I’ve been trying an experiment whenever I need to pick up some quick cash in the slow times. I try to find work in the most out of the way, unusual places. Just for laughs I have set up account at freelance sites I’d never otherwise bother with, like those places where you have to be the lowest bidder on work that pays peanuts to begin with? I’ve set up accounts on several for when the real work dries up.

Some of my fellow writers ask me why I bother doing this, and my reasoning is simple–I’m not in it for the work. I am actually looking for relationships with people who are willing to pay for writing. That first job offered on the bid-for-work sites may not pay you what you’re really worth, but when that client comes back to you again and again as a satisfied customer, that’s worth its weight in gold.

I have to admit, I even click on the Google ads featured on writer sites to find new possibilities in this area. I also click on these ads because it helps out the people running the sites. When I like a website, I prefer to support them however I can, and what’s the harm in clicking a Google ad? It’s just something I do.

Naturally my motives are selfish–I want the site to keep cranking out that market info, and I follow up leads that look like they might give me access to another bank of potential clients somewhere. But here’s a secret–if you are looking in places other writers may have dismissed as being beneath them, you may find a hidden gem of a client who keeps you in work for a long time. You’ll also meet some real jerks, but that’s an occupational hazard.

If you look in strange places for work you will find demand for your writing that you didn’t even know existed. When I wrote a one-page piece of web copy for one client at cut-rate prices, I wound up getting an easy, fun follow-up job worth a cool $500, just because they knew they could count on the guy who delivered under budget and VERY early. (I never underestimate the power of delivering two days before the deadline or better to impress.)

You might seek in some unlikely places, but the rewards when they come are well worth the research. Keep following those oddball leads, that’s my advice.