What’s on the iPod: Would You Fight for My Love? by Jack White
What a busy week. I feel like I’ve run marathons standing still. One project is consuming all my time. I had to carve out time yesterday to market. If I hadn’t, there was a good chance there would be a gap in my workload. I have lots of inquiries and proposals out there, but nothing contracted. Yet.
One thing I won’t be doing is working for the likes of our first offering in today’s This Job, Not That Job series. Thanks once again to Jenn Mattern for passing along the link. It’s the perfect example of the price being right but everything else being oh, so wrong:
Blog Copywriter
Looking for a blogger that can write 1,000 – 1,500 word in-depth, data driven blog posts 1-2 times per week on the following topics: natural and/or holistic treatments for skin and allergy conditions.
I am willing to pay approximately $200 per post depending on length and quality.
This is a long-term & high potential job for anyone who’s interested in helping people learn more about natural, alternative methods for treating common health problems.
How to apply
I expect to receive 100 or more applicants for this job. I’m only looking for the best. So, I’ve set up a writing contest.
THE WRITING CONTEST: Draft article on “How to use essential oils effectively on the skin.”
This will test your ability to turn a headline and outline produced by me into a blog post ready to be published and written in a “medical voice.”
Step 1: Fill out this form
(Link removed to help you avoid a bad decision)
It will include:
– Headline of the article
– Outline of the article
Step 3: Write the article
You will be responsible for turning that outline into a cohesive step-by-step article. You will be responsible for collecting and embedding relevant pictures/images as well.
The article should be between 800-1200 words.
The winner of the contest will be paid for the winning article and receive the contract to write weekly blog posts.
“I expect to receive 100 or more applicants. I’m only looking for the best. So I’ve set up a writing contest.”
Uh, Duh. Of course you’re going to receive 100 or more applicants if you post the job online. Try more like thousands. You’re looking for the best? So is everyone else. So far, you’ve stated nothing new.
Ah, but you’ve set up a contest. That, I must say, is new.
THE WRITING CONTEST: Draft article on “How to use essential oils effectively on the skin.”
This will test your ability to turn a headline and outline produced by me into a blog post ready to be published and written in a “medical voice.”
Huh? You’re asking writers to work for free writing an article you may not use? And you’re really not a comedian?
The form:
Well, here would be your chance to tell the poster what you think. It’s a form asking for your name, email, and asking if you’ve read the job description or if you have any questions. I have one — why are you so anal over a blog post? And where can I contact you should you decide to use all or part of my work without payment or attribution? (I’m a skeptic at heart.)
You will be responsible for turning that outline into a cohesive step-by-step article. You will be responsible for collecting and embedding relevant pictures/images as well.
The article should be between 800-1200 words.
Whoa. Back the truck up. You’re going to expect that many words AND an image and the pay is just $200? And did anyone else notice that the word count has changed in just a few short paragraphs?
The smell just got worse in here.
The winner of the contest will be paid for the winning article and receive the contract to write weekly blog posts.
And what about the losers? What do they get? Wait, don’t tell me. They get screwed into thinking they have a shot in the first place.
Any offer like this that requires you to compete by working for nothing is insulting. Don’t. Instead, step over the steaming pile and look for something better, such as this:
WordPress Blogger (courtesy of All Indie Writers job board)
We are looking for a blogger that can write 2,000 to 3,000 word blog posts once per week on the following topics : Company Culture, Growth Hacking, Product Development, Sales Processes, SEO, Conversions and Optimization, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing and other such business processes.
We are willing to pay someone $300-$500 per post providing they do a great job.
It isn't only the unknowns who try to pull this off. I was recently approached by an 800 pound gorilla in the world of direct response marketing. These are the guys that built a nearly billion dollar business on direct mail. They found me on the web and asked if I would be interested in working for them. I thought I was … after all, they're the "holy grail" client for many copywriters. It turns out they were asking for spec work. Yep, IF they liked my headline and lead, they'd pay me a portion of my fee, and then IF they liked the rest of the copy, they'd pay me the rest. Um … no. 13 years writing copy, 8 of it in the industry they need writers in that require a nuanced understanding of the regulatory climate … and they are asking for spec work? It was like a slap in the face with a dead, clammy fish. A colleague of mine observed that they have a bad case of "Disney-itis" and assume just having them on one's resume is payment enough. But not for me. I'd love to work with them, and if they would meet my terms, I'd do so. But that looks pretty unlikely. I know my worth … and it isn't speculative.
Call me a skeptic, but I'm pretty sure the 99 or so other losers will be rewarded with the exposure gained by having their "tests" published on the blog – without their content or payment. There probably won't be a "winner" at all, since they'll have all of those free "entries" to use.
You know they'll argue that all contest entries become property of the entity running the contest.
Eileen, that's just lousy. So they're using their big-name status to screw over writers? Why does everyone want to jump on the HuffPo model? It's as though they think reputation doesn't matter.
Paula, I suspect there's no real winner, either. Well, even the "winner" is kind of a loser in this case.
This one's a doozy!
Happens to graphic designers, too — the ever lovin' logo "contest", for example. UGH. OY. What artist is going to spend his/her precious time designing something for free?! Nobody, that's who.