9 Of The Best Places To Find Writing Jobs Online

Becoming a freelance writer can be an intimidating undertaking.

If you’re new to the online writing world, looking for remote writing work can seem like foreign territory.

With so many freelance job boards out there and an endless supply of companies looking for writers, it can be overwhelming thinking about where you should start.

Trust us, we’ve been in your shoes!

In all reality, taking the first step may be the hardest part.

Once you lock in your first few gigs, things just seem to become easier and new writing opportunities fall into place.

In this article, we’re going to walk you through nine ways you can find writing jobs online for beginners and how you can increase your chances of finding work as fast as possible.

1. Apply on Job Boards

Freelance job boards are always a great place to find writing opportunities.

The tricky part is finding job boards that will pay your desired rate.

Think twice before jumping straight to popular freelance job boards like Fiverr, Upwork, Toptal, Textbroker, and PeoplePerHour.

While these sites have a ton of opportunities, they also have an intense amount of competition and operate off a bidding system.

This means that many openings will have a “race to the bottom” to see who can complete the writing gig for the least amount of money.

This makes it hard to compete with people who are willing to get paid next to nothing for their work.

But you’re better than that!

There are other high-paying job boards you can look into that pay a decent amount for each project.

Don’t settle for less. Spent the time doing your research before applying.

2. Set Notifications and Follow on Social Media

If you’re going to go through the hassle of tracking down a list of writing job boards, then you might as well take measures to stay up-to-date with the most current job postings.

A great way to do this is to subscribe to job notifications and follow job boards on social media.

This little hack will make your life so much easier.

Instead of going to job boards every single day to check on the newest opportunities, you can be notified every time a new writing gig goes live.

Many times, job boards will allow you to set notifications and weekly updates that are sent directly to your email.

In other cases, you can follow job boards on Twitter or Facebook to receive updates when companies post new projects.

3. Join Facebook Groups

Along the same lines of using social media to your advantage, joining writing Facebook groups is an excellent way to network with other writers and find hot leads on new freelance writing jobs online.

This tip is helpful on two fronts — it provides you with a great resource to interact with other writers and seek out answers to questions you may have, and it also gives you another way to find potential jobs.

Some robust Facebook writing groups you can join include Freelance B2B Writers, Writers Helping Writers, and The Write Life Community.

4. Search Reddit

Like some of the other job boards we mentioned above, Reddit also offers writers a means to find paying writing jobs.

The r/HireAWriter thread is an online community for writers looking for work.

By joining this thread, you can create a “Hire Me” post and write a brief description of yourself, detail the topics you specialize in, and set your pay rate.

If an employer likes what they see, they’ll reach out to you.

You can also read through “Hiring” posts from companies who are looking for writers for a project.

If you think you’d be a good fit for a project then you can also take the initiative to reach out to them and apply.

5. Join a Freelance Writer Directory

Freelance writer directories are a place for you to showcase your talents or unique skills so hiring companies can find you.

Do you have strong interpersonal skills?

By quickly creating a profile with your experience, qualifications, and contact information, companies who are looking for writers may stumble across your information.

Companies who are looking for talented writers are sometimes bombarded with inexperienced writers that flood their inbox when an opportunity is posted.

Instead of creating a job posting, some companies will go out and look for writers themselves.

That’s where a writer directory comes in handy.

By paying a small fee, you can be part of a freelance writer directory like this one.

6. Seek Out Content Agencies

Why go out and try to conquer the world on your own if you don’t have to?

Joining a content agency can be a great way to find steady work as a freelance writer.

Applying to job after job only to find that you need to repeat the process after you complete a project is an exhausting reality many content writers face.

This doesn’t need to be the case.

Many companies and blogs outsource their content writing to agencies.

This means that content agencies and writing services have a steady stream of work from their clients that you can be handling.

Content agencies provide a greater level of stability and consistency in your writing projects.

There’s a good chance you’ll be assigned one or two clients that will be your main focus.

This makes life a heck of a lot easier since you won’t have to always be searching for your next role.

Some great content agencies that you can look into that always seem to be hiring are The Writer Finder and Constant Content.

7. Begin Cold Pitching

Cold pitching is when you blindly reach out to potential clients and pitch them article ideas.

This may seem risky, but really it’s a great way to stand out and find work that other writers might not have on their radar.

First, find companies that are already creating blog content and seem like they’d be willing to pay an additional freelance writer.

This could be other bloggers, startup companies, online publications, or small businesses.

Next, craft a unique pitch email that is informative, short, and concise.

In your pitch email, include:

• How you found the company
• A short description of how you can help them
• Links to writing samples

Keep your email short and sweet while immediately conveying the value you can provide to the company.

If all goes well, your cold email could turn into your first paying writing gig.

8. Write Guest Posts for Free

Similar to cold pitching, writing guest posts for free is a good way to get your foot in the door.

Sure, nobody wants to work for free, but if you’re able to lock in a steady paying gig as a result, it’s definitely worth a shot.

Like cold pitching, you’ll need to send an email explaining who you are, what you’d like to write about, and how you can provide value to the company or blog.

You could even go as far as to write the article beforehand to show the company you mean business.

Creating free guest posts also helps you build your writing portfolio.

If you don’t have writing samples to use when applying for jobs, then this is an excellent way to hit two birds with one stone.

If the company likes your work and ends up posting your article, fantastic!

If they don’t end up posting it, then don’t worry too much.

You still have a writing sample that you can use for future job pitches.

It’s a win-win!

9. Create Your Own Blog

If you’re worried that you don’t have much experience writing online, then you can always create your own blog to showcase your writing skills and talents.

This not only creates a live portfolio of web content for you to showcase, but it also helps you perfect your trade.

Pretty much all paying writing jobs online will require you to submit writing samples.

If you’re lacking in this area, then a personal blog will be a huge help.

You can decide to write about anything that interests you or areas you’d like to pursue as your writing specialty.

This is your opportunity to mold your online writing career by gaining experience in certain topics that you’d like to get paid for in the future.

Lock in Your First Writing Jobs Online

Finding freelance writing jobs online is an art that takes time to perfect.

It may be challenging at the start, but once you get the hang of it, you can get paid to write high-quality content.

Whether you’re looking for part-time writing projects on the side or a full-time writing opportunity, follow some of the tips above to get you started and on your way.

Best of luck locking in your first online writing gig.