You freelance writers have to be wondering now, right? With that glorious introduction, I'm going to fill you in on the cross-my-heart-hope-to-die-stick-a-needle-in-my-eye freelance writing secret.
It's Guru.
com.
And before you run screaming to the 'delete' button, let me say up front that I'm in no way, shape, or form on Guru's payroll! I'm not an affiliate (they don't have an affiliate program).
I don't own stock (in fact, I think it's privately-held?).
And to be honest, by telling you about it, I'm inviting freelance writing competition.
It's just info that's too good not to pass along.
So here it goes.
Also, you'll probably read scathing reviews somewhere online about the site (and the others like it: elance.
com and rentacoder.
com to name a couple).
But I'm living proof it works for freelance writing businesses.
I have a feeling the people who've had bad experiences either didn't find work because they didn't do it systematically.
Could be wrong, but usually if something stinks, I step in it! So for it to work for my freelance writing business, it's got to be a pretty easy plan.
I paid for the lowest-cost (but not free!) freelance writing membership.
Why not get the free level? You'll be in competition with many, many more writers.
You also won't get access to most of the projects.
It's not very expensive, and if you get a short-term freelance writing membership, you're not even locked in for long.
Now, just joining it isn't going to do squat for your freelance writing business.
You've got to take the time to create a great profile, samples (I'll cover those in the freelance writing book I'm writing - you'll have to wait!), and templates for your bidding.
You've got to place bids pretty much every day.
I set the goal of submitting at least five freelance writing bids a day.
It's time-consuming at first, but it gets faster as you get more practice.
At first, you'll bid on anything! After a while, you'll get a feel for which freelance writing projects are most likely to actually move forward (not every project does - some of the potential freelance writing clients are just tire kicking, some change their mind about the project).
You'll figure out which kinds of freelance writing projects you're best at, how much to charge, all that kind of stuff.
I don't know the particulars of the other boards, but Guru's got an escrow option, which I highly recommend.
The way it works is this - the freelance writing client pays up-front.
Guru holds the money.
The client releases the money after you deliver.
It protects everyone.
If there's a dispute about whether you've delivered on your end, Guru will help arbitrate.
I've never heard of anyone having a problem like that.
Get the direct deposit option, and you'll be paid for your freelance writing quickly without a fee.
If I remember correctly, it took about a week of bidding five bids a day before I got my first freelance writing project award.
I did it well, got great feedback from the client, got paid (more than paid for my membership fee), and added that freelance writing project to my portfolio.
It builds from there.
You have a freelance writing ranking, which improves every time you get paid and get good feedback.
At this writing, I'm in the top 10 writers on Guru (yes, my mom's very proud!).
And I may not be the best writer they've got, but I've been diligent about using my membership - and it's paid off! Are these the highest-paying freelance writing projects in the world? Not necessarily.
But several of them have paid handsomely.
And once you've got a happy client there, you often get repeat freelance writing business directly from them.
People are thrilled to find a writer they like to use, and they'll keep coming back for more as long as you produce high-quality work and meet their deadlines.