Trendspotting: The Key to Freelance Survival

freelance job survival

by Joe Wallace

What do the record industry and freelance writing have in common? There are many similarities (for better or worse) but one of the big ones is the need to spot trends as they happen and pounce on them before a golden opportunity becomes a missed opportunity.

In some cases writers have it easy–the established ones are paying close attention to trends in their niche topics and riding those trends to landing more articles and web content. I do a lot of finance writing, especially on topics in the housing industry. I trend spot simply by researching my latest round of blogs and articles–in the last year the phrases “Obama Mortgage” and “Hope for Homeowners” have found their way into my work with a frequency that surprised even me. But those articles sell and bring clicks. Following the news has made me a lot of money this year.

But that kind of trend spotting is a bit of a no-duh truism for many. What’s the “secret sauce” of trend spotting?

There are many different ways to spot trends, but one of mine is to pay very close attention to freelance job advertising. You can find opportunities by monitoring the frequency of certain kinds of freelance job ads and you can also get a very good read on where the industry is headed in some cases.

Example: It’s my belief that freelance writing is about to experience a severe “market correction” in the next two years. I believe that many sites turning a buck on the Internet today won’t be here in two years. The explosion of sites like Examiner.com, Associated Content, HubPages, and others like them has had a familiar aura about it and I could never put my finger on what it was exactly–until I realized the phenomenon is a lot like eBay’s heyday.

Once upon a time, ANYBODY could make money on eBay selling practically anything. While eBay today is still profitable for many, it doesn’t seem to be quite the powerhouse it once was–it’s not quite the guaranteed moneymaker it used to be in the days where you could buy something at the store, get it home and realize you hated it and simply shrug and say, “Oh well, I’ll just sell it on eBay”–at least that’s my perception.

The bubble hasn’t burst yet for online content sites, but I think it’s stretched to the breaking point and it’s only a matter of time unless certain practices change (and soon). Evidence of this can be found in many places–I welcome Examiner.com, Associated Content, HubPages and the rest to offer me a consulting fee to explain how to avoid this market correction. Otherwise I’ll say no more here.

But that’s just one example. What other ways can you use trend spotting to make you more money and keep your bank account healthy?

That’s a question I’ll answer in part two.