Why I DO use the word ‘freelancer’

I still call myself a freelancer (a freelance technical copywriter, to be exact). It’s just a word, but one that I see getting trashed on a semi-regular basis online. Usually by someone else who does the same work as me: outsourced writing (copywriting or content writing) for companies, people, etc.

And I roll my eyes … hard.

Why do copywriters still run away from the word ‘freelancer’?

I really don’t understand the aversion to the word. Sure, a number of years ago, the word ‘freelancer’ might’ve conjured up negative connotations. You know the ones …

• Content mills where someone on the other side of the world was churning out content for fractions of a penny.
• People creating websites full of ‘stuffed’ pages and posts that caused genuine website owners to fear a Google backlash.
• People who live in parts of the world where the cost of living is so much lower that they don’t need to charge as much for their writing.
• Or even people who were simply covering up the fact that they were unemployed.