Questions about a Cool New Gig

UrbanMuse · Jul 12, 2007

I have been writing freelance editorial content for websites and magazines and one of the startup companies I recently profiled liked the article so much they invited me to do part time PR/marketing for them. My day job is in PR/marketing (a different industry, which shouldn't be a conflict), so I have lots of ideas, but also a lot of questions for those of you who are more seasoned as an independent contractor.

I have always been paid by the word or assignment, so I'm not sure how to charge. Since their offices are across the country, I'll be working from home and reporting my hours. How should I handle the accountability for hours worked? And what happens if I establish a long-term relationship with this company and my schedule or situation changes? They want me to do a lot of outreach to blogs and social networking sites, but what are the ethical boundaries when you're getting paid vs. sharing a random sites with a friend? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Susan

jenfreedom · Jul 13, 2007

UrbanMuse said:
I have been writing freelance editorial content for websites and magazines and one of the startup companies I recently profiled liked the article so much they invited me to do part time PR/marketing for them. My day job is in PR/marketing (a different industry, which shouldn't be a conflict), so I have lots of ideas, but also a lot of questions for those of you who are more seasoned as an independent contractor.

I have always been paid by the word or assignment, so I'm not sure how to charge. Since their offices are across the country, I'll be working from home and reporting my hours. How should I handle the accountability for hours worked? And what happens if I establish a long-term relationship with this company and my schedule or situation changes? They want me to do a lot of outreach to blogs and social networking sites, but what are the ethical boundaries when you're getting paid vs. sharing a random sites with a friend? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Susan

I don't usually charge by the hour; more by the project. Do they want to pay you by the hour? Sorry, I've read this three times and am a little confused what you're asking exactly.

I think you're asking a lot of questions... That last one about the ethics, I suppose would depend on what you're sharing. Do you mean sharing blog urls or press releases with your friends vs. people you're trying to entice into liking a business?

Oh, and congrats on the gig

Take care
~ Jennifer

UrbanMuse · Jul 13, 2007

Thanks, Jen!
If it's confusing, it's probably because my computer ate my original post and I hastily tried to recreate it. They want pay me on an hourly basis, because it sounds like my role will consist of a series of small projects (like contacting bloggers or posting on forums). Is that unusual?
RE: Ethics. This website is something I'm excited about, so I could post about it in a forum or on a blog today and simply be someone who's sharing a cool new web tool with the masses. But once I'm getting paid to do that, I'm not sure where the line is. A lot of forums or listservs frown on that kind of thing, but I know a lot of websites do that to spread the word.

jenfreedom · Jul 13, 2007

UrbanMuse said:
Thanks, Jen!
If it's confusing, it's probably because my computer ate my original post and I hastily tried to recreate it. They want pay me on an hourly basis, because it sounds like my role will consist of a series of small projects (like contacting bloggers or posting on forums). Is that unusual?
RE: Ethics. This website is something I'm excited about, so I could post about it in a forum or on a blog today and simply be someone who's sharing a cool new web tool with the masses. But once I'm getting paid to do that, I'm not sure where the line is. A lot of forums or listservs frown on that kind of thing, but I know a lot of websites do that to spread the word.

It's not unusual I see many jobs that pay by the hour - -but I honestly don't get how they track that?

As far as ethics, well, have you noticed my sig line. As long as you don't continually post only about your work sites I don't see any problems with promoting it. When I get a new ongoing gig I add it to my sig line at places I visit and discuss it at my personal blog. I do ghost write too and those I don't list because "supposedly" the company, not some random blogger writes the blog. So, I can't promote them. If yours is out in the open I'd say promote it just don't be spammy (I know you wouldn't).

Maybe someone else will come along with advice about the wage issue -- did you ask them how they track it?

~ Jennifer

UrbanMuse · Jul 16, 2007

Just a quick update. I decided not to pursue this opportunity because the time commitement they wanted really would have cut into my freelance writing projects. Tough to give up that steady money, but I wanted to have the flexibility to purse other projects, too.

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