When is Offering Free/Gifted Work Appropriate or a Good Idea?

Digital producers are always being offered free and #gifted products for posting and no budget. Here at Sharper we’ll receive anywhere between 20 and 50 requests a week across the roster for make-up, clothing, food, drinks, games, movies, apps and much more.

So when is it right to offer producers items to post about for no money and for producers, when and how much should you say “yes” to doing these posts, does there ever come a point where you say no?

A lot of the Sharper roster of talent are fortunate enough that we’re now in a position where we can be more sensitive about the work we take on and the brands we collaborate with. In the earlier days of the company we perhaps did more free work to make relations and show what we could do, but for free work now, we’ll most likely only consider it if it’s a brand the producer loves or if there’s potentially a longer term result possible.

We do feel producers of all sizes should be paid and there are far too many offers of unpaid work expected. It’s an ongoing issue with parties perhaps taking advantage of naivety across a community, but, even if it’s only a small amount we believe the principal of a professional exchange in services should be upheld by everyone involved.