10 Places for Beginners and 5 for advanced of Freelance Writing Jobs

Spend a lot of time on these sites and apply to every job that comes your way in order to become a freelance writer.

Upwork

Already been mentioned several times in this article. With its pros and cons, Upwork is undeniably a source of work and the most popular freelancing platform, by most metrics. Many people find their first writing jobs on Upwork — and that includes me and many of the people I’ve worked with and coached.

Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com is yet another major online platform for freelancers, and it has plenty of job listings. Aside from a few minor differences in how the platforms operate (such as the fees they charge), there is little difference between them.

PeoplePerHour

One more place to look for work as a freelancer. PeoplePerHour is UK-based but with global clients and a global workforce of freelancers signed up. Will have an in-depth review of PeoplePerHour coming soon, written by a writer who’s won plenty of work on the platform.

Websites for Finding Freelance Work

We’ve mentioned the big three freelance job boards above, but there are plenty of others, with new ones springing up all the time. Check out this list of job boards for more options.

ProBlogger Jobs

ProBlogger Jobs is one of my favorite resources. I’ve used the platform to find writers for my own projects, as well as to find work for others. In order to weed out the “bottom feeders” and “cheapskates,” ProBlogger Jobs charges clients to place advertisements. There aren’t a lot of jobs here, but it’s always worth a look. A review of ProBlogger Jobs will be soon.

FreelanceWritingJobs

Freelance Writing Jobs posts new writing opportunities on a daily basis. In addition to large job boards like Indeed, they come from a variety of other online sources. If you’d rather have a consistent monthly salary rather than working on a project-by-project basis, you’ll occasionally find full-time work here in addition to the occasional freelance gig.

WriteJobs

You can find writing jobs on WriteJobs, as well as contests and call for submission information, which is updated on a regular basis. There’s also a Write Jobs Plus service, which charges a fee and hides some job details. As of this writing, I haven’t used the premium service, so I can’t vouch for it.

FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a well-known platform for remote and flexible work, and there are occasionally opportunities for freelance writers to post their work there. But the subscriptions are incredibly cheap, so I wouldn’t rule it out as a place to look for online writing jobs for beginners. It would only take one high-paying gig on the platform to justify the fee for a monthly subscription.

To learn more, check out our FlexJobs review, which will come soon.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn hasn’t helped me land a ton of online writing gigs, but it has pointed me in the right direction on occasion. Much depends on how long you’ve been on the platform and how many “friends” you have. LinkedIn is a platform that should not be ignored if you are looking for writing work.

BloggingPro

This is yet another resource for freelance writers looking for work, this time in the form of blog posts. Aside from ProBlogger, it doesn’t appear to be charging clients for advertising, but it could still be your first job.

Where to Look for Experienced Freelance Writers?

As a beginner, you may wonder where to go after you’ve established yourself as an expert in your field and built up a strong portfolio of work.

I’ll start by saying that many of the above-mentioned websites still have opportunities for experienced writers to find work. In the Upwork marketplace, for example, there are entry-level freelancers charging $5 an hour and experienced freelancers charging $150 an hour — and there are clients for all of them...

However, until you’ve gained more experience, you shouldn’t attempt to visit certain locations. Once your writing career takes off, these are a few places to check out. High-paying clients are the norm on these platforms, and it’s not uncommon to see familiar brand names.

ClearVoice

ClearVoice is a content platform where you must apply and have a strong portfolio in order to be considered. Instead of looking through job descriptions, you’ll be asked to make a pitch for specific assignments that match your skills and interests. ClearVoice has been a reliable source of well-paying writing clients for me for several years.

SkyWord

A similar platform, SkyWord, offers the opportunity to write for some of the world’s most famous brands. The pay isn’t always consistent, but if you have some good samples and are ready to take your writing to the next level, this is a good option to look into.

Contently

Most people are familiar with Contently as a place to build a writing portfolio. As a talent network, Contently fills an additional role.

It’s a very “invitation only” situation. “If you’re a good match for our clients, you’ll hear from us,” says Contently’s website. I haven’t heard from them in a long time, but you can always set up a portfolio there — nothing is lost!

nDash

nDash has a lot of appeal to me because of the novel approach it takes. There are a lot of brands on the platform, and you can pitch your ideas to them at any time based on some very specific information they provide. On nDash, I’ve been able to secure work with some high-quality clients who expect to pay me fairly. A review of nDash will come soon.

MediaBistro

Writing jobs can be found on MediaBistro, a job board that covers all aspects of the media.

There are two things to keep in mind: First off, there are some jobs with big-name companies here, and some that are full-time (employed) positions as well as freelance. There’s also a heavy US-bias to the listings. Looking at MediaBistro may be worthwhile when it comes time to try your hand at one of the media giants. NBC and Hearst were both there when I was there the last time I checked.

Conclusion

There is a lot of information out there about starting a freelance writing career for beginners.

However, if you’re willing to work through this methodically and put the work in, you ALREADY know what you need to do after reading this guide.

As I mentioned at the outset, the most frequently asked question is about my experience as a freelance writer. Many people inquire about it, but I KNOW they do nothing about it. But you have to start somewhere if you’re going to make any progress.