100s of writers fired because of AI
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Hi Reader, I read a BBC article the other day about a troubled content agency. They let over 60 writers go… and replaced them with AI. The agency wanted to cut costs. And that’s only one of many stories about writers losing work because of robots. Since 2020, I have spent thousands of dollars commissioning work from content agencies. These agencies employ writers who produce content for website owners and small businesses. Here’s how the content model worked: Website owners like me research an article, draft an outline, identify the keywords, and prepare a brief. Then, we order a batch of these articles from an agency for an agreed word count, usually 6–10 cents per word. The agency turns around a draft in 2–3 days. We go through one round of revisions and click publish. If the website owner likes the content, they stick with an agency or a group of writers and order articles every week. (A variation of this model applies to hiring writers and producing content in-house.) But not anymore… I know of at least three agencies that went into administration or closed over the past 12 months. The owners ALL claim AI killed their bottom line. You see… Some business owners are using AI in place of human writers. They’re using tools like ChatGPT to produce content for a fraction of the cost. One business owner even confessed to me that he fired his marketing team. “AI can do a better job,” he said. Relying on AI strikes me as misguided… Hundreds of websites have lost the bulk of their traffic and revenue thanks to a brutal series of Google algorithm updates. You see… Google doesn’t like AI content appearing in search results… unless it’s from its own AI tool, Gemini. I don’t care much about mass-producing and publishing lousy AI content, so I quit publishing content at scale. But reading about writers losing their jobs because of AI hurts me. I was a freelance writer years ago, too. As a freelancer who has spent hours looking for work and as a publisher who spent $1000s hiring… I’ve a feeling that those businesses publishing bland, boring AI content are sacrificing quality for speed. Even if they’re not dependent on Google search traffic, they’re investing time in bargain-basement content. But that doesn’t change the fact that AI isn’t going anywhere. Writers must adapt. I get pitches most days from writers who want me to hire them. They promise an “error-free, SEO optimized” article. One guy even said, “Can you do me a solid? I need the work!” He shared a Google folder with his portfolio. The days of working as a generic content writer are numbered. An ability to research and write an article and charge 6–10 cents per word isn’t enough. And neither is a folder stuffed full of generic articles. Business owners don’t care that said content is error-free, factual, and SEO-optimized. They can get a version of that from our AI overlords. And they’re not about to commission a writer because they feel sorry for them. So, what is a struggling writer supposed to do these days? Think beyond generic content and word counts. ChatGPT can do that. Some content writers are finding work editing AI content. They edit and fact-check generated content to ensure it passes AI detection tests. Even that strikes me as a gap that AI will rapidly close. What businesses need is a content strategy. Can you help a business owner identify what types of content to publish, where, and when? Can you help them craft an educational email course or a high-converting lead magnet? Instead of positioning yourself as a content writer, provide a service to a select group of clients. It’s much harder for AI to provide a personalized service to business owners. You can charge more, too. If you want to increase your income as a writer, join my workshop next week. You can buy a ticket below.
Write on, Bryan Collins |