Freelance Job Offers.

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   skperdonposted 8 years ago

   Fellow Hub writers, I would really like your input on this topic please.
   
   I am being offered writing jobs from individuals who would like to pay a writer to write on Hubages for them. Is this a legitimate?
   I've gotten offers from corporations looking content writers and offers from free lance online media to write on choice topics. The issue I have is that I'm not an academically qualified writer, I've only written on Hubpages for fun, so I'm hesitating to even look into these offers although they are tempting.
   
   I'm sure you've experienced this too. What did you do?
   
   Please feel free, there is no wrong answer!

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      paolaenergyaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      It sounds to me that you are being approached to write sponsored posts. Be aware that the hubs with sponsored content might be declined for publication, and that rates of pay from sponsors can be very low, therefore not justifying the amount of time it takes to write those posts.

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         skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for input paolaenergya. This is the question I've asked myself, I am thorough in my research before I publish a hub, but would I get paid enough for writing another person's hub with the same commitment I write my hubs?
         Plus, I don't feel quite right about writing another person's hub.

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            paolaenergyaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Exactly. We all have bills to pay but if you don't feel excited about a topic the writing will suffer.

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               skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I am now excited about the other offers. I do hope that at least one is legit.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I may be wrong about this, but I thought it was against the TOS of HP to write articles here for someone else.  Anybody?

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         SmartAndFunposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         No, it's not against the TOS. As long as you "own" the article and didn't steal it or don't also have it posted elsewhere on the net, it doesn't matter if you bought the article or created it yourself.

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            skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I'm happy that you've answered Timetraveler2's question. Thank you very much SmartAndFun, I needed to know that too.
            
            But even though the person offered to pay me for the hubs, I feel as if I'm helping to cheat.

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         skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Timetraveler2  thank you for asking this question. I wondered whether there was a penalty from Hubpages for writing someone else's hubs.

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      agvulpesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      As it is possible to have multiple accounts on HP ( with their own email addresses) I don't think that you would have a problem!  Having said that, this post will more than likely not be read by HPHQ and I don't believe that any of the 'repliers' here have the authority to say 'yes' or 'no' ?
      I would suggest writing to team@hubpages.com or 'contact us' at bottom of page and asking them the question?
      My congrats also go out to you on your great achievement

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         Matthew Meyerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Multiple accounts are permitted, but not promotional ones.
         http://hubpages.com/faq/#multipleaccounts

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            makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I'm guessing the reason for this is mainly about the need to be seen to be wholly in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission Regulations on writing on the internet and declarations which must be made if you are being paid.
            
            There were some major changes made a few years back because of the amount of "deceptive" article writing and blogging that was occurring - which was paid but not declared.  The FTC came down hard on this.....
            
            The general rule is if you are being paid to write you have to declare this transparently and up front - or else run the risk of being done for infringement of the regulations. Which of course is why host sites take the same view re. promotion and sticking to the rules!
            
            Once you are being paid to write for a business and about that business's products (or the products of a client) it's advertising and marketing even if they don't call it that - and you don't want the FTC pointing this out to you!
            
            For those not aware of these regulations I suggest you review
            
            Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road - also available as a pdf
            
            Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255
            Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
            
            Of course I'd refer to you my exSquidoo lens (now hub) - which dealt with this in detail - but this was unpublished for more than two links to one site - which tends to happen when trying to generate a compendium of "must read" links!

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   supremeupbeat kposted 8 years ago

   You may write but I will say not to write.

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      skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I promise I won't write another hubber's hub. Thank you for your advice on ethics supremeupbeat k.

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   Herban Cowgirlposted 8 years ago

   Well, it is very flattering to get offered writing jobs.  You are obviously doing something write (Oh! The puns!).  If that is the case, your talent is wasted on writing sponsored Hubs. 
   
   IIWY, I would start using my Hubs as writing samples for less shady freelance work.  Not having a degree is a bogus reason for not pursuing writing jobs that will make you a nice chunk of change now and again.  I was in your shoes about 4 years ago with Squidoo. I started sharing my work and got approached to write a whole bunch of content for a website development company.  It was a short term gig (9 months), but I made enough dough to buy myself a brand new DSLR and make a hefty down payment on a new pickup.  I haven't gone back to traditional work since.
   
   Between Fiverr, Upwork (formerly ODesk), and private contracts; I work about 20 hours a week as a freelance writer.  I have no degree in writing (my degree says I'm an accountant, gag-o-rama).  I've been able to use the money from it get an education in herbalism and start my own consulting business with that (my interests are all over the board, haha). 
   
   There is no reason not to give it a shot if you feel like it might be a good thing for you.  HubPages is a great platform, and a great way to get your name out there.  If you want to make some serious money though, you'll need to branch out. 
   
   BTW, congratulations, really.  It's a personal milestone when unsolicited entities become interested in your work.

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      skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      HeHe! That one slipped right in there. Thank you for the pun Herban Cowgirl and for sharing your experience.
      I do feel flattered but I am cautious about accepting every offer.
      Your awesome success in freelance writing has got me fired up enough to go take a look at these offers and figure out which one(s) are legit.
      
      I'm a certified child caregiver but I've written articles on aerobics, nutrition and horticulture. These were just to help a few of my friends with their volunteer projects.
      Thank you  for the congratulations.

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      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Why do you feel it embarrassing to be an accountant? Why that gag-o-rama? I have been accountant for my full life and feel great. I wrote some articles for other clients more than one year, but the payments were too low to continue the work. So, I left it all together and joined here on Hubpages to enjoy my time. I use my accounts knowledge writing at my own blog which is there on my profile page.

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      paolaenergyaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      What a wonderfully thoughtful and constructive comment! Congratulations Herban Cowgirl on getting your herbalism qualifications through freelance writing earnings! And of course best of luck Skperdon for your career as a freelance writer, you are doing great!

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         skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you paolaenergya!

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   Patty Inglish, MSposted 8 years ago

   I hope that the requests for your writing are real and that you can pursue them.
   
   In the past, some similar requests were made from me for paid articles, but when I asked for details, the people who approached me wanted free articles about their businesses put onto HubPages or wanted only for me to add links to their businesses that were unrelated to my articles.
   
   Currently, I write reviews for certain non-HubPages authors' work on HP, but have not received a legitimate request yet of the kind you describe. I hope your experience is more positive.

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      paradigm searchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I was going to rant and moan about how come I don't receive such offers, but I guess not.

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         Patty Inglish, MSposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah, offers like these you don't need.

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         skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         paradigm search thank you for your input. I do love the attitude, I felt that way for a while before panicked and posted this question here today.

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      theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hmm... it might be perfectly legitimate.
      
      I was approached by an online Tarot magazine via HP and asked if I would be interested in writing some content for them. I've now been working for them for about nine months and have earned a goodly sum during that time. I even turned them down at first because I didn't think I had the time. Silly me. Luckily they insisted :-D
      
      You have to establish if they are going to pay on publication of the hub - no shilly-shallying around waiting for HP payments. If so, why not write one on spec and see how it goes rather than turn it down flat?

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         Patty Inglish, MSposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Writing on on spec is a good idea.

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         skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for sharing your experience theraggededge.
         Did you have any previous knowledge on the topics that you were asked to write about?
         I asked because I had an offer to be someone's academic writer. I ignored it because, one subject I'm not great at is Math and I know nothing about Engineering.
         I'm now thinking that maybe I shouldn't be beating such hasty retreats from certain writing job offers. I do love the research involved in academic writing.

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            theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I do have experience in the topics. They picked up on my articles here and asked if I could do similar (but different) ones for them. I am right in the middle of a series of 56 x 600-800 word pieces for them. Previously I did a run of 13, plus an average of two blog posts a week, although that varies as sometimes they have enough to last a few weeks.
            
            The thing is - I was going to turn them down for much the same reasons as some people have mentioned. They persuaded me to take up the offer and I am so glad I did as they also have a 'sister' publication that I have also written for.
            
            Unfortunately, it is not a writing platform for many, I think there is one other writer besides me. Her area of expertise is different to mine.
            
            Sooo... what I am trying to say is don't turn it down out of hand, it might not be a worthwhile job, but then again, it just might be a good one. Also, feel free to negotiate on the pay rate. You don't want to be writing a 1000 word Hub for $20. You must take into account the research and the formatting time, what you would expect as an hourly rate and price your work accordingly.

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               skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I see what you mean, I've been keeping the latest offers. I'll respond to them.
               
               I went to your hubs and, by George  you've gotten me interested in the topic of tarot!
               Did you write those before or after? Some would say that I'm very nosy but when I become fascinated about a new topic all these questions pops into my head so you don't have to answer that.

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                  theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  :-D Before. Haven't written any on HP since starting my own tarot-study blog.
                  
                  Ask me anything you like. You can even get a quickie reading.
                  
                  You said 'offers', so these requests aren't coming from one potential client? If they are all worded in a similar way but from different email addresses, then they might be spam. Why don't you copy and paste one here, removing any sensitive details? Maybe someone will say, Oh yes, I've had those, avoid them like the plague. Or even the complete opposite.

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                     skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     I do have a good spam filter running, I don't get bothered unless I let the IP in.  I did get an offer to join freelancer.com which I'll stay away from. I got a few through my LinkedIn contacts I've contacted a couple of those and then there is the one about Hubs, I've declined that offer.
                     
                     But I need to get back to learning about tarot by a certain friendly nelghborhood hubber.

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                        theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        

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      skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for sharing your experience Patty Inglish, MS. I did ignore a few writing offers and they have been sent to me a couple of times after the initial offer. But my distrust keeps me from looking further into these offers. It is why I've brought the question here, on Hubpages. I am really learning a lot from all your shared experiences. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess.

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   Barbara Kayposted 8 years ago

   I wrote a hub a week for a few weeks for pay from another website years ago. Basically she wanted links back to her site. Since the topics she wanted me to write about were spammy, I quit soon after starting. I hope your offers are better and you earn lots of money.

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      skperdonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for sharing your experience Barbara Kay.  I do hope that are legit.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 8 years ago

   I got an offer in my e-mail today from "two95intl [dot] com" looking for a "Senior Associate, copy writer" but unfortunately they're in San Francisco and I'm in New Jersey. Oh well. (shrugs)

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      Barbara Kayposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      You might be able to do it from the location you are at.

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         FatFreddysCatposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I dunno, it seemed fishy/scammy to me. I never heard of this company before and have no idea where or how they found me. The English in the e-mail I received was awkward and their web site is one of those fancy pages that looks impressive but doesn't really tell much about who they are or what they actually do. My B.S. detector is going off pretty hard. I am not even going to bother responding..

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            gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I have been offered numerous "jobs" via e-mail.  They are quite suspicious in nature.  If somethings seems too good to be true, WATCH OUT, THERE'S A SCAM IN IT SOMEWHERE, SO BEWARE!

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               FatFreddysCatposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               Yep, I already canned the e-mail. My finely tuned Bull-@#$% Detector hasn't failed me yet.

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   makingamarkposted 8 years ago

   Here's more detailed guidance on what somebody writing and article or blogging about a product must and must not do
   
   https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/busines … are-asking

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   Jodahposted 8 years ago

   I have been writing here for over five years and no one ha ever offered me money to write artices for them on Hub Pages. You must be doing something right

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   Glenis Rixposted 8 years ago

   My immediate reaction is that if something smells suspicious then it probably is. Why would they pay anyone unless they are expecting a return, one way or another?

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