Who's doing well out of the pandemic?

[Fr.Bigley]

I'd pay £20 for 500 words that I didn't have to do much sub-editing of. They'd be about why you ought to choose a particular business for a particular service in a particular area.

Use Fivver, loads of out of work copywriters on there.

[JaDanketies]

Use Fivver, loads of out of work copywriters on there.

I've got someone who got a first in their journalism degree doing some work for me at the moment. She can't find a job but is obviously really capable. But y'all here have been my lockdown friends.

I actually offered this opportunity to a real life friend and he said it was impossible to write 500 words about why to choose a company for event hire, he was too embarrassed to even send it over.

[Dex Sawash]

They'd be about why you ought to choose a particular business for a particular service in a particular area.

RIP punternet thread

[frajer]

Can you believe an events company has seen their year-on-year profits increase by 75% over 2020 and they apparently put this all down to my great work?

Cripes, I can only imagine how badly were they doing in 2019.

[bgmnts]

You have to have a certain respect for people who are able to write that kind of corporate muck.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Good article in the New York Times on this. You need to register for free:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/europe/britain-covid-contracts.html

...The procurement system was cobbled together during a meeting of anxious bureaucrats in late March, and a wealthy former investment banker and Conservative Party grandee, Lord Paul Deighton, was later tapped to act as the government's czar for personal protective equipment.

Eight months on, Lord Deighton has helped the government award billions of dollars in contracts –– including hundreds of millions to several companies where he has financial interests or personal connections.

The contracts that have been made public are only a part of the total. Citing the urgency of the pandemic, the government cast aside the usual transparency rules and awarded contracts worth billions of dollars without competitive bidding. To date, just over half of all of the contracts awarded in the first seven months remain concealed from the public, according to the National Audit Office, a watchdog agency...

All of the companies named in this article have denied wrongdoing, and there is no evidence to suggest that government officials were engaged in illegal conduct. But there is ample evidence of cronyism, waste and poor due diligence. Some of it has been documented by the British media, but the scale of the problem is wider than previously known.

In the government's rush to hand out contracts, officials ignored or missed many red flags. Dozens of companies that won a total of $3.6 billion in contracts had poor credit, and several had declared assets of just $2 or $3 each. Others had histories of fraud, human rights abuses, tax evasion or other serious controversies. A few were set up on the spur of the moment or had no relevant experience — and still won contracts...

Ministers could have avoided the panicked spending spree, critics said, had they not ignored their own pandemic preparedness plan and sold off stocks of P.P.E. from rainy-day reserves in the first three months of the year.

"If they had stocked according to that plan, then they would have bought themselves more time," said Dolin Bhagawati, a neurosurgeon and a leader of the Doctors' Association UK, which is suing the government for failing to investigate the effects of the P.P.E. shortages...

There is an interesting infographic in the article as well.

[Non Stop Dancer]

Did you actually mean to say £20? Surely nobody in their right mind who's actually capable of doing that would do so for that kind of money?

Edit: in response to Ja Danketies. Forgot to quote.

[JaDanketies]

Did you actually mean to say £20? Surely nobody in their right mind who's actually capable of doing that would do so for that kind of money?

In my first employ in this sector I earned less than £7.50 per 500 words, and that was 10 years ago. Considering how wages have grown in the last decade, this is the equivalent of earning £7.50 today.

I can do more than 500 words an hour but I work it out at 500 words an hour and charge £33.33. There's another company targeting the same market and that has roughly the same price. And if someone writes 500 words for me it'll take me up to half an hour to tweak it all so it's right, upload it to the website, add header tags and links, etc.

This graduate seems very pleased that she's getting £20 for 500 words and I'm not really earning anything off her, just freeing up some time.

[Non Stop Dancer]

Have I misunderstood what service you provide? Basically advertising copy is that right? I'd have thought that commanded a much higher fee, both for you and the people you employ. Don't mean that to sound arsey, just genuinely surprised.

[JaDanketies]

Have I misunderstood what service you provide? Basically advertising copy is that right? I'd have thought that commanded a much higher fee, both for you and the people you employ. Don't mean that to sound arsey, just genuinely surprised.

I'll DM you something I wrote recently.

edit: you're right though in that I could charge a lot more. I'm great value. I've only been freelancing for just over a year, after a five-year hiatus when I was an employee doing tech support, but yeah I'm now at the point where I need to think about these things

but until then it's £20

[Zetetic]

This thread causing me more dread than the 'ViD.

[mippy]

I do know someone who's just been made redundant that might be interested - he does a lot of those SEO articles about celebs.

[frajer]

This thread causing me more dread than the 'ViD.

Glad it's not just me. Was surprised that anyone would read the thread title and unironically say "Actually, I AM!"

JaDanketies - I'm in the events industry myself and not a single company is making more profit in 2020 than they did in 2019, unless they somehow spectacularly fucked up last year.

[JaDanketies]

I do know someone who's just been made redundant that might be interested - he does a lot of those SEO articles about celebs.

I'll DM you my contact details.

Frajer, a lot of my clients are involved in rentals and might perhaps have still been able to supply for private parties involving one household. It might just be a side hustle, also the importance of organic SEO for their marketing can't really be understated. if they weren't in the top five or top ten a year ago and they're in the top 1-3 now it makes sense. So the large and high value jobs have ended but they've managed to counteract that with a larger number of less-profitable jobs.

I definitely think it's remarkable that any events companies would've seen a rise in profits in the last year but when I check out the stats pages for any of my clients that have stuck with me over the year and who cater for smaller events as well as larger ones, I see bottom line improvements almost across the board.
The ones that only do larger jobs - it's been fuckin awful for them undoubtedly and despite my best efforts.


Really, these small business owners don't know anything about SEO and the number of SEO companies that offer a shit service is massive. So vast improvements over the course of a year with someone who cares about doing a good job is possible.

[Zetetic]

the importance of organic SEO for their marketing can't really be understated

Hook the KentVid to my veins.

[frajer]

I'll DM you my contact details.

Frajer, a lot of my clients are involved in rentals and might perhaps have still been able to supply for private parties involving one household. It might just be a side hustle, also the importance of organic SEO for their marketing can't really be understated. if they weren't in the top five or top ten a year ago and they're in the top 1-3 now it makes sense. So the large and high value jobs have ended but they've managed to counteract that with a larger number of less-profitable jobs.

I definitely think it's remarkable that any events companies would've seen a rise in profits in the last year but when I check out the stats pages for any of my clients that have stuck with me over the year and who cater for smaller events as well as larger ones, I see bottom line improvements almost across the board.
The ones that only do larger jobs - it's been fuckin awful for them undoubtedly and despite my best efforts.


Really, these small business owners don't know anything about SEO and the number of SEO companies that offer a shit service is massive. So vast improvements over the course of a year with someone who cares about doing a good job is possible.

Thanks for your replies, but this still all sounds a bit off to me. Search Engine Optimisation is one of the least important things in the live events industry, as you're almost entirely reliant on the quality of the product and your company's reputation. Being in the top 3 in Google has zero impact because everyone knows you can just bung someone money to make this happen.

Not to sound glib but it is remarkable in the year that live events have fallen off the map that any live events company has been able to increase their profits without getting all of their staff to pop out a kidney. To be honest, the industry's been absolutely gutted, and most small companies are falling by the wayside. So hopefully you can see why what you're saying doesn't add up.

But anyway, more power to you. Like yourself, I'm very much hoping for an upturn in 2021.

[Non Stop Dancer]

Being in the top 3 in Google has zero impact because everyone knows you can just bung someone money to make this happen.

I think you vastly overestimate the knowledge the average person has of such things.

[frajer]

I think you vastly overestimate the knowledge the average person has of such things.

Probably. Just glad I don't have to deal with it.

[JaDanketies]

Being in the top 3 in Google has zero impact because everyone knows you can just bung someone money to make this happen.

I think you're probably misunderstanding what my clients' sector is. It's more along the lines of offering PA equipment for hire, for instance. Equipment for events and parties.

[frajer]

I think you're probably misunderstanding what my clients' sector is. It's more along the lines of offering PA equipment for hire, for instance. Equipment for events and parties.

Fair enough, does sounds like we work in different areas. Glad it's going well and all the best for next year too.

[Fambo Number Mive]

- not the most reliable source, removed