January 1, 2024
Editorial GuidelinesAlba is a writer for SideHustles.com. In addition to writing, she has done work as an independent graphic designer and has...
Earn
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YesCollege Required
NoIf you’re interested in becoming a freelance writer, you’re probably looking for ways to land gigs. Work is easy to come by when you’re an established name in the field, but it can be tough to find when you’re just starting out.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best platforms that you can use to find writing jobs, as well as several informational resources that you can use to hone your craft and get your freelancing career off on the right foot. Read on to learn more.
You can find freelance writing work on all of the sites below. We’ve listed what kinds of jobs they feature, what the average pay for those jobs is, and whether the website is suitable for beginners, experienced writers, or both.
About the company: BloggingPro publishes blogging tutorials and hosts a job board for writers.
Jobs available: The website features ads for jobs of all types, including:
You can find clients who need content in virtually every niche, including travel, parenting, finance, health, and dozens of others.
Earnings: Earnings vary from project to project.
Fees and commissions: Free for writers, although companies have to pay to post jobs on BloggingPro.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers.
Signup requirements: No registration is required; writers are directed to their potential clients’ websites and must apply directly.
About the company: ClearVoice connects writers and content creators with companies seeking talent. ClearVoice also features jobs in other industries besides writing, including graphic design.
Jobs available: ClearVoice offers a variety of content creation projects. In your profile, you can specify your preferred industry and your “content role” (i.e., what type of freelancer you are).
Available industries include:
Content roles include:
Earnings: Writers are paid per word. Rates vary by assignment, and you can set the minimum you’re willing to work for. On average, assignments pay between $0.10 and $0.30 per word, which is a reasonably high range.
Fees and commissions: You’ll have to pay a 25% service fee on each project.
Experience level: Given the somewhat involved application process, this site is best suited for writers with some professional experience.
Signup requirements: Freelance writers need to apply to ClearVoice by creating a profile and a portfolio, which must include at least 6 work samples and an example of previously published work.
If you’re accepted into the “ClearVoice Talent Network,” you’ll get matched with assignments by the ClearVoice team based on your rates and experience.
About the company: Compose.ly is a curated content marketplace. Writers can’t directly browse or apply for jobs; instead, Compose.ly’s editors send offers to the writers they think would be a good fit for each project.
Jobs available: Varies, but most of the work consists of writing SEO blog posts. You can select the types of jobs you’re interested in.
Earnings: Compose.ly generally pays between $0.10 and $0.14 per word. Its editors manually set the rate for each project.
Fees and commissions: No fees for writers. Companies pay a monthly fee to find writers.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers (although the amount of work you land depends on whether or not Compose.ly’s editors and clients like your writing).
Signup requirements: You’ll need to complete a writing test. If you pass, you’ll be invited to join the platform.
About the company: Constant Content allows writers to independently brainstorm and submit articles on topics they’re knowledgeable and passionate about, then sells these articles to companies they think will be interested. Companies can also request specific content they need.
Jobs available: Jobs vary widely on this platform. They include:
You can select the types of jobs you’re interested in.
Earnings: You set your own price for each piece you write and get paid if and when it sells. Constant Content claims that 85% of the articles submitted get sold. You can submit as many as you want.
Fees and commissions: None (free for writers).
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers.
Signup requirements: You’ll need to complete a profile and take a short grammar quiz.
About the company: Contently recruits content creators, including writers, and matches them with suitable brands.
Jobs available: Contently has a variety of jobs available for writers (as well as creators with other skills, such as graphic design and video editing). For writers, these projects include:
Earnings: Rates vary from project to project and depend on your level of experience, but on average, Contently pays between $0.05 to $0.10 per word.
Fees and commissions: Unclear, but anecdotal reports claim that they charge a 4.75% commission fee.
Experience level: Suitable for relative beginners, but you’ll need at least some paid experience. Contently requires you to set up a portfolio with at least 7 projects before they’ll consider matching you with clients.
Signup requirements: As mentioned, you must have completed at least 7 projects for paying clients.
About the company: Crowd Content connects writers with businesses seeking content.
Jobs available: Crowd Content offers two ways for writers to earn:
Regardless of which you choose, you can work on projects in a wide variety of industries, including:
The types of content you might be asked to produce are similarly diverse, ranging from white papers to blog posts to social media content (e.g., Tweets).
Earnings: Pay varies based on the project. You’ll be paid twice per week.
Fees and commissions: Appears to be free for writers.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners.
Signup requirements: You must be a native English speaker from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. You will also have to complete a writing task and will be given a rating based on your performance. This will determine which jobs you’ll have access to in the marketplace. You can increase your rating over time.
About the company: Freelancer.com is a marketplace where freelancers can bid on various job postings.
Jobs available: You can find all sorts of gigs on this site. These obviously include writing projects, but also include projects for freelancers with other skills.
Earnings: Your earnings will vary depending on the projects you take on.
Fees and commissions: It’s free to sign up, although you’ll only be allowed to bid for projects 6 times per month. If you’d like more bids, you’ll need to pay.
Freelancer.com also takes a commission from both businesses and freelancers. For fixed-fee projects and contests, they charge freelancers 10% or $5.00, whichever is higher, and for hourly projects, they charge 10%.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers, although experienced writers may find it easier to land projects.
Signup requirements: No special requirements; anyone can create an account.
About the company: When you sign up for iWriter, you’ll get access to a list of projects posted by different companies.
You’ll select your preferred types of projects and be given the chance to submit pieces to these companies for review. Each requesting client will decide whether or not to accept your work. If they do, you’ll get paid. If not, the project will go into your “rejected” pile and you won’t receive payment.
Businesses can also send you requests directly.
Jobs available: You can find a wide variety of work available on iWriter.
Earnings: Varies; dependent on the project and your assigned writer level.
Fees and commissions: iWriter will take a commission ranging from 30%–35%. You’ll get paid 65% of the price of each article that you pitch to a client and 70% of the price if you receive a direct request.
Experience level: Suitable for beginner and experienced writers, although their rates are on the low side for experienced writers.
Signup requirements: You’ll need to complete a grammar test.
About the company: nDash provides content creation software and services for businesses and agencies.
Jobs available: nDash offers a variety of job types. You can select the kind of content you’re interested in writing from a list, which includes:
Earnings: You can set your own rates on nDash, but on average, assignments pay between $150 and $450.
Fees and commissions: Apparently free for writers.
Experience level: Given nDash’s requirements (described below), this site may be more suitable for established freelancers.
Signup requirements: Anyone can create a profile, but you’ll need to wait to be approved by nDash’s editorial staff, which they claim is reserved for professional freelance writers.
About the company: ProBlogger provides blogging resources, including a job board with many listings.
Jobs available: You can find traditional, full-time writing jobs on ProBlogger, as well as freelance work.
Earnings: Varies from listing to listing.
Fees and commissions: Writers can apply for free. Businesses have to pay to list jobs.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers.
Signup requirements: No special requirements; anyone can create an account.
About the company: Scripted is an online marketplace that connects writers and businesses.
Jobs available: You can get paid to write blog posts, articles, and social media posts on Scripted.
Earnings: Varies from tier to tier and project to project
Fees and commissions: Writers are divided into 4 “tiers” and can move up or down based on performance. Your tier affects how much you’ll get paid.
Writers in lower tiers will also be charged a per-project processing fee (20% for the Bronze tier and 10% for the Silver tier). Higher tiers don’t have to pay this fee.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers, although if you’re new to the freelancing game, it may take you longer to advance to one of the higher tiers.
Signup requirements: You’ll need to provide your LinkedIn profile when you create an account and submit at least one professional writing sample. If you’re approved, Scripted’s staff will contact you on LinkedIn.
About the company: Textbroker acts as a bridge between writers and companies looking to buy content.
Jobs available: You can find all sorts of writing jobs on Textbroker.
Earnings: The platform features three types of orders: “DirectOrders,” “TeamOrders,” and “OpenOrders.” Here’s how they work:
| Order Quality Rating | OpenOrder Payment |
|---|---|
| 3 stars | 1.1 cents per word |
| 4 stars | 1.6 cents per word |
| 5 stars | 5.5 cents per word |
Payouts are processed twice per week. You must have earned a minimum of $10 to cash out.
Fees and commissions: Free for writers.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners. The earnings listed above are relatively low and you generally shouldn’t take jobs at those rates once you’re an experienced freelancer.
Signup requirements: When you create an account, you’ll be prompted to submit a writing sample. This sample will be evaluated and will determine your initial Order Quality Rating.
About the company: Upwork is one of the largest freelance marketplaces in the world. It connects freelancers in all fields with businesses and individuals seeking talent.
Jobs available: You can find virtually every kind of freelance writing job on Upwork (as well as gigs of other types).
Earnings: Earnings vary from project to project and are set by the clients who use the platform. You’re free to accept or reject jobs based on how much they pay.
Fees and commissions: Freelancers are charged a 10% fee on all their earnings through the platform.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers.
Signup requirements: No special requirements; anyone can create an account.
About the company: Valnet is a little different from the rest of the companies on this list. It’s not a freelance writing site and it doesn’t connect you with third-party companies or clients. Instead, it’s a media company that owns several well-known sites, including Screen Rant, TheGamer, and CBR.
Jobs available: When you sign up to write for Valnet, you’ll create content for their own network of sites. Many of the jobs involve writing about pop culture, such as movies, TV, and video games.
Earnings: While none of the jobs that Velnet lists specify their rates, anecdotal sources report that the pay is quite low, at around $0.02 per word.
Valnet sites often pay writers a bonus if their articles reach a certain number of views. This bonus is reportedly between $0.50 to $0.60 per 1000 views, which is also on the low end relative to other pay-per-view sites, such as Medium.
Fees and commissions: As Valnet is essentially a client and not a marketplace or job board, they don’t charge fees or take a commission. However, as mentioned, their rates are fairly low.
Experience level: The level of experience required varies from one position to another, with some ostensibly requiring at least 1 or 2 years of writing experience. That said, given Valnet’s low pay, this might not be a very strict requirement.
For most roles, you’ll need in-depth knowledge of the topic you’re applying to write about, as well as strong time management skills (to meet Valnet’s tight deadlines).
Signup requirements: You’ll need to submit an application that includes your CV or resume, a cover letter, and several writing samples and/or pitches.
About the company: Verblio provides clients with content writing services for marketing and SEO purposes.
Jobs available: You can pick from a wide range of projects, although most involve producing web content of some type.
Earnings: Dependent on the project.
Fees and commissions: Free for writers.
Experience level: Suitable for beginners and experienced writers.
Signup requirements: To work as a freelancer on Verblio, you must be a US citizen with a valid Social Security number (and you must be over the age of 18).
About the company: WriterAccess is another marketplace that connects companies with content creators.
Jobs available: WriterAccess has a variety of freelance projects available. They recruit freelancers in all the following roles:
The platform features all sorts of writing jobs, although many of them involve writing web content (SEO blog posts, etc.).
Earnings: Pay per word ranges from $0.02 to $2 before writers are charged WriterAccess’s fee.
Fees and commissions: The platform is free to join for writers, but WriterAccess charges a hefty 30% commission on each project.
Experience level: The application process is fairly extensive, so this platform is arguably better suited for experienced writers.
Signup requirements: To work for WriterAccess, you’ll have to submit an application, which will involve a number of stages and include several different writing tests. Acceptance isn’t automatic; WriterAccess will contact you if their editors decide that you meet their criteria.
You must be a resident of the US, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, or the Republic of Ireland.
About the company: Writers Work markets itself as an all-in-one membership platform for freelance writers. They offer writing tools and resources, as well as access to job postings. They’ll also match you with opportunities they think will be relevant for you.
Jobs available: You can find all sorts of freelance writing gigs on Writers Work.
Earnings: Earnings vary from project to project. Writers Work doesn’t disclose the average per-project rate on their site.
Fees and commissions: You have to pay to find jobs on Writers Work. It costs $49 for a lifetime membership or $15 per month for a monthly subscription.
Experience level: Suitable for all levels.
Signup requirements: No special requirements; anyone can sign up.
If you want to be a freelance writer, landing work isn’t your only concern. You also need to find ways to improve your craft constantly—and you need to become comfortable with the ins and outs of being an independent worker, which requires a lot of practical skills that aren’t strictly writing-related but are no less necessary.
We’ve compiled a list of resources to help you acquire these skills. These sites aren’t job boards, but you should still carve out some time to explore them. They’ll help you become a better writer, as well as a better freelancer.
Check out these sites, which feature articles, free e-books, and even quizzes that will help you expand your writing skill set. In particular, many of these sites will help you get comfortable with writing website copy and SEO blog content—two of the biggest niches in the freelance writing space.
On our own website, you can also find articles on how to become a freelance writer and how much freelance writers make. You can find further articles (which provide guidance on how to develop your writing skills and branch out into different niches) in our freelance writer hub.
As mentioned, you need two separate sets of skills to succeed as a freelance writer: pure writing skills, and business skills.
The websites below all feature courses that’ll teach you the skills necessary to support a career as a freelancer of any type. (This means they also have plenty of applicability if you decide you want to dip into another type of independent work besides writing, such as graphic design or proofreading.)
Coursera is full of courses (both free and paid) that are taught by professors from top universities around the world.
Some of these courses are specifically meant to teach you how to launch a freelance writing career, including Building Your Freelancing Career by CalArts.
You can also find more courses to help you develop your writing skills, such as Good with Words by the University of Michigan.
Domestika is a multilingual learning platform that features marketing, business, and freelancing courses. These will teach you how to find a niche as a freelancer, how to stay organized and find clients, and how to manage your finances (a big help given that as a freelancer, you’ll be responsible for your own bookkeeping and taxes).
Start by looking into these courses and seeing if any appeal to you:
Domestika also offers courses on writing to help you develop your craft, such as Copywriting for Social Media and Blogging 101: Tone, Branding, and Strategy.
FutureLearn is another educational platform that includes free and paid writing and business courses, such as:
Lastly, Skillshare is a subscription-based learning platform. You can explore their writing section, as well as their freelance and entrepreneurship section.
Start by looking into one particularly relevant course, Freelance Writing 101: Build A Successful Writing Career.
Be aware that on Skillshare, most courses are independently created, which means the quality can vary considerably. That said, Skillshare offers a Learning Paths section where they recommend various courses that meet their quality standards and go together (by building and reinforcing the same skills).
In this section, you’ll also find general-purpose writing courses, such as Copywriting Essentials: Write Messaging That Drives Action.
August 13, 2024
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