Thread by @OlamideTowobola

"A complete list of top freelance sites for writers and how they work"

A Thread

Freelance writers will often ask me for the best freelance writing sites to find paid work online. And while there are a ton of sites that can help you find freelance work generally, you’re better served looking to freelance writing sites specifically.

Instead of playing the networking game, waiting for referrals, or playing the content creation game and hoping something comes through eventually, these freelance writing sites put thousands of online writing jobs at your fingertips today.

So let’s jump into my favorites!

Upwork: How could we not kick things off with Upwork? This is the largest and most popular freelance platform and it’s long been my go-to place for new leads, clients, and work. More importantly, it’s a great place to kick-off your freelance biz.

Site: upwork.com

TextBroker: As a freelance writer, TextBroker connects you to thousands of orders “to help you convert your writing talents to cash”. Its clients are high in quality and there is always a diverse range of orders available to work on.

Site: textbroker.com

Contently: Contently has a unique focus of content marketing and uses a data-driven approach to help remote content marketers find work. Boasting a network of 100,000 fellow journalists, researchers, and photographer, and high-quality job postings.

Site: contently.com

iWriter: iWriter functions a bit like TextBroker, where clients create “orders” of custom content that freelance writers can assign to themselves. The whole premise is fast and easy, with plenty of orders available at any one time.

Site: iwriter.com

Writer Bay: The Writer Bay approach is one of the most straightforward out there for freelance writers. It involves choosing a project, submitting the project on time, shooting it over to the client and then getting paid for it.

Site: writerbay.com

Reddit: Discussion-based site Reddit isn’t used primary to find work; however, some subreddit communities sporadically post jobs and assignments for freelance writers. In my opinion, it’s best to subscribe to these specific subreddits.

Site: reddit.com/r/HireaWriter/

Scribendi: Offers proofreading and editing services. You can apply to be one of their editors; however, they give preference to freelance writers who are available full-time. Oh, and you have to be able to commit to at least 10,000 words per month.

Site: scribendi.com

Writers Access: Writers Access help over 25,000 businesses collaborate with 15,000 freelance writers. It is an “award-winning content creation platform” where freelance writers are paid per word according to their star review rating.

Site: writeraccess.com

Contena: Contena is highly thought of amongst respectable freelance writers. Offers tools and resources needed to successfully launch your own business, including linking them to high-paying clients.

Site: contena.co

Constant Content: Constant Content allows clients to search for and buy articles that have already been created, as well as post requests for new custom content. This content ranges when it comes to form, subject, and word count.

Site: constant-content.com

Outsourcely: Outsourcely aims to “help startups find reliable long-term freelancers” from over 300,000 remote workers. And the best part? There are zero commission fees. Wahoo!

Site: outsourcely.com

Tips for finding freelance writing jobs online:

How do you know which ones are legit or worth investing your time in?

What does it take to find success (or more success) as a freelance writer?

There’s a lot to say, but here are a few key tips.

1. Pitch and apply every day
This is especially important when you’re getting started, but I really recommend even the most experienced freelancers keep a steady schedule of submitting pitches or applications for new work.

Especially when you’re just getting started, you’re just going to have to play the numbers game to some extent. Even the best writers in the world won’t have a perfect success rate of turning applications to jobs into work.

The more you pitch, the more the numbers are going to work in your favor, and the more you’ll build the resilience and confidence you need to keep going. And even when you do have some client work, keep pitching and keep applying.

2. Niches can be great, but you don’t need one to start:
Lots of “how to become a freelance writer” advice you’ll find online will mention picking a niche.

Do you want to write about technology or are you more interested in finance?

Do you want to write blogs or website copy?

Niches are great, and those are good questions to ask and answer for yourself – they’ll help you sort out which jobs to apply for and where you can find the right clients. Getting too specific too fast may limit the jobs you’re applying for.

For example, there are a lot of topics you could write blog posts on, and in many cases you can learn what you need to know through research – no background knowledge necessary.

If you start by deciding you want to do legal writing alone for law firms, you might find out that there just aren’t any of those jobs available, you picked too small of a niche, and are that much more likely to give up in frustration.

@ToyosiGodwin @MomentsWithBren @_lanreolu @TundeTASH