The world of freelance writing can be a mind boggling thing when you are starting out, however, it can be a great joy as you begin to see your work published. Some say it can be a difficult career to break into, and yes, I’d agree, but it is not impossible. Luckily, there are many websites where you can find freelance writing jobs as a beginner or experienced writer. I have been freelance writing for a number of years and was often overwhelmed and confused on how to find freelance writing gigs when I was starting out. My career as a freelance writer has been bolstered by the discovery of websites where I can find freelance writing jobs. These websites are particularly great when you are just starting out as a freelance writer however, they are also great to boost your clientele when you already have a few clients. So if you want to break into the world of freelance writing, here is everything you will want to know about find freelance writing jobs.

What is Freelance Writing?

Before discussing freelance writing jobs for beginners, you need to fully understand what freelance writing is. Basically, freelance writing is when you work for yourself offering writing services. You create an income from offering your writing services to others who pay you for your writing. The type of writing could be writing blog posts, website copy, ghostwriting novels, scriptwriting, advertising and articles for magazines and newspapers. I have had good fortune writing blog posts and this is where I concentrate my efforts. Freelance writers do more than just writing though, you need to know about the topic you are writing and so there is quite a bit of research involved as well. This is why you will find freelance writers specialising in different areas. For me, I specialise in writing travel blogs whereas other freelance writers I know specialise in writing about finance, recipes and reviews of pet products. 

Benefits of Being a Freelance Writer

I like being a freelance writer as there are a number of benefits. Firstly, I make a pretty good income from being a freelance writer and this helps me to live the life I want to live. Secondly, my income enables me to travel and live in different destinations like many other digital nomads. Being a freelancer writer allows me to work from literally anywhere in the world. That’s right, wherever my laptop is, I can write. Lastly, I can write whenever I want, during the day, evening or overnight, as long as I meet my deadline.

The Business of Being a Freelance Writer

Freelance writing is just one aspect of being a freelance writer. As mentioned before there is the research, but there is also the proofreading, editing and after your writing has been given to the client there is the sending of invoices and tracking of payments.

How Much Do Freelance Writers Make?

It is hard to say how much money you can make as a freelance writer but hopefully it will be enough so you can live the life you want to live. When it boils down to it, most freelance writers when they are starting out can make around $30-40 for a 1,000 word article – give or take a few dollars either side. Now that might not sound like much but you need to start somewhere. Once you have a few clients you can then start to increase your rates. 

How to find freelance writing work

There are a number of ways to find freelance writing work when you are a beginner. Start with your own website where you advertise your services. You can send pitch letters to different markets such as magazines, newspapers and blogs. Create a social media profile of your services on Facebook and join Facebook Writing Groups. Or I have had great success using websites specifically for freelancers and if you are a beginner freelance writer I would suggest you start with one or more of these websites. If you want to get paid to write here are 10 websites I have found very useful for freelance writing jobs for beginners.

9 Websites With Freelance Writing Jobs For Beginners

Fiverr

Fiverr is the website I have had the most success with for finding freelance writing jobs. With Fiverr you set up a profile and post your services and wait for clients to accept. When setting your pricing, as a new freelancer you will be working for a low rate but don’t let that deter you. One client can turn into a repeat client which will see a regular income coming in. And as long as the client is happy with your work they should leave positive feedback. The more positive feedback you receive, the more clients you should get which should in turn generate more income. After a while with lots of positive feedback you can increase you pricing. Fiverr have some great information on their site about setting up your account and how to stand out in the crow so clients will choose your freelance writing services. I don’t suggest putting all your eggs in the one Fiverr basket so check out other websites on this list.

READ MORE: How to Make Money on Fiverr.

UpWork

UpWork is my second favourite website for finding freelance writing jobs. This website is quite different to how other freelance websites work. With UpWork you purchase ‘connect’s which are like coins that you use to apply for different jobs. So a client will upload a job to the site and if it interests you, you bid for it. Now you are competing with lots of other new freelance writers so you will only hear from the client if you are of interest to them. This can be a very time consuming way to find a freelance writing gig but when you are a new freelance writer you need to try all the different methods of finding a gig. Do keep in mind when you are making bids on UpWork that they take quite a large percentage of your income.

Freelance Writing Jobs

Yes, there is a website called Freelance Writing Jobs and as its name suggests it only features writing jobs. This makes your search for writing jobs a whole lot easier. With this site each week job postings are published as a blog post on the website with positions being classified to make your search even easier. The difference of Freelance Writing Jobs to Fiverr and UpWork is that it acts as a job board only. You apply for any interesting freelance work through links that are provided. You will be competing with others for gigs so you need to make your application stand out.

ProBlogger

ProBlogger is another great website to find online writing jobs when you are starting out. It works very similar to Freelance Writing Jobs and is free to look through the listings, with new listings every day. When you see a job listing that is of interest, you apply for it and hopefully get it. This site was started by a blogger, hence the name, so a lot of the listings are blog writing gigs. Great news, if this is the type of freelance article writing you want to concentrate on. 

When you are first starting out as a freelance writer it can be a lot of hard work to set up a profile on a number of sites and / or visit websites every day applying for different gigs. I would suggest the main four to concentrate on would be those mentioned above. However, there are others and they include, SolidGigs, FlexJobs, Freelancer, Media Bistro and Freelance Writers Den. Now a couple of these websites require you to join by paying a fee and / or have a waiting list to join. But they are well worth checking out to see what might suit you.

Conclusion

Being a freelance writer is a very rewarding profession to be a part of. The income you can make will provide great freedom to help you live the life you want to lead. But it can be hard work, particularly when you are just starting out. The scheme to being a successful freelance writer is to constantly market yourself and continue to regularly apply for jobs and to keep your profile up to date on relevant freelance writing websites. I wish you all the best with your freelance writing career. If you have any questions or advice to provide please leave them in the comments following.