like Elance. Just the proposal alone gives you a headache before you even start writing. And yes, people can be darn difficult.
I am also so upset when I see people writing 400 word articles for $1-$3 it makes our work so cheap. I am glad to see that no every one agrees with that either.
Hey Sylviane! I think it’s important to remember that not all content needs to be top-notch quality (I don’t need perfect content just to build backlinks, for example) and that while $1-3/article doesn’t make sense for me, that’s not necessarily the case for writers around the world.
Fortunately, there’s a market for good native English content and people who are willing to pay well for it, which is why I’m still able to earn money as a writer. Different strokes for different folks, I guess
Your words are just like a precious gift for freelance writers.it is one of the excellent post I’ve seen on freelance writing.Now with some help of your post and some other ways i wanna want to increase my income.Thanks.
These are some great suggestions. Many of these are things I would have never thought of. I think I will try the Warrior Forum and the Problogger forum you mentioned. Thanks again for all of the information; I’m sure this will help my writing career.
I have been writing for my clients from last 2 years. And I enjoy doing my job. But I must say your writing style is really fantastic to impress readers. Looking forward to your blogs. Thanks and keep updating!!
Thanks alot for sharing this cool article
Thanks for reporting this articles here for us. i will try to implement all what you have said at http://www.billgatesguide.blogspot.com. i will try to Keep up the good work
I’m sure to be late to comment, but I think this post is awesome. Oni has a great blog and I’ve spent 2 hours here tonight. His great content and more guest posts like this will make me a regular visitor.
Thought of one thing for Oni, though. Maybe nothing.
What if he had his own job board? Certainly targeted. Draw clients and give new writers more reason to visit.
Bob
Success Strategies for a Dominant Career
Hi Bob,
I’ve been thinking of that too, but I think it’s all about the timing – I’ll surely have something like that in the future
Thanks so much for the suggestion!
The information in this post is great -thanks so much for posting it
I just have one question though. I recently signed up with Flippa, and can really see the potential for finding clients there, but the problem is when I am viewing the “just sold” lists, there is no option for contacting the buyer. Can anyone advise on how to do this?
Thanks
Sarah
Hi, it seems I am beginning to appreciate and love your blog.
My vision this year is to learn how to write and your blog is just the right place to earn that.
Hope I am welcome!
Cheers!
Okoji
This was a great article and I found the links and info EXTREMELY helpful. That being said, I got my start on sites like Elance. Of course, you are right. They don’t pay. But its good for testing the waters and getting an idea of what the industry can be like.
You left out Craigslist as a great source of business. I’ve landed a number of contracts (with ad/marketing firms who don’t have a staff writer or with tech firms- sometimes small startups). Another great source for getting a writing resume built.