If there’s one keyword I never thought I’d see (and I’ve seen a few in my lifetime), it has to be the one that lit on my screen today: copywriter sweatshop auction.
Yes, someone actually searched for that.
Writer after writer who stumbles into the online world ends up working at sweatshop pace and production for the glory of holding a dollar or two at the end of the week.
This keyword could’ve been plugged into a search engine to fight the terrible working wages some people offer to writers, such as the insane $1 for 1,000 words. (The worst I’ve ever seen was a whole dime being offered for that same word count).
Now, that type of work has its place in the lessons of life, and I’ve certainly learned a few in my time. I’ve even paid for a six-pack of beer or two because of those types of jobs. (I’ve come up in the world quite a bit since then and now enjoy Shiraz wine. Beer is for sunny days on the terrasse.)
What bothers me is that keyword could’ve easily been plugged into the search engine to find and participate in a bloodthirsty, backstabbing copywriter war, to have the pleasure of watching writers undercut each other’s bids until there’s nothing left. I can see someone actually searching for that.
Reminds me of dogfights, to tell you the truth, where people threw two roosters at each other, watched while they tore each other to shreds and bet on the fight’s survivor. I watch that sort of thing happen every day on various websites.
Kinda sad…
James,
The other day I saw an ad requesting bids and turn around time on a 60-piece job. I submitted my offer and quoted a slightly high bid on the longer articles and a very conservative timeframe, knowing full well I’d be bowled over by others. Anyway, 2 days later, a job surfaced on the boards of the service for which I write. It looked familiar becauses it was this same client. (His expectations were clearly more demanding than most requests.) Anyway, I claimed the job, and, so far, I haven’t heard he wants a re-write. (Then again, perhaps absolutely nothing pleases this client!)
The point here is that perhaps some clients are tired of being inundated with hundreds of bids across a wide range and have gotten to the point where they want a service to handle the work. After all, the cost may be a bit higher, but they don’t have to deal directly with writers and they are assured of prompt and professional quality…This scenario is win/win for all because the writer isn’t working under slave labor conditions either.
I think there’s hope that, in the future, writing service companies are going to grow and become as common as agencies who provide services such as employment, babysitting, and travel-sure, anyone can do it themselves, but it’s easier to go where that service is the specialty! Since the ‘net appears to expand by the minute, competitive content writing should requre rightful compensation, and writers who bid ridiculously low are hurting everyone in this field.
Since there’s nothing we can do about that, the only alternative is to focus on the intangibles of client service that go beyond price, and hopefully, clients who see the “big picture” will appreciate it and stay as repeat customers…