PeoplePerHour – The Best Place To Find Your 1st Freelance Writing Gigs

Freelance job boards, like PeoplePerHour, often get a whole load of criticism in online writing circles. People say that they’re packed full of low-paying work. That you’ll find clients who expect the world, but are only willing to pay peanuts. That there are much more effective ways to find high-paying writing gigs.

And to a certain extent, those statements can all be pretty accurate assessments.

But when I see people getting up on their pedestal about why such sites are the devil’s work, and why no self-respecting freelancer should ever touch them with a ten-foot barge pole, it gets my knickers in a bit of a twist.

Because I really do, very firmly believe that they’re a complete blessing to the brand new freelancer who’s looking to get a foot on the ladder.

Sure, PeoplePerHour probably isn’t the best long term solution for building a sustainable and consistent income from writing. But we don’t have to be preparing to run a marathon here before we’ve even got our trainers on and stepped out the front door.

When it comes to getting started – to getting those first five or so clients, to earning your first pay cheques, to validating your decision to be a freelancer, and getting a foot on the ladder – then it’s the route that I always recommend.

Here’s why…

1. YOU’LL FIND PEOPLE WHO NEED WHAT YOU OFFER RIGHT NOW

For someone to decide that you’re the writer for them, you need to tick two boxes. Firstly, this potential client needs to know that they have a problem that a writing service is the answer to. And secondly, they need to know that you’re the right person for the job.

(Seriously, read that last paragraph again, because understanding that was absolutely fundamental to making big strides forward with my copywriting career!) 

The first point right there is a biggie. So let’s imagine, just for example, that you’ve decided to rock up at a local networking event, in the hope that you’ll meet some business owners who could benefit from your services.

Those people who you’ll meet aren’t there because they’re looking for a writer. They’re there because they want to grow their OWN businesses. They want to sell YOU stuff. They’ve got absolutely zero active interest in what you want to sell THEM.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s impossible to convert them into clients. But it’ll definitely be a big ask.

On PeoplePerHour though, the complete opposite is true. The people there want exactly what you offer. They’re already sold on the idea of hiring a freelance writer. And they want someone for the job pretty sharpish. A big part of the hard work and the heavy lifting is already done.

All that’s left for you to do is send over a killer proposal that tells them why you are the person who can give them what they already know they need.

2. IT COSTS YOU NOTHING TO GET STARTED

Building a website costs money.

Running ads costs money.

There are dozens and dozens ways of finding clients that require significant upfront spending, before you’ve even got yourself off the starting blocks.

I’m a big believer in investing in your freelancing business, and there are plenty of things that can give you a huge edge that’ll require you to cough up some funds. Over my 7+ years as a freelancer, I’ve spent over £14k on building my business. It was money very well spent.

But at the same time, spending hundreds, or even thousands of pounds on a website when you haven’t even bagged yourself your first client yet is a bit daft, and also completely unnecessary.

My advice on this one would be to get your first paying gigs via free methods, like PeoplePerHour. Once you’ve got cash coming in the door, you can start to think about how you might want to invest a small chunk of that into growing your freelancing business.

3. YOU CAN LITERALLY GET STARTED TODAY

These days, building a website is fairly straightforward. Even with limited techy knowledge, you can follow tutorials on YouTube and create something that looks reasonably professional and acts as an online home for your new writing business.

But still, it’s rarely going to an overnight done-and-dusted job.

There’s lingo to learn, skills to acquire.

Before you know it, you’ve spent a month trying to build a site, and you’re nowhere near finished. That’s all time when you’re not actually getting any clients, and not actually making any money.

You can get started on PeoplePerHour in half an hour or less. By the end of today, you could have created your profile, pinpointed jobs that you’re interested in, and started sending off proposals to your potential clients.

It’s not even out of the realms of possibility that you could land your first paying job, TODAY.

The barriers to entry are blissfully low – and though that in itself has some downsides, which is a whole different conversation for a different day – it’s pretty good news for you right now as an aspiring writer.

4. YOUR CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS AND PAYMENT PROCESSES ARE TAKEN CARE OF BY PEOPLEPERHOUR

As a freelance writer, you’re essentially a small business owner.

That means that it’s not just the actual writing that you need to take care of. You need to consider invoicing, and contracts, and getting paid, and all the stuff that goes hand in hand with running your own show. Not giving these things the careful consideration they need was one of the big mistakes I made in my first year as a freelancer.

Another beauty of PeoplePerHour is that most of this stuff is already taken care of for you.

You’re protected by the site when it comes to getting paid, so as well as being able to find those writing gigs, there’s also less stress and worry for you when it comes to the behind-the-scenes stuff.

It’s a freelance jobs board, sure. But it’s more than that, too. It’s a dashboard for managing your work, creating professional processes, and making freelance life that little bit easier.

5. YOU’LL BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE AND YOUR PORTFOLIO WHILST GETTING PAID

Nothing gives you confidence in your abilities quite like securing your first few clients, and earning your first chunk of income from your writing.

Granted, you probably won’t be earning the kind of money that’ll see you retiring on a beach somewhere within a year or two. But it’s money nonetheless, and it’s a way better option that working for free. 

Like we’ve covered, PeoplePerHour is the fastest and easiest way I know to find paying work.

So it means really building some momentum up with your freelancing, getting experience under your belt, and getting yourself into the position whereby you’re a full-fledged, money-earning writer, who’s getting ready to take on bigger and better things.

6. THERE ARE PLENTY OF DECENT OPPORTUNITIES

If PeoplePerHour was packed solely with projects that pay you a grand sum of about £2 per hour, then I’d have quickly lost the will to live, and I definitely wouldn’t be recommending it.

I’m not denying that there are plenty of jobs like that.

But there are also some really decent opportunities, too.

The site helped me to replace my corporate income really quickly. It opened the door to finding clients who I really enjoyed working with. And many of them became long term clients who I went on to work with for several years, earning fair and reasonable money in the process. 

All things considered? It gave me the foot on the ladder that I needed, and it was a much needed stepping stone towards higher paying work and a diary that was jam packed full of writing gigs.

Have you used PeoplePerHour to start your freelance writing career? What did your own experience look like? Leave a comment below and let me know.