✍️ What's a Talent Pool? (We're Adding Them to the Board)

It’s not advertised. It’s not listed. And that’s exactly why most writers never find it.

Amy and I were in LA recently, and we made a habit of asking every writer we sat with the same question:

What do you wish we did more of?

One answer kept surfacing — in different voices, different career stages:

“I’d love to find retainer work. Like, hours at an agency that just... come to me.” - MWYJ Subscriber

I’ve heard versions of this for years. And it made me realize we’d been sitting on something we hadn’t fully brought to you yet.

Talent pools.

🏊‍♀️ What’s a Talent Pool?

A talent pool (sometimes called a "roster" or pitched as "expanding our network") is simply a form — usually on an agency's website — where you submit yourself as a freelancer for future consideration.

Not for a specific job. Not for a posted role. Just: Hey, I exist. Here’s my work. Keep me in mind.

Agencies use these because their client work is unpredictable. Scopes shift. Projects land fast. When they need a writer on short notice, the first place they look is who’s already in their system.

Think of it as another discovery mechanism. A way to be findable by people who have active, ongoing funnels of work and who need reliable writers to fill them.

If your work is solid and you’re in the pool, you might get a paid test assignment. (Don’t do free ones.) Deliver on that, and you might get a project. A real one. Work you’d never have found on your own, from a client you’d never have reached, at a rate — usually mid double-digit hourly — that’s real money.

And yes — if the relationship builds over time, retainer conversations can happen. But I want to be honest with you about how often that actually occurs: less than you’d hope. More on that in a second.

👀 The Honest Case for Agencies

Here’s the thing about agencies that doesn’t get said enough:

You can earn more going direct.

When you land a client on your own, you keep everything. When an agency is in the middle, they take their margin — because they have to. That’s the model. And that ceiling is real.

So why bother? Because agencies already have the clients. They already have the pipeline. If you’re struggling to source your own work — or you want to build your portfolio while you do — getting into an agency’s orbit means work can start flowing to you instead of you always having to chase it.

It’s a trade. Less upside per project, but less hustle to find it.

And occasionally — not always, but occasionally — the relationship grows into something more ongoing. The retainer dream is real. It’s just harder to land than most people expect, and it requires the agency to have enough margin and enough consistent client demand to make it worth structuring that way.

Go in with clear eyes. Come out with a stronger portfolio, new relationships, and work you’re proud of. That’s a win.

💪 How to Show Up Strong

A few things that make a real difference when submitting to talent pools:

Pair with a designer if you can. Agencies are constantly looking for writer/designer combos — it’s one of the most in-demand pairings out there. If you have a great designer in your orbit, consider submitting together. It makes you significantly easier to hire.

Lead with strategy if that’s in your toolkit. Agencies aren’t only looking for people who execute — they also want people who can think. If you naturally work at the level of ideas, campaigns, and “here’s what this brand actually needs,” say so. Pitching yourself as a creative strategist rather than just a writer is a different door, and often a less crowded one.

Know what you’re signing up for. Turnarounds can be tight. Client demands get passed downstream. The work can stop as suddenly as it starts. This is the agency world — it can be great, and it can be demanding. Neither is a surprise if you go in knowing it.

➕ Why We’re Adding Them to the Board

We’ve historically kept the job board to actual listings — defined scopes, posted rates, real openings.

Talent pools aren’t that. But you’ve told us you want them, and we’d rather help you find the right doors than leave you wondering where they are.

So going forward, you’ll see an occasional 🎯 Talent Pool section on the board. We’ll source these from agencies, creative shops, and content studios. You’ll be able to see what kind of work they do, submit yourself, and start building real relationships with the people who assign projects.

It’s not a job posting. It’s a way to get found.

Our goal has always been to give you the tools to not just survive freelance — but to build something you’re actually proud of. Talent pools won’t be the whole picture. But for the right writer at the right moment, they can be a genuinely great piece of it.

🩳 The Short Version

• Talent pools = submission forms that put you in agencies’ orbit

• Great for building your portfolio, developing relationships, and getting work that flows to you

• Mid double-digit hourly is realistic — but you can earn more going direct

• Retainers are possible, not probable — go in knowing that

• Designer combos and creative strategy skills are real differentiators

• We’re adding a 🎯 Talent Pool section to the board so you can find and submit more easily

We heard you. We’re building toward it.

your talent pool scout,

🫡 kyle