Where do you find freelance writing gigs?
It’s a great question, isn’t it?
In a way, knowing where to find clients, and then how to turn them into ongoing revenue, is a writer’s “secret sauce.”
My favorite way to land clients is cold outreach (I share my strategy and template that landed $24,500 in new work here).
But I’ve also learned that there is no “right way” to land clients. There’s only the strategy that you’ll actually do consistently.
Or, as James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.”
Part of creating that system, of course, is knowing where the freelance writing gigs are located.
Not sure where to start? No worries! I’m going to show you over 20 places to find fresh new freelance writing gigs online and get your pipeline packed with work.
1. Use this brilliant LinkedIn hack to find freelance writing gigs
I just learned this amazing marketing hack last week. When I read it, I was like, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Sharon Wu posted the strategy on LinkedIn a few weeks ago, and I immediately knew it was crazy smart.
Here’s what you do:
- Open your LinkedIn search bar.
- Type in “looking for freelance writer.” Or you can go more niche, like “looking for freelance healthcare writer.” I’d suggest playing with some different keyword searches.
- Select “past 24 hours” at the top (you could also select “past week” if you prefer).
When I did the search for “looking for freelance writer,” the first post that popped up said:
📣 Putting out a call for freelance #legal #writers 📣
Forbes Advisor is looking for freelance legal writers. Like explaining the law? Enjoy being legally adjacent but not necessarily practicing? Do you live and breathe legal writing? Let’s chat ☕
We’ve got plenty of assignments and will have them for a very long time. Send me an email with your resume & some legal writing samples, and we’ll take it from there.
Wu reported she’s used this strategy to land lots of ongoing gigs, so it sounds totally worth giving a try.
2. Use Twitter to find freelance writing gigs
When I read the comments in Wu’s LinkedIn post, writers continued to say, “Hey, did you know you can do the same thing on LinkedIn?”
Who knew, right?
So, it looks like you can apply the LinkedIn strategy (tip #1) to Twitter!
You can also use Twitter to find gigs on job boards. Here are a few to get you started:
One more thing. When you’re cruising the Twitter job boards, make sure to check out the “You Might Like” sidebar on the right because it’s loaded with more suggestions. It’s a rabbit hole once you get started!
**PRO TIP: The Writer’s Market is another gold mine for finding freelance writing gigs. It has thousands of publishing opportunities for writers, including consumer and trade magazines actively seeking pitches. The “How Much Should I Charge” section was my go-to resource when I just started, listing detailed pay rates based on project types.
3. Check agency job postings
Agencies are awesome. They have tons of work and can help you get fully booked fast. Many writers think that since agencies have in-house writers, they don’t use freelancers. But I’ve found the opposite to be true.
I rarely ever hear, “We don’t use freelancers.” An agency might reply that they’re not looking to expand their freelance writer resources, which, by the way, is totally fine because you can follow up later. Things change fast! But more times than not, they’ll say something like, “We’re always looking for good freelancers, send your writing samples.”
If you don’t know where to find agencies, no worries, I wrote a post here. Basically, you leverage big lists (here’s one to get you started) and start getting in touch with creative directors. You can find them on LinkedIn.
Send an email or a LinkedIn message introducing yourself and ask if they use freelance writers. You can also check out an agency’s career page. Some will post a need for freelancers there too.
4. Check out other writers in your niche
There are tons of other writers in your niche making a good living. You can check out who they’re working with on their LinkedIn pages.
Now, to be clear, I’m not telling you to poach their clients. No. That would be bad writing karma for sure.
But I am saying that you can get ideas about what organizations use teams of freelancers.
For example, if you find agencies, it’s pretty darn likely they aren’t using one freelancer. They are using many. And asking to be added to their freelance writer pool is a great idea.
5. Use cold outreach to find freelance writing gigs
“It doesn’t work.”
I hear this all the time from freelancers getting started with cold outreach.
Cold outreach takes Zen-like patience because when you get started, it will feel like a giant waste of time.
I’ve never once met a freelancer who said, “Cold pitching is amazing” in their first month. No. They say, “It’s not working…”
And I get it, but you have to understand why.
I’ve read that 97% of prospects are not ready now. So, with cold outreach, that means you are doing a ton of reach-outs to find that 3% who are ready faster.
I’ll give you my personal numbers. I know that if I do 100 reach-outs, I’ll get somewhere around a 20% response rate, and 1–2% will become paying clients.
And if you need help getting started, I go over my process here and provide a template that landed me $24,500 in new work.
6. Mine “fastest-growing” lists for prospects
One of my favorite places to find new prospects is by checking out the fastest-growing companies lists.
Why?
It’s a gold mine full of companies that are expanding and likely overloaded and in need of additional help.
Do they have internal writers? Maybe. Are those writers able to handle the workload? Probably not. And of course, that’s where you come in!
Where do you find these fast-growing companies, you ask?
I personally love Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing company list.
You can find more by searching “fastest growing company {your niche} companies.” Make a list of companies that look interesting and reach out with a letter of introduction.
7. Monitor companies hiring for content marketing managers
I learned something this past year. Two of the three new clients I’ve onboarded have been brand-new content marketing managers (just hired within their companies).
This observation got me thinking… when a new content manager starts, they are creating new content plans and often need support with them.
So, here’s your play. Check out LinkedIn jobs to find companies hiring full-time content marketing managers. Make a list. Then, check back periodically and see if the posting has been pulled yet. When it is, you know the role is probably filled.
Then, you can search LinkedIn to find the new content marketing manager and send a message congratulating them on the job and asking if they use freelancers.
8. Find companies hiring full-time content marketing writers
This is the sister strategy of #7. However, what you’re doing instead is looking for companies hiring full-time content marketing writers. Then, you’re going to reach out and see if they use freelancers.
Now, here’s my experience. A good chunk of these companies (let’s say around 50%) will say, “Nope, just looking for full-time.” And that’s totally fine. But some will say, “Yeah, we do use freelancers also,” or “We need some help while filling the role.”
9. Find new prospects using PRWeb
Still stuck on how to find freelance writing gigs? Another idea is to check out sites that publish press releases, like PRWeb.
Visit the site and search for your niche. For example, when I search for technology (which is my niche), I get 2,500 results.
Of course, you’ll want to pay attention to the newest ones, but you’ll often find companies that have just won an award or had some other sort of accomplishment.
You can use LinkedIn to find their marketing manager (or someone similar) and send a note congratulating them on their award, and asking if they, by chance, use freelancers.
10. Search startups to find freelance writing gigs
I’ve landed a handful of fantastic clients that are well-funded startups that need to produce a lot of content quickly to ramp up. And this is a great freelance writing gig.
I’ve found the best way to find these companies is to search for “startups in your niche” and see what surfaces.
For example, when I search for my niche, which is technology, the first result is “top technology startups in North America,” but there are many other lists.
Then, look up the marketing manager or someone similar on LinkedIn and send your letter of introduction.
11 – 20: Freelance writing job boards to search
I’m going to be totally honest about job boards. I don’t love them.
Here’s why.
I spoke with a client who posted on LinkedIn and literally got hundreds of responses from freelancers. She eventually stopped reviewing them (no doubt overlooking some really amazing freelancers).
But still, I’m including a few because sometimes you’ll find gems, or you just want to add job boards to your marketing strategy mix. So, if job boards are your thing, here you go. 😊
Bonus: A few places I’ve heard use freelancers
Feeling inspired… or overwhelmed?
After reading this big list, you might feel inspired …. or you might feel totally overwhelmed and have no flipping clue where to start.
Here’s what I would guide you to consider:
- If you need work fast… do cold outreach to agencies. They have a ton of work waiting to be assigned and can fill your pipeline much faster than any single client.
- Turn on a slow trickle of leads for your future self… SEO your LinkedIn profile. You can read about my experience with LinkedIn SEO here and get tips for getting started. Spoiler: it took me less than an hour, and the ROI is off the charts.
- Spend time with strategy #1 (mining LinkedIn opportunities) to complement your agency reach-outs.
- Set a daily habit. Decide how much time to market daily (I recommend 1–2 hours if you aren’t fully booked) and stick to your goal for at least 90 days.
Measure your results, see what works, and pivot if you need to. And when you do get busy, keep marketing! Counter-intuitive, I know, but you will thank yourself when a client falls off and you still have opportunities trickling in.
Do you need help creating an ongoing marketing strategy?
Download the free template I used to generate $24,500 in new work.
Disclaimer: This article contains my Amazon referral links for some of my favorite books. If you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.
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