At one end, freelancing can be a lucrative way for a professional writer or editor to earn money from home, often as a side business. However, for the beginner it can take time to build his or her brand and begin making money. Many of the places listed below will hire people based on a writing sample, rather than their resume. Freelancers must build a business over time, constantly networking to find new outlets, but regular online writing jobs are always welcome.

180 comments as many of you know, i am an advocate of making money online through freelance writing. As far as i am concerned, the barriers of entry are relatively low and the opportunities are numerous. Plenty of leaving work behind readers have contacted me asking how to find freelance writing jobs. Some people dont know where to look, what to look for, how to apply for jobs, and so on. And this comes as no surprise taking those first few steps can be rather intimidating.

I say that from personal experience. when you have certain freelance writing websites telling you that you should be commanding rates of $100 per hour and up, taking that first step can be a paralyzing experience. However, in this post i want to show how the process can in fact be relatively simple. Whilst you can make upwards of $100 per hour doing freelance writing jobs, there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting at a lower level. dont be intimidated into thinking that you should be aiming for jackpot jobs. my hourly rate was $20 when i started. These days its more like $150 per hour. and its not just me my friend gina was able to go from $50 to $150 per hour in a matter of months. My equivalent hourly rate at the moment is well under $100 per hour, but i have no problem with that.

I have regular work, i dont have to look for jobs, and i have prospective clients coming to me rather than vice versa. edit 27/10/14: my equivalent hourly rate is now around $150, which aptly demonstrates what is possible with freelance writing! the fact is, you cant walk straight into $100 per hour jobs as a beginner freelance writer. there is nothing wrong with taking on a $20 per hour job and dont let anyone tell you otherwise. if you had two regular clients paying you $20 per hour, eight hours per day, youd be earning upwards of $40,0 per annum thats nothing to sniff at. Besides, there are other benefits to starting out modestly: you can bulk out your portfolio it is an opportunity to increase your network it can increase exposure to your blog if you have an author byline its good practice! and remember: you can always ask for a raise once you have proven yourself. If a client is unwilling to increase your pay, you can always walk away on good terms, of course. Working for a below ideal rate does not have to be permanent, but it is nothing to be afraid of in the short term. Let me get something straight: when i say you should be ready to start on modest pay, i am not suggesting that you work on so called content farms such as text broker, elance and odesk. There is no reason that a reasonably competent writer cant work on something real something rewarding something that you will be able to display in your portfolio with pride.

I am talking about finding work where you will be valued where you will be able to further your skills and connections. i have never worked for a content farm and i never will. For the purposes of this article i am going to be referring to the problogger job board as a means of sourcing work. It features a number of online writing opportunities most typically related to blogging. The first thing to bear in mind is that when it comes to finding work, you have to throw a lot against the wall in order to find something that sticks.

Once you have a good template pitch set up it only takes a few minutes to submit an application, so dont be afraid to get stuck in and send out a whole bunch. But take it from me as someone who researches freelance blogging job opportunities every single day for paid to blog jobs. there are plenty of opportunities out there. on average, i list around 70 new freelance writing job listings on paid to blog jobs every week. Thats a lot of opportunities! bemoaning a lack of opportunities is a poor excuse succeeding as a freelance writer is simply a case of hard graft. find as many job sources as you can or sign up to paid to blog jobs and ill do it for you and apply to any opportunities that interest you. Be sure to check your sources every day to check up on whats new although you can get a job on a listing that is days or even weeks old, it is always good to get your pitch in early. It is absolutely vital that you make a good first impression with any prospective client. They will be receiving multiple applications you should try your best to stick out from the crowd.

By far the best piece of advice i can give you is to follow their instructions. Nothing demonstrates a lack of professionalism more than an inability to follow simple instructions in a job listing. The makeup of your email will of course vary depending upon the type of client you are targeting and the existing portfolio you have to show off. Here is a copy of the application i submitted for my first client, wpmu dev: i came across your available writing position and would like to apply for the role. I am confident that i tick all of your boxes in terms of what you are looking for. There are of course plenty of articles available to read on the blog, but i would suggest that the following posts demonstrate my writing style and capabilities: i would consider myself pretty savvy with wordpress.

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I also have a good understanding of css and html i used to build websites manually back in the day , and a passing familiarity with php. I currently have a full time and very flexible job in property development it is a family business. I am looking to resign from that role as soon as possible and become self employed. Initially i would be available to work say 16 hours a week, although we could work on that. Rest assured, i am an extremely efficient worker, so you get a lot of bang for your buck! id love to become part of what is already an established and popular blog, and would be very keen to help you take it to the next level! thank for your time i look forward to your response.

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Kind regards, there are a few things to note here: brevity. the application is well formatted, gets to the point, and is packed with information no fluff. background of your relevant experience. it shows that you have actually considered their listing you are not just submitting applications at random. Here is the email i sent when applying for my second job at managewp: i noticed your job listing over at problogger and would like to apply for the position. You can find examples of my work here: i also have my own blog if my services are of interest, please note that i cannot start work until mid january 2012. Kind regards, as you can see, this application was much more brief than the first.

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It was in fact rather speculative i submitted a bunch of applications in november 2011 in the hope of attracting advance work in january 2012. Fortunately, vladimir prelovac the ceo of managewp decided to overlook my claimed availability, and i started writing for the blog shortly thereafter! despite my application being brief, it was still successful. I believe my involvement with wpmu was a big plus one job can easily lead to another. Do your job well, exercise initiative and ensure that you are an asset rather than a burden and you will be progressing in no time at all. I hear it comes in spurts so ill check right now! its been a while since i spoke about constant content but according to my cc authors page 76 of you have taken the time to register for them. If you are having trouble locating a specific resource please visit the search page or the site map. These owl resources will help you prepare for the different types of writing you may do during the job search process.