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?