7 Incredible Freelance Writer Websites That Get Clients

I've been writing professionally since 2017. In 2021, I switched to freelance writing.

So, fellow freelance content writer, whatever you're going through... I assure you, I've been there or am currently there. I know how tricky it can be to find potential clients, pitch to them with a portfolio, cater to their niche, and convince them to give you the writing job (which, 9/10 times, you probably deserve).

However, Murphy's Law exists, and anything can go wrong at any time, leading to you not getting that content-writing contract. It's not pleasant, but it's a sad reality of our careers.

Of course, there is no way to eliminate rejection completely (wouldn't that be a great world?), but there are ways to minimize it significantly. One of those ways — the one we'll discuss in this article — is creating a writing portfolio or a freelance writing website that really catches your client's eye.

In this article, I'll showcase and discuss seven freelance writer website examples. Built and maintained by copywriting, content writing, and content marketing experts, they exhibit the elements of a great freelance website. If you need to create a site to advertise your writing services (or one that proves that you're a great freelance writer), start here. These examples are the ideal sources from which to grab ideas to shape your own portfolio website.

7 Best Freelance Writing Sites for 2023 (and after 2023)

Carrie Cousins

Carrie Cousins is a content marketer, designer & writer with over fifteen years of experience. Her work samples testify to her writing skills and the depth of her research abilities, making her among the best freelance writers most clients will ever encounter. Her writing site is also a great example of what to do to make it in the freelance writing business.

To quote the "About" section on Carrie's website,

Modern marketing has no secret sauce. But we can cook up a pretty good recipe.

Lines like these instantly help you get a sense of Carrie's writing style and understand her writing niche. Making such quick impressions on clients is, in fact, a sign of Carrie's competence and skill within her chosen domain. Getting a writing gig or a freelance job for online writing is not a challenge for her at this point, so take notes from the expert.

Simon Denyer

Simon Denyer is a wildlife conservation consultant, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and author. He was also a former bureau chief with The Washington Post and Reuters. Simon has written the book "Rogue Elephant: Harnessing the Power of India's Unruly Democracy.”

To quote his portfolio site, Simon is,

Helping to design a new wildlife conservation strategy for Africa. Launched a new pangolin protection campaign in Cameroon in February 2022. Author of two studies examining bushmeat and pangolin meat consumption and attitudes towards wildlife in Cameroon.

This is a man who puts his money where his mouth is and is truly steeped in the ground realities of conservation. If you were a client in this domain, wouldn't you give him the freelance writing job?

Elise Dopson

Elise Dopson's online portfolio is impressively minimal and doesn't say much except that she is a freelance writer for B2B commerce and marketing brands. Clearly, she prefers to let her work do the talking. She has worked with retail, e-commerce, and martech companies to create journalism-centric content.

On her site, Elise says,

I also coach freelance writers who want to scale their business and gain confidence.

This is definitely a person you should learn from, especially if you are a new freelance writer.

Muriel Vega

Muriel writes about tech, art, travel, food & more, and her design reflects this diversity. The playful whimsy and capricious coloring over a white background make you itch to click on the icons.

Her portfolio is only one-fold long. You don’t have to scroll for any further information. Everything you need to explore her work can be clicked through via the icons or the links on top. Clearly, she is a natural with minimal & charming but effective designs. We can hope this mindset also extends to the way she shapes content.

She has bylines at Delta Sky Magazine, DWELL, Apartment Therapy, Eater, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, Atlanta Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, Outside Magazine, and others.

Tom Valcanis

Tom Valcanis doesn't say much in his portfolio except that he is a "Freelance copywriter and journalist. Based in Melbourne, Australia." He has bylines on publications like The Spectator Australia and Junkee, so I suppose it is quite easy for Tom just to let his work speak for him.

Rick Marshall

Rick Marshall is an award-winning freelance writer, editor, critic, and copywriter specializing in entertainment and tech-related content. He is also a Critics Choice Association member and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. His published pieces can be found in Digital Trends, MTV News, Fandango, Movies.com, IFC, Mental Floss, and other platforms.

Myke Bartlett

Myke Bartlett is a freelance journalist, editor, and copywriter. On his LinkedIn, he says,

I'm a communications specialist with a background in journalism. I'll edit your magazine, write you a feature article or three, host your event, run your training session, compose your website copy, produce your video, or oversee your social media campaigns.

If you're curious about his working style, read on.

I believe writing should always be a pleasure to read and pride myself on the creativity to find a hook to keep a reader interested in the driest of topics...

My training as an editor means I have a keen eye for detail and an unhealthy obsession with spelling and grammar – and means that I am very comfortable taking direction for other editors, as I know the importance of writers being able to fulfill a brief.

Alright, now you know what a winning freelance writing site must contain to appeal to clients. But how does one go about creating such a website for your freelance writing?

You use Authory.

Authory: A Tool for Creating That Perfect Freelance Writer Website (fast and with minimal effort)

Authory is a dedicated portfolio builder that literally does over half the work: finding all bylined content you’ve ever published, importing it automatically, saving it permanently (again, automatically), and letting you organize your content items into different collections (like a folder that can be sent via a URL to other people).

A self-updating portfolio (no need to keep adding new work manually)

Authory will AUTOMATICALLY import a copy of every bylined piece from every site into its own database. This includes articles, videos, podcasts, web and email copy, etc.

You don't have to track down links to your published work (especially older pieces). As long as you remember the URL of the site where your work exists, Authory will collate all your content for you in one dashboard.

Here's Authory's "automatic content import" feature in action:

Automated backups (never lose your content, ever)

All the content that Authory imports from different sources is saved permanently. Even if the original website where it's published goes defunct for any reason, you'll always have a copy safely stored on Authory's server.

All backups are in the original format — text and/or media. No screenshots.

Continued importing of past and future content (less effort for a 100% updated portfolio)

Once you enter a source, Authory won't just import your existing publications. Anything you publish on the same site (after you've fed its URL into Authory) in the future will also be imported automatically. In other words, Authory will import your past and future content.

Authory also sends email notifications for every new piece it imports, so you'll always know if something you submitted has been published.

Apart from these, you also get:

• Ability to search your portfolio and content database to find articles/audio/videos based on keywords. Prospective employers and hiring managers can use this to look for topics on your portfolio, and you can use it to find specific pieces within your Authory content bank.
• All imported content can be downloaded as high-res PDFs or exportable as HTML files — no lock-in period.
• Get a custom domain and personalize your online writing portfolio even further.
• In-built analytics that provides real numbers on content performance (engagement, readership) across the web and popular social media sites every 30 days. You get to see how your readers/viewers respond to your work.
• Widgets to display your personal portfolio on other sites, such as your personal website (if you have one).

As a freelance writer, I can vouch that Authory doesn't just give you an online portfolio. It actively makes your professional life easier for you. It's much easier to get freelance writing jobs.

Authory is used by a fair number of significant and successful professionals. There's 6-time Emmy award winner David Pogue, Steven Levy, Editor at Large, WIRED, and Brian Fung, a Technology Reporter at CNN, to name a few.

Get started with Authory for free and see for yourself what works for you as well as it did for them.