Five Predictions for the Future of Freelancing
I’ve been testing the waters in a variety of unscientific ways to satisfy my curiosity about the freelance game in our current economic mess. Is freelance writing a viable career choice in the midst of all the talk of recession, foreclosures, layoffs and other woes?
For me, the answer is still yes. I am actually seeing growth in freelance opportunities in the right sectors, but it takes a lot of looking to find those gigs. There are startups investing money in new ventures even as I write this, and these companies are looking for YOU. They don’t have unlimited funds, but I can tell you from experience and some insider knowledge of current investment behavior that there will be many more writing gigs to come–but there are a few caveats. Want to peer into my crystal ball and see what I see for the future?
5. Blogs are going to continue to be very important–but for writers the focus should be using them to leverage your career rather than trying to make money off them with affiliate programs and other monetizing schemes. There are going to be more opportunities for paid bloggers, but my prediction is that these bloggers will be the experts in their fields rather than writers trying to mine data FROM those experts. If you are not specializing right now, start.
4. Writers who can multi-task will survive our current financial woes. The marketplace for publishing is looking dire but only if you concentrate on the newsstand. It’s true that many mags are laying off people left and right, but if you don’t depend on print mags as your mainstay you will keep your head above water.
3. “Content” writing is not dead as the Dodo, but it is an endangered species in its current form. Companies are waking up to the notion that a web page full of lame, half-baked content is NOT helping them keep readers or customers. QUALITY content writing is going to be the next phase of the game. If you are currently turning out copy for a content mill and don’t really care about the kind of material you submit so long as they pay, you’re going to have a rude awakening soon. Many freelancers make a good, quality buck off content writing–the ones who get top dollar will always be the ones who write GOOD content.
2. Layoffs are a good thing, at least for freelancers. Many people forget that a full-time employee costs a company extra money in taxes (among other things). All those print mags who did the big layoffs this week? They will be happy to pay a freelancer for content that costs them nothing in terms of extra tax dollars or 401K matching contributions.
1. Poor writers–your freelancing days could be numbered. There may be plenty of gigs out there, but they will go to writers who know how to stick words together in easy-to-read, accessible ways. Be one of them and you will pay the bills. If your chops still read like you’re working on the college newspaper, grab a copy of Strunk & White and start improving. If good writing is to freelancing is to what freethrows are to pro basketball, here’s my advice–start practicing your game until you can hit nothing but net all the time. The first commandment: Omit needless words.
The market is getting tougher for serious writers, but you don’t have to give up and go back to your day job just yet. Times are tough, but if you are dedicated to the craft you can succeed.
