Ok, the first thing you kinda need to do is think about what kind of freelance writing you want to do. Obviously there are a lot of different things out there and you can dabble in all of them or immerse yourself in any one of them.
There’s:
- Web content
- Magazine articles
- Articles for SEO
- Blog posts
- Ghost writing
- Copy writing
- Darn near anything else you can think of where the written word is needed
Now, in general terms I’ll tell you that finding the freelance work can be a bear. There are a lot of job boards out there and what you’ll find when you go to most of them is that they just re-hash Craigslist postings. And Craigslist can be kind of a drag. I mean, it’s a great place to buy or sell a car or a pair of skies, but it is chock full o’ crap writing gigs. When you get the chance, just poke around your local Craigs – Look closely at the writers wanted ads and you’ll soon be able to pick out the putrid ones.
There are lots of site such as e-lance that offer big promises but they usually don’t deliver. I signed up with a few of these in my early days and now I avoid them at all costs. My strongest advice is that if you sign up for a freelance writing site and it turns out they work on a “bid” basis then back away slowly, turn and run as fast as you can. Here’s the scoop: They are open to nearly anyone. Worldwide. This means you are competing with writers in a third world country who have a much lower standard of living than you or I. Here’s an example: Client wants 20 500 word SEO optimized articles. Needs them in a week. Has a budget of $35. The winning bid from the twenty or so people who bid on the darned thing, is $20. For work that will take you a good week to complete. Sound like a bargain? Yeah, that’s right. Pretty stinky.
Here’s what I did:
I signed up with Textbroker. I submitted a sample article and then they rated my writing ability (they rate on a 1 – 5 star basis) and then I could accept work orders. The good news is there is no bidding. Clients post to a single board what it is they need done. If you see something you like, you accept the job and get to work. Now, you have to understand that most of these jobs are pretty small time. Anywhere from 100 to 500 words. So with each one you make $2 to maybe $6. Not a lot of money, I know. But here’s the thing. Most of the clients want the piece SEO optimized, telling you exactly where they want the keywords. When I started with Textbroker, I had to go to freakin’ Google and look up SEO! So writing the articles really got me in the SEO mode. Here’s the other thing it did for me: Any client you do work for can choose you in the future to do direct order projects. The rate of pay is significantly higher and the jobs quite a bit larger. One of these was worth nearly a thousand dollars, and I’ve had several that were about $100. I’ve only been with Textbroker a little over three months. The other good thing is that I can head over whenever I want and do a project or two. No long term commitments.
Finally, pay attention to some of the freelance writing blog sites and go visit and comment frequently. I just completed a deal with a site that had too much work for them to handle and because they knew of my style through my comments, I landed the gig. I don’t have to go looking for any more freelance work for a while. You know that you’ve got a great personality and writing style – take advantage of all those traits. Follow the freelance writing sites, comment everywhere and let your personality shine through. I’ll bet you’ll be up to your ears in writing gigs in no time.
Any of you Freelancers got a story to tell? How did you Break in?
Great post George. I never heard of Textbroker but am definitely going to check it out. For me getting started at freelance writing was a huge event. After a lot of research and the fact that I wanted to get paid for whatever I wrote, I decided that ghostwriting was my thing. This basically means that I write for others and they take the credit. When I started back in 2004 I used Elance and at that time they were great, well up until 2007 they were great until they changed their system and their membership fees. Now I tend to avoid it and other bidding sites. I have my own client base that I built up through the use of Elance and word of mouth.
I think if anyone wants to break into freelance writing they really need to find out everything they can first. If you want to see your name in print such as magazines etc, then freelance writing is the way to go, but you need to learn about query letters and be prepared for rejection. If on the other hand you just want to get paid and you don’t mind someone else taking the credit then ghostwriting could be for you. Most jobs for web content etc, really is ghostwriting because you are writing for your clients and they are taking the credit for it. So my advice, research, choose, and then go for it. It’s a great way to earn a living and you get to do what you enjoy most which is write.
Amanda Evans´s last blog post..Friday Link Love At The Hidden Writer
Amanda,
Thanks for your thoughtful and helpful comment. Folks, listen to what she’s saying here, Amanda knows her stuff. It’s worth a mouse click to head on over to her site, I guarantee it.
George
Hey Georg,
Thanks for the advice. I will definitely check out textbroker. I recently did a gig for payperpost, much like you described. For a whopping fee of $5.00. I guess I just glamorized writing as a big paying job. The internet is sooo overwhelming that searching for freelance opportunity can consume you!
Dee Langdon – BloggerNewbie´s last blog post..Contests – Yes, No or Maybe?
Hi George,
Thank you again for taking the time to put this together. I think it is a strong need in this industry to know how to get started. Love the Christmas hat by the way. I had a good laugh when I saw that!
Cheers,
Jeremy
Jeremy Day´s last blog post..How Emotions Wreck Your Finances
Hi Jeremy,
I hope the deja-vu wasn’t too much for ya to handle
I like the pic too! Festive and Fun!
George
You look absolutely smashing in that hat!
Matt
I am learning a great deal today – in spite of being so tired and the weather making it feel like nap time.
I get so excited by all the possibilities and I for get to really think it through. So I am taking notes like crazy and following up on suggestions and making a planned entrance into working this time around.
Oh my I think I will have to return later to your site for more information and ask my question. I believe I am going to loose my power…what a wind storm is gusty about…
I shall return and I RSS subscribed…Thank you
Patricia´s last blog post..People Are Often Unreasonable
Hi Patricia.
I am really happy you came by here. Hope you and yours are safe and that you’ve found your flashlights!
Come by again when you have the chance and thank you so much for subscribing!
George
It’s an incredible feeling when you start realizing that people will pay you money to write stuff. It happened for me in early 2006 when I was hanging around a blog community called WritingUp (it’s now defunct but I met a lot of amazing online friends there and I still talk to many of them) where I got a lot of leads on paid writing gigs. Now, 2.5 years later I’m often making double or even quadrupling my original per article rate for the most part and have a small writing team that works for me to handle my overflow.
Once you get started and find some work it takes no time to find some more and then you can start to carve out a niche for yourself where you’ll start to make great money writing about something that interests you.
I think I have the best job in the world. God Bless the Internet!
Dana – The Writer’s Blog´s last blog post..The Bukisa Experiment Update
Hi Dana.
It’s nice to see you here, fellow Twitterer!
Thanks for giving us your story. I know that aspiring writers will find it inspiring, I know I did.
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post..Breaking into freelance writing
Happy Holidays, George! Love the photo.
Freelancing is something I’ve heard a lot about, but something I have yet to delve into. I love the story you shared, and the link you provided. You make it sound worth looking into.
Barbara Swafford – Blogging Without A Blog´s last blog post..Ready, Aim – Focus!
Barbara,
Happy Holidays to you as well.
I’m glad you liked the post.
And listen, thanks so much for having me as a guest over at Blogging Without A Blog. I had a great time in class, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the comments and the tom-foolery!
I would be happy to come and sub any time!
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post..Breaking into freelance writing
I clawed my way in
youre so right —it takes a lot of time focus and effort but is worth it.
MizFit´s last blog post..We interrupt your Sunday for the MizFit Commenter O’The Month (DRUMROLL PLEASE):
Hi Mizfit, (Love that name, BTW)
Your one liner speaks volumes! Determined, eh? That will take you far!
Thanks for coming by, I’m going to head over and have a look!
Cheers
George
Hi George,
Just checked out Textbroker and was disappointed to find that it was only for residents of the United States, so I guess I won’t be signing up. Thought I would mention it in case anyone else decided to do the same.
Why is it that these websites don’t cater for people outside the US. Associated Content is the same, mind you, they invited me to join their website but won’t pay for any of my stuff.
I think more websites should become international.
Amanda
Amanda Evans´s last blog post..5 Reasons To Start Ghostwriting
Amanda,
I am so sorry (and disappointed). I never did look into the fine print, I couldn’t have imagined them not being global in nature. I am so surprised partly because much of the work is from clients based in the UK.
Did the fine print explain why? Do they have plans to expand?
I think I’ll email them and voice my opinion. They have always been good about responding to my emails.
Finally, this is a great reminder for me about the global nature of the web.
I’ll get back to you when I’ve got this nailed down. Thank you so much for (gently) letting me know.
George
Very interesting article. I am usually the one hiring the freelance writer. However allow me to contribute one of my experiences. I attempted to utilize an SEO copywriter from India one time, not because I was being cheap, it was more that he was being persistent. His emails were well written, his signature was very professional so I figured what the heck and paypaled him $10. which is what he was asking. The article looked as if a first grader had written it. No English grammar or punctuation at all. Needless to say I couldn’t use this so ended up writing the article myself.
On another note I have a friend that is a freelance writer and kind of starting off so I sent this article to her. I think she will find it useful. Thanks for the tips.
PS: I found you from Tracey’s message board.
Gerald Weber SEM Group´s last blog post..It May Almost Be 2009, But Duplicate Content Still Isn’t a Good Thing
Gerald Weber SEM Group,
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your story. It’s interesting to see it “from the other side”.
I appreciate you forwarding this on, and for the record, Tracy is one of my favorite writers out there.
George
Wow, I come over here because “I Hate My Message Board” features you and I get to leave here with some valuable information. Cool!
And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to try and figure out why my “latest post” in these comment luv things, isn’t really my “latest”.
Hope you’re having a great day!
Margaret (Nanny Goats)´s last blog post..Where Do You Store Your Fat?
There are the same problems on the freelance job boards for coders. “Design an entire site for me ASAP” Max bid $75. $75 might sound like a lot at first but it takes hours upon hours to build an entire site.
George – have you tried posting available ads on Craigs List? – I know someone who got writing work that way when she first started out.
Kim Woodbridge´s last blog post..Twitter Holiday Contest – Win a Free 2.7 Upgrade
Kim,
Ok, I confess. I’m an idiot. I had always looked at the gigs offered at Craigs but had never posted my services. Duh.
Just posted there, I’ll see what turns up!
George