Almost every day I receive an email or two asking me to run an ad for a gig. I turn away about 95% of the people who make this request. Why? Because I feel their ads are trying to get over or they’re insulting to the writer. Here are why these ads don’t make the cut:
They want free samples – As far as I’m concerned, attached clips show off a writer’s style. If a potential client can’t recognize your talent from your provided samples, he’s welcome to ask you to audition, but he’ll have to pay.
They want you to pay an enrollment fee – One person wanted to me to post an ad for his content writing site. You have to pay for a membership though. He feels that weeds out the riff raff and allows him to only deal with the serious writers. WRONG. By charging a fee, you only deal with the desperate. The rest of us know only scammers want you to pay for jobs.
They pay less than $10 – Wait. Don’t yell at me. I know $10 isn’t a lot of money either but I do have to draw the line somewhere. Many of my readers live in parts of the country where $10 an hour is quite the decent wage. Since I started this blog to show writers there were good jobs to be had, I felt $10 to be a fair cutoff.
They’re too vague with the details - I once turned down someone who wanted to post an ad that supposedly paid pretty decent money. He refused to give me any details other than it was a well-paying gig. He basically told me his contact info, company name and even the type of writing required was none of my business. I don’t think so. If you want to post a job on my blog, you best be open with the deets.
They’re not quite ethical – I turned down term paper mills, homework services and other such sites. I’m not going to publish any job that goes against my beliefs.
There are plenty of places online listing all the jobs regardless of pay. They also don’t care who posted them or whether or not they’re legit. I do. I ‘m interested in seeing everyone succeed. Hopefully some of the jobs listed here help you to achieve your dreams.
P.S. – Someone added an interesting link in the comments for the Laray Carr posts. You might want to check it out.
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Hi Deb,
I have perused your site many times seeking some freelance work. I wanted to THANK YOU for your article on What I Won’t Post” I was just burned by someone who asked me for a complete web page sample. I thought it was a little unscrupulous, but I did it anyway. Now that I sent the beautifully written SEO Article for the website, he blocked my email account from his and won’t answer the phone when I call either. I feel so foolish. I have been freelancing for years, and to think this is the first time I have ever been burnt. Live and Learn. Thanks for all you do! Oh, Love your office pic!
Erik,
That is really what it boils down too. I was thinking of displaying an ad for an employmer who was willing to pay for work done! LOL
That’s my cynic coming out.
“I need guys who can work at least 8 hours a day without a payment for about 6 months until this project become successful.”
HAHAHA! and I need winning lottery numbers and an all-expense paid trip to Europe.
I just want to say thanks to Deb and Jodee! I think you guys do a great job and I appreciate your experience and insight into job offers, something I don’t have as of yet! Your site is the first I stop at everyday, and many times the last! This is why you’re so successful! Keep up the good work!
And congrats to Allycat! If we can’t be happy for each other, who will be happy for us???:)
“I need guys who can work at least 8 hours a day without a payment for about 6 months until this project become successful.”
That’s comedic gold right there. The guy could AT LEAST offer peanuts and snacks. Maybe some kind of Cheetos retainer or bonus plan? Though Cheetos might be a bit too high of an expense for him so he might consider Lay’s Potato Chips.
Erik>> I loved that. LOL. That’s perfect analogy right there. I wonder which era this person still think it is.
Chris>> I think even a piece of candy would be better than nothing. LOL
Thanks to Deb and Jodee for the great blog and job postings. Your site is the only one I check out almost daily. I am also just starting out freelancing part-time and this is the best place to find jobs in my opinion. I also love the comments that everyone provides.
Congrats Allycat!
What I love about this site is that the jobs posted are always for real money. Thanks for maintaining that standard.
About the unethical stuff, I would put paid wikipedia editing in that category. Wikipedia’s policy is to only include “notable” people/things, and not to let people write about themselves, so people who want some advertising will pay writers to write a wikipedia article about them. It’s skeevy, totally against the spirit of Wikipedia, and the article is just gonna get deleted anyway. I’ve occasionally seen this sort of ad posted here, so I thought I’d let you know.
Thanks again for a great website!
These are the reasons why your blog is still my number one source for finding great freelance writing job leads! It’s tedious to sift through other blog and job sites, so thank you very much for doing it for us
Hooah, Deb!