Is there a risk in paying an advance payment?
It doesn’t normally happen but twice or thrice a year there comes a client who asks, “Why should I pay you an advance? I don’t even know you. So do some work first and then I will pay you.”
Such doubts are normal, especially when you have never met me face-to-face and maybe you have never before dealt with a content writer who works remotely, or for that matter any service provider who works remotely.
Initially I used to get annoyed but then I tried to look at it from my client’s point of view. I might have worked on the Internet for years now providing content writing services to clients all over the world and I might have created a significant presence for myself, that client is totally oblivious to my existence. Rather than turning that client away, I should reassure him or her. This is why I have created this separate page.
You see, the risk is on both the sides. If you don’t want to pay me money in advance you should also understand my position. I have no way of knowing where you originate from, how to locate you in case you don’t pay me after I have worked on a couple of pages (and even if I can locate you it doesn’t make sense to come all that way just to retrieve $ 50 or even $ 500). I have had many instances when clients have taken drafts from me, rejected the work, and then used them afterwards, word-by-word, on their websites without paying me. This has happened multiple times.
So what’s the way out?
Before proceeding whatever I’m mentioning here pertains to my way of working and in no way I’m trying to generalize the situation. There are many service providers or content writers who haven’t created a presence on the Internet. They are simply using freelance websites or freely hosted webpages to promote their services. Even if they have websites you can quickly make out whether they are serious about their work or not – most of such websites are off-the-shelf with scarce content. In my case the situation is different. In my particular case
- I have a comprehensive website (containing more than 150 pages)
- I have a business blog that I regularly update
- I have an active presence on both Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
- If you search for “amrit hallan” you will find that I have written content for many websites, both free and professional
- I use PayPal as mode of payment and this means you can always ask PayPal to pay your money back from my account in case I don’t deliver (by raising a dispute)
- I rank high on Google and other search engines for most of my regular keywords
All these points mean I have spent considerable amount of time building my business which further means that I’m totally serious about my business and my reputation. I don’t just want your $ 50; I want your goodwill. I’m not a fly-by operator who gleefully takes some money and then vanishes as if I never again have to ask for work.
But that’s not the point; feelings normally don’t count, what counts is the practical aspect. And the practical aspect is since you’re paying via PayPal you can always get your money back if you’re not satisfied or in case your work is not done. The policy of PayPal is such that it favors those who pay instead of those being paid. The moment you raise a dispute they will block that much money from my account. For example, if you have paid me $ 150, they will draw 150 from my account and freeze it unless the dispute is settled and if you convince them that I haven’t delivered you get your money back – in more than 99% of cases, whether you deem them fair or not, the money is given back to the payer.
So if I work for you without taking an advance there is nobody – practically – to force you to pay me. But if I don’t do your work you’re always going to get your money back.
