Rant: I almost took a client who wanted "exposure" instead of pay

I had a small business in Portland offer me a $500 website build last month but then said they'd rather give me "social media exposure" since they knew a few influencers. I went against my gut and took the deal, and after 3 weeks of them not posting anything and asking for more revisions, I finally realized my mistake. Has anyone else regretted trading work for promises instead of cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellymurphy4d ago

I did the exact same thing with a bakery in Austin last year. They promised to tag me in posts to their 15k followers and then posted a blurry photo of my logo once and never mentioned me again. I spent about 40 hours on that project and walked away with zero dollars and a bad taste in my mouth. Learned my lesson the hard way, never again.

river1834d ago

Man that sucks. Best piece of advice I can give is get everything in writing before you start. Even a simple text message or email that says "you'll be tagged in X posts with credit" works wonders. Also ask for a small upfront payment or a kill fee if they bail. That way you're not out 40 hours and a bad taste. People will promise the moon for free work but they rarely follow through unless there's something on the line.