by James Sowers |
Last Updated: July 31, 2019 This post may be sponsored or may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the full disclosure.
You’ve tried all the traditional ways of getting freelance writing clients, built a solid portfolio and even sent 100 proposals. But for some reason, you’re still out of work.
It happens with everyone (including me) and it sucks big time.
A good way to turn things around is by ditching the “traditional” and applying the “unusual”.
Which means, try doing something which you’ve never tried before. Something that nobody else might be doing. Something CLEVER!
To help you by the hand, I am going to show you how to find freelance writing jobs within a week using 11 totally unusual ways. (#5 is my favorite!)
Let’s hop into it.
How To Find Freelance Writing Jobs Today
1. Use Reddit
Most of us know Reddit as a place to share memes, read news or watch funny videos. But not many of us know that we can find freelance writing jobs in there.
There are separate subreddits (or “Categories” in simple words) dedicated to different stuffs and one of them is /r/HireaWriter/ where freelance writers can find jobs as well as advertise themselves.
If you’re totally clueless about using Reddit, then read a beginners guide like this one.
Here are some of the freelance writing jobs I came across just now:
You can either scroll through the jobs posted or advertise your service so people can hire you. Just like this:
When it says [HIRING], that means it’s a job opportunity. And when it says [HIRE ME], that means it’s a freelancer advertising his/her service.
You can check out some other subreddits as well like the ones below:
NOTE: While Reddit is a super-useful platform, it also comes with it’s own set of strict rules. In order to NOT get banned from it, be sure to read each subreddit’s rules properly.
2. Slide Into Flippa
As the name suggests, Flippa is a marketplace to flip online assets like domain names, websites (mainly) and mobile apps.
But how to get freelance writing jobs on Flippa?
Consider this: A seller who had a website, sold it for a price and transferred ownership to the buyer.
Now since the buyer became the new owner, he is probably clueless on how he would keep up with creating new content for his newly-bought website.
That’s when you need to slide in and pitch your offer.
Here’s how you go about doing this:
Step 1: Head Over To Flippa.com
Step 2: Hover your mouse over “Websites” and click on “Just Sold”
Step 3: Now you’ll see a list of websites that just got sold recently
Step 4: Note down every single website URL and after 2 days, head over to each website and use the contact form to pitch your offer
The reason we aren’t contacting them right away is because the ownership transfer process takes a bit of time and waiting 2 days is a good practice to make sure your offer reaches the new owner.
3. Browse The Warrior Forum
The Warriors for Hire section on Warrior forum is one great place to land your next freelance writing gig.
It’s a section where anybody can advertise their service in front of thousands of users.
It is one heck of a crowded forum so your posted gig is very likely to get noticed.
Here’s a gig that was posted quite a while ago:
It has got a MASSIVE 99,998 views and 1,378 REPLIES!!
And it’s still receiving new replies every. single. day.
Can you imagine how many clients this person managed to get? It’s surely a lot.
Here’s another one posted 2 days ago:
2,435 views and 22 replies. Still not bad.
Another section inside the Warrior forum worth checking out is the Members Looking to Hire You where members post about their requirements.
4. Do Guest Posts
Doing guests posts is an indirect way to attract clients. It’s more of a technique that can help you be seen in front of potential clients.
For those of you who don’t know what a guest post is, it means writing and publishing a post on someone else’s blog in exchange for a link back to your blog/website or for simply a shout-out.
It is usually used by bloggers to gain traction to their blog but can be a great method for anybody who needs some exposure, including freelance writers.
It’s easy to find blogs for guest posting. You can just head over to Google and try any of these search queries:
- Write for us
- Guest post
- Guest post guidelines
- Submit a guest post
Or you can also search for (niche) + guest post. Replace (niche) with your chosen niche, for example:
- Health guest post
- Food guest post
- Lifestyle guest post
Or to make things easier, check out this ultimate list of blogs that accept guest posts by Effective Business Ideas.
5. Join Facebook Groups
Facebook groups is hands down my favorite place to find freelance writing jobs.
There were times when I used to be client-less for a number of weeks. But ever since I came to know about finding clients on Facebook groups, I’ve always had work to do.
It’s a little tricky to get freelance writing jobs from Facebook groups because if you go a bit “too far” in terms of advertising yourself, you’ll probably be removed from them.
It’s best to not overdo things.
Start by joining groups dedicated to online business owners like:
- Bloggers
- Digital marketers
- Online store owners
- Etc
These are the people that require content on a very regular basis.
Here’s one offer I came across just now while scrolling through my feed:
Now, just like you and me, there can be heaps of other freelance writers in those groups waiting to snatch a client away.
To make sure you stand a chance to land the gig, there are some important pointers you need to follow while you’re in the group. Those are:
- Be active and interact regularly
- Help people out whenever you can
- Follow the rules of the group
- Make posts giving out your “expert” advice
- Don’t post on the group selling your service. Look for people wanting to hire a freelance writer and then reach out to them
No doubt, Facebook groups is a good place to find clients but avoid joining hundreds of them. The goal is to join the quality ones and use them to the fullest.
6. Try Craigslist
This site has one of the biggest databases in the online world and receives a huge number of traffic on a daily basis.
But very few people know that Craigslist can be used to get freelance writing jobs.
It is indeed a golden source of finding clients.
But there is one thing I don’t like about this site. It doesn’t allow searching it’s worldwide database.
It asks you to select a country and then a city and then search within that.
……which is frustrating as a freelancer because we need to target worldwide clients.
Now, what if I told you I found a way to CHEAT the system and get past the limitation?
Let me show you how to find freelance writing jobs on Craigslist using my clever technique:
Step 1: Head over to searchcraigslist.org. This is a tool that lets you search a specific keyword on all over Craigslist and not just one country
Step 2: Type in keywords like “writer, freelance writer, freelance writing, freelance blogger” etc
Step 3: Now you have a list of people looking to hire freelance writers
Step 4: Open each one of them to read the job description
Step 5: To contact them, click on the “Reply” button. It’ll throw up a weird-looking email address you can copy and paste directly
Some pointers that make a good reach-out email to the potential clients:
- Introduce yourself
- Let them know you’ve seen their requirement on Craigslist for a freelance writer
- Mention your greatest writing abilities and what sets you apart from others
- Provide samples to your past work
- Ask them how they want to take this forward and if they’re free for a 15 min call
7. Consider Starting A Blog
Starting a blog for my freelance writing business gave me a major boost in terms of exposure, credibility and of course work samples.
It is a fantastic medium for your potential clients to identify your skills and know more about you.
Starting a blog as a freelance writer doesn’t have to be expensive at all.
In fact, if you read my post on how to start a blog and make money online, you can start yours for ONLY $19.9.
And no, you don’t have to be techy at all. I am not techy and I did it with ease.
I would say the only investment to start a blog is these two things:
- Domain and
- Hosting
You can get both of them from Siteground, which is the most reliable hosting company out there.
My blogs are hosted on Siteground and I never ever had a problem with them. Unlike some other companies that slows down your site, doesn’t provide proper security and support.
One of the many cool things about Siteground is they provide unlimited FREE custom email accounts on every plan.
Which means you can create an email address based on your domain instead of Gmail, Yahoo or others.
If you don’t have a blog yet consider starting one because you might be missing out on a lot of potential clients.
8. Use Twitter Search Filter
Twitter’s search filter is one powerful tool that can help you find freelance writing jobs.
It’s as simple as heading over to Twitter.com and typing in your keywords.
Taking “freelance writer” for an example, I managed to find these two tweets at the very top:
You can choose to further refine your search by clicking on the “Advanced search” button.
9. Partner Up With Digital Marketing Agencies
There are thousands of digital marketing agencies on the internet and all of them have two things in common:
- They offer “writing” as part of their marketing package
- They outsource the writing part to freelance writers
Not to forget, they’re great at advertising their service so they’re almost never out of clients.
….which tells me it’s a brilliant idea to partner up with digital marketing agencies to get a constant flow of writing work.
You can find digital marketing agencies in your city by typing “digital marketing agency in (your city)” on Google.
Here’s what it should look like:
Click on where it says “More places” and it’ll throw up hundreds more of them.
The reason we’re looking for digital marketing agencies within our city is because we need to be able to meet them in person and form a healthy partnership with clear-cut terms.
Once you find at least 15-20 good agencies, reach out to them via email and let me know your interest of partnering up to share the workload of the writing part.
Don’t forget to clearly mention your rates and ask them if they would fancy a meet up for a thorough discussion.
10. Write For Free In Exchange Of A Shout-out
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the internet is full of people who wants FREE SERVICE.
I come across many people who want me to write for them without charging anything. (Which is a terrible request)
But sometimes it’s not that bad.
In fact, writing for free can help you find freelance writing clients.
How?
By asking for a shout-out in exchange of writing for them.
In simple words, you write for them at no cost and in return they put out a post on their social media profile bragging about your writing service + a way to contact you.
This way it’s a win-win.
Every single soul in this world loves free service so I am guessing it wouldn’t be tough to find people who would fancy a barter.
You could post on your social media handles or on groups letting people know you’re willing to work for free in exchange of a shout-out.
You’re sure to get plenty of people reaching out to you. Because why not!
NOTE: I recommend only bartering with people who have a decent following and social media presence.
11. Ask Your Friends
When you’re searching for something it is best to look around your nearest places first.
Similarly, when you’re struggling to find clients especially as a new freelance writer, you should reach out to your friends first.
You could make a simple post on your social media handles asking if anyone from your friends list would require your service. Maybe offer an irresistible discount for the first 5 people.
Apart from social media, you could try asking your friends at the gym or at your university.
Or anywhere you meet them.
Now you might think this screams “needy” big time but trust me, it’s nothing like that.
It is a good way to let your friends know what you are doing for a living or a side hustle.
Try it!
Two Traditional Ways Of Getting clients That I Love
While the above unusual ways are FANTASTIC to get freelance writing jobs, do not completely abandon the “traditional” ways of finding clients.
It is wise to try a mix of both and see what works out best for you.
Two of my favorite sources of getting clients the “traditional” way are cold emailing and job boards like ProBlogger.
ProBlogger job board is a great listing of freelance writing jobs that you can apply to.
The quality of jobs are very decent and the pay is up to the mark. Every day about 1-2 jobs are posted and you can apply to them right away, for FREE!
Andy Nathan from Smart at the Start tried finding jobs on ProBlogger and ended up earning $15,000 from it. Read the post here.
On the other hand, cold emailing can fetch you one of the highest paying clients. And the good news is you can start doing this right away.
I’ve discussed a little more about cold emailing on my other post how to make money as a freelance writer.
Things To Remember As A New Freelance Writer
Starting out as a new freelance writer can be exciting and intimidating at the same time.
You have no clue about what’s going on and how to take things forward but you’re pumped up.
Now, there are a few things which you need to keep in mind as a new freelance writer. Those are:
#1 Build A Portfolio From The Start
When there are already experienced writers on the line, you (a newbie) hardly stand any chance of landing clients.
Having a strong portfolio can help you climb up the ladder and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the experienced ones out there.
Starting a blog is a good way to highlight your skills and prepare your portfolio at the same time.
#2 Charge Lesser Than Others Until You Gain Experience
Charging as same as the experienced ones is a silly move as a new freelance writer.
Why?
Because clients want their writer to be experienced and when they see you charging a hefty price as a new freelancer, you’re automatically eliminated from the competition.
It is best to lower your rates a bit so you can attract clients your way and build some experience.
#3 Network With Other Freelance Writers
It is important to ask questions to the right people. And being part of a community is a great way to get them answered.
You can join Facebook groups, follow other freelance writers on Instagram or Twitter and reach out to them to build a healthy relationship.
#4 Check Your Writing Errors At The Door
There’s no denying that content is KING, but if your content has grammatical errors and other mistakes, be prepared to be sidelined.
The reason being not every client out there wants to hire a proofreader separately, so you have to make sure your writing is error-free.
I highly recommend using this FREE tool called Grammarly to detect and eliminate any writing errors like punctuation, spelling mistakes etc.
Take The “30 Days Or Less To Freelance Writing Success” Course
My friend Gina Horkey who is the founder of HorkeyHandbook, has a spectacular course called 30 days or less to freelance writing success.
It is a self-paced step by step course that is broken down into short, actionable lessons showing you exactly how to start a freelance writing business online within 30 days.
It goes over everything from setting things up, to formatting, to goal setting, to building your portfolio, to writing your first pitch, to getting clients fast and so much more.
If you’re serious about making it big as a freelance writer, I highly recommend taking this course.
It’ll help you skip the long learning curve, skip the trial and error + skip the frustrating mistakes most beginners make when starting out.
Your Turn
You just discovered how to find freelance writing jobs. So, are you ready to end the misery and land a gig within a week? Then be sure to try these unusual tactics out.
Which strategy are you going to try out first? Let me know in the comments. 🙂
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