8 Freelance Writing Job Boards For Finding Paying Clients

Freelance writing job boards are exactly where I started my freelancing career, and they’re what enabled me to replace my previous income sharpish and fill my diary up with paying clients.

If you’re a brand new freelancer and you’re itching to get started, the good news is that there are literally thousands of opportunities out there on the web right now that you can apply to be considered for. And I’ve hunted a big chunk of them down for you, so you get straight to work and starting firing across your pitches.

Here are eight freelance writing job boards where you can find paid writing projects and land your first – or your next – paying client… 

1. PEOPLE PER HOUR

I’ve already sung the praises of People Per Hour quite a few times here on the blog.

I even wrote a post about why it’s the best place to start your freelance writing business. It’s the first job board that I ever stumbled across, and it was the source of almost all of my clients during my first year as a freelance writer.

A big bonus of using People Per Hour is that quite a high percentage of clients are based in the UK. Though the vast majority of projects can be carried out anywhere in the world, I’ve found that working with clients in the UK is often just a little easier as there are no time zone issues when it comes to discussing work and delivering the goods.

You can choose to view all of the currently available writing jobs to give you a feel for what’s out there.

Alternatively, you can filter your results based on your niche. If you want to write about finance, for example, you can simply enter ‘finance’ into the search bar at the top, and be presented with more focused results.

Then just click on the title, and you’ll be taken to a page with more detailed information on what the client is looking for, and what the project involves.

You absolutely will come across folks who want you to work for next to nothing. But it’s entirely up to you what you apply for. My advice is to establish a minimum rate that you’re happy with, and don’t waste time chasing jobs that’ll put you anywhere below that.

2. PROBLOGGER

ProBlogger is the brainchild of Darren Rowse, and it’s a great resource for anyone interested in blogging for profit, or the world of digital marketing. As well as offering blogs, podcasts, and a series of ebooks, the site features a popular job board.

New opportunities are posted pretty much daily, and though most of them are blogging related, you’ll find a wide range of projects that encompass all different kinds of writing. The typical rates here tend to be fair.

Again, it’s worth getting started by checking out the range of jobs that are available right across the board. This is a great way to start to get a feel for the variety of opportunities that are out there for freelance writers.

And of course, we’ve already talked about the importance of finding your niche. Let’s say you’ve chosen to write about dating. Again, you just enter your keywords into the search filter, and hit return.

 

You’re going to be presented with less options. You’ve narrowed things down. At the time of writing, there’s only one dating specific job advertised on ProBlogger. But if this is the niche you’ve decided to own and really run with? And you’ve crafted your portfolio accordingly? With a strong pitch, you’re in with a really good chance.

3. BLOGGINGPRO

BloggingPro – unsurprisingly – only lists jobs available that involve writing blog posts. So if emails are you thing, or you’ve got your heart set on writing sales pages, you won’t find anything of relevance here. But it’s fairly active, and you’ll find opportunities for every niche imaginable.

Right now, there are jobs available whether you want to write about real estate, beauty, technology, travel, and anything in between. Again, you can have a general browse about, or search for specific keywords.

4. FREELANCE WRITING

Freelance Writing attracts some of the very best writing jobs available online, and there are often opportunities listed to work alongside really well established and exciting businesses. The vast majority of the projects are based in the US, but plenty of them allow you to work remotely, so that doesn’t have to be a red light on your pitch.

The beauty of this one is that you don’t even have to remember to visit the site to get the scoop on the latest gigs. Sign up for the free Morning Coffee newsletter, and you’ll receive a weekly digest sharing eight of the hottest available jobs.

5. FREELANCER

Freelancer has literally millions of small businesses using its services to find flexible talent to get their projects done and dusted, so there’s never any shortage of work available.

There’s currently over 35,000 jobs listed in the writing and content categories, covering everything from blogs to email writing, and even including some more specialist areas such as poetry and screenwriting.

The work on Freelancer does tend to come in lower paid than the other sites we’ve discussed, and you’ll definitely have to spend some time sorting the wheat from the chaff. 

Here’s one that you might want to consider if you’re interested in writing about sports and technology, coming in at a not-too-shabby £22 per hour…

If you’re selective, then there are some decent gigs available. But there’s also a lot of rubbish…

That’s about 30p that’s someone offering to pay you to write articles. Don’t get me started on that. Use Freelancer with caution, and don’t get sucked into thinking that you have to work for next to nothing. You really don’t.

6. FREELANCE WRITING GIGS

Freelance Writing Gigs isn’t really a job board in its own right, but it does create regular blog posts collating various writing opportunities from a range of sources around the web. It’s updated most days, and there’s a real variety of projects listed.

The rates of pay are a real mixed bag, but it’s definitely worth checking every couple of days if you’re eager to get more pitches sent.

7. ALL FREELANCE WRITING

All Freelance Writing serves up a good selection of projects posted within the past 30 days, meaning all the opportunities are fairly hot off the press. There’s a real range of options here, including blogging, journalism, and ghostwriting, so whatever it is that you’re interested in, you’ll probably find something suitable.

8. AND THE ONE TO AVOID… UPWORK

Upwork markets itself as the world’s largest online marketplace. It’s also probably the one that gets the most criticism, and some of the shots that are fired are entirely fair.

The fees are up to 20% of what you’ll receive from your client, and that’s pretty steep compared to other freelance writing job boards. The support if you have a problem is notoriously poor. And it definitely has a high amount of extremely low paying clients.

There’s currently 3,433 jobs listed for article and blog writing. But here’s the thing… It’s been a long time since I browsed through Upwork to check out what was available. So in the interests of giving you a fair assessment, I went and had a good old dig around to give you an up-to-date lowdown. This is what I found…

There’s someone with the bloody cheek to request an expert writer, yet they’re proposing a budget of $10 per article. So I went on a mission to find something a little more reasonable. Fifteen minutes of browsing later, I’d found absolutely nothing that wasn’t quite frankly taking the piss. In fact, most of the options made $10 per article seem like a generous offer.

So, no. Absolutely not. Not in a month of Sundays. Avoid Upwork like the plague.

But still, there’s a huge volume of fairly paid opportunities out there, just waiting for you. Once you discover freelance writing job boards, it opens up your eyes to just how simple it can be to find people who need your expertise, and fill your diary up with paying clients.

Are there any freelance writing job boards that you’d add to the list? I’m taking part in the Monday Money linky with Lynn from Mrs Mummy Penny, Faith from Much More With Less and Emma from EmmaDrew.Info

 

 

 

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