7 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

Side Note: Below is a transcript of the video above.

Hey everybody. Chris here from Side Hustle Academy and in today’s video I’m going to be talking about finding freelance writing jobs.

Specifically, the kind that is going to help you as a freelancer type person who wants to earn some extra money on the side in your business, and you want to start doing it maybe as a beginner.

And then build up from there. And I’m going to cover a few different things in this particular video today to help you get an idea of what’s all involved in doing freelance writing and where you should go to get started and stuff like that.

3 Things To Know Before You Start

So there are three main things I want to talk about first before I get into some of the different places that you can go to get started.

1. Different Types of Writing

And the first thing I want to talk about is there are different types of writing. When it comes to writing, there are tons of different places that you can start and you can get your start.

You don’t have to just write let’s say just blog content, for example. Blog content is good and all that, and there’s a lot of it to be written out there. There’s a lot of people requesting that type of content. But maybe you might be more interested in doing something like, say, proofreading.

So just to give you an idea, a good place to look. Fiverr has a really good list and places that you can go to. Just click on this here.

But you can go to fiverr.com and you can get a lot of different ideas by just getting started there.

So just to show you right here, to start, you got articles, blog posts, resume, cover letters, technical writing, translation, creative writing, research and summaries, sales copy, press releases, transcripts, legal writing, proofreading, beta reading, speech writing, production, product descriptions, book and e-book writing, scriptwriting, website content.

And the list goes on and on and on here. So there’s a lot of different ways to make some extra money as a freelance writer with your business. When you’re first getting started.

So there’s a lot of ways to go. So that’s the first thing to keep in mind. There’s a lot of different ways. I’m going to share some of those as we go forward in this particular video. I’m going to share some of those different ones. And roughly how much they are earning.

#2 Skill Level

The other thing I want to talk about is skill level. Skill level is very important. When you’re first starting out, you’re probably not going to be the best unless you’ve got a background in writing.

Maybe you were in college or something like that and you have a background in freelance writing or something like that. This is going to be more advantageous for you as a person, but if you’re just getting started, you’re going to have to learn a lot of stuff.

There’s a lot of things you’re going to have to learn how to do and be able to do them fast because when it comes to freelance writing, things got to be fast. And you have to do a good job.

So those things, the better you can do those two things, do them fast and get them done quick, and your skills will improve as you go and you end up making more money as a result.

#3 Try Different Things

So, my last trip here before we get started is that you want to try different things. So, make sure you do try different things.

So, for example, unless you’ve already done a bunch of things already, this may not apply to you but if you’re just getting started, look into different things that you can try.

So like I said if you’re trying blog posts, writing blog posts for bloggers, and you’re not liking it, maybe try proofreading. Or try writing e-mails. Or try doing article rewrites or something like that.

So there’s a lot of options out there. Know that there’s just not one type of content that people want. There is a lot of types of content that people are looking for.

#1 REV.com

And which leads me to the very first place to start looking for a freelancing job is a website called Rev. This is actually a website that does transcription services and captioning.

So for example, if you’re somebody who wants to just basically take a piece of audio and transcribe it for somebody, that’s what you would do here.

Someone sends in either a link to their YouTube video or uploads an audio file or a video and all you do is basically take the article and transcribe it word for word, for what it is.

And Rev charges roughly right around a $1 per minute. So if you have a 20-minute video, they’re going to charge you $20. I actually use Rev to transcribe all of my YouTube videos.

So I love this service. I think it’s great and that’s why I think it’s a great opportunity for freelance writers because it’s just a really quick way to get started and you can sign up and you can start getting paid weekly.

And in fact, they pay roughly in the range of about $0.36 to $0.65 per word on the transcriptionist end of things. To be a captioner, you’re looking at around $0.45 to $0.75 per minute.

So it’s not big dollars or anything but it’s a great place to get started and you start earning your first dollars online.

And really you can get started with this literally within probably a day’s time, depending on how fast you get approved with them. But you can start making money pretty quick with this.

So, this is definitely an option. So rev.com. By the way, I will have a link for all of these options in the description of this video below, and in the blog post on my website as well. So you can check those out there.

#2 Fiverr.com

Okay. The next option is Fiverr. Fiverr is more of a gig type site. I love Fiverr. I think it’s great. I’ve had a lot of things done on Fiverr. Writing, if you’re looking to do writing for others, this is where you kind of put yourself out there and you get people to come and bid on your gig.

So, for example, just to give you an idea, this person right here will write an original blog post for $30. This person will write for your blog starting at $100. This guy will do it for $15.

So obviously there’s a wide variety of what people will pay. And I can’t remember how much each will pay. I think it’s something around 50%. Don’t quote me on that, but I think it’s right around 50% they pay, for the writer itself.

So you do make a bit more on these, doing these kinds. And as your talent gets up there and you start to expand your skills and get better like I was talking about, as your skill level improves, you’re going to move up in the rankings and you’re going to start making more money.

Instead of charging 20 bucks, you’re going to start making 30 bucks. And then you’re going to make … maybe like this guy, this person over here is making $150 writing blog posts.

And it looks like they’re actually doing pretty good, but … That is how this type of system works. And also this system also depends on a rating system. So, obviously the more the higher your rating is, the better.

It’s going to help you out and get more gigs down the road. So, that one is Fiverr. And it’s a great way to get started as well for beginners. And it’s also great for people who are a little more advanced.

Want to charge more. It used to be on Fiverr that everything used to cost $5.

They’ve since changed that and it’s now you’re able to charge much higher amounts like $150 and stuff like that. So it’s definitely grown through the years and definitely become more much of a viable option for people.

#3 iWriter.com

Okay. Number three on the list is iWriter. So iWriter is basically a writing service where somebody can come there. And I’ve used iWriter in the past. And you have an idea for, let’s say a blog post, like this right here.

And I just want a thousand words written on this particular topic. I send the work order over to iWriter, and iWriter picks the person who they want to write the article. That person writes it and then they send it back.

And a lot of times there is no person that you really know. You just send it to iWriter, and iWriter, they get the article and then they will assign it to a writer so they will then take it and get it written and send it back to you.

So there’s not a lot of interaction between you and the person doing the writing. If that’s something you’re okay with, that’s great.

Because if you’re someone who just wants to hunker down and just write content, that’s where iWriter becomes a really good option because you can just sit there and wait for the orders to roll in.

You can start writing content. And depending on the type of content you like to write, maybe you like to write articles and blog posts and that’s something you like to do, you can make pretty decent money at it.

Now the question is, how much money? So, I did some research, a little bit of research, and it’s showing that it doesn’t pay extremely well.

You’re looking at somewhere between a $1.62 for 300 words to somewhere around $4.05 for 700 words. Now, this all also depends on the quality, as I mentioned.

If your skills are in the lower tier of this here, so if you’re in the premium level, let’s say you’re writing 300 words in the premium level, that is only $5.00 versus being in the elite, it’s $24.

So it’s a lot different in contrast there. So pay, I’m not exactly sure what the pay is, but it is a good option for beginners.

Especially those who are just getting started and you want to start writing content for people and you have that knack for it. This is a viable option here. So the third option is iWriter.

You’re making $50 and $60 an hour, I mean, I don’t know about you, but if you had a job paying you $50 and $60 an hour, that’s a pretty good deal. Now, the key here is that you have to build up your reputation.

For example, like this person here, they have 100% job success. That means they are one of the top-rated people in that niche. Now, this is actually in the copywriting niche in a blog.

But they do write on all these other types of things here too. So there’s somebody that can be highly skilled and once you are somebody that can be more skilled and maybe you are and depending on who’s watching this video if you’re skilled, you could be doing this job.

You could be doing these jobs. You could be making this kind of money. The key to it is though, you have to sell yourself more.

So, go ahead and check that one out.

#4 UpWork

Okay. Now, if you’re getting a little further along and you’re starting to get the hang of writing content for people and stuff like that, the next level is going to something like Upwork.

In Upwork you can start here as a beginner, that is okay, but it definitely helps if you’ve got a lot of skills already down before you start here. Because you’re going to make a lot more money than if you start here as a beginner.

So, that’s why I kind of recommended some of the other ones, like iWriter and Fiverr and Rev first, is because I think those are great places to start to hone in on your skills and then when you think you’ve got it, move up to something like Upwork, where you can start charging a higher hourly rate.

For example, some of these people here, you can see they’re charging $50 and $60 an hour just to write content for you. Which is a pretty good deal.

It’s not like iWriter where you just sit there and somebody sends you the content and the idea, and you have to write this article.

No.

You have to beat down the path to those people and you have to find them and you have to market yourself to them and then build up your reputation.

Obviously, this site revolves around a review system, so you’re going to have to get in there and you’re going to have to start kicking up the dirt and working with people and getting the deals.

And that might mean starting at a lower pay rate. That’s okay when you’re first getting started. Over time, you can start to do more and raise your rates.

This person here obviously has 54 jobs under their belt, so they know a few things already.

So, they’re up and running and they’re making some money at it and obviously, this is something that they know how to do and can perform very well at. So that’s the next one. That is Upwork. So definitely check that one out.

#5 Freelancer

Another option that’s similar to that is a site called Freelancer. This one I found as a pretty good option and it runs pretty much the same way as Upwork does. So it’s got a lot of different jobs on it.

I mean, it does more than just writing. You can do a lot of other things on it, too. Because there are people doing other jobs on here like C++ and stuff like that.

But you can just go in and do a search here. Or, we’ll just browse jobs maybe. And what’s great about this is that you can kind of filter through some of the jobs and you can see what’s out there, and then you can kind of figure out, okay, this is the kind of job I want to create for myself on here.

And it’s just another marketplace out there that you can go to, to start marketing yourself. You might find that one marketplace like say, for example, Upwork doesn’t do as well for you as say, Freelancer.

So you can try different places and try toying around with what’s going on in there and see which ones do better for you. I mean, maybe Upwork looks like a great opportunity, but you find that you get better jobs on Freelancer.

And what I’m going to say is that these aren’t the only options out there, either. Freelancer isn’t the only option. Upwork. Fiverr. iWriter. I mean, there’s a ton of different marketplaces out there.

But the ones I’m mentioning here are just some of the big ones because I feel like they’re the ones that most people get started with. So, obviously Freelancer is a great option and it’s a great place to get started.

#6 Compose.ly

Okay. Moving on. Compose.ly. This is a great one. I found this one recently. And what I like about Compose.ly is they have a lot of great options here. If you got consistent work, quality work, you make money.

Roughly $0.10 to $0.14 per word. And there are no membership fees. It’s got a great interface. Secure with regular payments right to your PayPal account. I mean, you can’t ask for a whole lot more than that.

And they really have a nice site. I like what they’re offering here. You will have to apply to become a writer, though. That’s the only thing. I mean, I’m pretty sure they don’t have a very tight one, but that’s going to be depending on how good you are as a writer.

And again, the skillset is important here. So if you have a good skill set, you can do really good at getting into a place like this. So again, this is just another marketplace that you can get into.

But again, this is one I found. And give it a shot. Check it out. Sign up for it. I mean, it doesn’t cost anything, and the worst thing that could happen is you don’t get accepted and then that’s it. You move on with your life. So that is pretty much it with that one.

#7 The Problogger Job Board

So, the final one I want to talk about here is ProBlogger. ProBlogger is kind of neat because they got some different things. And ProBlogger is a blog started by Darren Rowse.

If you’re not familiar with him, he started a blog called ProBlogger, and one of the things he offers is this job board on his site which does extremely well. Has a ton of different jobs out there for people. So, just to start here, I’m going to show you this.

What’s neat about this is that you can start with freelance. Maybe you’re just a freelance writer. You want to do some freelance writing. You can do it from anywhere.

It shows that you can do it from anywhere. And you can write blog content. And what’s great about this is you can kind of go in and bid on these … you can create … you can go ahead and bid on these jobs here and see if you can get these jobs.

Again, there’s a ton of them out there. If you know anything about any of these topics. There’s a lot of outdoor stuff. Hiring RV. The major brand seeks a skilled photography writer.

Let’s see … Blog posts and design brief writers. So there is a ton of options on here as well. This seems to be a pretty good marketplace for you to get started. But what I also like about it is these checkboxes.

And I think this is what is different versus a lot of the other ones is that if you’re looking, say, for a part-time job instead of just a freelance job, you could filter that.

And you can start to see, okay, some of these jobs are great, but I want to do something where it’s just part-time. I get this job and I just do it from anywhere.

So, like for example, this one right here at the top, the coffee writer wanted. Long-term and consistent work. coffee-channel.com. So obviously this place is looking for a writer to write on a part-time basis, on a regular basis, with consistent work and you work with them directly.

You don’t have to work through a third-party marketplace like Upwork and Freelancer and Compose.ly.

Rather, you’re in more of a job board here which allows you to get these job or a freelancing gig, per se, and get the bigger deal. So just to take a little bit of a look at this one right here. So, ProBlogger jobs.

Again, I’ll have links to all this in the description of this video and my blog post, but as you can see, they’re a small business and it looks like they’re looking for some writers. Looks pretty cool. And then all you have to do is click to apply.

You pretty much fill out a resume. And there you go. You’re going to probably get a job writing for this particular company which will be great, and you’re going to start making money right away.

Final Thoughts…

So, as I’m wrapping up this video here, these seven options are not the only ones by far.

But they are some of the biggest ones out there, and if you’re looking for something right away, definitely start with the lower-end opportunities that I shared at the beginning of this video, so that way you can kind of work up your chops and learn some stuff.

Get things figured out before you start moving up to the bigger, bigger ones. So, is there definitely other ways to make money out there with freelance writing? Sure. But, these are just the basic ones to get started with.

And if you’re just getting started, definitely check it out. Get started. Sign up. Try bidding on some of these jobs. The worst thing that can happen is you don’t get the job. So, go ahead, get it started, and do it.

I know you can because you are here and I know that this is what you’re meant for. If you’re watching this video, I know you’re meant to do this.

So, go ahead. Check it out. Do it. Check out the links below in the description and I will see you next week.