Tips for finding freelance writing gigs

As an author, I’ve been looking for freelance writing gigs, to suppliment my income. However, finding writing and blogging gigs isn’t as easy as you might think, but here are a few tips I follow when I’m looking for new gigs. I actually found my new web developer client by using this formula.

Use social media to find job boards and gigs.

When I started surfing the web for freelance writing gigs, I read a recent blog post that advised beginning freelance writers to search for #FreelanceWritingJobs, Freelance writing gigs, #WritingOps, freelance blogging jobs, freelance blogging gigs, write for us, and other such hash tags and search strings to find writing and blogging jobs. By searching for these search strings, I found newsletters that i get in my inbox that are full of writing jobs, some of which I have applied for, and others that don’t fit my experience. However, if a job doesn’t fit my writing experience, I send it to a friend that can possibly apply for it, so share jobs with other writers you know, you just might help someone land a gig.

Don’t put your eggs in one basket

When looking for a writing job, don’t just email one company, or type of company and expect to land your dream job. I emailed all three Athens Georgia newspapers, and only one has responded and told me they didn’t need anyone at the moment. A lot of companies won’t respond, so it’s best to keep looking elsewhere. Sites like www.problogger.com, www.bloggingpro.com, onlinewritingjobs.com and freelancewriting.com are just a few of the sites that post jobs on a daily basis. Back to social media, look for writing gigs on LinkedIn and Indeed. These are also great places to look for jobs.

Network network network

As I suggested earlier, share jobs with your friends, and ask friends and other professionals if they know of any writing jobs available. Even though the Flag Pole magazine didn’t have any jobs available, I did ask if they knew of any other publications looking for writers. Although the answer was negative, it doesn’t hurt to ask. One final thought, when looking for writing jobs on social media, read the blog posts that people tweet, because you may find some solid advice, and a few links to writing gems that will eventually land you a gig.
I hope these suggestions have helped you in your quest to find freelance writing jobs. If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments below.