When you first start your freelance writing business, it feels like finding good freelance writing jobs is impossible (especially for beginners).
It feels like a ‘right place, right time’ sort of thing.
There are potential clients all around you that need your help.
I bet you HATE it when people say that. It makes you feel like you’re missing something. Why can’t you see them or find them.
If you want to become a professional writer, you’ll have to open your eyes to the incredible amount of content that’s needed all around you.
How much time do you spend on social media or online?
Someone had to write all of that content. It could be you!
It’s time to tune up your client-finding binoculars and get more writing jobs in less time.
Here are some proven ways to find freelance writing jobs for beginners using inbound strategies. This means creating a strategy helps clients find you.
If you like this post about finding freelance writing work, you might also like:
- How to Set Your Freelance Writing Rates – For New Writers
- 8 Profitable Freelance Writing Niches That Are Proven to Be Lucrative
- How to Become a Freelance Writer – A Guide for Beginners
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through my link, I am paid a commission for the referral at no extra cost to you. I make recommendations if I’ve paid my own money for the product, service, or course and think it’s worth the every penny.
Find out the EXACT method I used to quit my job and become a full time freelance writer in this course by Elna Cain. >>Check out the Course Here.<<
How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs Using Inbound Marketing – For Beginners
The most important aspect of social media marketing is being consistent and showing up every day. You will have much more success if you show your face than if you don’t.
I know. This is scary.
I remember feeling like there was a rock in the pit of my stomach whenever I was recording videos of my face to add to my social media. I still get that way sometimes, but it has been so lucrative, that I can’t deny its power.
Showing your face and showing up consistently builds up your authority, even with your fellow writers.
The key to social media marketing is not to talk about yourself constantly unless you are telling stories that relate to what you want your prospect to think.
For instance. There is a big difference between these two messages.
“Hey guys, I’m feeling pretty good today and I’m thinking of doing some planning for my business, then some grocery shopping, then some gardening. I love writing, so if you need a writer, let me know.”
And
“Hey guys, earlier this week, I was doing an onboarding call with a new client and she asked me ‘what is SEO and how does it work?’ This made me think that there are probably a lot of people that don’t know what SEO is or how it works. So I’m popping on to give you a little mini-training.”
Your prospect needs to connect with you, so it’s important to put little bits of your life in your marketing, but keep the main message about your ideal client and what they need to hear you say to feel like you are an authority.
It takes a prospect 7-12 contacts with you to build rapport. And often will take much longer on social media. Being consistent keeps you on your prospect’s mind.
Regardless of the platform you use, you’ll want to engage with your ideal client. Comment on their posts, respond to their stories, answer questions, share their content, etc…
As a new business, social media is scary, but we’re living in an incredible time. Social media has made the entire world accessible to small businesses through simple content creation.
It’s one of the best places to start landing clients and getting work experience.
Find out the EXACT method I used to quit my job and become a full time freelance writer in this course by Elna Cain. >>Check out the Course Here.<<
1. Instagram
Instagram has 3 main ways to get in front of your ideal client to get those freelance writing jobs for beginners. Stories, posts, and IGTV. Stories disappear, posts and IGTV videos stick around. It’s important to have a mix of the three.
Here is a list of items I post daily in my stories:
- Mini training
- Behind the scenes
- My agenda for the day
- What I’m working on
- My offer
- Sharing others
- Tip of the day
- My process
- How copywriting works
I don’t post them all on the same day, but I post as often as I think of it throughout the day.
I keep little scripts around my desk so that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time.
When you post on Instagram, you want a mix of posts that are inspirational (quotes and stories), educational, testimonials, and conversations.
You could post debunking myths of the industries, “how to” trainings, stories of how you helped your clients, testimonials, questions, quotes, etc…
Having a good mix of posts is important to not sounding like a broken record.
2. Facebook
Facebook owns Instagram, so you can essentially hit two platforms by integrating your Facebook and your Instagram together. I have two totally different types of clients on both of these platforms, so this helps me connect with both.
On Facebook, you can do something called “blinding” in your groups.
You have to be careful that you follow the rules of every group.
Blinding is when you take your educational or helpful posts you’ve already written, and post them in Facebook groups. Instead of using a call to action that says “DM me” or “contact me,” you’ll ask them to leave a comment below.
This helps the owner of the group by providing good content for their group and starting engaging conversations with the members.
Say you have three posts. Post one in one group on Monday, the second one in another group on Wednesday, and the third one in the third group on Friday. Post them on different days than when you post in your own social media so you don’t look too repetitive.
There is a lot of overlap with group members in all groups. This helps you stay in front of them and presents you as an authority.
3. LinkedIn
I haven’t used LinkedIn to find work, but I’ve heard of lots of others who have. What they do is post their content on LinkedIn, engage with their ideal client, optimize their LinkedIn profile by getting really clear on who they serve and what they do.
They share their ideal client’s content, engage with it, and try to stay top of mind while sharing their own valuable content.
Elna goes over her LinkedIn Strategy in the Write to 1K course.
Find out the EXACT method I used to quit my job and become a full time freelance writer in this course by Elna Cain. >>Check out the Course Here.<<
3. Twitter
I don’t even have a Twitter account, but it’s essentially the same thing. Engage with your ideal client and share their content, post valuable content, and make sure your profile is clear about what you do. If you like Twitter, then use it. I know several other writers who use Twitter to find clients and it works quite well for them.
4. Commenting on Blog Posts
Every time you comment on a blog post, it’s like leaving a breadcrumb back to you. Find the blogs you want to work for and leave meaty comments on their blogs. You may want to keep a list so you can check back regularly. What this does is make them curious who you are so they click through to your site and BAM! They see you’re a writer.
If they see your name come up regularly, they may investigate further.
5. In Person Networking
Building relationships has been THE MOST POWERFUL and easiest way to find clients for me. Meeting people in person and building a connection is like filing your services in the back of someone’s mind.
When they need your services, they can pull that file out of their brain and say “Oh, I know someone who does that.” This not only works for when THEY need your services but also when another business person needs your writing skills.
The referral is incredibly valuable and a really powerful way to get freelance writing jobs for beginners OR for experienced writers. I would much rather hire someone because they are being referred to me than if someone comes to me and says “hire me.”
Go to networking events, introduce yourself to the people you meet, and tell them what you do. Stay connected with people you meet, and support them on social media. Follow them, interact with them, and share their content.
I’ve also done this inside online course Facebook groups and made some strong connections.
Regardless of what tactic you decide to use to build your customer base, building relationships is a good idea for continually getting new work.
Find out the EXACT method I used to quit my job and become a full time freelance writer in this course by Elna Cain. >>Check out the Course Here.<<
6. Partnering With Others
Find other professionals who need experts on their podcasts or in their live content on Facebook or other platforms. Offer free training in their courses, or come in as an expert to do a mini training.
Find blogs where you can guest post. Guest posting allows you to put an article you’ve written (a sample) in your portfolio that’s been published on a blog. This is more powerful than having samples in a Google doc or Word doc.
Find complementary businesses that need you. For instance, web designers need writers to refer to. Find other professionals you want to send work to and partner together.
7. Your Own Blog
Creating your own blog as a new freelance writer is a great way to showcase you’re writing.
You might be thinking “But I’m not good enough yet.”
Every writer feels this way when we start out. Some of us start blogs right away, and others don’t.
Many of us regret not starting blogs sooner.
It’s a great long term strategy, it’s great for search engines, and it’s a good way to show your writing skills to potential clients as well as those you intend to guest post for.
It’s also a really great way to develop your writing style. The best writers write often. A blog is a great way to do that.
8. Guest Posts
Posting on a blog that someone else owns helps you get exposure. If this makes you nervous, you can start with a small blog.
Start with a friend, or start posting on a platform like Medium.
Guest posting is fantastic for SEO, it gets you lots of exposure, and it’s an effective way to network with others.
I’ve had people guest post on one of my blogs who I ended up referring to jobs that come up. That’s how networking works and it’s VERY effective.
Find out the EXACT method I used to quit my job and become a full time freelance writer in this course by Elna Cain. >>Check out the Course Here.<<
Outbound Strategies (Where You Reach Out to Them)
9. Job Boards
There are a lot of job boards out there offering online writing jobs and ongoing work. One of the best sources of freelance writing jobs through a job board is Problogger.
This is a perfectly legitimate way to find clients, but I had zero luck with it. I found I put a lot of effort into it, but only ever landed low paying (or zero paying) jobs.
It is, however, a great place to get your name out there and get some work under your belt. Your freelance writing career will quickly outgrow the pay that job boards typically offer.
10. Job Ads
You can go onto LinkedIn or other places that post job ads like Indeed to look for digital marketing, content marketing, or other types of jobs.
Think about this carefully. If you’re looking for another job where you work for someone else, this is a great option.
If you want to work on your own schedule and be your own boss, you may want to consider other methods.
Both ways are good, it just depends on what you want.
If you are stressed about lack of income and a job will make you feel more comfortable, don’t feel guilty about that. Do what’s best for you.
Find out the EXACT method I used to quit my job and become a full time freelance writer in this course by Elna Cain. >>Check out the Course Here.<<
Places to Avoid
This is a personal preference, but there are a lot of content mills (there are companies that pump out a lot of content for low pay) out there.
They serve a purpose and they are okay for getting some experience, but you’ll never make a decent wage without TONS of hours of work.
You don’t need to work that hard to make a full-time income.
How These Strategies Work for Beginners to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
All of this can feel really overwhelming. Successful freelance writers typically start with one strategy and build it out from there.
The good news is that it’s much easier to find writing gigs than your mind is currently telling you.
It may take some time to find the right fit, but building out some type of online presence will go a long way in building your authority.
These strategies all work together. Put yourself in your client’s shoes and feel their experience.
They meet you at a networking event. They check you out on social media and you show them you know what you’re talking about through your valuable content.
Then they surf through Facebook and see you posting valuable content in groups.
Then you share their content, so they see that you support their business.
Each time you share their content, you leave a positive effect. When you comment a supportive comment, they see you’re being supportive.
Each contact is a little breadcrumb you leave back to you. Eventually, when they need your service, they know exactly who to go to. The person they’ve built a connection with that they know, like, and trust to care about their business.
Jump past the long stressful sessions of trying to figure out how to become a writer by reading endless blog posts and do what I did. Take the >> Write to 1K course by Elna Cain<<. It helped me go from my 9-5, to being a well paid, full time writer in less than a year.