I almost didn’t want to write this post. It’s easy to rely on applying for jobs as your main marketing strategy. And I worried that by sharing job ad sites, readers would adopt a reactive marketing strategy instead of a proactive one.

But as I said last week when I shared how to spot high-paying job ads, I believe that responding to job ads should be one component of your marketing strategy, just not your main source of marketing. That said, freelance job sites are not created equal and it took me years to realize that some sites are typically filled with low-paying gigs. So, to save you the time that I wasted, I’m going to share my favorite places to find job ads. Disclaimer: These sites still have low-payers and scammy clients looking to place articles, but I have found a higher percentage of good ads than in other places.

Here are my top five places to find well-paying freelance writing jobs:

Freelance Success – This isn’t a job ad site per se, but rather a members-only website that it is worth every penny of the $99 a year. I have been a member for about four years and have gotten back many times over what I have paid in terms of new clients both from the market guides and referrals from other members. You get access to private forums full of professional freelancers who share tips, help you when you post a challenge you’ve run into and often share job leads. If that isn’t enough, each week members get a newsletter with information about a well-paying market and typically another lead or two about another company or pub looking for freelancers. These newsletters are exceptionally valuable with leads that are vetted and typically high-quality. When you join, you also get access to past newsletters, which can also be a treasure trove of potential clients.

Media Bistro – This is a huge job board site that not only includes many agencies and full-time magazine positions, but also advertises some freelance jobs. You can narrow the display to freelancers by selecting “Freelance” as the duration. You may also want to check out the part-time listings since there are often some virtual and very part-time (10 hours a week) gigs listed that really fall under the freelance category. Another way to find new outlets that use freelancers is to put the word “Freelancers” (make sure it is plural) in the keyword field and search the listing. This will show you all the ads that use the word freelancers in the job description, typically meaning that the editor will work with freelancers. You can then find a contact at the company and offer your services as a freelancer. I’ve done this a few times and it’s a great way to find obscure companies or pubs that use freelancers.

Journalism Jobs – While the majority of this site is jobs for news stations and newspapers, there are definitely some job listings for freelance journalists and content marketing writers. To find the freelance jobs, run a search for the job status with both “freelance” and “part-time.” You can also use the trick about searching for the word “freelancers” to find new outlets and agencies to approach as well. This works especially well if you are looking for consumer pubs, newspapers, or trade pubs that work with freelancers.

LinkedIn – Most of the jobs on LinkedIn are full-time, but I have found some interesting ads for freelance work as well. Click on “Jobs,” remove the location and do a search for “freelance writer.” This will pull up people looking for freelance content writers. It defaults to listing by relevancy, which often shows some pretty old ads, so I usually sort the results by date to see the newer ads. However, this will sometimes include gigs that have ‘working with freelancers’ as part of the job description, so you have to go through them carefully. Some of the jobs posted on LinkedIn direct you to apply on the company’s website but many have you use your LinkedIn profile to apply, so be sure your profile is updated.

FreelanceWriting.com/Morning Coffee Newsletter – Brian Scott publishes the fantastic Morning Coffee Newsletter a few times a week that lists legitimate freelance writing jobs that he finds from multiple sources and does a pretty good job of culling out the junk. Yes, there are some low-payers in here, but there are almost always some good ones that I haven’t run across myself. Brian also posts the jobs on the of his website. I have typically had the best luck in the Paid Writing Gigs for Freelance Writers, Craigslist and Indeed sections.

Where do you find well-paying freelance writing gigs advertised? What sites would you recommend staying away from?