Finding Work as A Freelance Writer

Finding work as a freelance writer can be an intimidating process. Google the word "freelance writing" and you'll see the endless list of websites claiming to be the only source you'll need to find work. However, there are several things you should be aware of when looking for work.

1. There are plenty of scams disguised as job ads. Be wary of how much personal information you supply. If you are being asked for your contact information or tax information, you should have all the contact information for the company requesting it. This is especially true when responding to jobs on Craig's List. I use a separate email account when I apply for writing jobs online, and I don't supply contact information beyond my name and work email account.

2. Know what your time is worth before you start looking. You will find an endless amount of job ads looking for people interested in writing 400-500 word articles or more for $1 or less per article. Although it is okay to be flexible, have a number in mind of what you want to make per hour. When you read a job ad, figure out how long it would take you to complete the job. This will give you an idea of how much you will make per hour if you take the job. If the ad is requesting applicants to make bids, do the same thing. Figure out how long the job will take and multiple that number by how much you want to make per hour.

3. Be aware of a bait and switch. I recently took a job writing a set of 20 articles with the promise of future work. However, after I finished the first 20 articles at our agreed upon rate, the client emailed me with the new rate that he was willing to pay, which was significantly less. He tried to sway me by promising the job would be 250 articles at the new rate. Although there are situations where discounted rates may be considered for bulk jobs, do not let people talk you into working for less than you are worth.

There are a variety of websites, which offer easy work at very low rates. For example, text broker, London Broker, and Constant Content all offer large amounts of easy work but pay very little. Once again, you need to determine how fast you can complete the work in order to decide if the pay will add up to enough per hour. The upside of these websites is that they will accept almost anyone and there is always work available.

There are also a wide variety of websites that provide some kind of revenue share pay system. Examples of these include ehow, hub pages, and Suite 101. These websites provide passive income. The longer you write for them the more money you can make over time. In order to be successful and make money through these websites you need to create a follow, learn how to create backlinks, and have a basic understanding of search engine optimization (SEO). These websites, also provide people an opportunity to simply write in a public forum. I was once told that I should write something every day, no matter what. Hub pages gives me the opportunity to write something when I feel like writing, and it gives me the freedom to write about something I want to write.

There are bid-based websites. Examples of these are Elance, Freelancer, and WritersLance. These websites allow clients to present their jobs and have writers make bids on how much they would be willing to do the job for and how quickly they could have the job completed. The client can than chose the writer they would like to go with. Most bid-based job boards involve a fee for both the writer and the client. However, they can be a great source for high paying jobs. Elance regularly has jobs listed in the tens of thousands of dollars budget range.

There are also websites that simply collect job ads from other websites and compile them into a nice user-friendly list. These include About Freelance, Freelance Writing Gigs, WAHM, and Telecommuniting jobs; to name a few. I personally like these websites. They are free and easy to use. Although most of the jobs I have had were advertised through Craig's list, I found the job ad through a job board.

Finally, you may consider posting an ad on Craig's List with a list of your services. I did this one day out of boredom, and I ended up getting four different steady clients. In your ad, specifically list the types of writing services you provide and a range of prices you charge.

This is what I know. What do you know? If you know about a great online source of freelance writing jobs or if you have advice to offer on looking for work, post it in the comments section. I am sure my other readers will appreciate it.