Starting a career in freelance writing is a daunting task in most cases. Yes, it is very nice to be able to work from the comfort of your home while you enjoy a cup of tea. You make your own schedule and you are your own boss. Nobody is bullying you around if you wake up late and start working at 11AM. And the salary is pretty good as well. Freelance writers make anywhere from $20,000 to over $100,000 per year. However, to get to these numbers, you need to start finding jobs.
We presume you have a very good command over the English language and that you have a basic knowledge of how to write Web content, blog posts and general purpose articles. Of course, if you are able to write commercial copy such as advertisements, you stand an even greater chance of landing a job in the next few days. Let’s take a look at some of the places you can turn to if you are looking for freelance writing jobs.
Things to Do Before You Get Started
If you don’t know how to find a writing job, you need to start with the basics. There are three things you need to do before you start actively searching for clients: build an exceptional portfolio, create a catchy website, and create profiles on social media platforms and LinkedIn.
The portfolio will showcase all of your best works, so make sure it includes your most popular and best-written articles, blog posts, and Web pages. The website will present your services, background, skills, and offers. Make it clean and easy to navigate. Social media profiles will help you with networking, and so will your LinkedIn profile. Networking goes a long way in the freelance writing world.
Where to Find Freelance Writing Jobs on the Internet?
If you like to write blog posts, you can try one of the many blogging job boards. The most popular ones are BloggingPro.com and ProBlogger.net. There are many others as well, so don’t forget to do a Google search to find more. These boards are updated daily with new jobs for freelance bloggers.
On LinkedIn, you can visit the Jobs section and set up an email alert. You will get notified when new jobs are posted that match your interests. This is a very powerful feature of LinkedIn. But don’t stop networking on this platform, as you can engage directly with business owners in need of top quality articles and Web content.
Another very useful board is Freelance Writing (FreelanceWriting.com). It consolidates jobs from Indeed.com, Craigslist, and many other sources. Both novice and experienced freelance writers can find relatively high paying jobs on this board.
How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs Through Cold Pitching
Once you become a better writer and you gain experience, you can go to the next level. Instead of waiting for clients to post their jobs, you can cold pitch potential clients. Cold pitching is not difficult, but you have to be able to demonstrate to the lead how you can help his business with your services and skills.
When you send a cold pitch to a company, you need to tell them how you found them, who you are, and how you can help them. Be very specific and include examples of your writing, preferably for clients in a similar niche. Also, don’t forget to include your website in the pitch; you would be amazed how many CEOs will read more about you and your services out of pure curiosity.
The best news is that you can set your own hourly rate or per word rate. This makes cold pitching a very effective way to get higher paying freelance writing jobs.
