Precautions to Take if You Write for Freelance Gig Sites or Content Mills

Hey so today we’re going to talk about some precautions you need to take if you’re going to write for pay on a website like Scripted or Fiverr.

Probably few think in this strategic manner. But it’s really important if you want to protect your reputation on the web. This isn’t just for writers, it’s for anyone who uses those websites where they publish your customer reviews and you have no control over that content, meaning you can’t delete or edit the reviews.

You can go on one of these websites and try to make some cash if you need to supplement your income. That’s fine. But the one thing you MUST do is split your freelancer personality. That includes opening a bank account that’s specifically for this website or for your freelance job site endeavors.

Become Different Freelancing Versions of Yourself.

That way if a website like this gets hacked, you haven’t given away your personal checking or savings account and a security breach isn’t going to wipe out your personal savings or rent money; either of which could be bad, but clearly one is worse than the other.

How do you do this? Come up with a ghostwriter name to use. You can also put a picture, either of yourself, or of a stock photo person who kind of looks like you but is not you. Maybe your picture is stylized. You feel weird putting a photo of a stranger on there, which I get. But if you use a black and white picture that’s washed out and maybe has a dramatic feel, it might actually be unrecognizable from your typical Facebook photo.

Do not link your personal Facebook page or other social media pages to this account.

Even if they ask you to, don’t do it. It’s too risky. The customers on here could potentially be ignorant meaning they actually don’t know the process of working for a copywriter. Or, they could be scammers, which means they’re trying to get you to give them a lot of content without giving you a lot of money in exchange for it. 

Finally, it’s possible that they lack understanding of how keywords work. That means you’re not going to be able to communicate with the clients. Instead of heeding your advice, they will interpret you as being difficult, and then they may decide not to pay you OR they could give you a bad review.

If you get a bad review, think of the money.

How much did they pay you anyway? Probably not much, because it’s a content mill website. Unfortunately there’s no way to get through to someone who has never been taught corporate protocol for working with creatives. They don’t know how to flow with the draft revisions.

A bad review might mar your name on this particular site, but if you keep your profile in check you might be able to mitigate that. Remember that you have the power to change your profile. Use a different moniker, remove your photo if things get dicey, and if you can find a way to lock things down, it might serve as a means of damage control. 

I hope you enjoyed this freelancing tip from 6figsdigital.com! Want more?

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