I received an e-mail this morning from a 'potential client' looking for up to 10 VA's to write articles for a big project he has upcoming. He requested that I write two 400 to 500 word articles and submit them to him for consideration. I had never heard of this person before, so I sent him an e-mail in return asking him if he could give me a bit more information. I asked if this was for his business or if it was a creative project. I told him that I felt it was important for me to know what a potential clients expectations and needs are in order for the client-VA relationship to be successful. I also directed him to my blog for reference to my writing ability and style.
He replied that although he appreciated my approach, he was interested in finding VA's with the best writing abilities and that I should take the initiative and take an hour to write two new articles and submit them to him. He said he'd let me know more about why he needed them (but didn't tell me anything) and said he'd pay $15 an article.
To me this seems fishy. If he's just looking for writing ability, why couldn't he get a feel for that on my blog. I can't help but wonder if he's trying to obtain original articles for his own purposes by taking advantage of VA's.
Then again, maybe I'm too cautious. What do y'all think?

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~Tina Marie Hilton of Clerical Advantage
& founder of VA Survival School

My first reaction: don't even bother - anyone who expects you to do that much work for free is just culling free content. You'd likely never hear from him again.

Any client who is interested in hiring you for your writing skills AND respects the fact that you're providing a service, would be satisfied with your portfolio and would not ask for free, fresh content as a 'sample'.

Your own gut feeling is right on.

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I got the same email this morning and responded back with a "thank you for your interest but I'm a bookkeeper" email. Even if it IS legit, I wouldn't spend an hour writing an article for only $15 - the needs to hire a college student, not a VA

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Sounds like he's fishing for free articles to me.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

I don't think you should pursue this.

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Carlana Charles - Ciboney Virtual Solutions
Web: http://ciboneyvirtual.com Blog:http://ciboneyvirtual.com/blog

I agree with everyone else - this sounds way too fishy! You wouldn't go to your favorite retailer and demand free products so you could test them out! If you tried, you'd get laughed right out of the store.

This guy is definitely looking for free stuff, and it sounds like he's trying to strong-arm you into providing it. You should 'take the initiative and take an hour to write two new articles and submit them to him'? Um, no!!! And like Lily said, $15 for a full 400- to 500-word article is most definitely not enough for a professional VA.

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
Free call: "How to Write Email Subject Lines That Grab Attention!"

I also agree - don't do it! What a dead giveaway that he said he was "looking for up to 10 VA's to write articles for a big project he has upcoming".

Ha! If 10 VAs fall for the trick and he gets 400 to 500 word articles from each of them, that's enough content to compile his own ebook or website - for FREE!

I can't believe that someone would go to these lengths to get free stuff and take advantage of people like this.

Lisa

I am definitely not pursuing this one. I probably wouldn't have even if I'd felt it was legitimate because between my blog and the webzine I'm currently writing for I'm not sure I could come up with MORE original content. But I'm really glad everyone else saw red flags with this one too.
Hopefully sharing this here will keep any new VA's from biting on this one.
And as always, thanks to everyone for being so great here!

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~Tina Marie Hilton of Clerical Advantage
& founder of VA Survival School

Good! And thanks for posting this - it's the only way we can all stay aware of the many different ways these people try to take advantage of our industry.

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There was a discussion about this on another board, was the gentleman's (and I use that term loosely) name Larry Ellison, by the way?

Scam, scam, scam...scam...scam...scam.

Losers! Honestly, you'd think they could find a way to make a decent living instead of trying to get someone else to do it for them?

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Kate V. Kerans
Kerans Virtual Assistance