- Writingladybug
Top Freelance Work From Home Websites
March 3, 2023
Today, freelance work and remote/WFH jobs are expanding as more people are placing their work and financial fate in their own hands. As a result, this is a great time to be bold and take advantage of the many available online opportunities.
What's more, your level of freelance experience is not the most important. There are plenty of gigs waiting to be filled. It doesn't matter whether you have a degree (except in particularized fields like medicine or aerodynamics) or you're simply blessed with loads of talent and experience, there's something for everyone.
Take into account that knowing your skillset, income expectations, and whether you desire a freelance, contract, or full-time, part-time, WFH/remote position in advance, will save you time during your work search.
A few words of caution: before signing up for any freelance work platform, it's essential to read reviews about the site in order to get a heads-up on what it's like to work with them. There's less chance of being scammed by unscrupulous companies that exist only to get your money and your information.
I had a situation once where a company asked me to scan a QR code with my smartphone in order to complete their application. To me it seemed strange so I declined. Another company asked me to sign a NDA, provide my personal ID, and an intro video. I found that a bit much seeing that I was only applying for a freelance position and not a permanent job! My advice is to follow your gut. You'll be right more times than wrong I assure you.
Some freelance websites ask for payment in order to search for work. I myself would never pay to find work. Besides, all sites claim to have the best interest of the freelancer at heart, but that's not always the case. As they say "the devil is in the details."
The elephant in the room with freelancing is that unless you're working on an intermediate or professional level, the reward for all your hard work is minuscule. For example, if you're hired for a project that requires a lot of research, graphics, etc., you will be extremely disappointed if the pay doesn't balance out with the amount of work you put into the project. Don't be shy about charging what you think you're worth.
Freelance Work Opportunities
BEGINNERS
Textbroker.com / Textbroker.co.uk
Textbroker has websites for both the US and the UK. They function identically, but only offer work for English writers in their particular region.
After signing up and taking a writing test, you will be notified whether you have cut-the-grade to become a writer on the site. Your quality level will determine how much you are paid per-word. I wrote for Textbroker and they do pay on time. However, the pay can be low when starting out.
The good thing is that you're not stuck at your entry level after joining the site. You can work your way up to the highest level which allows you to make more money. In addition, once you start receiving direct-orders the sky is the limit.
Textbroker should be on every beginner's freelance list if you are interested in freelance writing and new to the trade.
iWriter is a great freelance writing platform for beginners. The site is easy to navigate and usually has plenty of work to choose from. They're very strict about plagiarism so make sure you're used to writing original content.
I've never worked on this content platform but some of you may find it worthwhile. As far as I am concerned, the biggest turn-off about this site is that they want you to pay (at the permanent discount of $47.00) in order to access available work. Nonetheless, it's a one-off fee so I figured it might be useful to freelance writing beginners in order to gain some writing experience.
The site also includes supportive features like training modules and writing tools. If you try this site, let me know about your experience in the comment section.
Many of you are probably familiar with these two sites and how they work. There's plenty of competition and work but you must bid for it. I dislike prefer the bidding method as there is always someone to out-bid you. Do you want to sell yourself cheap? Well, at least not too cheap! But you may get lucky as the sites do offer multiple freelance/WFH jobs from graphic design to social media assistant. So check them out and see whether they suit your needs.
Guru is great for beginner freelance writers. The site uses the bidding method (which I already expressed that I'm not a fan of bidding-for-work sites) but this method may work for you. The website is free; however, in order to access jobs creating an account is required. You will never run out of gigs to bid for as the platform stays up-to-date. Keep in mind that this is primarily a beginners' site and the pay is oftentimes low.
INTERMEDIATE
Freelancer claims to be the world's largest freelance marketplace, and it's free. The site includes offers from large companies like Amazon and IBM. The only requirement is that you sign up with your email address in order to view jobs.
I placed ProBlogger on the intermediate list but you will find professional jobs along with a few goodies for beginners. In my experience, the clients have been genuine and I've never had a problem with them as far as scams go. You might get an agency advertising on the site from time to time, but that's about it as far as questionable advertisers go. All of the work advertised on this site is for freelance and remote native English writers only.
It's not necessary to signup for anything on this gig platform. Just start browsing the jobs and see what you can find. The site offers full-time, part-time, freelance, and remote writing gigs. The majority of the job descriptions include a client's payment info which helps you to decide quickly if the job is right for you.
This site has been up-and-running for 26 years. It provides various tools like filters that helps to target your search and help you find the freelance writing gigs that's best for you.
Freelancewriting is very convenient as it lists jobs from a variety of websites like Indeed, BloggingPro, and others. This way you don't have to move around from site-to-site looking for work. There's no signing up either. Once you're on the site you can immediately start searching for gigs. An added bonus is the international writing contest where everyone is free to participate.
PROFESSIONAL
Contently is a demanding freelance writing website. It includes established brands like American Express and Dell. If you are a beginner, you may find it difficult landing any gigs here. The site prefers freelance writers with impressive writing portfolios. On the plus side, if you are able to get on board, you will build-up one heck of a portfolio.
LinkedIn is extremely popular. Just about any and everyone advertises on this site or at least has a profile. Many companies advertise looking for freelancers in a variety of genres. Personally, I don't find LinkedIn conducive for my needs even though I do have a profile on the site. I would also like to add that it's important to take care when signing up for companies advertising on the site as they're not always 100% legit.
It's not because the companies don't exist but because of their requirements in order to apply and work for them. Like asking for fees and/or requesting more than necessary private information. If they're not offering you a contract as an employer, I don't see why they need your ID or for you to scan your phone (which I wouldn't do even if they were hiring me as an employee) along with additional compromising requests.
This freelance site has been around for roughly 16 years. With or without an account, you are free to search for jobs by keyword or location. If you create an account, the task of searching for work becomes easier as the site will do the searching for you.
The site has a good reputation as far as job postings are concerned. Jobs are verified and screened which is great for avoiding scams or low-paying clients. It's all free, but just like many sites today that offer work, if you sign-up for premium membership there are extra perks and advantages that make it easier for clients to find you.
This site primarily has full-time and part-time work along with some freelance and contract work for writers in the media sector. The jobs are remote and compensation is dependent on how good you are at what you do. The site lists a broad range of jobs from television to social media managers. Large companies advertise with the site as well.
SmartBlogger claims to be for beginners as well as professionals. Even so, I find it more on the professional side. The jobs (from multiple genres) are demanding but pay very well. They offer temporary, freelance, remote part-time and full-time work.
Jobs pay as much as $65,000 a year and more. Of course, you might get lucky and find something that pays a decent salary that requires no certificate or years of experience. This site is definitely worth checking out regardless of your profession. They seem to have new offers daily as well.
Additional professional WFH/remote jobs that can bring in the big bucks include (click the links for more info):
CONCLUSION
Don't forget,...there are other ways to find freelance gigs. For example, type in the bar of your search engine "freelance jobs" or "freelance writing jobs" and you're guaranteed to have a huge list of companies and individuals needing your services. Write your pitch and see what happens. Good Luck!
