The freelance industry can go through waves of feast and famine. Just like other things in life, it seems like it doesn’t rain in forever, and then, when it does, it pours.
It is important to prepare for moments of drought. In order to maintain a successful freelance career, you need plenty of resources.
Configured below, are 5 great go-to places to find writing jobs:
Job boards.
Online job boards are a great place to find work. Make sure to find sites that update their leads daily. It is also advisable to use job boards that don’t require biding.
Sites like Upwork, have set rates and verify payments. They also update their board instantaneously and post in chronological order.
Other go-to job boards include LinkedIn, Freelancewritinggigs.com, MediaBistro, and TopTal.
Online business websites.
Part of the freelance writing business includes being able to market yourself. A good way to find work is by conducting some of your own research.
Searching business websites for things they may need a writer for is a good place to start. Websites may be missing critical, or even good content. Find companies that don’t have social media or blog posts.
They need you and it is your job to convince them that they need a writer. These are the people that you need to contact and sell yourself to. You can start locally.
Find small businesses that are close by and let them know there is a writer in the area. Word of mouth is still the best marketing out there.
Social media.
There are several business groups on Facebook, even for freelance writers. Join several groups that look tight-knit. Become tight-knit in the writing community, you never know who you are going to meet.
Freelancers will often pass along work to others when they have a full plate. You never know who might throw a gig your way or refer your work to somebody. Stay in the loop.
Make sure that you are networking. Small business owners network frequently and use referrals. People in your personal community may be looking for help with a writing project.
It is important to advertise your freelance writing career and abilities on your social media pages. You might be surprised at who is in need of your services.
Maintain a professional website/blog that is also personal.
The idea of a professional website may seem scary for a novice, but all in due time. Even a well maintained blog site can create jobs.
You just never know who may have the same interests as you and can stumble upon your blog or website. It takes time and work, but a blog can be a very lucrative place to generate business.
It also works as a dynamic, diary of samples.
This is the place to showcase you and what you are interested in writing about. Put the time into yourself, it can only help your career.
Websites looking for guest writers.
Guest writing work is not always steady, but if you are vigilant about searching for jobs, you can find a steady stream of income. At first, you may have to guest write for free to get some exposure.
This is still a great way to get your name out there and build your portfolio. Many of the larger websites and businesses are continually looking for guest writers/bloggers.
Choose a handful of websites that you would like to write for and make sure to check out the sites multiple times a week. This is a great way to find writing you want to do instead of writing to just pay the bills.
Freelance writing really has become an online profession. There are unlimited places on the World Wide Web to search.
Make sure to do your research and use reputable websites. It is also important to find websites that you enjoy using, this is your business platform.