Best Websites to Get Freelance Writing Jobs UK, US & Worldwide

Whether you're based in the UK, the US or somewhere else in the world, there are plenty of jobs for freelance writers available on the net if you know where to look. Anyone can use these freelance websites to get work - experienced journalists with solid writing backgrounds, writers of web content or simply those who would like to get into the business of writing for money. Of course, the more proficient your writing skills are, the higher the prices you can command for your work.

The Best Freelance Writing Websites

Whatever your background, you'll find plenty of job opportunities at the best freelance writing websites below. Some of the websites like freelancer.co.uk and PeoplePerHour, are primarily for those writers based in the UK, but to be honest where you live doesn't really matter. Regardless of the country you live in you can join any of the following freelance websites and start working.

Most of the freelance job sites work in the same ways. Firstly, you'll find two main areas of the site - one for providers (that's you as a writer) and one for hirers (the people who are going to pay you for your work). In the provider section you'll be able to see the jobs currently open in various categories such as writing, design, programming etc; the hirers budget for the particular job; how many people have already placed a proposal and how much time is left before bidding ends.

Once you've signed up for one or more of the freelance writing websites below and before you start bidding on copywriting work, you'll need to complete your profile; add your CV and provide links to, or write summaries of, your writing portfolio. You'll also need to choose how you would like to be paid. Most freelance writer sites pay via Escrow or PayPal. If the site offers online tests of your skills, it's definitely worth taking a few so that you can show potential clients your level of writing ability especially if you haven't got much of a portfolio.

Freelancer Websites

Freelancer has 3 websites covering the US, Europe and the UK. It doesn't matter where you live, you can sign up for one or more of these websites, though freelancer.com does have the most writing work opportunities. Each website offers many freelance work opportunities for writers, copy editors and proofreaders, as well as freelance jobs for web developers, telemarketers, researchers, virtual assistants, data entry, graphic designers, plus a whole lot more. If you're UK based freelancer.co.uk is a good venue to get freelance writing jobs, because the pay tends to be higher and far more in-line with UK hourly rates than some of the other freelance writing sites.

• freelancer.com

• EUfreelancer.com

• freelancer.co.uk

oDesk

oDesk has a reputation among freelance writers for being a poor payer, but this is not necessarily so. You'll see many writing jobs offered with extremely low budgets because many writers on oDesk are non-native English speakers/writers and live in countries where the cost of living is very low. If you are a native English speaker, ensure that you let customers know this when you bid on work and capitalize on this advantage. You can get well paid writing work on oDesk, it just means looking a bit harder through the writing job postings and building up your reputation.

• Write at oDesk

Constant Content

Constant Content works in a completely different way to the other freelance writing sites I've mentioned. At Constant Content you can either write articles you want to write and post a set price for your work or take writing jobs from clients who will pay you a fixed fee. The fees are pretty good $20-$100 per article, but to be accepted here your grammar, spelling, sentence structure and use of English must be impeccable. Many writers are turned away, but if you can make it past the editor's standards, who reviews all submitted articles manually, then it's a great place to get writer freelance jobs that pay well.

• Sign Up to Constant Content

Elance

Elance is one of the most well known places on the net to find writer freelance jobs and a multitude of other types of freelance work as well. As with oDesk, you'll need to start with bidding for quite low paid writing work and increase your rates as you build up your reputation (unless you already have a good portfolio which showcases your writing ability.) Always go for jobs that are offering payment through Escrow as this protects both yourself and the client.

• Sign Up for Elance

People Per Hour

People Per Hour is an international freelance site based in the UK (so you'll see jobs priced in £ rather than $). It works in the same way as oDesk and Elance in that you'll write your profile, take skills tests, bid on projects you like the look of and build a reputation. PeoplePerHour also uses the Escrow system for payments.

• Sign Up for PeoplePerHour

At this point you can also make a decision about which membership option you want to go for. Most freelance job sites offer various levels of membership - some free and some paid. To start with I'd recommend going for the free options, so that you can get a feel for the site before spending out any money. Whichever membership option you go for, be aware that the way these freelance sites make money themselves is by taking either a fixed commission for each job you complete or a fixed percentage based on the job value.

Bidding on Freelance Writing Jobs

With the above elements in place it's time to begin bidding on work. Be specific in your bid about why you would be the best person for the job and don't make the mistake of doing a cut and paste job when writing your bids - hirers really don't like this and it will be a waste of your time. In the early days you will more than likely need to bid low ($1-2 per 100 words) in order to get a few jobs. Once you have a few writing jobs under your belt and you've received positive feedback (most of the writing sites have this feature kind of like Ebay) you can start to increase your prices.

What Makes a Good Freelance Writer?

The best earners on freelance sites are 100% reliable, deliver their work on time and to customer specifications, communicate frequently with the client and can write fluently on a variety of topics. Your spelling, grammar and sentence structure need to be good as well, because the customer will not want to have to spend time editing your work. Your writing will need to be fluent, but fortunately you don't need to be a literary genius to get good writer freelance jobs.

Making a good living as a freelance writer is highly achievable and makes a wonderful compliment to writing on article sites (such as this one - HubPages) or your own blogs and websites, especially if you're not having a good month revenue wise! You can boost your monthly earnings at any time by taking writer freelance jobs at any of the freelance writer sites mentioned here. Working as a writer from home can be extremely satisfying if you're a lover of words and it's a fantastic way to get a good work/life balance.