A good freelancer is hard to find, and platforms keep popping up with the specific purpose of connecting companies with freelancers — which seems to indicate that the problem still hasn’t been solved. In theory, it should be easier than ever to find good talent to help you create content, but in reality, great freelancers are not wasting their time battling dozens — if not hundreds — of other people for every assignment on these platforms.

Great freelancers are too busy working to peruse those sites or craft good pitches that will get passed over because someone with less experience underbid them. So here are our best tips to find in-demand freelancers who can level up your content game. 

Find freelancers in B2B media

If you’re in the B2B space, there are probably media outlets covering your sector. Not only do those professional writers already know your space, but they have dozens of work samples for you to review. Your marketing and PR team should already have contacts in this space, and while it may be a conflict of interest for employees of the media outlet to work with your team, they almost certainly have freelancers they would be happy to recommend. And frankly, journalism doesn’t pay all that well and so journalists are almost always looking for a side hustle.

Ask other companies in your space to recommend freelancers

Freelancers thrive on referrals. (Frankly, for all our blogging and social media activity, most of our work comes from referrals.) While your direct competitors may not be willing to share their trade secrets with you, there are certainly companies in your niche that you have a friendly, collaborative relationship with. And if they have great creative, compelling blog posts, or killer design, don’t be afraid to ask who they’re working with. More often than not, it’s not a huge in-house team but a patchwork of great freelancers who make the magic happen. 

Look on LinkedIn, but beware

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but I think we have a few tips to share that will be helpful in narrowing down the field. There are people who seem to have made a career out of posting on LinkedIn and trying to teach others how to be freelancers. I admire their hustle, but as someone who is so busy with client work that I often have to ask myself “Do I have time for this new client?” I just don’t know where these other freelancers find the time for incessant self-promotion. Steer clear of these kinds of freelancers. They may be content geniuses, but their main source of income is their own content — making your work a much lower priority. 

If you can’t find a good content creator in one of these places, there may be other barriers keeping you from finding the right person for the job — and it’s likely your budget. You are not just paying for an end-product, you’re paying for a freelancer’s time. If they take your job, that’s time out of their week that may keep them from accepting another, better-paying job. So don’t skimp where it counts. Finding a competent, reliable freelancer will save you money in the long run.