Which is faster – swimming to the shore, or riding a wave to the shore?
Riding a wave always gets you there faster.
In the world of business and freelancing, as with surfing, timing is everything. You have to watch for the biggest wave and catch it at the exact right moment.
Catch the wave just right, and your progress will be massively accelerated.
For ambitious freelance copywriters there are a number of waves currently converging to create one monster wave…which you could and should be riding.
Where are these waves pointing to? ONLINE copywriting.
Let me explain why. We’ll look at a number of waves that are moving towards the shore right now, how and why they are converging…and why you should take action immediately.
Wave #1: The North American economy is growing again.
After more than a year of deep recession, the economy is growing again, finally. The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5% annual rate in the third quarter.
This means companies will feel more confident about investing money in marketing again. And a lot of those companies will be playing catch-up, making up for the marketing dollars they didn’t spend over the last twelve month.
Wave #2: Although companies are growing, they are not yet hiring.
While the economy is growing again, most reports suggest that the employment figures won’t start rising again until 2012.
Growth without hiring? That means companies are going to have to manage and fuel their growth by outsourcing. And among the tasks they will increasingly outsource is copywriting.
Waves 1 and 2 converge to make a single, powerful wave. The time to market yourself as a skilled freelance copywriter is right now.
Waves grow, they travel fast and then they break. If you don’t stand up and ride them while they are at full strength, the opportunity will be lost forever.
Wave #3: Billions of dollars in marketing dollars are moving online.
According to Anthea Stratigos of Outsell Inc., quoted in a recent interview in Forbes Magazine, in 2009 alone approximately $65 BILLION in marketing spending will moving from traditional print and broadcast media and be spent online.
Anthea goes on to predict how much of that money will be spent. “Page content, Web analytics, search engine optimization and site design.”
That’s a massive wave.
If you are planning to build your freelance copywriting career, you need to follow the money. And the money is pouring into the Web right now.
Wave #4: Traditional media properties are closing down fast.
This isn’t a wave you should ride, it’s an undertow you should avoid.
Newspapers and magazines are closing by the hundreds. Why? Because the readers they once had are now going to the web for their news and information. And advertisers are taking their budgets online just as quickly. Without advertising support, traditional print publications have no choice but to close shop.
Now let’s look at all four waves as they converge.
The writing is on the wall, and it has never been clearer.
When you look at these four separate trends, it becomes abundantly clear that the opportunity for freelance copywriters is now for online copywriters.
The demand is massive, and it is still growing.
And as I said before, waves grow, they travel fast and finally they break.
The trick is to get up on that wave at the right time and let it carry you forward. Leverage the massive trends that are in play right now.
If you wait too long, both the wave and the opportunity will break and be lost.
The success of any freelance business – or any business – is tied closely to getting the timing right.
If you want as future as a six-figure online copywriter, the time to stand up and move forward is right now.
Surfs up!