Be Careful While Looking for a Position: Finding Legitimate Online Writing Jobs
If you think clients struggle to find good writers online, the same is true for freelancers who seek decent clients. As a freelancer, you will soon discover that not all clients are easy to work with. Often there are communication breakdowns, payment disputes, and unreasonable expectations from clients that can turn eager freelancers into despondent ones.
It’s so important to check out a client’s history before accepting a project from them. Use the following as a guide to help pick the right online writing positions.
- Temptation to work outside a safe platform
- Bad payers
- Difficult clients
- Bad communicators
Let’s start with the worst client of all. Lots of dodgy individuals seek out new freelancers trying to get a free deal out of them. They find them on legitimate freelancing platforms, but communicate with them outside of that platform. This is usually a sign that they are out to scam you out of your hard work and stiff you when it comes to payment. If a client offers to pay you outside of a safe platform, decline the offer and keep your distance—no matter how tempted you may be to accept.
Check how many projects a client has awarded and how many of those were actually followed through with payment. Be careful of clients who hire at a whim, but dispute the job when the time comes for paying. These clients are usually professional chance-takers who don’t feel guilty about swindling a few newbies.
Always check a client’s feedback section before working with them. If a client is prone to giving bad feedback, they are likely difficult to please. Others don’t leave any feedback at all, which can be an indication that they are uninterested in growing you as a writer. Avoid this client and opt rather for one who’s willing to comment honestly about the service they’ve received.
There’s always a group of clients that send you an incomplete brief, and then expect you to make amendments when you’re finished the work. This is another reason to stay within your freelancing platform, because if there’s a dispute, a third party may need to be called in to resolve it. If a client asks you to add something to your project just because they “forgot to mention it in the brief,” make it known that you are a professional whose time is valuable, and don’t be afraid to charge for any extra work.