Request for Free Use

[Whisp]

I'm not a new author, but I do have a question I'd like answered. Today I received a price offer of $0.00 from a customer who wanted a use license for free. It's an article that's already sold a few use licenses. Are we allowed to let customers use our articles for free? Is it something you would consider doing?

[Celeste Stewart]

I wouldn't do it. No way.

[Whisp]

It does seem a little cheeky of them to ask it, I know. Articles take time and effort to produce, after all. I got thinking, though, that even letting someone use my article free still gets my work exposed to a wider audience. Then again, it may be against CC rules. I don't know, so I'm not going to do it just on the off chance. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

[Celeste Stewart]

Temptd by the possibility of a few more eyeballs seeing the article? Unless it's the Wall Street Journal or some major site, it's doubtful that you'd ever see any benefit from giving it away. Plus, do you really want to set that kind of precedent with this customer? Next thing you know, he'll be asking you for weekly freebies. Remember what Dear Abby always says - people can only take advantage of you if you let them.

[Whisp]

Thanks. I think you're right, and I appreciate the advice.

[VeronicaM]

I agree with Celeste--don't do it. Many freelance writers give their work away for free, erroneously thinking that it will help them in so way. This is why so many people take advantage of writers by offering them low or no rates--because they know they can get away with it. Don't do it.

[WordCraft]

I thought the minimum was $7 - though I saw some sold content yesterday, or the day before, for just 50 cents...

[jadedragon]

If there was no accompanying message asking for a freebie it might have been a typo. Perhaps they hit submit before putting the amount in. If that is the case I'd message them back to clarify and try and get the sale. If they really meant free than I would not take that. The only way might be in a package deal where the customer buys $X in articles and you through in a free use of one article as a bonus.

[Whisp]

Thanks for all your responses. I'm not going to give away the article free. I also thought the minimum was $7. I always ask for at least $8, depending on the word count. All of my articles are at least 400-500 words long, so I don't feel that $8 for a use is too much. I have given discounts when the article has already been used by other customers. This is the first time anyone has ever asked me for a free article use. I might contact the customer and ask if they made a mistake.

[Celeste Stewart]

And don't be afraid to ask for more for usage than $7-$8 for articles of that length. You may be surprised. . .

[Debbi]

Yes, I've sold several usage articles for $20-$30 each time, one of them three times now.

[Whisp]

That's something to think about. I've always thought my work would be more difficult to sell if I ask for too much money. Maybe I should have a little more confidence in my ability.

[Celeste Stewart]

I've found that it's nearly as hard to sell a cheap article as it is to sell a more expenisve one - then you have to sell it multiple times further adding to the difficulty. Unless you're willing to go for huge quantities of cheap usage articles and post them on as many revenue share sites as possible, consider pricing that's going to reward you for your efforts. At $7 or $8 a pop, it's going to take 4 or 5 sales before you clear $20 for the article. It's a long slow process to break even that way. It's fine if you're maximizing the article in other ways I suppose but if you're not, it's going to take a while. CC attracts many buyers, many of whom are willing to pay a fair price.