What’s in your toolbox to build your freelance business and find content writing jobs?
Ask your network. Send cold-pitch emails. Make phone calls. Try direct mail. Connect with agencies. Marketing is the name of the game, especially when you’re starting out.
These are proven marketing strategies to find prospects and get hired for content writing jobs. The more prospects you reach out to, the closer you get to your goals to move up, earn more, and make a living writing.
Looking for another way to find freelance work?
It’s no secret that trolling Craigslist for content writing jobs or putting all your bets on Upwork to find great clients aren’t the best ways to build your freelance writing business.
But there are some online resources you’ll want to add to your toolbox.
If you want to get hired, grow your network, and build your portfolio of freelance work, check out these handy places to get hired online.
Online resources to find content writing jobs
Finding your own clients to pitch freelance writing services will almost always win out over content mills, bidding sites, and job boards.
But there are some online resources worth checking out to help you:
- Identify clients in your niche
- See who’s hiring freelancers
- Find out what type of content writing jobs are in demand
- Fill a gap as a temporary writer until a full-time position is filled
- Get hired for a freelance assignment or long-term contract
Tip: Don’t ignore listings for full-time writing jobs. Find a writing job in your niche that looks like a good fit, except for the 9-5 part? Reach out to the editor or marketing director with a letter of introduction. It’s a great way to land a temporary contract until they hire a full-time employee, which can take months at larger organizations.
Ready to check out the list of handy online resources to find freelance work?
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
1. Flexjobs
Want to know a little secret about the Junk Free Job Board inside the Freelance Writers Den? A few of the job listings come from FlexJobs. In fact, FlexJobs is one of our favorite freelance writing job boards. (Editor’s note: The Freelance Writers Den no longer includes a job board because so few jobs met our minimum requirements.)
It’s a paid service that complies thousands of online listings for freelance writing jobs and other remote work. (You’ll get 30% off with Code: FLEXLIFE, thanks to our special hookup with them.)
Tip: You can search the listings without handing over your email address or paying for the service. Use the Advanced Search feature, add a keyword from your niche, and choose a category like Writing, Marketing, or News & Journalism. If you want to see all the details, you’ll need a subscription.
2. CloudPeeps
When an editor or marketing director needs a writer, chances are pretty good they’re going to ask their “peeps” first. So how do you get on an editor’s radar?
That’s the foundation for CloudPeeps, created to match freelance writers with companies like Airbnb, Virgin America airlines, Lyft, Zappos, and many others.
Is it just another place that pays cheap rates for content writing jobs? You decide. Clients expect to pay freelancers $60 to $100 per hour or $100 to $250 per blog post.
3. Freelance Writing
The Freelance Writing job board gets a virtual fist bump for being an online resource for writers longer any others on this list. Since 1997, like when the Internet was still pretty new. Their staff compiles freelance writing jobs to keep the list going.
Companies can also use the site to find writers. Some of the most recent listings include jobs for blog writing, case studies, copywriting, and more.
Tip: Check the “Remote” box on the left when you search the list to filter out the full-time jobs. And be selective. You’ll find some writing opportunities here that pay professional rates. But others don’t…just a reminder that the best content writing jobs are usually the ones not advertised.
4. Glassdoor
What’s it like to work for company X? If you want to get some insight about a potential freelance writing client, Glassdoor is a good place to look.
But it’s not just a place for employees to post glowing reviews or less-than-happy employees to dish out the dirt. Glassdoor is also a place where employers are looking for freelancers to write blog posts, articles, case studies, white papers, marketing-funnel content, and more.
Here’s an example: A basic search under the Jobs tab for “freelance writer” returned a list of about 1,300 writing jobs. Refine your search, and you’ll be able to sift though the list to find content writing jobs in your niche.
5. Indeed
Indeed.com showed up on the Interwebs 14 years ago as a recruiting and job search tool. It didn’t take long for Indeed to outperform it’s competitor, Monster.com (which once paid $4 million for a series of Super Bowl ads).
At the time, most of those writing jobs were for the 9-to-5-sit-in-a-cubicle kind. But that’s changing in today’s freelance economy.
Tip: A quick search for “freelance writer” on Indeed turns up 700-plus content writing jobs for media companies, digital marketing agencies, and staffing services searching for the right freelancer to fill contract assignments.
6. JournalismJobs
Looking for assignments writing for newspapers, magazines, and media organizations?
That’s what you’ll primarily find at JournalismJobs, which was founded in 1998 by former Washington Post writer and editor Dan Rohn.
Tip 1: When you search for freelance work here, use the “Job Type” tab on the left to narrow your search to “freelance” and “telecommute” opportunities.
Tip 2: Also, if you’re looking for an easy way to get a clip, pitch a local story idea to a newspaper in your community. Sad but true…most operate with a shoestring staff and work with freelancers.
7. LinkedIn Jobs
If you’re going spend any time checking out these online resources to find content writing jobs, use LinkedIn.
As a freelance writer, it’s by far the best place online to network with people in your niche, connect with editors and marketing directors, and find freelance work.
Develop your LinkedIn profile
Take the time to develop and improve your LinkedIn profile as a niche freelance writer. When you optimize your LinkedIn profile, you make it a lot easier for an editor or marketing director to find you. Plus, LinkedIn will recommend job searches based on your profile to save you time.
8. Media Bistro
Before you jump into the search bar on Media Bistro, take a look at the Resources tab at the top of the page. You’ll find useful tips about how to pitch story ideas to a long list of niche, trade, and consumer magazines.
MediaBistro launched way back in 1999, and it’s carved out a niche as a place where companies can find media professionals. That’s good news for freelancers.
When you search for content writing jobs here, you’ll find publishing companies, digital marketing agencies representing Fortune 500 companies, and media outlets in need of your skills.
Tip: Check the “Working from home” box to narrow your search to freelance or remote work.
9. ProBlogger
When Darren Rowse stumbled upon this foreign concept called “blogging” back in 2002, he decided to start a blog to write about stuff like pop culture and spirituality. And he became obsessed with blogging, online writing and driving traffic.
That’s basically how ProBlogger started. The site includes a lot of resources for freelance writers and bloggers, including the ProBlogger job board.
Tip: After sifting through the latest listings, there’s a mix of content writings jobs that pay respectable rates (like $300 per blog post on personal finance topics), and others that don’t.
10. Virtual Vocations
Here’s a FlexJobs competitor. It works pretty much the same way.
At Virtual Vocations, real people sift through thousands of online jobs to create a searchable database where you can find remote work, including content writing jobs.
You can search for freelance work and see what’s out there for free, but you’ll need a paid subscription to see all the details.
“Our job board is 100 percent hand screened,” says Virtual Vocations Public Relations Director Michelle Rawlings. “Every opening we post gets human eyes on it, and is looked at again by our team in 30 days for review.”
Tip: Search by title like “freelance writer” or click on one of the categories like “Writing,” “Creative,” or “Marketing,” to see what’s available. Then use the “Telecommute” filter on the left to narrow your search.
Build your freelance business one assignment at a time
If you want to build a successful freelance writing business, you’ll need to market like crazy…at least at first. Job boards can be one way to find potential clients. Just keep in mind that the best content writing jobs are usually the ones not advertised.
Where do you find content writing jobs online? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
Evan Jensen is the blog editor for Make a Living Writing. When he’s not on a writing deadline or catching up on emails, he’s training to run another 100-mile ultra-marathon.
