10 Job Boards for Freelance Writers
If you’re on the hunt for a job with flexible working hours and great income potential, freelance writing is one opportunity you’ll want to check out. Being a freelance writer allows you to work from home (or a coffee shop, or your daughter’s ballet recital if necessary). And while it may be hard to imagine making an income while lounging about the house in your pajamas, there are plenty of people in the world who are able to make a great full-time income exclusively through freelance writing.
Of course, with the same draws that come with freelance writing, there are some drawbacks. One such drawback is the need to be continuously seeking out new work. Even seasoned freelance writers will have dry spells between clients when it will be necessary to seek out new work, but if you’re just breaking into the freelance industry, a large portion of your day will be spent looking for work. Freelance job boards are a great solution to this problem, helping connect freelance writers to the people who need them. If that sounds like a perfect place for you, then you’ll want to check out the websites on this list of 10 legitimate job boards for freelance writers.
Upwork
Upwork is one of the leading freelance job boards on the web right now, and most freelance writers have made an appearance there at one point or another. One great thing about Upwork is that the freelance work available is not just limited to one type of writing—or to writing at all. Instead, people and companies both can post listings for jobs that need to be done, leading to an endless bevy of opportunities.
In turn, freelancers can put in a bid on the jobs they’re interested in. Typical bids include not only a price point, but also a cover letter indicating why you’d be the best fit for the job and links to any relevant freelance writing you’ve done that they can use as an indication of your capabilities.
An overall great job board, the one struggle with Upwork is that because it’s so popular and trusted, new freelancers may have a hard time getting their toe in the door without much of a portfolio to speak of. Still, it’s a great site to have in your back pocket, even if it’s not one you spend a lot of time on until you’re a little more established.
Pitchwiz
Check out my review of this great, high-quality job board here.
Verblio
Once known as BlogMutt, this job board has recently been rebranded as Verblio. Verblio specializes in companies that need frequent content on certain topics. Writers can write articles within these topics for companies, and the companies can choose the articles they like best.
Though the downside is that you only get paid for articles that get selected—and articles are sometimes not selected because the company has received too many on the same topic, not because there’s anything wrong with your writing—the upside is that it’s entirely possible to build a reputation with a company, making them more likely to choose your articles going forward or even request special projects from you.
FreelanceWriting.com
If “set it and forget it” is a phrase that you hold near and dear to your heart, FreelanceWriting.com may be the perfect place for you. They compile freelance writing opportunities from some popular sites, including Indeed.com, and send out a daily newsletter promoting some of the best freelance writing opportunities on the web.
Their website itself also helps connect writers to writing jobs, so on days you’re feeling more actively invested, you can go there for even more opportunities.
BloggingPro
BloggingPro looks more like a traditional job board than some of the other freelance writing job boards available, with multiple companies listing ads and freelance writers applying for them the way they might apply for any other job. One great thing about BloggingPro, however, is that it links to not only short-term freelance opportunities but also more traditional part-time and even long-term writing jobs, meaning you have a chance of landing a full-time client here if you time things correctly.
Online Writing Jobs
Online writing jobs is a job board with high expectations of its writers. In order to be approved to write for their site, you have to read and understand a litany of stylistic rules and regulations. The trade-off for the extra research—and, often, extra edits—that goes into their jobs is a higher pay rate on approved articles. This is also a great job board if you’re looking to grow your skills as a writer as it forces you to learn about different stylistic choices and to write to very unique criteria.
Text Broker
Text Broker is a great site for aspiring writers as it allows you to build your reputation over time. While early jobs will only earn pennies at a time, you get ranked as a writer the more you write. Higher rankings mean higher earning potential, so if you’re willing to hone your craft, you can make a halfway decent income through their jobs.
Writer Access
One unique aspect of Writer Access is the entry exam, which rates writers as they come in and gives them an initial star rating. This star rating helps determine pay rates and hourly rates for writers, setting everyone to a standard while rewarding some of the more skilled writers on the market. Writer Access also offers free online webinars and podcasts on being a content marketer, which makes it a great place to learn more about the industry while also writing for it.
JournalismJobs
Not all freelance writers want to write blogs or product descriptions. Freelance journalism jobs do exist, and JournalismJobs.com specifically caters to these jobs, as well as to more long-term journalism jobs. You can even narrow your search results by location and preferred salary range, allowing you to be a little more nuanced in your selection process.
All Freelance Writing
Another more traditional type of job board, All Freelance Writing stands out from the crowd because it clearly displays the pay range for writing jobs and the date they were posted, allowing you to determine at a glance whether or not a job is worth further investigation. They also make a point of only keeping listings on their site for 30 days or fewer, ensuring that you’re not wasting your time applying for jobs that have long expired.
