How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

ByKat Boogaard

You’re craving a career that allows you to be more creative, gives you greater control over what you work on and who you work with, and provides increased schedule flexibility to boot.

With all of that in mind, you’ve decided that becoming a freelance writer is the perfect option.

But…uhh…now what?Getting started is the most challenging part, so how exactly do you find freelance writing jobs andbuild a successful freelance careeras a freelance writer? Well, you start at the beginning, of course, but then you plot out the rest of your story with the end in mind.

What Kind of Writer Are You?

You know you want to be a writer. But what kind of writer do you want to be?

Ghostwriting

There are as many ways to ghostwrite as there are types of writing: you can ghostwrite blog posts in the voice of a company’s CEO, or ghostwrite memoirs for people who have lived interesting lives but may not have the writing skills to tell their stories effectively.

Copywriting

Do you imagine yourself as the modern-day Don Draper? Copywriting could be just the freelance gig for you.

广告文案提供清晰、简洁、风格perfect prose to sell a product or service. Start practicing by offering your services to small businesses or startups in your area. If you put in the hours and the effort, it’s not unreasonable to expect tobecome a master copywriter in just one year．

Guest Posts

If you’re an expert on anything—it doesn’t matter whether it’s your industry or a hobby as esoteric as North American birds—writing guest posts for popular blogs is one of the easiest ways for freelance writers to make extra cash. You’ll usually get a byline, too, which helps build your portfolio.

Press Releases

Having a PR background is often helpful for getting press release jobs, but it isn’t required—if you’re a good writer and understand what appeals to journalists, you have what it takes.

Social Media Writing

If you can tweet about something you saw on Instagram while checking to see if it has already been mentioned on Facebook, you’re probably a social media wizard. It takes time for businesses to craft the perfect social media messages—especially when your character limit is looming. If your writing is short and snappy, this type of task is a perfect fit.

Speech Writing

What’s themost common fear, according to Psychology Today? Public speaking. Combine that with the stress of writing a speech that needs to inspire an audience, persuade potential clients, or toast a newly married couple, and you have a perfect pain point to address as a speech writer.

You don’t need to rub elbows with politicians to get speech-writing gigs. Think of the people around you who need help putting their thoughts together: the nervous best man or new entrepreneur with a great idea.

Personal Essays

Ever notice that others are rapt by your personal stories, from the funny to the heartfelt? While many writers pen these types of stories for fun, plenty of websites will pay for your personal essays.

Newspaper Reporting

You probably won’t land your first (or even 50th!) gig atThe New York Times, but small, local newspapers are usually understaffed and rely on freelance reporters to cover evening meetings and weekend events.

If you’re willing to sit at a school board meeting for a few hours after work to get the latest, your local editor would likely be happy to have you. And once you land a few of these gigs, you can use those clips to move onto higher-paying clients.

Tips to Help You Find Freelance Writing Jobs

Once you’ve settled on becoming a freelance writer, you’ve got to find freelance writing jobs andconvince a possibly skeptical editor to hire you．

Search Smart

Sure, you could do a Google search or peruse any job board and probably find at least a few freelance writing jobs. But you’ll spend far too much time sorting through all of those results to separate the wheat from the chaff.

A smarter strategy is tofocus on sites and platforms that specialize in what you’re looking for—likebeplay中心apporRemote.co．Focusing your search efforts on boards that specialize inflexible, freelance jobswill not only save you time,it will also protect youfrom things like content mills, vaguely written Craigslist advertisements, andstraight-up scams!

Get Social

Job boards often turn up tons of worthy results, butdon’t forget about social media．It’s another great place to turn when you’re actively seeking freelance opportunities.

Many companies and publications will post calls for pitches or their open freelance positions on their social accounts—particularly Twitter and LinkedIn. You can search LinkedIn’s job page for key terms like “freelance writer” or “freelance copywriter” to see what comes up. On Twitter, use the search function to look for keywords or relevant hashtags to find any tweets related to that type of content.

Think Small

When people imagine a career as a freelance writer, they often think about writing for the big-name outlets that everybody recognizes. But that’s usually not how freelance careers get started. Like any other career, you need to pay your dues and work your way up.

When you’re launching your freelancing writing career,don’t be afraid to start small．我有可能大量的写作机会n your immediate area—from publications to small businesses that need writing help—that you could be missing out on if you’re too focused on those better-known outlets.

Show Off Your Reading Skills

You’d be surprised by how many people completely ignore the instructions that publications and companies give for applying to a freelance role. So, in addition to showing off your writing skills,demonstrate you’ve got good reading skills, too.

Do they ask you to use a specific email subject line? Use it. Do you need to send a certain amount of published clips? Send that many—and only that many.

It seems like a relatively small detail, but failing to meet these simple requests often leads your resume straight to the recycling bin. Show that you can follow directions and resist the temptation of trying to find a back door or a seemingly sneaky way to skip the application process they’ve outlined.

Leveling Up Your Freelance Writing Career

Searching job boards and applying for freelance roles is only the start to find freelance writing jobs. When you’re ready to move your freelance writing career to the next level, you’ll have to use more sophisticated job search tactics.

Make a Pitch

Thoughpitching sounds intimidating, it’s an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to finding freelance writing jobs. But cold pitching (meaning sending a somewhat generic email all over the place) usually doesn’t yield great results. Instead,create a list of the publications or organizations you’re interested in writing forand then begin to forge apersonal connection by emailingto introduce yourself or interacting on social media.

Is it a guarantee that every pitch will result in getting a freelance writing job? No. But you’ll experience far better results than if you had just jumped right in with a hard sell.

Understand the Publication

Editors are flooded daily withpitches from writerswho haven’t bothered to research their particular publication’s audience and storylines. You can wow editorial staff by doing the opposite—learn everything you can about the blog, magazine, or other publication you’d like to write for, and craft your pitch based on these specific details, suggesting a well-thought-out topic that’s sure to appeal to their readers.

Offer Concrete Expertise

Not every writer is the right writer for every publication or blog. Just as is true when applying for a traditional job, your industry experience and topic expertise can help set you apart from other more generalist freelance writers. Reach out to editors of publications in your areas of niche expertise. The deeper the background you have in writing about a specific subject, the more appealing you’ll be to an editor.

Tap Your Network

Often people you know can be a resource for freelance opportunities. As you begin to take on more clients, you’ll build up your pool of leads to potential ongoing or occasional work, so stay in touch with clients whom you’ve worked with previously.

Ask around, reach outon LinkedIn, and hand out a freelance business card when you’re out and about. Also, consider connecting with people you know from other contexts since every industry needs content written.

Build Your Brand

Once you’ve achieved some freelance success, keep the ball rolling! Collect testimonials from satisfied customers to help validate your expertise andbuild your brand．

Let potential clients know what you stand for. Responsiveness? Tech-savvy? Quick turnaround? Highlight your strengths and spread the word about them.

Other Considerations

Freelance writing isn’t floating from one plum assignment to the next! Like any job (and, yes, freelancing is a job), you have to make time for administrative tasks, no matter how much you dislike them.

Don’t Forget Uncle Sam

When you work for an employer, your check includes deductions for state and federal taxes, healthcare benefits, retirement, and more. Since freelancers are often independent contractors, there are no deductions. That $300 check would likely be at least one-third less if it were part of a company payroll.

As a freelancer, you likely won’t have those deductions taken out of your check, but Uncle Sam will still expect it, so make sure you’resetting aside money for taxes．That’s not just for April 15th, though. Depending on your income level, you may need topay quarterly taxes, too.

Retirement, Health Insurance, and Everything Else

While you’re planning for taxes, don’t forget to think about retirement planning,health insurance, disability insurance, and all the other “extras” that are often available through an employer. You won’t automatically have access to these things as a freelancer, but they are available. It just means you’ll have to do the extra work hunting them down, comparing plans, enrolling, and making the payments. All that extra work, though, will pay off when you have a toothache in the middle of the night and need a dentist ASAP!

Track Expenses

Freelancers are oftenresponsible for their own expenses, such as internet, cell phone, computer, printer, and mileage/gas expenses, unless specified by the company before taking on an assignment. There are numerous expenses that are deductible (even your cable TV can be deducted in some cases, believe it or not), but only if you keep track of who is paying for what.

What Are You Worth?

A common question people ask freelancers is, “How much do you get paid per article?” Then the next question is, “How long does it take you to write an article?” An article may take 2 to 4 hours to write, but that usually doesn’t include time spent researching, phone calls or emails contacting sources, and time spent conducting source interviews. There are also follow-up questions and edits that take time and paperwork to complete (tax forms/invoices). So managing—and understanding—how much time goes into the work you are doing needs to look beyond just the writing aspect.

Contracts Are Key

Mostcompanies hiring freelance writerswill ask you to sign a writer’s agreement. Be sure to understand it and ask questions before signing. Don’t assume you understand everything and consult an attorney on your behalf if questions arise. Most are straightforward, but if there is a concern (or two), ask your client for clarity.

At the same time, some companies will hire freelancers without a formal contract. If you’re comfortable with that, fine, but considerhaving a contract on handthat you can provide the client. A formal contract can help protect you and your client on theoff chance something goes awry．

Plan for the Worst Case

You will lose clients through no fault of your own. When businesses make cuts or priorities change, the freelance writer may be let go. You may not be working with your best, highest-paying client a year from now, and your client list could and will change over time. Be ready for the highs and lows of freelance work as clients and work come and go.

Chart Your Freelance Career

If it seems like findingfreelance writing jobsis a job, well, it is! You will spend a lot of time searching for gigs, pitching publications, networking, and building your brand. But in the end, it will pay off, and you’ll find yourself charting your own freelance career in no time.

That said, don’t feel like you have to quit your day job to try out freelancing.Many people successfully moonlight as freelancers for extra income, doing double duty with their full-time or part-time job．Starting this way just might convince you to make the switch for good!

Fortunately, almost all freelance writing jobs can be done remotely to give you the ultimate in flexibility. Ready to make the switch from employee to self-employed freelance writer extraordinaire? Find a remote, freelance writing job on FlexJobs, or explore freelance jobs in fields related to writing, includingjournalism jobs,copywriter jobs,校对工作,communications jobs,所以much more.

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