While I have gained the bulk of my freelance writing jobs through bidding, there are more avenues for writing projects out there, beyond just bidding sites. In fact, the whole purpose of this site is to help you to see the potential in that underused and under publicized marketplace.

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of bidding for jobs for whatever reason, then it’s useful to know about alternative freelance writing markets. In this section, we will take a look at other places where you can look for a freelance writing assignment; I break them down below to give you a brief overview of what other opportunities you can expect in the writers market.

Offline writing opportunities

The most well publicized, and therefore the most competitive, jobs in the freelance writing market are those in the print media. Trade magazines and newspapers are the places where most aspiring writers go to get their start, and this can be deadly competitive, and often the wages are not too great either! Still, there are a huge number of potential markets for your writing, and you do have the ability to apply for positions that cater to your strengths.

The person to get into contact with for these freelance writing jobs is the editor of the newspaper or magazine you want to write for. This is usually done by way of a query letter; we will go into those a bit more in a further article. The most important part of the process is patience; you will often hear nothing at all, and it might be some time before you can get your shot!

Becoming a web content writer

Wait a second; I bet you are thinking I said that we wouldn’t be talking about online writing jobs in this section, right? Well, not exactly. What we aren’t talking about is gaining a freelance job through a bidding site, but there are a lot more ways to get a job as a web content writer other than through winning a bid, and I have made some good money doing them.

The web content writer’s market is not yet so saturated that everyone who has developed a website can easily find a good writer. There are plenty of people out there who can’t write at all, and then there are those who prefer to cut and paste, who just disappear, and who can’t seem to keep a deadline.

For this reason, most web site developers are constantly watching for opportunities to hire web content writers in the freelance writing market, and in this section I will point out some ways you can get them to approach you without having to go through a bidding process.