I’ve been writing for over 30 years but mostly in print, so I still feel like a relative newb in the online freelance world. However, after a couple of years, things have recently fallen into place, with regular clients and income. All the initial freelance fears are fading.
There are multiple factors that have led to this point, but if you are like me and loathe cold emailing, it can be hard to get initial clients. So, I highly recommend trying Fiverr and Medium. They got me nearly all my clients and I am about to explain how.
I tried various platforms and even looked at content mills, just to get some idea of how all that side of it worked. Content mills sucked. I couldn’t even bring myself to write a single article. The pay was dire and the work, according to complete strangers on Reddit, was soul-destroying. I believed them.
I tried Upwork but probably did it wrong. I saw some jobs, put in the barest minimum I would consider working for, but never got anything. Starting out on platforms is pretty difficult as you have no reviews or proof of how awesome you can be. I didn’t fancy aiming to be the lowest bidder each time and gave up on the whole thing.
I then tried Medium and Fiverr. Almost immediately I took a liking to both and wrote about them a couple of months after starting – you can read that here. Both are different and like most of these platforms, took a while to get any traction.
Both took off relatively speedily though because I am a lucky bastard at times.
My prices on Fiverr began low and have gone up considerably since then. I am now approaching almost 200 reviews and have to turn down work daily. Which is nice.
On Medium I had several articles go viral in a period of a couple of months, which boosted everything. As Medium pays per read, and I was getting over 50k views for each, I was suddenly making a lot of cash. All of which was nice, but the numbers soon dropped. However, I still get paid monthly and only write an article every two months or so. Which is nothing to sniff at, but I am still at the mercy of a mysterious algorithm.
Getting online clients
The main point of all this is what happened next. Fiverr is great but can be sporadic at the start with lots of work followed by panic-inducing droughts. Medium is exciting when things go viral but you are at the mercy of algorithms.
But both have the advantage of getting you noticed. You obviously need an easy way to be found by someone who likes what they see and want to get in touch. So sites like this one or The Word of Ward have helped me a lot as they have email addresses. LinkedIn is also great.
Medium has gotten me one type of client, especially after a few ‘interesting history stories’ got popular. I have ghostwritten for several general interest sites and historical sites.
On Fiverr, people search for ‘journalist’ and my name tends to be at the top. I am not gloating, it took a couple of years and it’s work I’ve been doing a long time. They then message me elsewhere, often telling me later where they heard about me. This is a bit weird but understandable – if I am contacted on Fiverr, I always insist that it stays on Fiverr. You have to be fair about these things.
A further bit of advice – a lot of what I have said so far essentially extolls the advantage of getting exposure. After all, if you’re any good, exposure will get you work. But don’t write for free. Publications of renown, like the New York Post or Guardian or wherever, tend to pay. For everything else, nearly any site will do, so you might as well write in places that can earn you money.
If you want to write something which you can link to, for a portfolio or prospective client, Medium is a better option than a magazine that is launching and might not be around a few months down the line.
Conclusion
People advise avoiding content mills and that is sound. The pay is shite.
Don’t work for free, just for exposure. You often need to show a potential client work that has been published, but in my experience, a Medium publication is just as good as another online site. The exception is if you have been published somewhere impressive – but that is likely to be paid.
Medium made me a lot of money at times but is hit and miss. Right now, it is very miss. I do a ton of ghostwriting for Fiverr and have almost 200 5-star reviews. However, I can’t link to many of them as they are in someone else’s name.
However, both platforms have resulted in constant client work and people getting in touch with offers. The end result, after two years of online freelancing, is the most glorious scenario of all:
Saying ‘no’ to people.
I will still write for both platforms but the amount of work I do on each has dropped as clients fill the void. In my humble opinion, if you are starting out and looking for clients, they are worth a try.
