Is The Recession Good For Freelancers?

The news has really turned from bad to worse. Organizations are cutting down costs and are having tight marketing budgets. The challenge is that, they really need to be in touch with their customers at this point of time and build the awareness in the market. They also have to fight the competition and I think this is the best time to do so.

But, with this tight marketing budget, will they be able to do all this? They may cut down on advertising, but not online. Corporate would like to do more marketing and outreach to keep their clients. They will see for channels where they are sure to get a decent ROI. Email marketing, search engine optimization and social media marketing will be the mantra for them.

The current economic conditions and layoff of staff will trigger outsourcing. Tight budgets will make them look-out for freelancers or contractors rather than organizations who can do this.

@Freelancers - this recession can be good news for you. Let me know if it has really increased your work and dollars. And beware, the laid-off folks can join the freelancing bandwagon.

Also, the websites which offer freelance work sites may be making good business now :).
In the past few months, the number of new users has almost doubled or increased on the four leading sites: Elance.com, o’Desk.com, Guru.com and Helium.com.