Let’s Talk About Working For Free
When you’re a freelancer there’s always a big pink elephant in the room. It stands over you caressing your face with its hairy trunk when you’re on call to a client and it spears you in the chest with its tusk when you see the PERFECT job ad, only to realise it’s for no pay.
Whilst I was at uni and just after I finished I resigned myself to the fact I’d have to work for free. Because, everyone does it right? It’s just the route you have to take to get where you want to be.
Without thinking about it I wrote blog posts for high-flying brands… for free. I helped market start-up magazines… for free. I input data into spreadsheets for hours… for free. Because it would eventually lead me to where I wanted to be.
Or so I thought.
The truth is, working for free is a double edged sword.
In some situations it really can lead you to where you want to be. For example, my sister volunteered in a gallery (an environment she was desperate to work in) which led to a full-time paid position. She excelled in her role as a volunteer and made herself invaluable to the team.
It was a no-brainer.
But lines start getting blurred when you enter the realm of freelancing and blogging. Take things online and immediately everyone starts thinking they can have their cake and eat it.
Who doesn’t love a bit of cake?
And it’s even more difficult when there are people out there essentially doing your job but not charging a penny for it. They’re doing it for free because they already have a job and they just enjoy the work.
I could hark on about how there should be some industry guidelines, but I’m a huge fan of everyone doing their own thing. I have absolutely no right to tell someone what they can and can’t do in their spare time, just like I’d never take it well if someone told me how to run my business.
But how do you know when it’s okay to work for free and when it’s not?
Some people would blast me down and pray that I stay there for even saying it’s okay to work for free. But I’m under no illusion that it’s a dog eat dog world out there and that it’s every man for himself (or every woman for herself).
WORKING FOR FREE — WHEN SHOULD YOU DO IT?
Over the years I’ve realised that there are some situations where working for free is ideal. Or, the only way to level up.
TO BUILD YOUR BRAND
No one is going to pay you to promote your brand, your business, or your services. It’s all down to you to get creative and get your name out there.
How do you do that? Well, for writers like myself, guest posting on bigger blogs and sites is a fantastic way to reach audiences who don’t know you exist. Guest posting doesn’t pay, but if you hit the right markets and blow people’s socks off you can really reap the benefits.
I’ve had a number of clients find me through my articles on The Huffington Post. Guess what? I don’t get paid to write those.
I’ve also written for tonnes of blogs with larger (but aligned) audiences with mine and it’s resulted in loads of sign ups and new readers. Later down the line when I start releasing products (super-duper useful ones!), this new audience might prove to be very useful.
If you’re asked to contribute to something by a major brand you might consider saying yes to get your work in front of more eyeballs.
But really, it’s up to you to assess what would or what wouldn’t be a good opportunity for your brand and business. You’re the person who knows your business best, who knows your audience best, and knows what you want to achieve and by when.
Which leads me onto my next point…
YOU HAVE A PLAN
Plans are so underrated. I used to be the queen of winging it, but now I love a good plan, especially when there are defined outcomes and manageable ways to reach it.
If you have a strategy in place that could do with working for free — for example, you want more purchases of your on-site product each month — then go ahead, spread your wings and fly.
Don’t just do it for the sake of it though.
So many of the pieces I wrote for free I wrote because I was just ecstatic that someone wanted me to write for them. Little did I know that I was simply a cog in a much bigger wheel. I could have been anyone — except I wasn’t, I was even better. I was someone who was willing to do work for free for no personal gain.
Eesh.
TO GET EXPERIENCE IN A DIFFERENT FIELD
Job-jumping these days is HARD. If you’ve already been working your butt off in one industry but you’d really like to swap skills and try something else for a while, it’s almost impossible to land paid work.
Because you don’t have any experience.
To get work you need to prove you’re able to do it, otherwise why would anyone hand over the cash?
If you’re first and foremost a writer but you’d really like to break into web design and you want to build up your portfolio and get better at it before you unleash yourself on the masses, working for free is a viable option depending on whether you have the time.
FOR A CAUSE YOU LOVE
I’m a big believer in working from the heart and helping out brands or causes you really believe in. Usually, this boils down to charities and non-profits who often don’t have the money to pay big bucks for freelancers.
If you really want to get involved it’s totally okay to work for free, especially if it means you can sleep easy at night knowing you’ve done your part for humanity.
WORKING FOR FREE — WHEN YOU SHOULDN’T DO IT
The evolution of online industries and jobs has meant that pretty much anyone with a computer and the internet can call himself a freelancer and start advertising his services for money.
This has led to an increase in poorly skilled people carrying out writing, designing, and marketing work. It gives the industry a bad name and it ultimately lowers the value of everything we do.
Which also means companies and brands think it’s okay to ask you to work for free. Because, they could totally just do it themselves, right?
Yeah, this is one of the situations where working for free is tentative.
A SAMPLE FOR A CLIENT
This one has caught me unawares a few times, I have to admit, and I’m sure you fell foul to this ploy when you first started out.
Clients often ask me to write a free sample for them when I’m pitching for work, “just to see if you’d be a good fit.” Fine, if it’s 100 words about something I already know. Not fine if I have to write a full-on 500-word piece for absolutely nothing.
Now, I just guide potential clients towards my portfolio where they can see an expansive collection of my previous work to see if they think I can write. Or I charge them for the sample piece.
THE CLIENT PROMISES THERE’S MONEY DOWN THE LINE
How many times have I heard clients say that they don’t have the money to pay now but they’re planning on being multi-millionaires in a few short weeks so just hold tight until then?
Urgh, too many.
It’s impossible to know how much money you’ll be making down the line unless you’re already making that money — in which case, you can pay me.
Nine times out of ten this is just a massive giveaway that the client doesn’t plan on paying you at all, ever. Never.
BECAUSE THE CLIENT IS YOUR FRIEND
Sure, it’s nice to help a friend out every now and again, but when we know someone well it’s easy to take advantage of them.
I know I’ve certainly volunteered up friends to bosses (cringe) and many friends have done the same to me.
If it’s a small task that can be done quickly or if it’s a really, really close friend who’s in desperate need of something, sure go ahead — you want to get into heaven after all, right?
But don’t just work for free because a friend has asked you. Value your work and they will, too. You could always start by prompting them on what you usually charge clients for similar work and see if they back off.
When they know how much you’ll be losing out on they’ll probably run away with their tail between their legs. Otherwise you should cut and run.
There are so, so many scenarios where clients take advantage of freelancers by manipulating them into working for free, but you can only really judge a situation using your experiences and your good ol’ gut instinct.
I’m not going to be the person to swat you down in public for working for free doing something I charge for because I have no idea what’s going on with you — I don’t know your goals, I don’t know your strategy, and I don’t know what you love doing in your spare time.
This post originally appeared on Wanderful World. Are you a creative freelancer who loves to travel? Sign up to the Creativity Chronicles newsletter for tips, tricks and advice about growing your kick-ass business and making more time to travel.
