If you are just starting your career as a freelance writer, your primary focus is going to be on earning income. While you might write because you love it, you have to pay the bills. Finding online freelance writing jobs for beginners can be difficult if you don’t know what to do. However, it is possible to locate those jobs and start earning money right away.
Content Writing Sites
One of the easiest places for a beginning writer to get started is on one of the various content writing platforms that is available. Some of the most popular sites include Textbroker, Writer Access, Scripted and GetaCopywriter. All of these sites have an application process and the timeline can vary. In some instances, you can be approved and begin writing the very same day. Others will take a week or even longer before you receive notice of whether you were approved.
To make these sites work for you, take your time with the application. Submit your best work even if it means writing a new article for the application. Once you are approved, create a complete profile. Many of these sites allow clients to request a specific writer, often at higher rates than what you earn otherwise. Make sure your profile is informative and include a photo.
Learn the details about whatever site you sign up for. Understand the rules about submissions and revisions and find out if the site rates you as a writer and what it means. Discover options for working directly with a client or if a client can request you. This information can help you be more successful and even work your way up to a higher pay rate.
Bidding Sites
Once you have a little experience with one or more of the content writing sites, you can start looking elsewhere for a job. Bidding sites provide a wide range of jobs even for the beginner. The most popular site is Upwork, but there is also Guru.com, Freelancer.com and Fivver. What all of these sites have in common is an abundance of jobs posted by clients looking for writers. They also have a lot of competition, but beginners can start earning money if they know how to utilize these sites to their advantage.
The first step is to create a complete profile. Decide what you want to specialize in, whether it is a topic or type of writing, and make sure clients know about your specialization. If you aren’t sure what to specialize in, think about what you have done in your career or for hobbies and other previous experience. Include this information in your profile and add a few articles on your chosen topic for the portfolio.
Once you create your profile, start looking for jobs. Until you have a few completed, you may have to look for lower paying jobs. Once you have shown that you can finish the work and satisfy clients, you will win higher paying jobs.
The jobs you are most likely to win are ones with one-time projects, so be willing to try a variety of topics even if you have no knowledge or previous experience. Also, look for clients who are hiring a number of writers. They probably have a content company and will act as the middleman between writers and clients. While the pay will be lower than if you are working straight with the clients, you will be more likely to have steady work without having to search for new clients.
Do Regular Searches Online
The third option for finding online freelance writing jobs for beginners is by doing various searches. Check out job boards, such as ProBlogger or freelancewritinggigs.com to find any jobs that fit your experience and interests.
Consider social media for jobs by searching for freelance writing jobs on Twitter or Facebook. You can also search jobs on LinkedIn. To narrow down the results so that you don’t spend all of your time sorting through long lists of jobs, enter a subject along with the term “freelance writing jobs.” For instance, if you have a background in real estate, look for real estate freelance writing jobs.
Look on job sites like Monster.com or Indeed.com for these jobs. Journalism Jobs and Mediabistro are two other sites that provide job listings for writers. Keep in mind that many of them are looking for writers with experience, which will eliminate you. However, if you have a strong non-writing background in this area, it may compensate. For instance, a person who has been an elementary teacher for the past ten years will likely be considered for a job writing curriculum even with no previous writing experience. That being said, you will still have to prove you can write well.
Get a Game Plan
With all of these options, you may feel overwhelmed. At best, you will try a little of this and a little of that with no success. At worst, you may do nothing because you just aren’t sure what to do. To get the most benefit out of these places for freelance writing work, you must have a plan.
Start with two or three content writing sites. Submit your applications after reading the requirements. Take a few minutes to write two or three writing samples that you can use on the various sites and to add to your profile.
Next, set up a profile on one bidding site. Look up a few jobs and apply to at least four or five. Then, browse around the job boards until you find two or three you like. Choose no more than three because a lot of the information is duplicated and you don’t want to spend all of your time jumping from one site to another. Limiting yourself to a few methods of finding jobs is the most effective way to find jobs. If you find that one option or site doesn’t work for you, replace it with another one.
Even if you are a beginner, you can find freelance writing jobs online. After all, every writer started there at some point, and look where they are now. You can get there, too.
