From traditional journalism to freelance blogging, there has never been a better time to be a freelance writer. The ease of finding jobs online makes this the best time to start a writing business. But you have to be able to find the jobs.
I’ve found the following six freelance job boards essential for finding well-paying writing gigs, from magazine articles to Web content and from blogging to journalism. If you take 15-30 minutes a day to search for freelance writing jobs using these six job boards, you should find yourself earning a livable wage within a couple of months.
Whether you are a part-time writer just starting out or a full-time veteran freelancer, these six job boards will help you build your freelance writing business and take it to the next level.
Job Boards to Help Your Freelance Writing Business
1. Problogger
Problogger was one of the first freelance writing jobs online. Introduced by professional blogger and blog training guru Darren Rowse, the jobs range from beginning freelance jobs to expert. Because advertisers are charged $50 for a post to run for 30 days, you can be sure the jobs posted are excellent quality, however, some of the jobs require that freelancers participate in questionable practices like manipulating search results. You have to be discerning, but most of the jobs on the Problogger board are top quality writing jobs.
Veteran freelance writer Carol Tice is the owner of this job board. She only opens Freelance Writers Den to new members a couple of times a year, but the quality of the job leads is very high. You’ll find some job leads in common with other job boards, but at $25/month, it is worth it. In addition to a job board, you gain access to a very active forum and high quality resources to help you develop your freelance writing business.
Writers Weekly has been around for almost 20 years. Owner Angela Hoy, a book author and freelance writer, sends out a weekly newsletter with tons of job leads. Some of them link to Craigslist, but she does a good job of screening for quality. Writers Weekly is one of the most read freelance writing resources on the Web.
4. MediaBistro
MediaBistro is more than a job board. You can find all kinds of media jobs and resources for writers at this information-rich website. The cool thing about this job board is you can search for jobs by location, so if you want a local job, it’s a great resource.
5. Paid to Blog
The new kid on the block, Paid to Blog is the brainchild of veteran freelance blogger Thomas Ewer. This job board is still in beta and is closed to new members, but when it opens again, you’ll want to be in the waiting line. Beta members pay $20/month. It’s unclear what the fee will be when membership opens again, but since Paid to Blog will be the only freelance writing job board online that specializes in blogging gigs, you can bet it will be worth it if the quality of the blogging jobs remain where they are now. I got one 600-1,500 word gig for $300. You can’t beat that!
If you are a journalist, JournalismJobs is an essential resource and job board. You’ll find local and national journalism jobs on this job board and find jobs for newspaper, radio, TV, and online media and for any stage in your career—even internships.
6. Adzuna
Adzuna is the perfect resource for finding the right job with little effort. You can search through thousands of jobs and zero in on what you’re looking for quickly. The smart matching system makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for, plus you can use their great data to keep up-to-date with salary and hiring trends. Adzuna is the perfect resource to help you find your ideal freelance writing job.
Now’s the Best Time for Freelance Writing
In the old days of freelance writing, writers had to cold call and rely on information from other freelancers for the best paying freelance writing markets. Today, you can get the same information for a lot less time and money. Even a lazy writer can log onto one of their favorite freelance job boards and walk away with a paying writing gig in less than the time it takes to eat a Happy Meal.
While the paying job boards offer the best leads in terms of quality and potential pay, even the free job boards have a lot to offer, and you can build a successful freelance writing business just sticking to the four free job boards listed above.
For the best results, if you want to earn what you’re worth as a writer, I’d recommend adding at least one of the paid job boards to your routine. You can get excellent freelance writing jobs for less than $50 per month and all you have to do is secure one paying gig to cover the expense. In many cases, if you get one good paying job from any of these job boards it will pay for an entire year of membership at both of the job boards that require a membership fee.
These six job boards have helped me to maintain a full-time freelance writing business for eight years. They can do the same for you.
About the author:
Allen Taylor is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and award-winning journalist living in Pennsylvania. At Taylored Content he blogs about digital publishing. He is also the editor and publisher at Garden Gnome Publications, a digital publisher specializing in e-books within the speculative fiction genre. When he isn’t cruising the job boards he is burning up Facebook with lyrical absurdisms. He also publishes three #twitpoem daily at Twitter.
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