Craigslist?

I have. It's rare now, for two reasons:

1. Lots and lots of scams--people essentially attempting credit card fraud/identity theft, or after free samples that they use and don't pay you for (if you apply for a job, send them something that you've already written as a sample).

2. Lots more competition for writing gigs, even really poorly paid ones. By that I mean that one employer told me he received over 1500 applications for a rather average one-time gig.

I got a few of jobs that way when I was first starting out. Two were for press releases (I have a PR background), one was writing copy for a children's product. There may have been a few others I'm blanking on.

One of the press release jobs developed into some additional PR strategy work. The other two have continued as semi-consistent writing gigs. I happen to charge these clients less than I do for most work, but that's more because I was willing to work for less when I was first getting started in freelancing than due to Craigslist specifically.

I got a job off of craigslist 3 years ago that has been consistently awesome and my main source of freelance writing income. A lot has changed since, though, and I think my finding the job was a huge matter of luck. The client and I often joke about how I found the job on craigslist and that it was such a shot in the dark for both of us.

Just chiming in - I used to get some jobs from Craigslist, but almost none now. It took a lot of time back then (about 10 years ago) but I had the time. Now I don't even look at it. It just seems to be full of things that don't pan out and people making promises they don't keep. But it did help me get a few jobs when I needed them and was getting started.

I've gotten a few repeat clients with Craigslist. Working on an assignment now from one of them, in fact. It can take a lot of time, practice, and a sharp eye to differentiate between probable scams and probable good leads.

TIPS: Don't write a free sample article for an application.

Um, I've never actually written down everything I know to look for, so I can't think of any other tips to share, sorry.

Just emailed my first Craig's List prospect. A friend had forwarded the ad because it's right smack in my niche.

They wrote back and the work sounds interesting. But they say (oh-so bluntly) they're "a startup company and want it done cheap."

I suspect that's the case with 98% of CL ads.

They didn't say how cheap, so I asked their budget. Will let you know how it turns out ...

Yeah, CL in my area is full of "Co-author wanted, write my oh-so-interesting life story for me, your pay is half the profits" ads. I did get a few decent paying gigs through CL ages ago, but the scammers have really taken over now. Not worth my time anymore.

One of the things I like to do when cruising CL ads is staying as close to my stomping ground as possible when considering jobs. That hometown familiarity can help a lot. I also like to look for ads that have website or e-mail address info included so you can look them up to get more information about the company. A lot of ads on CL want work done for little to no pay so you might even consider hanging your own writer/editor shingle out on CL. I have a friend who's gotten a good amount of work through CL through writing/editing and layout design work.

There are some opportunities on Craigslist just as there are scammers and people looking for free samples.

One suggestion when applying for Craigslist ads is to have a mini-promotional kit on your desktop in both a Word doc and PDF. Just a brief resume, your web content writing business, and three full samples of your writing (preferably stuff you already have up and point to where the "samples" are at as well to deter the scammers)

Send it as a PDF attachment in your email along with your response to the ad in the body.

I got a freelance theatre review gig off of CL that worked out moderately well, if you can count free theatre tickets as part of the compensation. Otherwise, the pay for the reviews pretty much covered the dinner I bought whenever I went to a show, so it wasn't really worthwhile. I still give it a look-see whenever I'm feeling frisky, but there's rarely anything there worth pursuing.

I think the best way to look at it is the electronic form of the bulletin board at the grocery store. Anyone can pin their little note up there for free. Dig hard and deep enough and anyone can find something that's right for them in that big heap of ***. Eventually.

I know I've found some truly enjoyable work there. Also found lots of ads posted by those trying to freeload.

I've replied to Craig's List job ads here and there. So far, no luck landing a gig through them.

However, I have a freelancer friend who landed his anchor client through them. So I guess you never know!

As jstwatchin pointed out so aptly, think of it as the bulletin board at the grocery store and qualify any prospects you approach there carefully.

Also, I think it's smart with any new client, but especially ones you find through places like Craig's List: ask for half the money up front before you put any work in. If they gripe, remind them that that's the industry standard.

Hi everyone,

I had the most luck with Craigslist using a different approach. Instead of answering ads, I posted my own. I created a post that advertised my copywriting services. To my surprise I was contacted a few days later by an Internet marketing company in NYC who needed a blogger for one of their clients. Since I have a background covering health-related topics, it was a pretty good fit. I wrote for this blog for about nine months or so.

The great part was that I named my own price. Most bloggers struggle to make decent money blogging, but I made $30/hour writing posts. While I've heard of bloggers making more than that, I have heard of many more making far less. The company I was working for paid very fast (via Paypal) -- I never had any problems at all. And I was pretty free in terms of developing content. It was sweet for while (until I got sick of it .

So that's my biggest success story with Craigslist and any online posting site for that matter.

My advice: Try posting your own ad. It didn't cost me anything but about five minutes of my time. Just continue to be cautious when you receive responses (just as you would when replying to ads).

Finally, I heard some good advice once about answering ads. Look for the ones where the poster put some effort into it. Short ads with little details or that are riddled with typos are most often not worth your time. But if the poster gave details, criteria, desired qualifications, etc., that is a good indication that they may be a good client.

That's my two cents. Hope it helps!

Thanks!

Hi Denene, I never would have thought to put up an ad for my writing. Great idea! And thanks for the encouragement in the JHS for July. I appreciate it. Checked out your site and you have great advice for newbie writers. Thanks again.

I have found that going under "gigs" for writing, rather than "jobs" will, once in awhile, unearth something if not juicy, then at least worth considering. But even then, it's rare. The last writing job I nabbed from Craig's List was an Examiner gig, and that didn't work so well for me.

Thanks for the compliment, Heiddi. Glad you found my site helpful. Try posting your own ad on Craigslist. It's free, so you have nothing to loose but a few minutes of time.

Good luck!!

I'm a total Craig's List believer. Three years ago I landed a two-year-long gig writing for IAC (www.life123.com) making $50/1000-word article off a Craig's List ad, and now am currently working a long-term gig making $30/page (single spaced, Times New Roman, 12-pt font) ebooks and financial articles. I've gotten plenty of editing gigs and other short term projects off Craig's List as well. I'm kept very busy - about 30-40 hours a week - working my Craig's List projects. I'm making decent money for the hours required. (However, I am a fast researcher and writer.)

The key: Apply to a zillion job postings (not just the ones in your city). Include your expected rate every time. Provide work samples in your email and links to online samples of your work (with your byline). Ignore all the low-ballers.

I remember following up an ad on craigslist that was supposed to be for writing agony aunt type answers, but which mysteriously morphed into me paying someone to train as an agony aunt. umm, no, i don't think so! that and there are very very few ads for writing gigs on the UK site.

I actually got my two best gigs ever from Craigslist. One was my very first writing gig ever--I didn't even know I wanted to be a writer. An acting job in Alaska fell through at the last minute, and I had already quit my job at Universal Studios...so I needed cash fast. Saw a Craigslist ad for someone to write about Walt Disney World--sent a query, met the guy at Red Lobster for dinner, walked out with a signed contract. $50 a post, 5-6 posts per week, full creative control, and he bought me an annual pass to Disney. I kept that gig for about two years.

My current best client came from Craigslist about a year ago. I don't want to reveal my rate, since I'm still actively working for him, but it did start out on the low side (but not shockingly low). It was a startup travel site that I really believed in, and my other gigs were keeping me going, so I took a chance. Got a 33% raise within the first three months, and just got an additional 20% last week. He's also provided free business cards and frequent bonuses. I have full creative control over my content, and he's extremely supportive and encouraging. In addition, he's always willing to provide a letter of assignment--the sheer amount of free travel I've gotten from this gig is truly impressive!

I know there's a lot of crap to weed through on Craigslist, but I've found that the gems are worth the hassle. Just my experience.

If anyone needed a reason to completely avoid Craigslist, then you have it - this examination of their new TOS isn't good news for users (not that I have ever had cause to use the site).

I'd never post on Craigslist, but I have snagged some great jobs of the site. The new TOS is scary.

From my friend who applies to a lot of Craigslist job postings (and gets a good number of gigs), I have learned two important things:

1. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. I am so bad at this. I email and then just let it go. She, on the other land, emails them again and gets gigs.

2. Ask for money up front. If you do get a gig, ask for some money up front. I would definitely do this since you have no idea who you are dealing with.