The Perfect Storm

No, not the movie.No, not the financial industry.The other perfect storm - the web analytics and online marketing contract market!As with those other storms, there are many forces converging on these communities that are creating a real shift in the way work is getting done...Force #1: MaturityThe web analytics, SEO and SEM communities are maturing to the point where there is finally a critical mass of professionals out there that have enough skills and experience to "go independent" or at least to freelance on the side.Force #2: Income OpportunitySimple fact: contractors make more than employees. Significantly more. In an economy like this (or any other) that is a good thing. Another simple fact is that a lot of our spouses are losing their jobs or seeing their incomes decrease. When you keep hearing that there are freelance opportunities out there, eventually people put up there hand and say that they can handle another 5, 10, 15 hours/week of work.Force #3: Steady/High DemandThe web analytics and online marketing spaces have not been battered the way the rest of the economy has. For good reason... online spending and online advertising is STILL growing at a healthy pace - far outpacing the rest of the economy... plus there is greater pressure in bad times to increase ROI on marketing dollars, so analytics and smarter SEO & SEM becomes vital...Force #4: Hiring FreezesEither formally or informally many companies are pulling back the reigns on spending and hiring. Every req for a new head is being scrutinized. Even if the company does eventually agree to budget for a new web analytics or online marketing position, the longer approval process + the still-lengthy recruiting process creates a big gap during which the work is not getting done. Bring in the contractors!So the good news in the web analytics and online marketing communities is that demand is still quite high for your skills and experience. The other good news is that there is a new way for many professionals to supplement their income or direct their careers.The bad news is that contractors and hiring managers have a very hard time finding each other in the right place at the right time.Hopefully that is where we come in...