Are you a Male or Female Freelance Writer?
To tell you the truth, I never really thought much about the sex of freelance writers in the past. But a few hours back, I saw a picture on John Chow’s blog that got met thinking. He is attending the Affiliate Summit West conference this week, and as usual, is posting pictures for the rest of us to see.
Last night, it appears that John took part in a huge party at Tao nightclub. He stated that this bash was open to all conference attendees. While glancing at the pictures, I noticed that most of the attendees were of the male persuasion. While this may have been a coincidence, it got me thinking about which was more popular: male or female freelance writers. From what I can see, it appears that most affiliate marketers, at least those at Affiliate Summit West, are male. In the second picture of John’s post, I could only find six or so females. This is in comparison to approximately 40 males.
So what do you think about this? Is there a similar trend within the freelance writing industry? From where I sit, I would guess that female freelance writers are a bit more common. But then again, this is a one sided view.
If you do think that one sex is more popular than the other, do you believe there is a reason for this?
While this has nothing to do with becoming a better freelance writer or increasing income, it is something that is fun to think about. Let me know your thoughts!
February 27th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I don’t necessarily know that everyone attending the Summit is a “freelance writer.” I tend to think of Affiliate marketing more along the line of sales, and, sadly, the salesforces of the world tend to be male dominated (not saying they don’t do their jobs well, just wish women would compete and make themselves better known).
Personally, I have met more female “freelance writers” and more male “affiliate marketers”. Interesting to think about…
February 27th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
The Summit just sparked your thoughts on freelancers, right? Id have to agree that most freelance writers are probably women.But its probably a very close race. Maybe because many women who are at home mothers persue it as a money maker.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
For better or for worse, there are just certain fields that are dominated by one gender or the other. When I went to Las Vegas for CES in January, most of the attendees — with the exception of booth babes and some product reps — were male. The same can be said about affiliate marketers.
When it comes to freelance writers, I personally know of more females than males. As Kelly mentioned, this could be due to the WAHM phenomenon and moms typically — again, for better or for worse — are not drawn to heavier “sales” opportunities (like affiliate marketing) than their male counterparts.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Kelly - Yes, you are right. I think Deborah read my post a bit differently than I intended. Obviously, most of the people at the Summit are not freelance writers.
Michael - Good points! I totally agree that the WAHM effect has a major role in pointing women towards freelance writing.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
[...] the majority of affiliate marketers are male and then he came to wonder whether there were more male or female freelance writers. Because of the rising work-at-home-mom population, I’m inclined to think it’s the [...]
February 28th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I’m not sure, either, but maybe women are more patient and organized and will plug away reliably on assignments and men will tease deadlines and try for the blockbuster.
I’ll tell you one thing, though. If I were single, which I’m not, I wouldn’t be unhappy at writer’s conferences where the ratio’s 6-1 and the conference ends at a decent hour.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Chris, I don’t think it’s a question of whether there are more male than female freelance writers, but I think it’s a case of male freelance writers are more likely to want to attend such summit or conference, than female ones. I think it has to do with the male ego (no offense intended) that attending these summits makes one feel more important, and females are quite happy just sitting around writing and not have such media exposure?
March 1st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I do both affiliate marketing and freelance writing and I am female. You don’t need to be “salesy” to be an affiliate marketer. It’s a misconception. I can also think of a handful of successful female affiliate and internet marketers. But, I do know of more men… I guess it is something to think about!