There are many, many things that every freelance writer needs to know about sentence structure, crafting memorable pieces and researching their facts. But when it comes to getting paid for work and creating a successful self employment career with writing skills, there’s even more information to take in. Learn how to work at home with writing, instead of falling for various scams and getting tricked into working for free.
Spotting Different Writing Scams
One of the best ways to avoid freelance writing scams is knowing how to spot the common ones. Many types of online scams are more prevalent than others, and for one reason only: they work. By learning how to spot them, work at home professionals can continue to avoid them.
- Junk/spam mail. This is the first red flag. If freelance writers get replies or unsolicited mails from so-called employers and/or Web sites seeking writers, be aware if the email comes to a spam or junk mail folder. Why go on alert? This is an immediate signal that the same mail has been sent to many, many recipients, instead of a single writer or even handful of writers. This could be the first sign of a scam.
- Vague or missing payment information. Don’t start writing for an employer unless the payment information and compensation terms are very clearly outlined- in writing. If there is anything vague about the payment terms at all, get things cleared up before submitting pieces. It’s best to do this in the beginning, rather than completing a bunch of work and fighting a payment battle later.
- Sketchy company history. Look up Web sites and companies before starting to work for them. Even a quick, cursory search engine scan can yield lots of useful information. Are there a lot of complaints on forums posts about this Web site or company? Is it hard to find information about the employer? This could be a huge sign that things aren’t exactly on the level.
Don’t Write for Free!
Some freelance writing scams are much more low-key, and therefore much, much harder to spot. One very common writing scam is the request for samples. Lots of companies claim to be hiring and ask writers to apply. When the writers respond, the company sends links and asks for content pages to be re-written. What happens after that? Nothing. The content gets used and the writer gets nothing.
However, this can be one of the hardest scams to spot and even harder to fight. The problem is that many legitimate companies will ask for samples as well…so how is a writer supposed to tell the difference? Look for the warning signs above, and see if any of them apply to this sample request. Sometimes, it’s best to pursue a potential job rather than to fear a scam, but if there’s enough evidence of a scam chances are, that’s exactly what it is.
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