How to Land Freelance Writing Assignments

If you’ve got a few clips or you’re coming from a 9-to-5 position, this is the next step in your freelance writing journey. Here’s where you get the knowledge and confidence you need to land freelance writing assignments and create a business. This three-step guide shows you how to pitch publications or query businesses for copywriting projects.

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Why Pitching is Your Most Important Skill

The cornerstone of a thriving writing career is your ability to pitch well and pitch often. A great pitch isn’t just about selling your idea. It’s about showing editors and clients that you understand their needs and can deliver great results.

For the purposes of this guide, I’ll call the process of landing work “pitching,” but the same steps apply whether you’re emailing magazine editors or sending a query to potential clients to hire you for copywriting projects. (Not sure how a pitch differs from a query? Check out this 30-second video on the difference between pitching and querying!)

Your 3-Step Guide to Land Freelance Writing Assignments and Gigs

Step 1: Learn the elements of a pitch email

The secret to landing freelance writing work is learning how to write good pitch emails. Pitches should be concise and personalized. When you reach out to an editor or a potential client, tailor your email to address the unique goals of the person you’re trying to work with.

A solid email should include a compelling subject line, a hook or engaging idea targeted to the company or publication, a brief description of why you’re the best writer for the gig, and a link to your portfolio. Keep it short, and keep it relevant.

Read this next: How to craft successful freelance article pitches
Pro tip: Open with a hook that immediately grabs attention, such as an intriguing statistic, a thought-provoking question, or something specific to the company or publication.
Free resource: The Freelance Writing Starter Kit has a pitch example. You can also read what NOT to do in a pitch!

Step 2: Know Your Niche

It’s okay to have several areas of specialization over the course of your writing career, but when you’re starting out it’s best to stick to one niche (or two at most). Drill down and learn as much as you can about one industry, connect with people in the field, and build up portfolio clips in your chosen niche to land better and better assignments.

For Publications:
- Pro tip: Explore digital and print publications in your niche and get to know the editors, trusted sources, and best places to find statistics. Read widely to understand the players and trends.
- Read this next: How to find your writing niche
For Copywriting Clients:
- Pro tip: Analyze a company’s website for content gaps, then pitch solutions that add value (e.g., improve their product descriptions or SEO content).
- Read this next: 10 writing niches that are in demand and pay well

Step 3: Do Your Research

To improve your success rate, you need to make sure you’re contacting the right people. If a publication doesn’t work with freelancers, you’re wasting your time contacting them. And if a company has no budget for freelance writing, then it’s going to be tough to land a gig with them. Whether you’re pitching a magazine or a business, get to know their audience, the content they like to publish, and whether they use freelancers for that content.

For publications: Read the publication’s editorial guidelines to find out if they pay, then pitch ideas that editors can’t resist.
- Further reading: Understanding editorial guidelines and what editors want
- And: What makes an article newsworthy?
For copywriting clients: Showcase diverse writing examples in your portfolio, such as blog posts, email campaigns, or product descriptions. Make sure you understand the basics of SEO and marketing.
- Further reading: SEO basics for freelance writers
- And: 10 copywriting books that got me started (there are affiliate links in the post, but you can easily pick these up at a library or used book shop)
Paid resource: The 7 Days to Freelancing course walks you through choosing a niche and learning to write pitch emails. It’s geared toward publication writing, but you can adapt the steps to find and pitch copywriting clients (or pitch a few magazines on the side!).

What’s the Next Step?

You just learned a lot. Once you’re comfortable with finding the right people to contact and writing a pitch or query email, you’ll start building your confidence as a freelance writer. Here are a few additional resources to help you build knowledge and confidence:

What’s an editorial calendar (and why should you care)? – This article gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how publications schedule their content and how to use these calendars to get more assignments.
What are evergreen articles (and why should you care)? – Just like an evergreen tree, some types of content are fresh year round. Learn how to pitch content that can be relevant any time of year. Pro tip for copywriters: Try landing some evergreen magazine assignments in your niche for bonus income.
5 ways to earn money as a freelance writer – Here are a few ideas for boosting your writing income.
What is longform journalism? – If you like digging deep into subjects, you may want to try longform content.

And one of the most important skills you can develop:

Hitting send: Overcoming the fear of freelance writing pitching

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I follow up if I don’t get a response? A: Yes! That’s totally acceptable. Wait 7-10 days, then send a polite follow-up email. Restate your excitement and interest and that you look forward to hearing from them. If you get a response but then don’t hear back, it’s okay to send one more follow up a week later. Follow up, but don’t be a pest.

Q: Should I pitch multiple ideas in one email? A: It depends. Some publications specifically ask for 2-3 ideas in each pitch. But, if they don’t ask for multiples, then stick to one. One great idea shows you’re focused on delivering a high-quality piece. For copywriting, focus on one specific solution tailored to their needs. Don’t overwhelm them with too many options.

Q: Do I need published articles to start pitching? A: No! But you will need some kind of portfolio. It’s okay to start with a few strong (unpublished) samples that showcase your skills. If you haven’t been to the writing portfolio guide yet, now’s a great time to check it out!

Congratulations! You just took the first step toward landing more freelance writing assignments. It may seem daunting, but you can do this! If you’re curious how I went from zero professional writing experience to a six-figure career, check out this LWP Business of Writing podcast episode where I talk about the journey.

If I could do it, you definitely can, too! 🔥