The Internet is full of resources and job postings for freelance writers. But with so much out there, it can be difficult to find quality sites for freelance writing—especially for beginners.
To make your job a little easier, we've created two lists:
- Four websites for landing freelance writing jobs
- Four websites for developing your freelance writing skills
Four major websites for landing freelance writing jobs
Upwork
Upwork is one of the most popular freelance writing platforms on the internet. It has a consistent and healthy dose of jobs available, and it has over 18 million freelancers on the platform. While it's easier for established writers to obtain work (past publications on the site help build your reputation), it's not impossible for freelance writers without much experience to get jobs. You need patience and the drive to frequently submit proposals, but once you get that first piece published, you have a door wide open to more.
It's important to note that Upwork takes a sizable chunk of your client fee. So, while Upwork does supply a steady stream of jobs — especially if you're in the upper tier of the platform — it also takes a cut of your money (around 20%). Also, massive platforms like Upwork often lead to pricing wars. With so many freelancers packed on the same platform, there's often a race-to-the-bottom to charge the lowest price to secure valuable clients. Upwork is a great way to find jobs. However, it may cause you to undervalue your services — and they take a cut of every deal.
iWriter
iWriter operates in a way that's particularly helpful to beginners. You take a test, choose articles, and begin writing once you pass. You start as a Standard Writer, but as you progress with ratings, you can become an Elite Plus Writer and earn both a stronger reputation and better pay. While the Elite Plus Writer status brings in decent money, the earlier tiers can be a grind to endure, and the pay is relatively sub-par. This is a platform you have to consistently use if you want to make a good earning.
BloggingPro
Blogging is increasingly becoming a powerful inbound marketing tool for companies making blogpost writers highly demanded. BloggingPro is an online job board that connects you straight to employers (no middle-man) to write blog posts. You apply to jobs directly. From there, you'll likely receive requests for previous writing samples. If you don't have any samples, we highly recommend making some. You can either do guest posts or simply whip up some samples from scratch.
Guru
Guru is an awesome platform for you if you've already got a couple of published works and/or a blog set up. You can create a profile and feature some of your past pieces and set a standard rate. This way, potential clients can easily see the type of content you produce and know how much they'll have to pay, making the onboarding process that much easier and more efficient. Like Upwork, Guru takes a percentage of your money, and there is a tendency for writers to compete on pricing. However, there are fewer writers on Guru, and their interface makes it easier for clients to find niche needs.
Content Writing Jobs
Content Writing Jobs is a job board featuring remote, freelance, contract, and full-time jobs for writers. Writers can filter through the available opportunities, receive free weekly newsletters or become members to get daily job alerts. Companies looking for writers can post jobs and find quality applicants.
Four major websites for developing your freelance writing skills
What we're looking for here is a job, preferably multiple. But if you want to continue landing jobs—and landing better jobs—it's important that you're always sharpening your skills and learning from people with more experience. These are some of the best freelance writing sites to check out if you have little to no experience.
The Write Life
The Write Life is a writing blog that publishes relevant content that other writers can learn from—things like improving SEO, starting a blog, how to fact-check, and a range of other useful topics are included. The website additionally gives you advice on marketing, as well as access to other tools like eBooks and online courses.
Elna Cain
Elna Cain is a highly successful freelance writer. As she's built her success, she's also constructed a blog detailing exactly how she did it, and the steps you can take to follow in her footsteps. It's one of the best freelance writing sites for beginners, and aside from the blog posts, there are also (paid) resources like courses and coaching.
Make a Living Writing
Make a Living Writing is the only website I've ever turned on desktop notifications for. Carol Tice is transparent about how she's built her portfolio and clientele, and she gives tips to new and experienced freelancers to increase their income. Check out this piece to see how earning $5,000 a month from writing blog posts can be a reasonable possibility.
Now that you know the blogs, I want to direct you to Reddit. Though the breadth of the Reddit platform covers a whole lot more than our niche, it truly is one of the best freelance writing websites out there because of the freelance communities and learnings available on the platform. There are a bunch of subreddits that will give you a home in their communities—the two I like best are called freelance and freelanceWriters.
Final thoughts on the best sites for freelance writing
Having little to no freelance writing experience can make starting the journey seem a little daunting. But we live in a world where infinite resources sit in your pocket and a potential client might just be an email away.
No website will hand you everything on a silver platter, but check out these first four to get hired, and check out the second four to continue learning, improving, and inhaling ideas you haven't heard before. The freelance writing market is competitive, so always be sure to continue sharpening your skills.
