08 Sep 10 Should You Write Free Sample Articles for a Client?

Quite often in the beginning of your writing career you will encounter a client who will ask you to write a sample for him for free on his chosen topic before he could make his mind about your suitability to his work. Such requests put a beginner freelance writer in a fix.

The freelance writer gets confused whether he should write a free sample or not. He knows that refusing to write a free sample will mean losing the client, and writing a free sample may result in client’s disappearance, which is not unheard of in the business. Many clients, under the disguise of asking for free samples to evaluate the candidacy for a fictional big project, just take samples from various freelance writers and disappear.

The question is what should a freelance writer do, in situation like that?

There is not one single answer to this. You may or may not write a free sample. It all depends on you and kind of sample being asked to write. I cannot tell you that you should write or not, but I can tell you about the process I go through when deciding on whether to comply with the wish of getting a free sample or not.

Client authenticity checklist

Indeed, you need check the person’s authenticity before saying yes or no to his wish to have a free sample, and you can do this by doing the following things, at least I do these things:

1. Run a Google search with the client’s name, nickname along with the words like scam, cheat, fraud, scammer, etc., one at a time. This is done to find whether there is any reported fraudulent activity related to him. If he has done anything mischievous to people or service providers, you may find something. Well, this does not happen always, but most of the time, you will get what you are looking for.
2. I check the reviews and rating of a client, if I have been approached by him through a freelance exchange websites or forums. If there is enough positive reviews about a client then I think favorably of his request
3. Is the client giving me too rosy a picture to be true? A cheater will often show you a grand, often unrealistic, view of the future, in case you get the work, for which you will have to submit a free sample custom written on topic given by him. I stay away from such bait.
4. I never write a sample, if a client asks for a sample of 500+ words. From my experience I can say that such demands often come from clients with dubious intentions. I often offer to write a sample of not more than 250 words, and occasionally 300 words.

These are steps I run a client through before accepting or rejecting his offer. I think this will work for you. At least you should try this strategy, if you do not have any. Something is always better than having an absolute zilch.

Tags: Authenticity, Candidacy, Disappearance, Disguise, Exchange Websites, Fraud, Fraudulent Activity, Free Articles, Free Sample, Free Samples, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writers, Google, Google Search, Nickname, Sample Articles, Scammer, Service Providers, Suitability