This last six months I have been researching ideas for creatively earning more income — mainly by writing articles. I’ve just listed 10 websites where a novice writer can try publishing their articles or essays and get paid. It’s in the back of ‘Creative Ideas for Making More Money’ – a freebie.
Writing Types for Money Flow
Writing freelance articles is just one way to earn more money if you’re an active retiree, stay at home parent, or lucky book writer. There are of course other writing-for-money ideas:
- copywriting of business marketing materials
- editing and proofreading essays (if you’ve done a course)
- creative writing of short stories and entering loads of competitions
- ghost blog writing for busy information or SAAS businesses
- ghost writing books
Kinds of Freelance Writing Sites
Freedom with Writing site offers a huge list of publications who pay for writing. Besides FreedomwithWriting.com, I also came across a professional money blogger who makes a full-time salary through affiliate relationships. What a great idea! She lives in New Zealand but has a global crowd.
I’ve been a copywriter for small business and a book editor, but only dabbled in freelance article writing. Recently I realised that, wow, I can improve my writing skills while getting paid to write articles in my niche area.
Ah, but how to get well-paid writing gigs in Australia? For that, you need a specialty.
One way to get started with online writing is to start a niche Substack, which can be turned into a paid newsletter, for instance, $8 per month. (This also takes promotional work, writing little Notes and following/reading other writers’ work).
Why become a Specialist Writer?
You may find that picking a niche, having a simple writing portfolio, and searching for local niche magazines who use external writers is a much easier route than simply grasping for any article writing job. A niche can be as broad as ‘Early Stage Mums’ or as narrow as ‘aircraft and aeronautics’.
Having a niche also helps with your ‘find-ability’. Specialist expertise may help Google find your blog. This will, in turn, help magazine editors decide on you as a writer. This is because they want an authority in subject matter and one who knows how to optimise their articles.
But don’t expect to get a high Google Authority and trust right away. It takes time and work and social media posting.
For one way to showcase your new writing, you can use BeHance for a free writer’s portfolio, which uses many pictures (common with portfolios).
How Do I Find Magazines to Write for?
The first path I’ve used to look for magazine editors is: go to the local library, pick out a few lesser-known magazines to niche in, and write email pitches to the editor or editorial assistant (their address is normally on the block inside the magazine).
A second way is trying regular job-seeking websites (try casual, part-time options). I came across a job as Writer/Editor for a national, informative site for the over-60s, and soon after my interview I was offered some paid article writing work. You can also search for only freelance writing work on Indeed (put freelance in the keyword box).
A third way is to look at the independent article writer publishing opportunities, including that of you being a Substack creator, journal writer, or book reviewer. There are sites like Kirkus Reviews (heard nothing back), Author Services Australia, who accept those who want to become book reviewers, and Boomerang Books (limited).
The main tip is: try to start with magazines or sites which would be a good fit for your writing personality, topic, and level. It’s no good trying to write for Huffington Post or Foundr on your first go… And anyway, think more niche than this and let Google bring you some ideas.
Online Job Boards for New Freelance Writers
New writers also rely on freelancer job sites to find new work, like:
Problogger Job Board – paid blogging opportunities, reviews, guides, freelance articles. A lot of competition for these jobs.
Pedestrian.TV jobs – content writing is a good way to get experience and builds your portfolio and skills. However, these days with the chatbots, you’ll need to offer other skills, like social media posting and creative ideation.
Mumbrella jobs – look for ‘freelance’ tab in the categories there, from agencies. Roles only based in the city agencies, like Melbourne and Sydney.
Member-Based Freelancer Job Portals
- Rachel’s List – freelance jobs board for members with yearly Gold fee. ($115.50 per year) (Doesn’t appear to be worthwhile at the moment).
- Arts Hub (ArtsHub.com.au/Jobs) – $19.95 per month or $99 p.a. for personal membership – mainly Melbourne and Sydney full-time jobs in the arts sector but this also supports the arts institution and their newsletter is useful.
- Freelance Collective.Co – this is a directory site with interviews only.
With these, the freelance competition is already on the list too, so perhaps a long wait to achieve a role that’s right for you. Or, you could be lucky!
Jennifer Lancaster – the author of the book, How to Start a Freelance Business in Australia.
Remember to really zoom in on your interests and talk about relevant angles when pitching the editor. Relevancy to what their audience likes is absolutely crucial.
Don’t forget to sign up for my Creative Ideas list — with 10 other places to secure freelance article writing (global) work — and have a go!
Creative Ways with Money by Jennifer Lancaster will get you thinking about new ideas to save, protect, earn and invest in 2020. Australian and US content. ePub $7.99. Paperback $23.99.
