How to find freelance UX writing work
By: Camille Promérat
Tags: Freelance, Freelance Writing, Content Design, Ux Writing

Kick off 2019 the right way, with some tips to land some new UX gigs!

Outbound — Be your own salesperson

Most B2B companies use tricks to get new leads: finding the right contact, cold emailing, etc.).Why not try them for your company?

IRL

Attend meetups around design and product management, there’s a high chance you’ll meet founders or designers that might need your expertise.

Online

Search for companies and agencies on LinkedIn or other hiring platforms (AngelList, Welcome to The Jungle in France for example). Filter by size, industry, location, then find their Head of Product or Lead Designer and send them a message.

Check what your former colleagues are up to. Maybe they landed a new job in an exciting startup or in a big group. If you worked well together, there’s a high chance they might recommend you and help you evangelize their new team about UX writing.

Reach out to product designers and product managers on Twitter where UX is a trending topic. You can also follow some hashtags like #uxwriting.

Scan your inbox! You might have gone to an interview a few years ago that didn’t work out but you still have some contacts there. Worth a shot ;)

Inbound — Let people get to you

Reaching out to potential clients takes time, so make it easy for them to find you!

If you don’t have an online portfolio yet, I’d advise you to get one right away! Your personal site should represent who you are and what work you’re proud of — if you want to work in the UX business, you can’t just send a Powerpoint or links to websites you’ve worked on.

No need to be a developer to create one, use Wordpress or Squarespace. Both have great portfolio templates you can use. Looking for some inspiration?Yuval Keshtcher put together an article with some links to exquisite portfolios, have a quick look.

Medium (👋) is also a great platform to showcase your talents and skills, helping build your personal brand. Write about topics you’re passionate about, share your expertise and opinions: potential clients will get a glimpse on how you work and think.

Creating your portfolio and blog is important, distributing it everywhere is key. Add a link to it on your social media, LinkedIn page, on your business card and email signature. People will eventually click the link and discover how great your work is.

Network

This won’t surprise you. Companies and more generally people prefer to work with someone they’ve already worked with or who is being recommended to them.

In the past years, I’ve had emails from developers, designers, developers-turned-founders I met at former jobs. When you build a relationship with your colleagues, they’re likely to contact you if they start their own business or change jobs. Get in touch with them, tell them you’re starting your own writing business, they’ll contact you one day or another.

Freelance job marketplaces

To be honest, I’ve never had any touches through Upwork or other job freelance marketplaces. Several reasons for that:

Most companies have just realized how much they need a Product Designer, let alone a UX Writer

Most companies understand the power of words in ads or blog posts but not in apps

I work in France where the UX writing business is very new (side note, I would love to have US or UK writers feedback on this)

Still, that shouldn’t stop you from creating a profile and uploading your portfolio on those platforms. Apply for jobs that don’t totally fit your profile or discover companies that are looking for UX/UI designers. That’s how you source potential clients.

Conclusion

This might sound like an awful lot of work, but you’re probably doing most of it already! Start by your portfolio, send it to a few people and see how it goes. Don’t be afraid, it’s better to act than wait for someone else to take the job.