Comments on: Spotting Scammers – and not jumping the gun until you’re sure

By: MIcah

MIcah — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:50:54 +0000

Alleycat: Yes I would like to know about WRG also. I have not heard of them either.

By: S.

S. — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:23:12 +0000

I was told by LCP that since the launch has been “pushed back,” I will not receive payment until the beginning of October. At first, I was told mid-September, but I doubt this will be the case (should I ever see that money at all).

Thanks for the suggestions on other places to look for gigs!

By: Rob Mead

Rob Mead — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:17:59 +0000

To Alley Cat: What is the publisher’s (WRG) full name? I’m not aware of WRG as far as I know of. Also, Craigslist is full of good legitimate writing gigs, but even the ones that do get in contact with me after liking my samples still disappear with a high frequency lately.

I will never write a free sample of any subject for a publisher that has not at least set up a Paypal account for me before I even write a 500-word article. I’ve done that twice before and got burned- maybe by LCP themselves. They informed me that payment is due me on the fifteenth of September, so if they don’t send me a check by that date, I will come here and post my updates for you all to check out.

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:31:30 +0000

To Sue S,

Also look at similar clients (but not competitors) to your current ones. Banks and other businesses do this to find customers.

If you’re unaware of the concept, it’s called profiling, from which they develop trarget marketing. So believe it or not, some of your junk mail typically comes from businesses who have customers who meet your profile (income, age, marital status, etc).

If you write for a PR firm, look for other PR firms. If you write for a consumer-oriented blog, look for others, etc.

Even if they don’t have anything now, you could very well have the lead when they do have something.

By: MIcah

MIcah — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:57:09 +0000

Hi, writers weekly is a good place to look also and click on some of Deb’s blog links. I have found some interested prospects that way also.

By: S.

S. — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:52:56 +0000

where do you guys look for jobs BESIDES craigslist? i have been actively writing for about three months and am surprisingly making OK money at it (comparable to what i was making at my actual career), but do feel like craigslist is getting old. any ideas/suggestions on other places to look?

thanks! love this site!

By: allycat

allycat — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:30:22 +0000

yeah, I’m pro craigslist, too. I’ve got some great gigs on there. Nothing recurring, just one time things, but good gigs.

By: allycat

allycat — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:29:33 +0000

Hey All, I assume some of you write for WRG, which is a darn good, steady, simple content project with some MAJOR names attached to it…and if I remember correctly, they asked for a sample made specifically to their format. Also, B5 Media is a legit company that pays bloggers and they ask for a sample that it “like what you would write for our blog” (so a very specific sample)
~Allena

By: Laurie D. T. Mann

Laurie D. T. Mann — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:24:59 +0000

Micah, that’s great, but most of the free lance jobs on Craigslist are anything but. Depressing.

By: Devil

Devil — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 08:38:36 +0000

testing 1

By: Devil

Devil — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 08:38:06 +0000

testing

By: Akhilleus13

Akhilleus13 — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 06:24:39 +0000

Thanks for the great advice–I hope it prevents some people from being scammed. Keep up the great work and keep those job postings coming!

By: MIcah

MIcah — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 03:40:52 +0000

Thanks Mariella,
Good advice. I decided to put one up for writing to have my own page people could go to. That will help with job openings too.

By: MIcah

MIcah — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 03:39:48 +0000

I didn’t know about craigslist until coming here. That’s how I have two columns and both are legitimate.

By: Laurie D. T. Mann

Laurie D. T. Mann — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:28:29 +0000

I’ve wasted a huge amount of time on Craigslist lately, the scammer’s delight. It’s frustrating because, once in a while, there are legitimate jobs posted on Craigslist. But, increasingly, the scammers are taking it over.

By: Tish Davidson

Tish Davidson — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:16:59 +0000

In defense of writing samples, I would like to say that legitimate companies sometimes do ask for samples, but they PAY for the sample, whether you get the job or not and they make it clear that they pay for the sample up front.

By: Mariella

Mariella — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:07:24 +0000

Micah>> Other than google adsense, you could also try Text Link Ads and Auction ads. Referral Programs are another way, like Amazon’s (which Deb has, as you can see).

When your blog becomes popular, you can also start renting advertising space, if you wish.

By: MIcah

MIcah — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:39:31 +0000

I also have a question folks. Any ideas of how to make money from your blog? Newbie and I’m aware of ads for clicking but wondering what you guys have to say about it. Hope you are all having a good weekend.

By: MIcah

MIcah — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:36:06 +0000

I tried the Alexa. It’s nice to see the AC page views but it seems to mess with my pc so took it off. That may be the spyware but not sure.

By: Judith in Umbria

Judith in Umbria — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:30:27 +0000

Oddly enough, an email address does not come with my ISP, so until I bought my own domain I used Yahoo, Googlemail, etc. Also that means you don’t have to change addresses to changer ISPs. Still, it is a flag, I agree. (I am however legit!)

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:28:43 +0000

Has anyone noticed those newspaper ads for postal service jobs at $25-$30 an hour? You call and they tell you that you must pay a fee to get into the program. My attitude is, if I HAD money, I wouldn’t be looking for a job!

By: Kori Ellis

Kori Ellis — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:09:33 +0000

Just one comment regarding Alexa to judge the rating of a website. It is not really a great tool (in my opinion). Their stats are only stats generated from those who have the toolbar – so it’s not very indicative of the actual surfing population. Also, their toolbar contains malware/spyware (or at least it used to), so many people avoid it like the plague.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:36:39 +0000

Regarding samples… Often scammers call them “trial” articles. It’s usually phrased like: “We’ll ask you to write a trial article on the topic of our choosing. If your writing fits our needs, we’ll then hire you for paid assignments.” That’s almost always a scam designed to get articles from writers for free.

However, I think sometimes legit companies who want writers will sometimes call them samples in the job ad, but they really mean “clips” (they just don’t know the lingo).

By: Bucking the System

Bucking the System — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:51:31 +0000

Here’s where you can check out if anyone has stolen your work.

copyscape.com

Just type in your URL and it will pull up everywhere it appears.

Also, you can put the “copyscape” logo on your pieces that says they are copyrighted. This tends to scare off most of the “pond scum”.

By: Bucking the System

Bucking the System — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:48:05 +0000

This discussion brings up another topic. These ads that only have a gmail or other “suspect” email as a contact.

It is my experience that a legitimate company will put the name of their firm, their company’s website, etc. in the ad. Afterall, would you be able to physically go on an interview to a company that didn’t give you their name and address? The same applies here.

If they don’t say the name of their company, give a web site address, or some other form of identification….here’s what I do.

If I haven’t been turned off to their ad by this point and am still interested in more information, I respond asking them to tell me more about their company. 99% of the time, these “blind” ads never do respond. The 1% who do, usually tell me how wonderful they are and if I would just send them this, this, and that, I too, can be rich like them! LOL

Also, and this should go without saying as I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but if they do put a “.com” or a “.net”, etc., address as their email, go to the site and check it out. If no site comes up……not a good sign. Yes, they may still be working on it, but its still “iffy”.

Also, go to Alexa.com and put their toolbar on your computer. It will give you a web rating of every site you go to. This way, the next time some site tells you about all the “exposure” you will get, you can see their ratings and know if they are actually getting the hits they are saying.

The way alexa works is the lower the number, the more popular the site. By the way Deb, congrats on getting under the 100K mark!