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I'm back! And with a question of ethics


abauer5188

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So the past couple weeks of December have been super great for me getting orders! I’ve hit the buyers requests every day and landed several offers there. I’m noticing an increased number of requests surrounding ClickFunnels configuration with email/autoresponders.

My question for you is, what would you do if someone needed this work done when you knew it would be turned around and used in one of those MLM or ClickBank type schemes?

The way I’ve been handling those requests is increasing my prices. I seem to then get some of the more dedicated and honest schemers, who may just be looking to grow their business rather than earn a quick buck.

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This is a tough one for a number of reasons.
Many of those “schemes” are perfectly legitimate even if you are not a fan of them. Deciding which ones are not ok can be a difficult task. In addition, with Fiverr measuring cancellations etc, you could be penalized for cancelling which is horrible.

Raising your prices does tend to get rid of the worst of these clients but it is not a foolproof strategy.
I would say that having some kind of disclaimer about reserving the right to reject certain projects in your description might be an idea. For example, I don’t offer marketing consultations to affiliate marketers and say so in my description.

In the event that you get an order you are uncomfortable with, go to CS with it rather than initiate a cancellation. A client I had recently wanted me to help them market a product which is legally sold but not for human consumption. However, they wanted me to find ways around that to make it appeal to people for consumption without actually saying it! I went to CS and they cancelled it for me and it won’t affect my ratings.

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This is a tough one for a number of reasons.

Many of those “schemes” are perfectly legitimate even if you are not a fan of them. Deciding which ones are not ok can be a difficult task. In addition, with Fiverr measuring cancellations etc, you could be penalized for cancelling which is horrible.

Raising your prices does tend to get rid of the worst of these clients but it is not a foolproof strategy.

I would say that having some kind of disclaimer about reserving the right to reject certain projects in your description might be an idea. For example, I don’t offer marketing consultations to affiliate marketers and say so in my description.

In the event that you get an order you are uncomfortable with, go to CS with it rather than initiate a cancellation. A client I had recently wanted me to help them market a product which is legally sold but not for human consumption. However, they wanted me to find ways around that to make it appeal to people for consumption without actually saying it! I went to CS and they cancelled it for me and it won’t affect my ratings.

Great advice, thanks @eoinfinnegan!

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I have a bit of a novel solution to this that you might like.

I hate MLM schemes. Yes, you can argue that they are legitimate. All they really do though is ask desperate people to deposit what is essentially the only money they have on the basis of a completely false representation of who they really are.

Comments and reviews of such schemes are bought and paid for on places like Fiverr. Actual businesses aren’t registered anywhere, the only legitimate thing about them is that they have paid for website hosting and a domain name.

Anyway, I flatly refuse such work if someone messages me. If they order direct, however, I give them my usual high standard of work. Later, though, if I am really uncomfortable about a piece I have written, I will publish my own ‘5 Reasons NOT to Invest In… etc etc’ on a relevant industry news site or scam forum.

NEVER do I say that I have any connection or insider knowledge on a company, I just write what I as a person think of such a scam and this fits with the usual content I personally put out anyway. It’s just all about balancing the karma.

That said, some orders you should cancel as soon as they come in. Most MLM orders don’t come directly from the MLM company owners, they come from middlemen pretend SEO agencies. (A bit ironic really). Anyway, if you get a vibe that you are dealing directly with a site owner, just run. These people want and expect to start converting as soon as you deliver. If that doesn’t happen, they are going to take it out on you. This is because they are basically small fish mafia egomaniacs who will cut anything and everything down that gets in their way or that they think serves them some kind of injustice.

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@abauer5188 You are lucky to see jobs not related to “Here is my homework, I will pay you to do it.” 😐

I happen to see a lot of those as well.

Matlab assignments primarily.

It seems that sometimes people going to school to be an engineer or programmer, just want to do the paying jobs, not actually work on their homework.

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I definitely won’t do anything that goes against my ethics, so just the fact that you’re asking about it shows you’re a conscientious person. I suggest doing some more thinking about it, and listen to what your “gut” says about each situation.

Also, the advice to raise your prices–especially once you’re getting sales and great reviews–is good. Whenever I’ve raised my prices, after much thought, I’ve been very nervous about it but ended up getting much better clients and jobs.

As a proofreader/copyeditor, I’ve been asked to do homework many times–especially when I was on the lower end of the pricing–and I always refuse to do more than proofreading for typos and simple errors (which is perfectly legal according to college professors I know, but editing isn’t).

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