I get a lot of questions from aspiring freelancers. But, one of the questions I’m asked most frequently is, “So, how do I go about actually getting clients?”

There’s no doubt that landing your first few clients—especially when you’re just getting started—is definitely one of the trickier parts of starting to freelance. And, unlike what I thought when I first jumped into the freelance life, clients typically don’t just fall into your lap. Instead, you need to actively seek out opportunities for yourself.

“That’s good to know,” you’re probably thinking, “But, uhhh, where the heck do I even find these opportunities?”

Well, you’re in luck, my friends! I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite resources and sites for finding freelance work. Peruse the listings, submit your information, and see what happens!

MY FAVORITE SITES FOR FINDING FREELANCE GIGS

1. LINKEDIN

Are you sick of me singing the praises of LinkedIn yet? Probably. But, it’s one of my favorite places to find companies that are looking for freelancers. Simply visit the “Jobs” page and search for keywords like “freelance writer”, “blogger”, and “content creator”. However, be forewarned that just because a job is freelance, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re seeking remote workers—some places like to have freelancers actually in their offices. So, make sure to read the job description carefully.

I also love to search for employees of companies or publications I’m interested in to send them a personalized message. Making connections never hurts, and I’ve actually landed a few projects this way!

2. ED2010

This site is dedicated to helping people find magazine jobs they’ll love. Even better? They’re separated by category—such as unpaid internships, full-time jobs, and temp/freelance jobs. Click to view only the freelance positions, and you no longer have to weed through job descriptions.

ED2010 also has a space for job posters to fill in their rate. And, while there are a few organizations that opt to take the cheater way out and just put “N/A”, it’s usually a pretty helpful glimpse into whether or not the project fits within your expectations!

Fair warning that many of the gigs posted on ED2010 are pretty low paying. But, if you’re just getting started and are looking to get the ball rolling, it’s worth a look!

3. FREELANCEWRITING.COM

This is definitely one of my favorites. It combs through all sorts of other job posting sites in order to pull all freelance writing positions into one spot! I love to visit the Online Writing Jobs page to peruse the listings and see if anything interests me.

4. PROBLOGGER

I’ve found quite a few different jobs through ProBlogger, and I still stop back every now and then to see if there’s anything new that interests me. However, I’ve found that many of the ProBlogger jobs feed into the FreelanceWriting.com job board—but not all of them. So, I still think they’re both worth checking out!

5. HUBSTAFF TALENT

I’ve used Hubstaff—a time-tracking solution—for many of the clients I’ve worked with. So, needless to say, I was super excited to see that they launched Hubstaff Talent, a free directory for remote workers. There are tons of great work opportunities to dig through. And, the best part? They don’t charge any fees!

6. WHO PAYS WRITERS?

OK, so I don’t use this one to actually find freelance gigs. But, if I’ve been approached by someone or I have a publication of interest in mind, I almost always search them in this database to get a sense of what their rates are. That allows me to determine if I’m even interested, as well as ensures that I don’t accept an offer way lower than what they typically pay. Knowledge is power, people.

There are plenty of other places to look—even a simple Google search can help a lot! But, these were a few that I turned to time and time again when I was getting my business off the ground.

Until next time!