Writing for Free: Does It Ever Make Sense?
January 29, 2009 by Jenny Cromie
Filed under Jobs
“Free” in “freelancer” does not mean writers should write for free.
But is there ever a time when a no- or low-pay assignment makes sense? Every writer has a different take on this, and there’s certainly no one-size-fits-all answer. But in my opinion, sometimes writing for no or low pay does, in fact, make sense.
That said, freelancers as a general rule should steer clear of assignments and clients that offer no or low pay. And if you’re consistently accepting these kinds of assignments, there’s something wrong with your business model and/or your confidence level. By consistently accepting no or low pay from clients and publications, you’re sending the message that it’s okay to continue paying writers paltry sums and in plain old exposure. And I don’t think that’s a message that freelancers as a group want to be sending to anyone. Especially right now.
After all, we can’t stuff a copy of one of our masterfully written articles in an envelope and send it in as payment for our electric bill. The last I checked, exposure still doesn’t pay the bills. But can exposure sometimes boost your earnings? Yes.
So when does writing for no or low pay make sense? Here are some questions to help you decide:
1) Would traffic to the article on the no- or low-paying Web site expose me to thousands of readers in a way that my own blog couldn’t? I recently wrote a couple of guest posts for a prominent Web site and received no pay. But I decided to write for the Web site because I knew that the exposure would drive traffic to this blog and also get my name out there as someone who knows a little bit about social media and how to use it effectively. My instinct was correct. I now have a much larger group of Twitter followers who now routinely read this blog. And indirectly, I have received more income as a result of those guest posts—because of that exposure.
2) Would writing the article help me build my brand and contribute to my overall marketing strategy? As small business owners and freelancers, we already write a lot of things for free if you stop and think about it. We don’t get paid to write queries or LOIs, but we write them anyway. We don’t get paid to update our Web sites, but we do it anyway. We don’t get reimbursed for all the time we spend writing proposals that don’t get accepted, but we do it anyway. Why? Because it’s part of how we go about selling ourselves, marketing our businesses, and finding new clients. So writing a guest post or an article for a print or online publication that pays nothing or very little can make sense when you look at it as part of your overall marketing strategy. Do I think that you should write for free all the time to get your name out there? Absolutely not. I think you should try to get paid for everything you write whenever possible. But if I’m trying to establish myself as an expert on [fill in the blank], and I write a post for my personal blog on the subject, my friends, family, and a few others might read what I have to say. But will that really help further my marketing strategy? Probably not. On the other hand, let’s say I write the same post for a Web site like The Huffington Post, which attracts millions of viewers. From a marketing perspective, that’s like free advertising. And yes, free advertising does makes sense. Alone, could your own Web site ever generate the same kind of traffic as The Huffington Post? I’m going to bet your answer is no.
3) Will the assignment give me the opportunity to network with people who might be able to help me further my career? There are a couple of sites I’ve written for that don’t pay worth a darn for stories. But I write occasional stories for the publications anyway because they put me in contact with professionals in my field who I want to get to know. How has this helped me? I now belong to a couple of online writers’ communities that I would not have known about otherwise. And the connections I’ve made in those groups has been invaluable for my freelancing career. Of course, if you’re able to find well-paying assignments that accomplish the same thing, by all means, go after those first! But in the absence of those opportunities, it might make sense to accept a lower-paying assignment.
4) If the assignment is low paying, how badly do I need the money? I’m all for higher pay and aiming for $1 per word assignments. But those nice, high-paying assignments don’t always come along when you need the cold hard cash to make next month’s rent payment. So unless you want to go supplement your income by working a part-time job or flipping burgers somewhere, you might want to consider taking the occasional low-paying assignment. Here are the questions I ask myself to determine whether I should accept an assignment that offers low pay: a) Can I turn it around quickly enough so that my hourly rate is still high? b) Is there the potential to make up the low pay with quantity? In other words, will I be able to generate a lot of copy over a period of time that might make up for the low pay? c) Is the work relatively pain free, and is the client easy to work for? d) Is the work going to be steady and ongoing? If the answer is yes to some or all of these questions, it might make sense to accept the assignment.
So what about you? Have you ever written for free or accepted a low-paying assignment from a client or publication? Why did you do it and when do you think it makes sense for freelancers? Drop me a line and tell me about it!
-Jenny
Photo credit: greefus groinks (Flickr)
I just blogged about this, actually… http://allcotmedia.blogspot.com/2009/01/when-its-okay-to-write-for-minimum-wage.html And I agree with you, although I have other reasons for the most part, more related to time investment than marketing/networking.
Hi Jenny!
I really enjoy your blog, and always gain something valuable by reading it — thanks!
It’s a delicate dance we do as “free” lancers, isn’t it? If I had $1 for every word that’s raced through my head as I’ve mulled over what to charge, whether to charge, and when to ask for more money…well, I’d be somewhere tropical, floating on a raft with a drink holder, and making eyes at that cute Cabana boy with the six pack abs and glistening tan…
But I digress. I agree 100% with your take on this issue. I’ve landed many new clients and gained some terrific exposure by writing for free. As you’ve stated, it’s imperative to continually assess your business model, and make sure that your freebies are going to “pay you” in some tangible fashion, whether that’s in contacts, exposure, or even experience. The key, of course, is to work those freebies into your overall business plan and to avoid letting the recipients think they can take advantage, i.e. “That 500-word (free) blog post that you just “whipped up” was so clever — do you mind throwing together some witty captions for my vacation pics?” (I wish this was fiction).
Thanks for another valuable post!
Gwen
@gwendarling
Hi Jenny,
You’re absolutely right in saying that it depends on the client. I was recently asked to do some work for a big news organization. They found me via my blog, and wanted to know if I’d be interested in doing some work for them. I asked about payment, though didn’t expect the answer to be yes (and it wasn’t). Given the organization in question, I decided that I’d have to be an idiot not to take on the project.
In the end, they were so pleased with the work I’d done for them that they changed their minds about paying, so in addition to being able to add a very impressive name to my list of writing credits, I’ll even get some unexpected monetary satisfaction.
No regrets whatsoever.
Jenny:
Funny you would write this now, because I just got an offer from a well-regarded online site to start writing for them on a regular basis for no money. They threw around words like exposure and stuff, which is a red flag in my book. Sure, I’ll do a blog posting or article from time to time for little or no money if I expect a bigger payoff down the road. But asking me to become a regular contributor for free? No way.
Leah
Hi Jenny,
Two months ago I agreed to take on an ongoing SEO writing gig that paid very little per article, as a trial arrangement. My thinking was exactly in line with your comments: get some exposure, broaden my portfolio, make some new contacts.
It turns out the assignments were not the kind of writing at which I excel. In fact, four of the first five submissions were not accepted because they had missed the mark. And because this was a brand new type of writing for me, I had invested way more time per article than the estimate of one hour each…
Needless to say, my hourly rate was next to nothing.
So I graciously thanked the client for the opportunity and promptly ended the arrangement without charging for the hours I had spent. This left the client relationship in tact on good terms and proved to be a valuable lesson for me to be more selective about the types of assignments I take on.
So in my case, it was worth it to work for free rather than risk damaging the relationship with the client.
Chalk it up to being a newbie…
Congratulations on that gig Liza!
In general, I am dead set against writing for free. But I think each writer has to figure out for themselves if writing for no or low pay makes sense in terms of their overall marketing plan and in each situation.
I think it’s rare for a publication to go from offering no pay to some pay—so I think you got pretty lucky there.
For myself, the situations I’ve outlined above are the only exceptions I’ll make to my general rule that you should never write for free.
As I mentioned in the post, there’s no hard-and-fast rule that fits everyone’s situation all the time.
I am just starting to solicit a few freelance projects when I am not at the regular 9-5 job. I have been writing email newsletters for a group of recruiters as a part of that job and am now doing the same for one small business owner as my first freelance gig. I haven’t been able to get much traction with other businesses, and am thinking of offering to do the first newsletter for free so that the potential client can get a good idea of the impact the newsletter will have on business.
I am divided on the wisdom of this course of action–it could lower the value of what I do in clients’ minds–and am looking for opinions. So, what do you think?
I completely agree with that question: “Can I turn it around quickly enough so that my hourly rate is still high?”
I’ve set an hourly rate for myself (a long time ago) and I make sure that all of my work adheres to that no matter what.
I don’t see how I could freelance full-time any other way!
I agree that the answer to whether your write for free is the answer is it depends. I see too many posts of the holier than thou attitude of “never” which suggests that the author a) has someone else paying the rent and b) doesn’t know anything about article marketing!
Another factor is where are you living – every US$ I earn is A$!.50 at the moment :-)
Dawn, you bring up some great additional points in your blog post. Thanks for sharing the URL here!
Gwen, thanks for that feedback. I completely agree that you have to decide on the right course based on your business model. And you bring up an important point too—you constantly have to reassess what your business model/plan is … it should never be static.
Leah, I completely agree. If someone is asking you to do an ongoing gig for free (regardless of the reputation of the publication/client), then that’s unacceptable in my book. Like you, I don’t mind doing an occasional freebie if I know it’ll benefit me in some way from a marketing or experience standpoint. But like you, I have to question a business that trots out exposure as payment for an ongoing arrangement. A no-go in my book too.
Tom, I’m sorry that gig didn’t work out. But even if you are inexperienced in a certain type of writing and the end result is not what a client expected, I think you should still be reimbursed for your time and work. I’m not always satisfied with my service when I go out to eat, but I still pay my bill before I leave the restaurant. Know what I mean? We should never sell ourselves or our experience short—regardless of our experience level.
Dava, along the lines of what I just said above … I would not offer to do the work for free. In my opinion, you send the wrong signal to a potential client by offering to write a newsletter for free. Research rates for that kind of work in your area, and based on that information, settle on a rate that factors in your experience, the estimated amount of time you’re going to spend, etc. I think it’s a rare client that will accept free work the first time and then start paying you for the next assignment. In my opinion, I think you need to settle on a rate (grab a copy of the current Writer’s Market—basic rates are generally detailed in the front). But don’t do the work for free. Newsletters can take a lot of time, and you don’t want to send the message to your client that your work isn’t worth any $$$.
Nicole, like you, I settled on my minimum hourly rate when I first started my freelance business. I evaluate any offer of work through that lense. So if a publication is offering me what looks like a small amount, I look at it from an hourly standpoint. If I can knock out a $100 assignment in one hour, that means I’m making $100 for one hour of work. Not bad.
5. Will potential clients see that I’ve written the piece for free, and therefore request that I write for them for free, or at a reduced rate?
And be sure to check out http://www.no-spec.com …unless you’re doing it for a friend or sure that the benefits outweigh the negatives, I’d think twice about writing for free.
Jonathan, you bring up a very good point. Your question is something that every freelancer should ask themselves when considering a low- or no-paying gig.
I should say low- or no-paying assignment. I would never recommend accepting an ongoing gig for no pay.
Great post Jenny,
AND great comments. I’ve been tackling the same basic issue but with a slightly different cut over on my blog. Given that I’m in the commercial realm, it’s generally not about the online article writing arena. But some of the same dynamics apply.
I invite you and your crowd to visit at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog/?p=37#comment-1309
PB
“The Well-Fed Writer”
Peter Bowerman! Thank you so much for dropping by! I have enjoyed your books and have found them very helpful.
It’s interesting that you are tackling the same issue.
Though, given the times, it’s bound to be a hot issue. Fewer paying jobs than what we may be used to will always have us weighing the advantages of low-pay/no-pay work as a way to prime the pump for future income. But as I like to put it, The Las Vegas Rule applies: Never invest anything (time, resources, etc) you’re not willing to lose.
PB
I try to use low/no-fee assignments to fulfill one of two functions: either to practice a skill or to simply have fun.
In this sense, you’re getting ‘paid’ but it’s more like a barter system.
Peter, I completely agree. I think more outlets are offering no or low pay for work and will continue to do so in this economy. And I like your Las Vegas rule too. I don’t make a habit of writing for “free” except when it appears that the guest post or assignment will increase my exposure (and my income as a result). I think if you look at it at free advertising/marketing opportunities, then the “free” part seems to make more sense. Still, guest posts don’t pay the bills.
Mark, I also agree with you. I have agreed to guests posts for other freelance friends. I think it’s a way to help a fellow freelancer and also to expose yourself and get to know a wider or different audience.
And I guess when I wrote this post, I was not thinking in terms of writing on spec for a well-known print publication. For myself and my business model, I don’t think that I would consider that. Although it might make sense for someone else.
First, everyone sets up the straw man of a buck a word–not everything can be $1 a word, etc. A dollar a word is pretty rare. We are scratching in the dirt here. I write my health humor blog basically free–it’s syndicated by Lexis-Nexis but that pays 5 lattes a year. Unlike this blogger, I have never had anyone see my free work (such as my audio book reviews I do for fun for another blogger) and say…Hey, she’s great, let me get her to do something. One woman’s experience, mileage may vary, as they say. I do think the web is poorly monetized and maybe always will be–but some of these people can pay and won’t or don’t and we let them get away with it. If someone is making money–you should, too. For instance, I think Arianna Huffington with all her money should pay! I think she does pay some editors and balances her fortune on the backs of those who want exposure for books or ego. I know of one branding company that pays freelance namers–but asks for the first job for free. Why? Because they can. But we don’t have to sing, dance, audition, donate or take this unless we choose to do so.