I have a love-hate relationship with job ads. I have found some of my best gigs through the online classifieds. Yes, even a few on Craigslist. But on the flip side, I have applied to many hundreds of gigs that I never heard back from. Or worse, I ended up spending days in an email chain only to find out that the job is low paying, no paying or they actually want me to unethically place articles. But over the years, I learned that the best way to find a gig is to make contact with potential clients by sending out letters of introductions BEFORE they ever post a job ad. The goal is that your are already on their radar so that when they have a freelance content marketing project they send you an email instead of posting an ad.

However, I do believe that applying to job ads is an important COMPONENT of a freelance writing business marketing strategy. But you are most likely not going to be able to earn a high income, if that is your only strategy. I try to spending no more than 15 minutes surfing through several freelance job sites a few times a week to look for the hidden gems and then only apply to those that appear to be legitimate and well-paying. I’m going to share my favorite sites later this week, but even those sites you have to carefully weed through the junk. It has taken me years (and many painful mistakes) to learn to somewhat reliably spot the ads that are worth my time.

When an editor posts a job ad, they almost always get lots of responses – like in the hundreds and sometimes as many as 500. So I now only apply if I think that my unique credentials will stand out among a sea of writers. If the ad is for a gig that most professional writers could do or one where my experience is just minimal, I don’t even bother.

Here are the 9 things I look for when looking at job ads:

1. Well-written Job Ad 

Do a quick read through of the ad to see if it has a professional tone and is free of grammar/spelling mistakes.  I’ve found that the overall tone and presentation of a job ad is a very good indicator. If it is really bad, then I would simply move on to another ad since the odds are pretty low that this is a keeper.

2. Pay Rate

Once you’ve established a base level of professionalism, the next thing to do is look for a pay rate. I’m going to write a post in the near future about evaluating pay rates listed in job ads or offered by clients since this this is not a simple question. But if you see a pay rate listed that is obviously way too low for you to earn $100 per hour (or slightly lower if you are just starting out) then don’t waste your time.

3. No Words that Indicate Low Payer or No Payer

Now go back and read through the ad carefully. If you see any of the following words, RUN. Well, at least close the ad and don’t apply:

• Exposure
• Pay-per-click
• Great for college students, interns or stay-at-home parents
• Original content only, no plagiarism

I used to think that the words “proficient in English grammar and spelling” meant that it was a low payer, but that doesn’t always mean that. If your niche is one with a high number of highly skilled but non-native English speakers, such as technology, then this is a yellow flag not a red one. Proceed with caution, but it could just mean the company is not US based and needs US writers.

4. Company Name is Listed

It is a giant green flashing light if the ad contains the name of the company. It isn’t always a negative if they don’t, but it does increase the legitimacy if they do.

5. Professional Website

If a company name or agency is listed, google the company and check out their website. You can tell a lot about the business through their website. A professionally designed website and a company with a number of employees is a good sign it is a legitimate business. If the ad was posted by an agency that you’ve never heard of, find the website and look at their portfolio or client list. You are looking for big name or recognizable brands that are clients of the agency – which is a great sign for the pay rates and the professionalism of the agency.

6. No Mention of the Word Start-up

Start-up usually means that they have a low budget which almost always translates into low pay unless the ad mentions that the start-up is well funded, has venture capital money or an angel investor. These are all good indicators that the new company has a reasonable budget.

7. A Corporate Email

Look to see if the email for applying is a corporate email. If so, then the ad has more legitimacy. While I wouldn’t discount an ad simply because the email is a gmail, but it is definitely a yellow flag. Bonus points to them if the ad directs you to a corporate website with an online application.

8. Projects Other than Blogs

Yes, there are well-paying blogs out there, but there are also many more low paying blog gigs. If an ad  is looking for other deliverables, such as print articles, white papers, landing pages or case studies, then there is a better chance that the gig pays reasonably.

9. A High Paying or Specific Niche

While there are exceptions, projects typically pay higher if there are not as many writers that are qualified to write the content. This is the reason that B2B, tech, health, science and finance typically pays more and lifestyle content is usually on the lower end. If an ad is in one of these niches, then it increases the chance that the gig pays better. This is also true if they are looking for something very specific such as someone with expertise in African Elephants or something not found every day.

What do you look for when checking out job ads? What clues do you look for that signal the job is a low payer or not legitimate?