As promised, we’re running a five-post series this week for those writers (and any freelance writers looking for a fresh start). To kick things off let’s talk about different freelance writing paths you might choose.

More importantly, I want to share three types of freelance writing you can move into today — as in right now. Sometimes we get caught up in the traditional image of a freelance writer waiting for responses from magazine queries or hoping for a freelance journalism assignment from a news publication. There are other options, and those other options offer fewer barriers, growing client bases, and potentially higher pay.

I’m a big believer in choosing a specialty as a freelance writer. We’ve talked about this in depth before, so I won’t go into details again. Suffice it to say that specialists are frequently paid much better than generalists who claim they can write about anything under the sun with a bit of research.

You can specialize in niches. Or you can specialize in styles of writing. There’s nothing to say you can only have a single specialty (for example I’m both a professional blogger and a freelance business writer — my freelance blogging work even usually falls under that business writing heading).

If you want to learn more about specialization versus generalization, here are some posts you should check out in our archives first.

• To Specialize or Not to Specialize
• Benefits of Specialization as a Web Writer
• How to Choose a Specialty as a Freelance Writer

Web Content Writing

If you’ve written for content mills like Demand, you’re already familiar with this type of freelance writing. But Web content writing comes in many forms. For example, in addition to mill work you can pursue anything from SEO Web content (for end clients or SEO and Internet marketing firms) to Web-based features (such as writing for online versions of newspapers and magazines).

One of the most common problems I’ve heard about in this specialty area is the lack of high paying advertised gigs. But that’s not a surprise. Here’s the thing. There are countless writers around the world who are willing to work for next to nothing. You’ll find these low paying gigs advertised everywhere from forums to classified sites to freelance marketplaces.

Whenever a high paying gig is published there, it makes sense that many of these writers think it’s their ticket to the big leagues. People apply in droves. And many of those applicants are completely unqualified. Mill work, for example, does not make you qualified for Web features at several hundred dollars a piece in the eyes of many buyers.

Buyers with adequate budgets don’t have the time to sort through this pile of applications. And they know many pros don’t bother checking these sources anyway — skewing their results downward. Instead they frequently find writers through the following ways:

1. Writers they’ve worked with in the past;
2. Referrals from people they trust (employees, other contractors, colleagues, etc.);
3. Search engine results (after searching for writers in a certain specialty area).

If you haven’t worked with high paying clients in the past, you clearly won’t get repeat gigs from them, so the first scenario isn’t going to help. If you want to get gigs from these other sources early on you need to grow your network and make sure you have a professional website ranking highly in search engines (for specific keywords like “health writer” rather than generic keywords like “freelance writer” which are more difficult to rank for anyway).

These are things you should start working on immediately if you want a consistent flow of gigs down the road. But I know you can’t wait around. In the meantime, direct pitching can be more effective than relying on job boards and freelance marketplaces. For example, find a company you love that doesn’t have great Web content yet. They might not realize they could benefit from hiring a writer like you. Email or call them and offer your services. If you don’t like pitching, it will take a bit longer but you can still succeed. Just build your writer platform and network more aggressively from the start.

Blogging

Blogging is just a specialized form of Web content writing, so what I said in the previous section applies here too. A good way to get started is to launch your own blog. Make that blog in your specialty area, targeting prospects.

For example, if you blog about taxes you might launch a blog targeting accountants. Rather than publishing consumer-level tax information, you write for your target clients — maybe SEO benefits of blogging for an accountant’s site or teaching them how to engage with their own customers through a blog. Teaching is an excellent way to get prospects’ attention. I did this years ago when press release writing was my primary service.

I would teach others how to write and distribute press releases effectively. Because I ran a PR firm at the time (and my degree is in that specialty area), I had knowledge some couldn’t get elsewhere without hiring consultants. By sharing advice freely, clients could see that I knew what I was talking about.

Some would immediately hire me. Others would try to write their own press releases first. Once they realized the amount of work that really goes into specialized writing (and getting the results they want), they would come back and hire me for their next project.

I did that through blogging, forum posting, and writing an e-book. If the type of work you want to do is blogging, you can focus on a niche topic area instead. It’s like a living, breathing portfolio piece and with blog search engines and social media tools, you can get posts in front of the right people much easier these days, even if your blog is new.

Just as important as your blog is in attracting blogging clients, it can be an income source in its own right. You can publish ads for example (although that will be more effective when you have a lot of traffic). You can promote affiliate products and services. If you do, just make sure you’re transparent or you risk hurting your blog’s reputation. You can also use your blog to sell information products like e-books and short reports. You can bring in money that way even before you attract clients looking to hire you as a blogger.

Business Writing / Commercial Writing

Business writing is a fairly broad type of freelance writing. And it’s very much in demand. Whether a business is trying to grow, a new one is launching, or companies need to outsource writing because they can’t afford full-time staff anymore, these gigs are always available. You can approach them the same way you would with Web content writing — build a platform and network for long-term interest and kick things off with direct pitching if you need immediate work.

If you’re not sure what business writing (or commercial writing) includes, here are some examples:

• white papers
• email marketing copy
• website copy
• sales pages
• brochures
• press releases

By no means is this list exhaustive. Businesses need internal communication writers as much as those specializing in external sales copy. You could be asked to write a long annual report or come up with short slogan ideas or brief ad copy. You don’t have to do all of these things. For example, I don’t care for long-form aggressive sales letters, so I don’t offer that service to clients. I specialize in other types of business writing — like business blogging, press releases, and white papers. If you love writing sales copy, you might take the opposite approach. It’s completely up to you.

If you want to transition quickly into client work beyond content mills, direct pitching can be a great option for you. But I know that not all freelance writers are comfortable aggressively marketing themselves. That’s fine too. While it’s highly effective for some freelancers, there are equally effective ways to land new gigs.

When you build your writer platform and focus on your network, you can take a seemingly more passive approach to finding freelance writing jobs. More appropriately, the jobs find you. The approach is so effective that I intend to publish a book on it next year (it’s already drafted). While you won’t get new clients tomorrow this way, within several weeks to just a few months you can have more demand for your services than time available. And let me tell you, it’s a great feeling to be able to pick and choose the best gigs like that.

Whichever approach feels better for you, the key is that you start today. Don’t wait until your current work dries up completely. You can make the transition much smoother if you have a prospect list ready to pitch or a platform already built. So get started on that. It’s equally important to move forward with a plan. When you come back tomorrow we’ll talk about the basics of market research and planning for freelance writers.

To kick off the launch of the job board, we’re offering a limited time discount to job posters (not on writer profiles, as there was already a launch promotion for those).

Normally it will cost $14.95 for a standard job ad or $24.95 for a featured job ad, for a 30 day placement. Using the below coupon code will cut $10 off your bill between now and August 1st. That means new users can get a standard job ad for just $4.95! To get that discount please enter coupon code 10OFFLAUNCH when you submit your job ad.

Keep in mind that this is a professional marketplace. We do not cater to bottom of the barrel freelance writing jobs, and there are minimum compensation levels for jobs we’ll accept. Please read those rules before posting your writing job (at the bottom of the job posting page).

Writers can continue to add profiles at the $14.95 rate. These profiles are permanent, and you have the ability to update them when logged into your account. This allows clients who aren’t comfortable posting higher paying freelance writing gigs to find you directly in our marketplace. Please note that these paid profiles are advertisements. They are not required for you to access job listings on the job board. Any registered user can apply through the site. Registration is free — you can sign up in the sidebar of the blog. If clients include contact info directly in the body of the job ad, you may also contact them to apply without that free registration.

I love writing. It’s a great job to have and it lets me stretch my mind. But sometimes I just get so tired of writing articles! That’s when I take a break and try something else writing related. Let me tell you what I do to relieve the monotony…

Editing & Proofreading

A lot of people outsource their content, and the results they get isn’t always that good. Others simply want someone to look over content they’re written and polish it up. Either way, editing and proofreading is a great job for writers who love syntax and grammar, and are detail oriented.

Product & Service Reviews

Writing reviews on products and services can be a great way to break out of the mold and let your personality shine through. Reviews can be written for clients, or done as a side project on a niche blog. Not only is writing reviews fun, but you can get some pretty awesome free stuff out of it. Reviews are a great job for writers with personality who love sharing their opinions.

Blog Commenting

This is a lower end white-label service that I recommend doing in your free time for a site like Fiverr or Gigbucks. Commenting on blog posts takes seconds and it gives you a chance to try out different styles of writing and tones as you adopt different personas on the fly. I recommend only offering 10, 15, or 20 comments per gig, to keep time requirements low. Blog commenting can be a great job for writers who like reading or have some free time they want to use to make a little pocket cash.

Idea Generation

Similar to blog commenting, this lower end white-label service is recommended for writers good at generating ideas but not necessarily interested in blogging about every topic under the sun. An example is a list of 25 blog post ideas about “optimizing your blog” that I did for a client. I made about $60 just by writing out talking points and prospective titles in an excel document. Writers who find themselves plagued with ideas can often perform this service, or sell idea pre-created lists of ideas for unique blog and article content.

Mentoring and Coaching

Some writers are more seasoned than others. For those who are experienced and pulling in a decent income, coaching new writers can be fulfilling and profitable work. New writers join the market everyday, and only a handful ever break in with some success. Others are underpaid, overworked, and losing their passion. Mentors and coaches can help reignite that passion.

Affiliate Marketing and Information Products

Creating your own product or selling affiliate products is an outstanding way to generate passive income. This works especially well if you’re a niche writer with a product that caters directly to your clients. Perhaps it’s a watered down DIY version of one of your services, or just a resource on how to get started in your niche. Either way, writers with a more business-oriented mind might find promoting affiliate products a lot of fun.

I believe the key to enjoying a fulfilling freelance writing career is to look beyond the writing. Digging deeper into the various aspects of a writer’s abilities lets you have fun and keeps you from getting bored. What do you do besides article writing? Share your talents in the comments below!

About Corey Freeman

Corey Freeman is a professional SEO blogger. She also runs Writing Whale, a site dedicated to helping aspiring freelance writers get started.

Update: The offer for free writer profiles has now expired, and the $14.95 fee for future submissions is now in effect. Thanks to everyone who got on board early.

As you probably know, we’ve been running a special offering free writer profiles / resumes in our new job board for a while. That free offer ends tonight.

While the tool we’re currently using didn’t have an ideal way to handle payments for profiles, I’ve set up a basic workaround. When you visit the “add / edit resume” page (in your admin area when you register for free on this site), you’ll see a Paypal “pay now” button near the bottom.

Why Pay for a Writer Profile?

What makes this site different than freelance marketplaces where you might be able to post a resume for free? You see, we target a completely different type of market than most of those sites. When we begin promoting the new job board to clients starting next week, the big difference for them is that they’ll be exposed to a group of serious professional freelance writers — not amateurs or hobbyists or the $5 article crowd where anyone paying a decent rate can be bombarded by applications from unqualified individuals. We help minimize that by reaching out to the kinds of writers they want.

That said, many clients have already decided against advertising publicly due to this kind of application bombardment. They just don’t have the time. So we’ve introduced another side to the job board — the freelance writer profiles. Here we place constraints on writers advertising services that match up with the job posting requirements. Buyers don’t only rely on referrals. They also search for writers on their own. We’re giving them a professional database they can browse featuring writers like you — experienced professionals who can get the job done. What you pay for is a marketing opportunity in the ability to be found here among your peers rather than in more general marketplaces that don’t represent you well.

How to Submit Your Writer Profile

The first step to getting a writer profile in our job board is to register on the site. You can find a registration link in the sidebar of our blog or on our forum. (Note: registration also gives you free access to our writing forums.)

Once you are registered, login. You’ll then have access to your admin area. In the left sidebar there you’ll find a link that says “Your Resume.” Click this link to add or edit your resume / writer profile at any time. Alternatively you can access this page from our blog sidebar. When you are logged in you’ll see a link to your profile near your gravatar / photo. You can also look in the freelance writing jobs section for a link that says “Post a writer profile.” This gives you several ways to access your profile whenever you need to update it.

After you submit your profile, go back to the profile edit page and you’ll find the “pay now” button near the bottom. There you can make your payment. (You can actually choose to pay or add the information first. It doesn’t matter as long as the payment information is processed when I review the pending profile for approval.)

That’s it. You submit your information. You submit your payment. I check the pending approvals regularly, and I’ll approve any profiles as long as the payment is made and the profile abides by our terms (includes a real name, email address, meets the rate requirements, etc.). Easy peasy.

Additional Notes

Unfortunately this feature wasn’t built into our existing job board back-end as I thought it was originally. So I’m using a workaround in a basic Paypal payment button (for Paypal, credit card, and e-check payments — you do NOT have to have a Paypal account to use it).

Because of this, you’ll see the payment button on your edit page even after your payment is made. Just ignore it for now. And if you take advantage of the free offer tonight you can also ignore it. You do NOT have to pay again if you make edits. Just submit them and I’ll approve them as usual.

When the next version of the job board tool comes out of beta, it will allow you to post resumes / profiles from the front-end of the site which should be easier. My hope (which I can’t confirm until I use it) is that we can then use the payment button solely on that front-end submission and any back-end edits from your admin area can have that removed. I’ll update you of any changes when that happens.

Oh, and please, please, please — if your payment name and email address are different than those in your profile, please include a payment note telling me that. If nothing matches, I have no way of telling whose profile a payment is attached to. If that does happen and you forget, I’ll email the person at the payment address to verify. But including that information will help me get your profile approved sooner.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. And remember, basic site registration is completely free, and it also gives you access to our writing forums. So if you haven’t signed up yet, there’s no time like the present!

This is the last week you can get a free writer profile in our professional freelance writing marketplace. Starting Monday, June 13th there will be a $15 fee for all new submissions.

Why would you want a freelance writer profile here?

1. Many, if not most, of the best freelance writing jobs are never advertised. Those clients instead find writers through referrals or by seeking them on their own. Having a profile here gives potential clients another way to find you if they visit our marketplace and prefer to browse profiles over posting an ad directly.
2. Our marketplace specializes in a more professional crowd where you can stand out without trying to compete with those charging bottom-of-the-barrel rates. And you shouldn’t, since they’re not really your competition anyway. Other freelance marketplaces struggle to separate markets effectively, leading to a race to the bottom free-for-all.
3. Your writer profile won’t expire like a typical advertisement does. Writer profiles will remain active for as long as we have a freelance writing marketplace on this site as long as your profile continues to meet the terms we’ve laid out (meeting the rate requirements, not advertising disallowed services, etc.). The only exception is a brief time offline if you edit your profile — which you can do at any time if your rates, services, or credentials change — because changes go through editorial review just as new submissions do. There’s no additional fee later to update your resume / profile.

If you want to take advantage of this offer before it’s too late, register today (it’s free!). Then you can add your resume from your admin area on the back end of the site, or click the “post a writer profile” link from the blog sidebar at any time (under the “Freelance Writing Jobs” heading).

Free registration also gives you access to our forums. Currently the forums are used solely for our virtual book club, but later today we’re adding a few more writer forums for readers to stay connected. Be sure to check it out. :)

Previously I announced that profiles would be free until mid-May. But due to the problems we had after some site changes where the marketplace wasn’t fully functioning, I’ve decided to extend that. You can now get a free writer profile through the end of the month.

Why Add a Writer Profile?

At All Freelance Writing we understand that most of the best freelance writing jobs are never publicly advertised. Buyer don’t want the hassle of sorting through applications from unqualified writers looking for a pay increase. They don’t feel like waiting on applications at all. They prefer to ask for referrals or search for writers on their own.

We also have higher standards than most freelance marketplaces in that we won’t accept a buck from anyone and everyone who wants to post an ad. That means we don’t take on the extremely low-ball offers many people offer when looking for freelance writers. You just won’t find those here.

We’ll be promoting the new marketplace actively to buyers in coming weeks after we finish dealing with some site glitches and optimization. But not all potential buyers will be interested in posting public ads. Your writer profile allows them to find you and contact you in a typical search and referral way rather than inviting the competition to apply. If you want to get the most out of our marketplace, posting a writer profile is an essential step. That’s how you show prospects that you’re the kind of writer they’re looking for.

How to Register

Since you’re on the blog portion of our site right now, just look to our sidebar. You’ll find a login form there with a link to register if you’re not already a member of All Freelance Writing. Register there (or you can register via our book club forum — registration covers access to both site features).

Once you’re a registered member of All Freelance Writing, login to your account. Then take a look at the sidebar again. When you’re logged in you should see your gravatar photo if you have one and some new member links.

How to Add Your Profile

First, please note that if you had a profile under our old system, it will not be automatically transferred to the new one! So please remember to register and add your information to the marketplace. This is because many of those profiles do not contain all of the information we now require in our writer profile listings. New profiles can also be edited by you at any time, although they’ll need to be approved by me again when you do before changes go live. That was not possible with the old system.

When you’re ready to add your writer profile (or edit it later), you can find a link in your member section of the blog sidebar when you’re logged in. Or you can click the “Jobs” link above and access the job board menus at the bottom of any marketplace page.

This will take you to our back end where you can edit your general AFW profile (such as your Web address so you don’t have to enter it every time you comment if you comment while logged in). You can also find a link on the left for your resume / writer profile.

When you enter your writer profile details, please review the rules so you don’t waste time if you don’t meet the terms. The big consideration is rates. We still have minimum rate requirements to avoid this becoming yet another race-to-the-bottom freelance marketplace. Instead of mentioning specific rates, you choose a rate range and then a corresponding project type.

Also note that email addresses must be included in your profile, and they will be visible to all logged in members viewing the job board (such as other writers and prospects posting ads). This is due to the fact that many writers forgot to include contact info for prospects to reach them under the old system. You can leave a phone number too, and that will also be visible to logged in members (but it’s optional). So please, if you’re concerned about posting these things and you don’t even do so on your own site, I suggest getting a job-specific email address. If you want to post a phone number you can always use something like a free Google Voice number instead.

I really hope this system will work out better for everyone in the long run. In the meantime, happy posting! Remember, you can only add your profile for free until the end of May, so don’t wait. Starting June 1st, there will be a $15 charge for profile inclusion. Profiles will remain active as long as they continue to meet the posting requirements.

Here are a few tips I came up with:

1. If you receive an @reply from someone you don’t know and they link you to job sites, don’t click. – These are usually spam. If you visit the user’s profile page you’ll find they do almost nothing but post the same self-promotional message over and over again to get people to their new job site or to a site where they have an affiliate link (and therefore get paid when you visit). When I get these messages, I don’t look for gigs. I report them as the spammers they are. And you have to be extra careful about clicking shortened links from people you don’t know in general there. You never know when they lead to a malicious site.
2. If you plan to use Twitter search, get specific. — Don’t search for “freelance writing” or “freelance writing jobs.” You’ll find a lot of spam and countless low paying writing gigs. Search in a specialty area instead to weed out some of the garbage.
3. Ask your network for referrals. — A quick mention that you’re available for new projects and open to new referrals won’t hurt anyone. And you never know who might see it and have a relevant gig for you.
4. Check your feed. — See what your followers are saying. I have a particular client who frequently needs writers in niches I don’t cover. I usually offer to tweet to my network if I don’t know a specific writer to refer in that area. Pay attention to colleagues at a similar level and you’ll find decent gigs mentioned as opposed to low-balled offers from every Tom, Dick and Harry on Twitter.
5. Edit your profile. — Is your Twitter profile too general? Does it make it clear that you’re a freelance writer? Is there a call to action for people to contact you if they want to hire you? If you only use Twitter for personal networking, that’s one thing. But if you use it for business networking as a freelance writer, you need to make sure your profile works for you. Include your name, URL to your professional site (either in the URL field or the profile background), and let people know what you specialize in. Getting the good gigs is about visibility and networking much more than stumbling across ads, on Twitter or anywhere else.

How do you use Twitter as a freelance writer? Do you actively look for freelance writing jobs there? Have you gotten referrals through Twitter? Share your own tips and stories in the comments below.

Something like this happened to me last week. It involved blogging work for one of my regulars. Due to personal problems he was unable to post all of the articles written last month. So he now had a backlog and needed to postpone some content orders for his main blog until December.

While I keep a waiting list, it really wasn’t what I wanted to do right now. After all, this is for a limited-time opening — for one-off projects. And most on the waiting list are looking for ongoing work (like press release writing for Internet marketing firms or ongoing blogging gigs). It would also mean rushing those prospects when they might not be ready to move on something immediately. Besides, that would mean getting to know a new client’s business, products or services, and target market. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a basic part of the job. But with only a few weeks — not to mention time off for the Thanksgiving holiday this month — there just wouldn’t be time to do a new client’s business justice, or at least not in most cases with the prospects on my list.

So I decided to take a few other approaches to make sure my income wouldn’t suffer much, if at all, this month. And these are tactics you can use too, should you ever find yourself with a last-minute hole to fill in your freelance writing schedule. Better yet, these tactics don’t involve bidding sites, job boards, or querying while you hope someone gets back to you before the opening passes anyway.

Suggest an Adjusted Project

In my case I knew the client in question owned other blogs. I’ve written for several of them in the past. I casually mentioned them, and asked if he would need content for those again while we took a break for the main site. As it turns out, he did.

That led to an order equal to about a third of our normal monthly number of blog posts. Now this is also an older client who has a long-standing bulk-rate negotiated with me (I don’t offer those anymore). And since he ordered less than the minimum for that bulk rate, the per-piece rate was higher. The combination led to about 40-45% of the original order being placed income-wise. That took a nice quick hit at the hole in my schedule, and I didn’t have to look beyond the initial client.

You can do the same thing. If your client cancels a certain type of project, but they hire you for different things, see if they might need something else. For example, at this time of the year let’s say they cancelled a couple of blog posts. But they’ve hired you to write email marketing copy before and you know they have a newsletter. You might pitch them on content for a holiday newsletter instead.

Reconnect with Past Clients

Another option is to reach out to past clients you’ve worked with. That doesn’t mean you have to pitch or query about specific projects. Don’t put that kind of time into it. Just touch base. Say hello. Mention that you happen to have an opening. In my case I chose to reach out to just a few of my previous clients. I let them know about the opening, that it was limited and projects would be first-come, first-served, and I offered them a very limited-time special. I rarely offer sales, but I’m a big fan of limited discounts when it comes to quickly filling in holes in my schedule. The trick? Make sure the sale is for a limited time only. You don’t want a sale rate to turn into a regular expectation. In that sense I find they’re better for existing clients, although I did offer the discount to one new prospect as well. Also, don’t offer the special to too many people. Leave regular clients alone. This is only about bringing in new one-off projects (or long-term gigs perhaps, but with the sale only applicable for the first order). It’s not about discounting work you already have. It’s about enticing people to hire you when they otherwise hadn’t thought about it.

Remember that this isn’t about pitching or querying. It’s more about keeping in touch and reminding them that you’re out there. Sometimes just the mention of what you do will spark an idea in a client’s head — “yeah, I haven’t promoted this product effectively and the holidays are coming up, so I could really use some copy for a new email campaign,” for example. The best thing is that existing clients are often faster to respond than new prospects, so you won’t be left waiting around wondering (at least in my experience). I sent out a couple of emails early Monday morning, and as of a few hours later I’d already landed one one-off project with a past client.

Just Wait

Okay. So this won’t work for everyone, but if you’ve already gotten to that query-free freelancer status you know it won’t ever be long before you get another email or phone call from a new prospect. I get several each week. Normally I just refer them off to colleagues by default, because I don’t have any openings.

This week — yes, just since yesterday morning — I did have to turn a few away, partly because I already filled enough of my schedule hole that there was no way I could fit their projects in and give them the attention they deserved. I also didn’t feel I was the best fit for two of them, so I referred the prospects to other colleagues. But there were several others that came in between Thursday of last week and this morning. One is a possibility, and for two others now I’m just waiting on a final confirmation. They all appear to be one-offs, so I should be able to work them in if they come through. It’s not ideal to have to start from scratch with someone when time is limited though, so I definitely suggest reaching out to existing clients first.

By the way, I didn’t have to do anything to find these leads. They came right to me. Haven’t considered going the query-free freelancing route yet? Well, that’s a perk you should think about. While a lost gig might sting initially, you know things will always pick back up quickly. Oh, and this doesn’t just work for new prospects. As of Monday afternoon the initial client who cut back this month got in touch wanting too more projects too.

Become Your Own Client

If you absolutely can’t find a new client and can’t land a gig with an old one, don’t stress too much yet. When you have a hole in your schedule, immediately turn at least some of your attention to your own income-generating projects. Review a new affiliate product or two on your blog (unless affiliate ads are a big no-no in your niche). Write a short e-book and sell it for a few dollars using a service like E-Junkie.com. My very first e-book took me one afternoon to write, and it sold quite well at $17 (around 20 pages or so). Why? It was information that a specific target market wanted, and I was in a position to offer authoritative content in that niche.

A day or two of heavy promotion can get the income rolling in. Even if it doesn’t fully replace the lost income you were expecting, it can lessen the blow. And if you do find good client leads in the meantime, you can always back-burner the e-book and go back to it later.

If you suddenly find yourself with a hole in your freelance writing schedule, don’t panic. Get creative. Applying to every gig you see advertised can do more to increase your stress and worry than solve it. But by all means if you see a gig somewhere that looks like the perfect fit, go for it. Just don’t feel like pitching and querying is your only way out of a bad situation. It might work, but it can take much longer than other options. And remember, one door closing (even temporarily) might be the opportunity you were waiting for. You never know when another one’s going to open.

You know that when it comes to finding high paying freelance writing jobs, I primarily recommend three things:

1. Build your visibility and writer platform so prospects can find you.
2. Build a solid referral network to get referred gigs from colleagues and other clients.
3. Early on, before gigs are coming to you directly, go ahead and target and pitch prospects directly. After all, query-free freelancing is an end goal; not something that will work immediately for every freelance writer.

Let’s talk more about that last one, because it applies more to newer freelancers or those trying to break into new markets. And those are the groups that most often ask me “where” the good freelance writing jobs are. They’re not in any one place just waiting for you to snatch them up. Most aren’t advertised. And those that are usually aren’t advertised on job boards or freelance bidding sites.

How do you find those writer’s markets then? Well, your trusty search engine can come in quite handy. And here are a few tips to help you find higher paying freelance writing jobs with better searches.

Forget “Freelance Writing Jobs”

Don’t waste your time searching for “freelance writing jobs” in your favorite search engine. You’ll find pile of crap on top of pile of crap. You’ll find low quality, rehashed job listings on blogs. You’ll find bidding marketplaces pitting you against hundreds to thousands of people worldwide willing to work for far less than fair market rates where you live. Some of the content mills even go out of their way to target the phrase to suck in low-paid “content producers.” Skip it.

Instead search for phrases commonly used when advertising more professional writing jobs and markets — “writers’ markets” and “writers’ guidelines” are two good options.

Incorporate Rate-Related Terms

When searching, don’t just look for ‘writers’ guidelines.” Also add some words or phrases related to rates. At a bare minimum you can find markets where rates are listed so you don’t have to waste time contacting people just to find out what they’re willing to pay.

For example, use phrases like “per word,” “per article,” “$1.00 per word,” or “cents per word.” If you’re looking for something in a specific range, search for the specific rate so you don’t end up with things like penny-per-word gigs in your results.

Search for Specialties

When you search for general freelance writing gigs, who know’s what’s going to turn up? You might have to dig through dozens of pages of search results before you find anything relevant. Instead, narrow down your search to your specialty area. For example, look for “business writer’s guidelines” or “blog writer’s guidelines” or “women’s writers’ markets.” Sticking to your specialty can help you weed out the gigs you don’t want while saving you time.

Use Specialized Searches

You can do more than search for your freelance writing specialty area. You can also try specialized searches. For example, a great option for freelance bloggers is to use Google’s blog search feature. Then search for keywords related to your specialty area. Find companies in your target market that run company blogs. Then you know who to pitch to see if they need help with the writing, editing, or promotion of that blog. Want to write short business video scripts? Use video search options to find companies putting out regular videos for marketing. Prefer to write for financial sites and publications? They have a finance search too — results giving examples of the type of content these financial publications are looking for. Move beyond basic search if you want to land more high paying freelance writing jobs.

These are just a few tips to get your freelance writing job search moving in a better direction. Do you have other search tips for freelance writers? Did a clever search query lead to an awesome freelance writing gig? Leave a comment below to tell us about it?

Writer B asks where the high paying gigs are then if not on the job boards. Writer A explains that you have to either build a platform, a strong referral network, or directly pitch prospects you’d like to work for. Writer B says something to the effect of “No, I mean where are the high paying freelance writing jobs.” Unfortunately it doesn’t sink in that there’s no magical place where all of the high paying freelance writing clients congregate.

In the end it comes down to this: you need to make your own freelance writing opportunities. Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas to get you going:

1. Set up a professional website right away if you don’t have one. It’s extremely important to maintain visibility these days, and a lot of high paying freelance writing clients don’t advertise for writers — they search for portfolios of writers that might be a good fit. You need that search engine presence if you want to land those gigs.
2. Ask colleagues if they know anyone hiring. Just don’t be obnoxious about it. Another way to handle it is to simply remind them what you specialize in and let them know you’re taking on new clients now if they happen to come across something that would suit you well, but that they couldn’t take on personally. Writers refer work to each other all the time. But if they don’t think of you, you won’t get the jobs.
3. Ask existing clients for referrals. If you have one or more decent clients and you simply want more, ask them for referrals. They might be well-networked within their industry or niche and be able to point you to others who are hiring. After all it’s in their interest too. If you give up on your writing work because you can’t make ends meet, you won’t be there to handle their work anymore either.
4. Use job search sites in a different way. Forget about looking for gigs for freelance writers. Instead look for job ads hiring editors (often full-time). If you read the job requirements they very often say a part of the editor’s job is managing a team of freelance writers. Yet these same companies seem to rarely advertise for the writers themselves. But now that you know they hire freelancers, you can pitch them on your own. Even if they’re not hiring immediately, they might keep you in mind if an opening comes up down the road.
5. Look a bit broader. While it’s smart to know your target market and stick to them with your marketing efforts, some freelancers look a bit too narrowly. For example, if you’re a Web content writer you might not think to look beyond the Web itself for your clients — like in webmaster communities. (Hint: while some bigger budget clients do hang out there, many do not. They don’t have the time.) Take a broader approach. Perhaps that means conducting a more general search for existing sites in your niche or industry. If you feel you can help them improve their Web content, pitch them your ideas. Or maybe it means you’ll look to small local businesses that either don’t have a Web presence yet or that have a very limited one. You probably wouldn’t come across them easily online, but if they’re interested and just waiting for the right help to come along, that could be you.

While I’m certainly in favor of a more passive query-free freelancing approach, for most people that would be an end goal rather than a starting point. There are times when you do have to get aggressive and make your own freelance writing opportunities.

How do you make your own freelance writing opportunities when the job market seems to dry up? Share your tips and stories in the comments.