If you answer many online writing job ads off Craigslist or any of the big writer job boards, you’ve probably noticed something:
The pay ain’t so great.
$5 a blog post.
$100 to write a whole website.
$15 an article.
Day after day, it’s a steady stream of insulting wage offers.
Every once in a while you might find a company willing to pay a decent wage, but they’re rarer than hen’s teeth.
Ever ask yourself why that is?
To discover why nearly all posters on the mass job boards are low payers, you need to put yourself into the shoes of a prospective employer. Someone who needs to hire a writer.
Great markets for writers don’t need to put out mass job ads. Their jobs are so desirable, they know they can find the right writer without having to wade through hundreds of resumes. Having to scan that many resumes would be a huge waste of their time, so they hunt for a writer in more effective ways.
How great-paying markets hire a writer:
- Ask writers they already know for referrals to other writers
- Go to networking events looking for writers
- Scan LinkedIn profiles for writers with the expertise they want (check out our LinkedIn headline tips so you get noticed!)
- Tweet about their writer needs
- Tap their professional network to get writer referrals
- Pay for an ad on a specialized job board that will only be seen by a select audience
- Do Google searches for writers in their market and then check out their writer sites
How do I know this? I’ve gotten great-paying clients in each of the above ways many times over the years.
Now, consider why an employer might place a job ad on an online site where they know the ad will be widely recirculated and they will get an avalanche of responses.
Why low-paying markets use online job ads:
- They can’t get referrals — they’re so nasty to work for, every past writer has quit
- Pay is so small they need umpteen resumes to find a few willing writers
- It’s their first time hiring a writer and they don’t know how to do it
- They don’t know how to do a Google or LinkedIn search
- Their startup business has a shaky business model they’re hoping to build on the backs of lots of gullible writers…
- They don’t really know what they want in a writer, so they need to read resumes to try to figure it out
- A request for “writing samples” from each applicant will give them all the content they need for free
I looked at online job ads daily for about 18 months at one point. I took quite a few gigs off these ads.
This is what I learned:
Nearly all online writing job posters on the big sites are dysfunctional.
There’s something about their gig that smells like yesterday’s milk.
Maybe it’ll be something you can tolerate. But all too often, it won’t be worth the trouble.
If there’s a bit of a silver lining, it’s that there are a few decent online writing job boards out there. In fact, our Freelance Writers Den has a direct referral program that exclusively posts high-paying opportunities from respected employers. FlexJobs is another one of the few high-quality job boards with opportunities for writers.
But by and large, most job sites out there are junk, and you’re far better off spending your time learning how to pitch quality clients that will pay you what you deserve.
Have you gotten good online writing jobs? Share what you did and how you did it in the comments below.
