Hello Reader,
Let's get to the meat of the matter! Last week I wrote about why it makes sense to go after low-paying writing jobs sometimes. (If you missed it, you can catch it here.)
This week I want to share four places where I got gigs, and how much they paid me where applicable.
1. Qwoted.
A very quiet gem no one seems to talk about. Make a free account, hit "Job postings," filter by "Remote" on the left hand side and look for a solid-looking gig.
- Pros: SO many jobs, pretty-high paid, too. I've seen gigs from $250-$800 per article. Relatively low competition.
- Cons: Not always reliable. I think Qwoted scrapes postings from LinkedIn and other places, so sometimes posts are out of date, or have incorrect info. I've had to do a bit of digging in the past to get contact info.
- My outcome: I applied to a job last week, got the interview, and just sent off my $500 invoice for a 1000w article for a B2B SaaS company.
2. Scripted.
They pay between 5-10c per word for blog posts, ebooks, and web copy on any number of subjects.
- Pros: Consistent work, not anything that requires very much research or time.
- Cons: Boring, relatively low pay and steep competition. They only accept 5% of applicants, and once you're in, you still have to pitch yourself to clients, or be quick (less than two minutes) to accept emailed invites.
- Outcome: Last week I wrote a 2,000-word post and received $207.
3. Superpath.
A Slack group and community for writers and freelancers. Has a sweet job board.
- Pros: A lovely community, really fun place to hang out, and they enforce a 10c per word minimum for jobs. That means minimum $100 for 1,000 words. Many are higher!
- Cons: LOTS of competition. There are 11k+ Superpath members!
- Outcome: A few weeks ago, I got an interview where the CMO offered me $800 for a 1,200w article. (In the interest of being honest and sharing my losses as well as my wins, I didn't hear back for a week after he offered me the job, and when I reached out, he told me he had changed his mind and wanted to hire a more experienced writer. A little crappy, but hey, you live and learn. Next time I followed up after 2 business days, not a week.)
4. LinkedIn.
I had a pitch accepted by Business Insider after following Stephanie Lee's "Pitch Like a PRO" framework (video here). I got dozens of connection requests as well as messages requesting my services on LinkedIn.
- Pros: You can contact or be contacted by pretty much your ideal DREAM client. That's incredible.
- Cons: It's a social network. There are opportunities here, but it's also not a fun place for me personally to hang out; it has too much "broetry." And I set up several meetings that I got no-shows to.
- Outcome: I got 4 ghostwriting job offers. Now, some didn't pan out, but I expanded my network and got one solid gig as a result.
Life update
As you read this, I am celebrating my bachelorette week before my wedding! Long-time email readers will know that I legally married my husband Jan 2020, so this wedding is more of a happily-ever-after celebration. I'm still going to be wearing a white dress though.
I'm going to be extremely out of office until June 10th, so you won't hear from me until then.
Best,
Zulie