7 Websites that List Freelance Writing Opportunities

Wondering where your next writing gig is going to come from? You may want to check out the websites below. These job boards are filled with opportunities for freelancers and they’re worth looking into.

Before we begin though, I’d like to offer a couple of quick job hunting tips:

1. Have a resume ready – This doesn’t apply to all listings, but some companies will require a resume even if they’re hiring you on a contractual basis.

2. Follow up – Don’t just “send it then forget it”. Keep track of the applications that you sent and follow up after a week or so.

Now on to the sites…

ProBlogger – One of the best job boards out there, in my opinion. You’ll find a number of quality clients here.

FreelanceSwitch – This board lists jobs for all types of freelancers. The site does charge a subscription fee of $7 a month, though.

BloggingPro – Several web content jobs are posted here on a daily basis, and some of them are worth checking out.

Flex Jobs – A site dedicated to part-time jobs, telecommuting jobs, and freelance work. It costs $14.95/month to $49.95/year to sign up.

Journalism Jobs – As its name clearly states, this site is all about jobs for journalists and writers. It lists both full-time and freelance job opportunities alike.

Craigslist – I know a lot of highly-paid writers who would sneer at Craigslist mainly because the site is full of scammy posts or listings that pay pennies per article. I say Craigslist has good opportunities for freelancers who are just starting out. Back when I was a newbie at this, I landed two internships by looking at Craigslist jobs and those internships paved the way for paid work.

Facebook 4 Freelancers – This Facebook page curates freelance job opportunities from various sources. Definitely worth checking out.

Job boards are great and all, but…

There’s a reason why I didn’t include job boards in my 25 Types of Writing Gigs book: I don’t want to encourage freelance writers to rely on job boards alone, because I believe that high-paying writing gigs can be obtained through a lot of other ways (i.e. referrals, direct marketing, etc.).

Don’t get me wrong, you can definitely land great gigs by trolling these boards. (In fact, I recently got in touch with a company via ProBlogger that pays as much as $150 per post.) However, do refrain from pouring all your energy into these boards. If you’re going to spend a week trying to find writing gigs, I suggest spending a day or 2 at most on job boards, and the rest on other forms of marketing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Spend time researching companies that may need your services then reach out to them with a personalized pitch.

In my experience, this method is way more effective than trolling job boards because there’s not a lot of competition when you take this route. A single job posting can get hundreds of applications, so standing out is an uphill battle.

On the other hand, you’ll have a greater chance of getting noticed if you contact a business on your own because not a lot of people are doing it. Sure, it takes a lot more work to craft a unique pitch for each business, but that extra effort could mean the difference between getting hired or ignored.

Image credit:  photologue_np on Flickr