I’ve always felt that freelance copywriting is like a bell-weather of the wider economy. In case that sounds a little grand, what I mean is that a copywriter’s potential clients tend to cover a wide spectrum of companies, and any economic trends out there may be reflected in things like enquiry numbers, the type of work that’s in demand and, not surprisingly, how much people are willing to pay – and how long it takes them to pay it!
If the economy is about to take a dive, I’ve seen no evidence of it. In fact, everyone I’ve been dealing with recently is very bullish – with never a mention of hard times ahead. Unfortunately, the media has a lot to answer for (I’m talking journos – not marketing media types!). Bad news becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if enough people harp on for long enough. My own feeling is that we may see a certain plateau-ing of expectations in the UK in 2008 but the medium-term won’t be anywhere near as bad as the current crop of soothsayers are claiming.
