Unusual Ways To Make Money Writing-Places To Find Freelance Writing Jobs

It's getting harder and harder to make money writing online. In a slow economy, with so many people out of work, it seems that everyone is turning to the internet to make a few extra bucks. If you don't know what you're doing, or haven't found your niche, that's exactly what you're likely to find…a few extra bucks.

Getting Started Online

If you're trying to find ways to make money writing, HubPages is a great starting point for a beginning freelance writer. You won't get rich here, but you will learn the ins and outs of making money writing for the internet, and earn a little passive online income in the bargain. More importantly, a lot of people (myself included) get their first freelance writing jobs through HubPages. It's not unusual for someone to stumble across a hub and decide that your writing style is exactly what they want for their website or blog. If you're not already a hubber, it's definitely worth your time to get your free account and start building an online portfolio.

If you really want to make money writing as a freelancer, there's more to it than making money online. If you have a peek at the freelance writing job boards, you'll see why. There are a lot of prospective employers offering $2 or $3 for a thoroughly researched, well written article, and people are lining up to bid on these gigs. It's true that you can find higher paying writing jobs in these places, but it's often just too competitive for a newcomer to make money writing. As a rule I try to stay away from the bidding sites.

To be successful as a freelance writer, you need to learn how to find writing gigs. You should pay just as much attention to offline opportunities as you do online writing gigs. Sometimes you have to look in unusual places to find your next paycheck; but there are a lot of opportunities out there just waiting for a resourceful freelance writer to find them and reap the rewards.

A lot of writers spend so much time scouring the online job postings, that they overlook opportunities that are right in front of them. A lot of the easiest to find job leads are right in your own neighborhood. They may not pay a lot of money, but if you write well and can meet deadlines, they often result in valuable repeat business.Here are 5 ways to make money writing that are often overlooked:

• Make Money Writing For Other Writers- Sound crazy? Freelance writers are also business people. They may not like to give away work, but they certainly don't want to turn away business, either. If you have friends who are writers, let them know you're looking for work. If they find themselves overwhelmed, they're more likely to send their overflow your way, than give it to someone they don't know.

• Take A Field Trip To The Zoo- Major metropolitan zoos often send out a newsletter to their members. This is your chance to put those copywriting skills to work. Even if your local zoo is a non-profit, they may be willing to pay good money for a newsletter that brings more people through the gate, or attracts donations. If you set a reasonable rate, you might land yourself a steady source of income.

•Make Money Writing For Local Businesses- Maybe not as unusual as the zoo, but local businesses are a good place to start looking for freelance writing work. You might be surprised to find that there are some small businesses in your neighborhood (especially new ones) that don't have a website. Or worse, they have a poorly written one. A lot of entrepreneurs can't afford to hire an agency, and if your rates are reasonable, they're more likely to trust their content to a local freelance writer than someone they found by randomly searching the internet.

• Make Money Writing For Catalogs- Many stores that send out catalogs rely on freelancers to write their product descriptions. Some pay as much as $20 for a relatively short description. You can often find catalog writing gigs online, or by checking inside the catalog for contact information. If you're a more experienced writer, you can apply to ad agencies to write copy for larger catalogs
• Make Money Writing Greeting Cards- There are a lot of greeting card companies that accept submissions from freelancers. Some, like Blue Mountain Arts, pay as much as $300 for a short verse. No, that's not a typo. They can be very picky, but if you have the skill to write good poetry, even one accepted submission is well worth the effort.

…you'll always get what you always got. These words are true of everything you do, but none more so than in your efforts to make money writing. That doesn't mean you should abandon your efforts to make money online. But there are some things you can do to make your online job searching more efficient.

One of my favorite methods to find paying writing gigs is to subscribe to freelance writing newsletters. Rather than searching Craigslist, onlinewritingjobs.com, and all of the other online classifieds, I subscribe to a few newsletters that send these postings right to my inbox. You won't get a complete listing, but you get more than enough to keep you busy. One of my favorites is aboutfreelancewriting.com. Three times a week, Ann Wayman offers valuable advice along with job listings from the most popular sources. About Freelance Writing also offers a lot of free resources that will help you learn how to make money writing.

By looking at less competitive local markets, or in places that other writers often overlook, in addition to your normal online searching, you'll increase your chances to make money writing, and ultimately make a full time income from your writing.