hhhmmm…. something is missing, set up a website for tutorials, because for a developer, one thing is very important that how much tutorials have you written on a writting site.

I think most people here, like me, aren’t against the idea of offering skills trades and discounts in exchange for advertising, etc. in situations where the benefits are clearly outlined and outweigh the risks. I think what we ARE against more than anything is this recommendation of offering free work being put forth in a freelance forum, without any qualification or caveat. It’s simply irresponsible.

Other freelance switch articles are journalistically more thorough, offering pros and cons, options and advice. With an issue this controversial and potentially misleading to newer freelancers, more care should be taken in outlining HOW this type of thing should be approached, what types of pitfalls to look out for and what sorts of demands one should be making in return for their work (and in that sense, truly “free” work is never advisable).

If you really disagree with my position, that is your right. But don’t assume that you know anything about me or anyone else based on our positions alone. Like you, we’ve put a lot of thought into the issue and have just come to a different conclusion.

Design, development, programming, graphics, the web… it’s all been the epicenter of my life for as long as I can remember. I picked up BASIC on the Apple IIe and QBASIC on an IBM in the 4th grade (8 years old) and the following year in 5th grade learned HTML and the joys of managing a GeoCities web site. I found Paint Shop Pro (back when it was still shareware) through a friend and began to enjoy designing graphics. My mother worked for a college and I convinced her to buy for me the student versions of Visual Basic 4 and Adobe Photoshop 5.

Some years later—now in high school and realizing the potential income that awaited me—I began to take my passion seriously, and was excited that unlike my fellow students, I could make money doing something I absolutely loved. Right out of the gate I had a few paying projects fall into my lap for friends and family, but a short time later my workload was back to zero.

Out of the blue, an old friend called to see if I was still doing web work and if I would be available that weekend for a quick design project. He was working on a political campaign and their current web design firm had dropped the ball. I designed and built the web site in a single evening, and never asked for any payment. Several years have gone by since and EVERY election cycle this same person brings me 3-4 high paying campaign web site projects. Just a few hours of my time for free have turned into a consistent income.

One thing this angry mob has forgotten in the years since their early days, is that freelancing is about self-promotion. Lending your knowledge and labor free of charge to a project here and there, whether quick CSS or SEO advice or a full-on web site design, is ultimately beneficial to your own marketing efforts as long as you keep your head about it. No one here yet has listed the tangible benefits, so allow me:

1. Design credit - a link, copyright, byline placed on the final product acknowledging your work.

2. Backlink - if the above design credit is in fact a hyperlink, you’ve just boosted your search engine ranking, Google PageRank, therefore your traffic levels, and ultimately your sales.

3. Networking - if you’re doing free work for the right people, your name will be passed along when paying projects come up, your praises will be sung in the community, your name/brand given some credibility where you otherwise may be unknown

4. Portfolio - you can showcase the project in your portfolio, client list, etc. Most people won’t even hesitate to write a one-page testimonial letter praising your hard work.

Mave and the rest of the mob here complain about spec work because they’ve forgotten that in business, in any industry, in any locale, if you aren’t yet a household name, you have to be hungry. You have to fight to win contracts and land clients. Dozens of sleepless nights will be spent worrying about the next day’s pitch, days and days of seemingly wasted time sending out thousands of form letters and making hundreds of cold calls, and most importantly: creating brand awareness. And what’s one of the best, easiest, most cost-effective way to do this for many freelancers? You guessed it: discounted or free work. Not forever, not always, but until you’ve earned credibility, built up a portfolio of work, and are being approached by your clients (and not the other way around), this is absolutely a viable marketing tool to consider. And if you don’t have any other clients or projects, why not spare a few minutes/hours/days on a free project that will benefit your career, spark your ingenuity and creativity, and at the end of the day benefit a client (yes I use the term loosely here as they technically are not your client since they aren’t paying for your services).

Another misconception you’ll see raised is that doctors aren’t giving away free examinations, mechanics aren’t giving away that free tune-up, and masseuses aren’t rubbing free backs. Guess again.

Call up your local community college or technical school and ask about their discounted massage clinic. Go visit any medical school and you’ll see their attached free clinic. Where do you think the cars come from that are being fixed in Shop class? Sometimes irreparable junkers, but often faculty and friends who need a free tune-up. Walk into the cubes of any Fortune-500 white-collar business and you’ll see dozens (if not hundreds) of college interns, working for free, trying to get their foot in the door.

Freelancers have convinced themselves they are exempt of this practice. Perhaps the freelancing mob have been successful for too long, and it’s caused them to forget where they came from. Unless you’re wildly talented, and expressly public about what you do, my guess is it will take long hours, some elbow grease, and yes some very hard work without any financial compensation, before you achieve ultimate success.

In short, don’t blacklist this idea just because other more experienced designers are crying about working for free. They’ve been getting paid well for too long to remember what it’s like not knowing if you’re going to get the rent in on time.

My 2c

Yes maybe at a discounted price but when people work for free, everyone else suffers as they expect everyone else to work for free. and the person who worked for free, will 9/10 of the time, regret it!

Apart from that would agree with rest! All about getting your name on something famous!

It’s all bad. Seriously Skellie? I’ve read quite a few of your post in the past on multiple blogs, and some are good, but some are just outright horrible advise.

Free anything cheapens the industry. If you are recommending an exchange of advertising for work, then say that, and use the word EXCHANGE, and emphasis that the value of both should be equal.

Nobody needs to resort to doing ANYTHING for free, EVER! Doing so, and telling people to do so, is just ignorant.

I really think this is the first article on this blog that I have not enjoyed and cannot agree with. At the least you could work at a reduced rate for such a client, however this is still not ideal.

But I would certainly never go from having a fairly well-trafficked freelance business that charges typical rates, to suddenly saying “Hey, everybody… I work for free!!” Seriously bad move I think. People are just going to wait around for your next freebie. I think!

But getting back to the point of this post, which was creative ways to pimp your talent. I say start a network where people come to learn a trade (for example, a writing network, an SEO network, or hey, how about a network of freelancers like this one? Brilliant.). Run your network impeccably and watch how many people begin to “know you around town” and end up soliciting/referring you for paid client work. Your network can be a blog, yes, of course. But you’ve got to go full-throttle and socialize with other bloggers like crazy! There are far too many bloggers to count who have done that.

Great post - a little controversy to stir the pot! Nice.