Freelance Journalism: How to Find Gigs in 2024

If you’re looking to break into freelance journalism, you will want to find a way to get consistent gigs. With social media platforms, newsletters, networking events, and job forums, there’s not a single way to get gigs. However, it’s important to discern which qualities are high quality and find ways to sustain a long term career.

Here’s a guide on how to get into freelance journalism and find gigs in 2024.

Alert People That You’re Freelancing

Anna Medaris, a freelance journalist on the health beat, says that “knowing a lot of people in a lot of fields does pay off” and that you should find a way to alert people that “you are looking for work” and what specific type of coverage you can do. Yes, social media is a cluttered space where a lot of people are competing for the same set of eyeballs. But especially if you just started freelancing, it can be worth going on a platform — LinkedIn, X (fka Twitter), or Instagram — to alert people that you’re looking for more opportunities. You never know who your followers know and how and where your message will travel. In this post, you should articulate what type of work you’re looking to do, your previous experiences, and link to your portfolio.

Keep At It

When you start pitching, you may not get a bunch of “yes” emails back right away. 

“It just takes a while and part of the process of knowing how to pitch can feel like a black box a lot of the time and really opaque,” says Hannah Macready, a freelance journalist with bylines in Fast Company and Ambrook Research. 

Over time, you will get a better sense of what editors are looking for. Before crafting a pitch, you should always research a publication’s guidelines and an editor’s specific expectations. You can find these on a publication’s website or on Study Hall’s Opportunity Finder. Some important things to keep in mind before sending out your pitch:

• Did you include word count?
• Did you include how many sources you need to speak to?
• Did you propose any other limitations (is this a fast turnaround)?
• If you haven’t worked with this editor before, did you introduce yourself with relevant clips and experience?

Ask For Feedback From Rejections

Rejections are par for the course when it comes to pitching. After receiving a rejection email, you may feel tempted to automatically delete it and move on. However, you should keep in mind that there’s a potential opportunity here, even if it doesn’t seem apparent at first. You can ask the editor if they would be up for giving you any feedback on your pitch so that next time, you can come back with something that’s more what they are looking for.

“Worst case they say no,” Macready says. “You’re at the same spot you already were.” 

Network with Other Writers

Ultimately, you may find that your most consistent gigs stem from word of mouth and talking to other writers with similar interests. Macready recommends that freelancers join “other groups of writers” and stay “in touch with people going to events.” 

It may seem old fashioned, but a good business card can come in handy! 

Get Clips and Experience 

“It’s okay at the beginning of your career to just take the work that you can get,” Macready says.  You may not land your ideal story at first. But as an early career freelancer, your focus should be on getting as many clips as possible so you can build a name for yourself, accrue experience, and eventually, move on up to a higher level, better paying gigs. 

Keep In Touch With Editors

Jordan Gass-Poore, a freelance journalist with bylines at Mother Jones and CNN, recommends regularly checking in with editors and “keeping those lines of communication open.” If there’s an editor you particularly liked working with, you should follow up every six months to see how they’ve been and whether there are any assignments they are looking for help with. 

 

Opportunity Finder is streamlining the process of finding editors, searching for rates, and sifting through pitch guides. This is a product built by former freelancers who have firsthand experience with pitching and contacting editors. Try Opportunity Finder.