Freelance blogging is a great way to make money writing online because there is immense demand for awesome blog posts, always! But that doesn’t make it easy! The problem is… finding high-paying freelance writing jobs will take time and loads of efforts, especially if you’re a newbie.
In fact, if you visit any of those freelance marketplaces or job sites, you can see that it’s crowded with hundreds of thousands of writers/bloggers. And if you don’t have an author profile or pricing that is not attractive enough then your would be clients can easily find a dozen of other writers.
Another problem is, content agencies or clients on freelance sites do not pay much. Even if you meet their criteria you may not earn more than $10-$15 per 500 words (unless you are a native English speaker).
Make Money Writing — As A Freelance Blogger
First things first. Let me differentiate three terms: freelance blogger, guest blogger, and content marketer. A freelance blogger is someone who is paid for writing blog posts for his clients (can be individuals or companies).
Guest blogger is someone who writes a blog post and gets it published on another person’s website. He can be paid for it or is usually done for free — in exchange for a credit, in the form of a backlink at the end of his guest post.
Guest blogging can be done for clients as well. It means that a client will pay a guest blogger for writing about his business on another website. And a content marketer is someone who writes content to attract targeted traffic to his website.
For example, I’m not a freelance blogger or a guest blogger as I haven’t written any guest posts on another blog, yet. And I personally do not write for clients either. But I can be called a content marketer as I’m writing blog posts that is attracting targeted traffic.
I have already listed over 51 freelance writing gigs (plus 25 freelance writing tips) few days back. And it was a comprehensive list of freelance marketplaces, content agencies (I haven’t included any of them here), and other websites that are hiring freelance bloggers and writers.
But like I have already mentioned, the problem is… most of the websites that are listed on that blog post are big media companies and their acceptance rate and payment rate is on the low side. Also, a good percentage of them accepts only native English writers.
So, if you are a freelance writer who want to make money writing but is tired of low-paying writing gigs, then here is a collection of websites that are paying up to $300 (or sometimes more) for your articles and blog posts. In other words, you get paid when you contribute content to the following websites and blogs.
Note: The idea of this entire blog post is to show you that there are a ton of websites out there willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a single blog post. Just don’t consider this blog post as your ultimate destination for writing gigs. And you know what it takes to get there? Be an expert in at least one topic! Now, go get paid to blog!
1. TopTenz
TopTenz serves over 2.4 million pages per month to more than 1.6 million satisfied visitors. We publish top 10 lists that inform and entertain, focusing on topics that vary from the norm and touch on the bizarre.
- Alexa Rank: 22,580
- Topics: Bizarre, Lifestyle, Travel, Entertainment, Science, etc.
- Payment: $50
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
2. ListVerse
Listverse serves over 30 million pages a month to more than eight million readers. We publish lists that intrigue and educate, specializing in the bizarre or lesser-known trivia. Every day we present three or more new, unique lists.
- Alexa Rank: 3,674
- Topics: Entertainment, General Knowledge, Lifestyle, Science, Society, etc.
- Payment: $100
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
3. The Dollar Stretcher
The Dollar Stretcher is a group of publications dedicated to “Living Better…for Less”. The goal is to provide readers with ways to help them save time and money.
- Alexa Rank: 97,537
- Topics: Money, Food, Home & Auto, Lifestyle, Family, etc.
- Payment: $0.10 per word or $50 per post, of 500 words.
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
4. Reverb Press
Reverb Press is a news and lifestyle webzine which is the product of the talent and dedication of a team of smart, savvy, talented writers, artists, and technicians dedicated to the maxim Ad Extremum Vero, Semper – The Truth Always Wins In The End.
- Alexa Rank: 36,148
- Topics: News, Politics, Justice, Business, World, Entertainment, etc.
- Payment: Unknown
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
Reverb Press is different from other websites that are listed here as they expect content from you on a regular basis. So, if your application is accepted then you can consider it like a job and not as another writing gig. You can write about topics that you are passionate about and at the same time they may also give you optional assignments. The pricing is not mentioned but it says you will be paid depending upon your “output and audience engagement.”
5. The Everyday Windshield
The Everyday Windshield is an online magazine dedicated to the journey of life through faith, family, fashion, food, and fun.
- Alexa Rank: 1,259,36
- Topics: Faith, Family, Fashion, Food, Fun
- Payment: $10 for the 1st post, $25 for the 2nd-5th posts, and thereafter $50 per post
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
6. The Daily Heckle
The Daily Heckle is a blog for bloggers who want to get paid for sharing their opinions. Writers can earn money based on how popular their posts are.
- Alexa Rank: 1,634,887
- Topics: News, Sports, Politics, Travel, TV, Music, Movies, etc.
- Payment: $7.5-$30
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
Note: The Everyday Windshield and The Daily Heckle are listed here as they are regularly publishing new blog posts.
7. CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor Media delivers daily comedic content, including videos, pictures, articles and jokes, created and/or curated by the CollegeHumor staff. CollegeHumor Media attracts more than 15 million monthly uniques and generates more than 100 million video views per month.
8. WritersWeekly
WritersWeekly.com is one of the oldest and most respected sites on freelance writing. It has been published continuously since 1997.
9. WOW! Women On Writing
WOW! is a global magazine, designed to support women’s creativity, energy, blood, sweat and tears, throughout all stages of the writing process.
10. Funds For Writers
FundsforWriters is an online resource for writers. We emphasize finding money to make writing a realistic career. Of course, you’d write anyway. That’s the way of a writer.
11. A List Apart
A List Apart explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.
12. InstantShift
InstantShift is a design and inspiration related community for web designers and developers daily resource, inspiration and premium web design and development.
- Alexa Rank: 13,841
- Topics: Web Design & Development
- Payment: Depends upon quality and word count.
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
13. Smashing Magazine
Smashing Magazine is an online magazine for professional Web designers and developers, with a focus on useful techniques, best practices and valuable resources.
- Alexa Rank: 2,032
- Topics: Web Design & Development
- Payment: Depends upon quality and word count.
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
14. SitePoint
SitePoint provides cutting-edge content for web professionals — developers, designers, programmers, freelancers and site owners.
15. SpyreStudios
SpyreStudios is an online magazine about web-design & development and the myriads of other topics that fall in between.
16. Photoshop Tutorials
Photoshop tutorials for beginners to experts. Learn tips and tricks on how to use Photoshop for photo editing, manipulations, designs, and more.
17. UX Booth
UX Booth is a publication by and for the user experience community. Our readership consists mostly of beginning-to-intermediate user experience and interaction designers, but anyone interested in making the web a better place to be is welcome.
18. Crazyleaf Design
Crazyleaf Design is a web design, illustration, and programming company. We build functional, standards-compliant and aesthetically rich unique web sites.
19. AppStorm
AppStorm brings you not just reviews of great (and not so great) apps, but we also round them up into categorized lists, give you how-to tips and tricks to get more out of them, and combine it with a healthy dose of related news.
- Alexa Rank: 11,891
- Topics: Apps (Mac, Windows, Web, iPhone, iPad, Android)
- Payment: $60 per post
- Quick: Homepage
AppStorm is an app review network and it’s composed of Mac AppStorm, Web AppStorm,iPhone AppStorm, iPad AppStorm, Android AppStorm, and Windows AppStorm. You can contribute to any of those websites and get paid for it.
20. Techopedia
From defining the latest tech buzzword to exploring enterprise-level decisions, Techopedia aims to help you understand technology.
21. WorldStart
WorldStart is looking for tips for our e-mail newsletter, WorldStart’s Computer Tips. This is published daily to 300,000 readers and focuses on tips and tricks the average computer user can utilize. We are also seeking feature articles for our website covering any and all aspects of computing.
22. Make Tech Easier
Make Tech Easier focuses on computer tutorials, how-to, hacks and fixes. Our motto is to “Uncomplicating the complicated, making life easier”.
23. Wise Bread
Wise Bread is a community of bloggers here to help you live large on a small budget. Despite what you may have heard, you don’t have to sacrifice your financial independence to enjoy life.
24. International Living
International Living have been helping people discover the world’s best places to live, travel and retire since 1979.
- Alexa Rank: 31,196
- Topics: Entrepreneurship, Retired Overseas, Travel & Adventure, Short Blurbs
- Payment: $75 per post
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
25. Matador
Matador is the world’s largest independent travel publisher, with over 12 million unique monthly visitors.
26. GloHoliday
GloHoliday is a travel articles site that provides complete resources for traveling all over the world, including holiday destinations, festivals, public holidays, hotel booking, flight information and travel tips attracting thousands of monthly visitors.
Note: When GloHoliday contacted me to include their website on the previous version of this list, I forwarded their website to my sister without notifying them and she contributed one article. And yes, she got paid!
27. BootsnAll
BootsnAll provides inspiration and resources to get you on the road.
28. Viator Travel Blog
At Viator we believe that travel has the power to make the world a better place. This is our place on the web to share our passion and inspire all of us to make that next trip.
- Alexa Rank: 47,836
- Topics: Travel
- Payment: $40-$150 per post, depends upon word count.
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
29. TheExpeditioner
TheExpeditioner is a travel site for the avid traveler featuring travel articles from some of the best travel writers in the world, as well as travel news, commentary, insight and video from a premiere team of bloggers from around the globe.
30. Wand’rly Magazine
Wand’rly is an online magazine for full-time travelers.
- Alexa Rank: 756,621
- Topics: Travel
- Payment: $0.05 per word for articles,and $10 per photo for galleries
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
31. Scary Mommy
A parenting website for imperfect parents.
32. MetroParent
MetroParent is an online parenting community offering expert advice, stories on parenting trends and issues, and numerous ways for parents to enrich their experience raising the next generation.
33. Alaska Parent
Alaska Parent is a free, full-color family and parenting magazine, published 4 times per year. As Alaska’s exclusive, all-in-one parenting resource, our readers include parents with children ages newborn through teens, as well as expectant moms.
34. WorkingMother
WorkingMother is the digital hub of career-focused and entrepreneur moms, including best companies to work for, tips and features focused on work and home.
35. Vela Magazine
Vela has taken steps to help close the byline gender gap by publishing exceptional nonfiction written by women.
36. The Sun Magazine
The Sun is an independent, ad-free monthly magazine that for more than thirty years has used words and photographs to invoke the splendor and heartache of being human.
- Alexa Rank: 236,324
- Topics: Essays, Short Stories, Interviews, Poetry, etc.
- Payment: $300-$2,500 for non-fiction; $300-$1,500 for fiction; $100-$250 for poetry; from $1,000-$2,000 for interviews
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
37. Grasslimb
Grasslimb is a twice-yearly literary journal featuring prose, poetry and artwork. Just the thing to read while you’re having a nice cup of coffee or tea!
- Alexa Rank: 3,458,789
- Topics: Poetry, Prose, Cartoons, Book & Music Reviews
- Payment: $5-$20 for poetry; $10-$70 for prose; $15-25 for book & music reviews; $15-$25 for cartoon
- Quick: Homepage | Apply
Finding More Freelance Blogging Gigs
Wondering how to find more freelance blogging gigs? Okay, before that let me give you a word of caution about the above mentioned blogs, websites, and magazines. There is every possibility that ALL the above mentioned websites are already getting a ton of guest post requests. Why? Because they are inviting everyone. So, be first or be smarter.
Becoming first is obviously going to be difficult. But you can definitely become smarter. Anyways, if you want to become one of the first to apply for a writing gig then try the following blogging job boards:
Again, all these job boards are also flooded with pitches by freelance bloggers. In fact, ProBlogger gets 100+ applicants in just few days. So, make sure that you are doing it the right way or you won’t even get a response for your pitch/application.
Want Even More? Google Search!
That’s right! You can easily find new writing gigs with few Google searches. You only have to filter the search results with some advanced operators and I will show you how.
Just in case if you haven’t noticed, most of the above websites uses a page called “Write for Us” to invite blog posts from their readers and guest authors. So, it means that you can easily find such sites by doing an advanced Google search.
Here’s a sample query:
Google Search: How To Find Freelance Blogging Gigs
The above Google search query finds web pages whose title has the phrase “Write for Us” in it. Only the above highlighted fields are essential. You can also do this query directly on Google search by using the search operator: allintitle.
Here are few sample search queries that you can Google directly on Google.com.
- allintitle: write for us
- allintitle: “write for us”
- allintitle: write for us and get paid
Also, you can even find freelance/guest blogging opportunities from your country or can further narrow your search results by using additional filters.
Here’s another sample query that narrowed the search results even further:
Google Advanced Search: How To Find Freelance Blogging Gigs
You can then go through the search results and pitch relevant blogs by using the criteria that I have set to come up with the above list.
13 Things To Remember Before You Even Think of Applying:
- Do not apply to each and every website that is listed here. Your applications are reviewed by real people, so apply only if it’s relevant, and do respect their time.
- You dont have to be a native English speaker to contribute a blog post to any of the above blogs. But you must be passionate about the topic and must possess outstanding writing skills (especially if you are pitching a high authority blog).
- You can show your skills by including a link to a sample blog post that you have written. Just make sure that it’s related to the theme of the blog that you are pitching.
- An active blog and an active social media presence (especially Twitter and LinkedIn) is always appreciated.
- You can also make a real connection with one of the authors or editors of the blog (via email or social media) in a genuine way so that you can eventually pitch them in a friendly way.
- None of the above websites are for beginners — that is, for those who have never written a blog post before. If you are new to freelance writing then check out The Freelance Writer’s Handbook.
- It may take several days (if not weeks) to get your articles published on a top blog as most of them are flooded with queries and requests. If you didn’t get a reply, say in a week or even in a month, then it probably means that they are either not interested or you didn’t match their expectations (it’s okay to follow-up but at least wait a week or two).
- Finally, do not send the exact pitch to all websites (even if they are in the same industry). Instead, send a custom one to each website and make it short and simple.
Conclusion
While I have tried my best to maintain accuracy of this blog post by reviewing each website personally before adding it to the list, I’d expect you to check the “Guidelines” for successfully pitching these blogs.
Additionally, do a research from your side as well to get some idea about the editorial philosophy of the website that you are pitching. And you can use their site search to see if the topic that you are pitching is already covered or not. If there’s already similar topic then most probably your article will be rejected.
If you know any other reliable blog that’s paying freelance/guest bloggers for contributing content or is facing a problem with any of the above mentioned website — whether it’s slow response time or low acceptance rate — then do share your experience as a comment below. I only want the best of the best to remain in this list.
Happy Freelancing! :)
P.S.: I considered the Alexa traffic rank, blogging frequency, social media activity, and the overall user experience as a criteria for curating this list. And I also made sure that the “Write for Us” page of the above websites is reachable from its homepage. The descriptions may contain excerpts from the original web page.
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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