On Freelancing 4: Where to find work online
The internet can be a vast black hole, but that also means that there are countless opportunities out there for you to find.
The days are lengthening, the sun is coming out more often, and there seems to be a glimmer of light at the end of our long, dark tunnel. So, today for the fourth part of the On Freelancing mini-series, I’m sharing the resources I used to find work in my first year of freelancing.
It’s not a complete secret as to where you can find work online but there is something of a knack to knowing where to look and what to search for. The internet can be a vast black hole, but that also means that there are countless opportunities out there for you to find. You just have to figure out where (and how!) to look for them.
Social Media
We all know that social media is “the place” to find work. However, actually finding work doesn’t seem to be all that easy at first - where do you look, who do you contact, how?
Certain platforms make it easier to find work. For example, Twitter has been a huge source of work for me and the majority of jobs in my first year of freelancing I actually found through
What I realised is that I often saw people looking for photographers, asking for recommendations and the like on my timeline, so I started to use the search function and a range of keywords like “looking for photographer” “photographer needed” “London photographer needed”.
Here’s where I found a constant stream of people looking for photographers. There is, of course, often a lot of rubbish to wade through, but once you figure out the keyword searches that work for you, your niche and your location, these can become regular and even abundant sources. While you won’t always gain work, you will at the very least connect with a potential new client.
Community groups
This section sort of falls within social media too. By community groups, I mean forums, community-run pages or social media-based groups - for example, Facebook groups. It could be freelance photography/writing/design groups, general freelancing groups, mixed creative groups that are specific to locations, or any other interest-specific groups… there are numerous to choose from. Community groups can be particularly useful if you have a niche; if you don’t, it’s still possible but will likely require a bit more effort.
Again, most forums and community groups all have some sort of search function. Focus on finding keyword searches that work best for you, bookmark your searches and you’ll have another stream of potential work or prospective clients.
thedots
This article isn’t sponsored by this platform and I don’t work for them, but thedots (sort of like LinkedIn for creatives) has been another important source of work for me.
While they have a slick jobs board, I have often found gems in the community ‘Ask’ forums where people regularly send out requests for creatives. Picture editors, art directors and other commissioners roam here. I received a portrait commission with the Telegraph Magazine back in early 2020 and was pleasantly surprised to find out later that it had happened through this platform.
Jobs boards
The obvious suggestion, probably. I wanted to include this just in case; there are many creative-focused jobs boards out there with curated selections for a range of experience and skill level. It’s worth spending your time doing some research as some can be difficult to pin down. Here are a few examples:
Pitching
This one requires some more time and effort than the above, but it’s worth a mention. Pitching can seem scary and for a time when you’re more comfortable or “established”.
Not even close! If you can figure out pitching from the very first day, you’ll make things better for yourself in the long run. If you’re not already, go ahead and try it. There’s a whole lot to be said about pitching, so all I’m going to say is; don’t be afraid, don’t wait until you feel ready, just go for it!
If you’re not totally sure what pitching means, take a look at this great free resource by fellow photographer (and one of the original inspirations for this newsletter!) Olivia Bossert. It mainly focuses on fashion photography, but the information can be applied to any genre or creative practice.
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I hope this information will be of some use in these difficult times, though do bear in mind that this is by no means an exhaustive list.
As always, be wary of unpaid work and those who offer it - especially in a time like this. I wrote about working for free a while back, which you can read here.
A final note: Bookmark all of the good places you find and make it a daily habit to check in. The most important thing you can do, especially early on, is to be proactive and commit to the grind.
Stay tuned for the fourth chapter of the On Freelancing mini-series dropping next week.
A little about me
I’m a photographer and writer based in south London who enjoys telling stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world.
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