The “Global” Writers’ Market

… or the lack thereof as the case in fact is.

This is a situation I feel a particular need to address, because when discussing the issue of low rates versus professional rates, the same argument (as fallible as it is) keeps popping up: “English speaking writers just have to adapt to low-paying gigs (talking $5 per article types of gigs here), because there’s a global writers’ market, and that’s what they have to do to compete.”

Wrong! Here’s why:

The first problem is that many people don’t even know what a “market” is… they assume if you do even remotely similar work, you’re in the same market. It’s become a term used far too loosely, and tossed around much too casually, especially in the freelance writing rate debate. So let’s establish what a market actually is, in both an economic and a marketing sense.

Economics: To put it as simply as possible, in an economic sense the market consists of both supply and demand.

Marketing: In marketing, the “market” consists of the buyers of the product or service you’re offering… it’s who you’re trying to target with your promotional (and other) methods, in order to make a sale.

A “market” in both senses of the word (albeit similar to begin with), can in fact be global. Look at various manufacturing industries (such as automobiles and clothing) as prime examples. Freelance writing will never (let me repeat that…. it will never) simply be one global market.

With industries such as manufacturing, you’re creating a tangible product. Those products can be manufactured using the same machinery in China or India as they can in the US or Canada. It doesn’t matter what language is spoken by the workers creating the product, as they can be trained in their own language.

Language is one of the primary reasons freelance writing cannot be considered one global market. It’s not based in tangible products; it’s based in communication - that’s your key distinction. Until everyone becomes fluent in one world language, there will never be one market even in that most general sense. An Indian writer with reasonable English skills, but not able to pass as a native speaker, won’t get the freelance writing work with anyone focusing on an English-based readership, if they actually care about quality to that end reader. (And I acknowledge that many writers can write fluently in English… just not most, and many who think they can actually can’t.) At the same time, I (and other english-speaking writers) won’t be hired to write in our non-native tongue unless we’re entirely fluent.

The problem is that too many of these lower paid writers (and the people who hire them) fall into what I usually refer to as the “webmaster marketplace” for writers. When they say there’s a “global market” for writers, they’re making that claim based on their experience that many webmasters will accept poor English (and even poor writing in general), because their primary concern is in unique content that will help them place in search engines, without due concern for their end readers. Given, not all webmasters fit into this category, but most actively and visibly searching for content writers do. The higher-paying online writing gigs are generally not advertised, so the market is “hidden” from those who don’t know where to look or how to network with the right people to get the leads. Most of these higher-paying publications targeting an English-speaking market will only hire a native English speaker or someone who can pass as such (or German-speaking writers, or French-speaking writers, etc…. depending on where the publication is based - high paying markets aren’t exclusive to English publications by any stretch). That in itself rules out a completely global market.

Let’s pretend language and communication aren’t an issue. Writing still wouldn’t ever be one global market. Why? Because there’s no such thing as simply being a “writer.” You’re a certain type of writer (a novelist, journalist, blogger, content writer, copywriter, etc.). Many people can wear multiple hats and perform well in a variety of writing niches, but you’d be hardpressed to find even one that can consider themself a quality writer in every medium. This is where supply and demand come even more into play.

A demand exists for sales letters that will convert into hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. A general content writer will often bid on these kinds of projects, or offer such services, without understanding the first thing about copywriting. They may offer the service for $50 or even less in the so-called “global marketplace,” especially if they’re trying to break into a new niche. However, most clients who are in an honest position to earn that much in conversions also know the value of hiring a professional with verifiable experience and results. They happily pay thousands of dollars to have that sales letter written rather than accepting the much lower bid. The demand doesn’t simply exist for a “sales letter.” It exists for a “sales letter written by a professional copywriter with proven results.”

As another example, you might be a great Web content writer. That doesn’t mean there’s any kind of demand for your particular type of services in non-fiction publishing, magazine publishing, trade journals, or copywriting. Each niche, despite their commonalities, is a different animal, with a different supplier base, and a different level of demand.

So is there a “global market” for low-quality, generic Web content writing? You could make a pretty good case for that. But I wish people would finally wake up to the fact that writers don’t fall into one market. Simply being a fluent (as in they could pass as a native if they’re not) English speaker with better than average writing skills can automatically put someone out of that low-quality global market. They DON’T have to compete with writers willing to take pennies per word, when the clients are satisfied with content written “just well enough” for search engines (including the many gigs you’ll find where you’re asked to simply rewrite someone else’s copyrighted work). What those writers need to do instead of lowering their rates and becoming “sweatshop writers” (as Zainie so often says), is to learn that there are other markets out there who are willing to pay them what their skills and abilities are worth.

If the lowest-paying clients start to see that they can’t manipulate quality writers into slave wages, either they’ll understand the value of quality wriitng and pay more, or they won’t. They can settle for substandard writing if it meets their SEO needs, and you, as a freelance writer, can be off in another market making much more money while giving up much less time.

So no matter how many times you see people talking about a “global market” for writers, don’t fall sucker to that line of thinking. It’s not true, and it’s used to manipulate quality writers into lowering their rates. You don’t have to do that. Just to get you started, you can look at our daily writers’ market listings here, at www.AllFreelancing.com, and at our Myspace page. We try to always post gigs paying at least $.10 / word or more (some much more). Remember to keep querying, and not to let rejections discourage you. They come with the territory; especially early on. Establishing yourself in even one or two larger and respected publications (or with known clients depending on your niche) can make finding further work in your area much easier… and there are plenty of writers who have been there before you who are more than willing to guide you on the right path to being a successful (and well-paid) freelance writer.