So You Want to Hire a Writer - Should You ask for Samples?

[markp]

Resellers ask for samples, not just to show potential clients as to what the seller is providing, but to pass off as their own work. I’ve had them admit it. They will go as far as to go round different sellers gathering up samples then passing them off as their own. This is also why you get some resellers asking for modification after modification. Because they have obtained samples, cannot remember who they got what from, and then when they get back their order its different from whatever sample they are looking at. This isn’t conjecture. This is a fact as I’ve had people pull out samples after delivery and claim what I have done is different. It’s different Captain obvious because its not mine . Then the icing on the cake comes when they say “well, can you do this then”

Some people will ask for samples with NO intention of placing an order. What they will do with it is take it round different sellers and ask “can you do this”. This is why you may sometimes find buyers asking for things outside the scope of the gig description. They are just going round copying and pasting what they want to find the lowest possible price. When you ask questions with regards to what they are asking for they usually say they, ‘dont know’ because they have no clue as to what they are looking at, but hey, someone else is selling for a good price so it must be good. Sometimes its clear who they have got the samples from. In one case I had some fool show me my own work from a customer asking me how much I charge to do it. When I pointed this out he even tried to claim it was his work and his customer. you can’t fix stupid

and this

“Sellers Who Give Samples, Don’t Care about Copyright or Client Confidentiality”

some buyers will ask you for samples and refuse to work with you if you provide them.I’ve had customers ask for samples on very high value orders. When I’ve said no and stated why they have said that is what they wanted to hear. Buyers do not want their sites, their work and what they are doing waved around for all to see.

I’ve learnt asking for samples is pointless. The hard way . From a buyers perspective. Well before Fiverr was a thing, I used to buy articles. Lots of them. Every day on a different platform. I found out very quickly that samples have very little relationship to what is ordered. sellers were getting people to write articles for them and providing them as samples. what was delivered in some cases came from a parallel universe where grammar and English does not exist as we know it. In one case, which I will never forget, what I received was terrible quality. I had the seller claim someone had hacked into their e-mail account and written the article and sent it to me. Another seller kept delaying the articles saying their uncle had died the week before. I gave them a couple of weeks and asked if they are able to do them or wished to cancel the order. Their response was, my uncle died yesterday. I asked them if their uncle was a zombie and promptly got a refund.

Asking for samples is pointless. The most representative sample you can get is by communicating with the seller about what you require. If they cannot string a coherent sentence together, or sound like they just stumbled out of a crack house, or do not appear to know much about what you require, that is going to tell you more than any sample could.

[cyaxrex]

On 5/9/2019 at 6:34 AM, markp said:

I’ve learnt asking for samples is pointless. The hard way . From a buyers perspective. Well before Fiverr was a thing, I used to buy articles. Lots of them. Every day on a different platform. I found out very quickly that samples have very little relationship to what is ordered.

Thank you. This is perhaps how I should have summarized my post. I have had a similar experience, though, not ordering written content. I ordered a voice over just after Christmas from another freelancing platform.

The person I ordered from had hundreds of reviews and was the equivalent of a TRS. That said, I ordered from them because of the quality of their samples and the fact that they were Amerian. What I eventually got back was a VO in a British accent which sounded like it had been recorded on a potato.

After a bit of digging, I realized they were outsourcing most (if not all) of their work. In this case, the samples I had listened to meant absolutely nothing.

The scammer/reseller issue is, of course, the main reason why I am reluctant to give out samples. However, you have also reminded me of my first ever bad experience with a reseller.

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Some people will ask for samples with NO intention of placing an order. What they will do with it is take it round different sellers and ask “can you do this”.

On my old portfolio site, I had an example sales copy for a bespoke online jewelry store. Back in 2015, just after I started on Fiverr, someone placed a $5 order, sent me this article, and asked that I rewrite it in a way to make it relevant for their business.

I had never (knowingly) communicated with this person previously. In this case, I assumed that they were someone who had asked me for samples previously. They had got a sample, kept it on file, then forgotten where they got it from and ordered from me using a different account. The cheek!

Of course, not all people who ask for samples are like this. However, as a seller, there is no way to identify who is asking for samples for legitimate reasons and who isn’t.

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I’ve had customers ask for samples on very high value orders. When I’ve said no and stated why they have said that is what they wanted to hear.

I’ve had this exact experience. People whom I refuse to give samples but who return and order from me anyway, are always people who I politely tell why I don’t offer samples. While I can’t quantify it, I assume that this is because they value my honesty and/or later end up being let down by sellers who do provide samples.

All that said, I stopped offering samples completely on Fiverr, due to people asking for specific samples. I could have a person ask for health and fitness article samples. I would send them a link to a diet and nutrition book I have published on Amazon. Then, though, they would ask for a sample in a different tone or which targeted an even more specific niche.

Naturally, you are going to lose some buyers by not offering samples. However, I’m fine with that if it lets me avoid timewasters, a few unscrupulous resellers, and people I might just not be a good match for.

[silberma1976]

You can also put two pdf versions of your work in your gig image gallery. And you can deliver with an image of a portion of the work done so it shows up with the buyer review. Another thing that would be helpful is if Fiverr had a way for writers to create a little portfolio like graphic designers can. I have seen it done for writers on other sites.

[manucornel]

On 5/11/2019 at 7:03 AM, cyaxrex said:

It’s a nice try, but it’s very predictable and very poorly executed. You failed the second you used caps and started shouting like a child having a tantrum.

It is very good that you offer samples. I too would want to see some if I was ordering from you. 😉

Hahaha, you are a funny man. Good luck with your attempt at educating buyers how awesome/victim you are that you don’t need to provide samples.

After you succeed with this, go at the design category as well, and preach about how designers don’t need to have a portfolio because they have reviews.

Maybe you will succeed even convincing Amazon to sell products without showing pictures! Think about it. Selling products without images, using just reviews. That will be amazing!

Except it won’t be, and you wouldn’t survive a day outside Fiverr with this mentality. 🙂

Just because some people abuse the sample system, some people cheat and some people want very specific things that a portfolio isn’t supposed to provide, that doesn’t mean that all sellers should drop portfolios and all buyers should stop asking for samples.

Maybe you should find better ways of getting over bad clients and bad experiences in general. The world doesn’t suck if you know how to deal with it. Get better and life will be better.

Good luck to you.

I would participate in this conversation longer but I am too busy reaping the rewards of publishing a ton of free content out there and not having to explain to my clients why I don’t have a portfolio.

PS: The “arrogant victim” mentality is the one that is predictable and way too common these days.

[cyaxrex]

On 5/11/2019 at 7:33 AM, manucornel said:

I would participate in this conversation longer but I am too busy reaping the rewards of publishing a ton of free content out there and not having to explain to my clients why I don’t have a portfolio.

If that’s the same free content on your blog, you might reap more rewards by having some of it proofread. 😉

[a_shamsi]

It was actually a very reasonably answered post.Im actually thinking of quoting a few points the next time I am asked for a sample.

[jandrewnelson]

I do not, and will not, send ‘samples.’ As a freelance writer I have found that clients who ask for samples really don’t know what they want or what they’re talking about. 

[bestintheword]

Hey @cyaxrex !! I have a suggestion for you. I saw your article writing skill from this post and you know it’s awesome. You should probably buy a domain like firstorderonfiverr.com (I haven’t checked if it’s still available ) and you can publish blog posts about several topics there and then we will all also redirect all people to your website who ask on fiverr forum for ::-
“HELP ME TO GET MY FIRST ORDER”
In this way, you can promote your gigs, rank on google and probably earn some passive income

This was just an idea, though 😆

And do not forget to tell me that you liked it or not 😂

[jymsym]

On 12/16/2019 at 12:55 PM, manucornel said:

As a writer, I would like to give my input as well.

I totally understand your POV, but I don’t agree with you.

For this discussion, I exclude stubborn clients that don’t know how to treat people, because they are not worth the time. Let’s talk about legitimate people that are looking to find a good writer.

Having REAL samples to show a buyer is more than proving one’s quality. It also shows the style and how the writer adapts to the topic overall. A text sample says much more about a seller than we can imagine.

How would you recognize the quality of Picasso or Beethoven without seeing or listening to things they’ve created before?

Like it or not, people are admired for their work, for what they create. A legitimate sample tells more than 30 reviews can.

What you should do as a buyer? You simply go with the fact people like them and that some virtual freelancing platform is “guaranteeing” you will get what you ordered? I hardly doubt there are guarantees here.

In fact, if you get a low-quality article, the best you can do is leave a 1-star review. That doesn’t bring back the money spend or time wasted.

What you are asking for is kind of blind faith, don’t you think? And not all creators are suited for everyone! There are different styles for different folks.

I don’t say that writers should breach copyright terms and show samples they’ve done for others! No, definitively not.

But everyone can create samples FOR the purpose of sharing them with their clients. I don’t think it’s that hard to create 5 or so articles on the niches you cover to showcase your style, that you can publish on your blog to avoid stealing from clients.

This is NOT working for free or copyright infringement.

Consider that you lose much more time trying to explain why you don’t have samples than you could have lost creating samples. Not to mention people that turn away from this kind of attitude, myself included.

When I hire writers (on rare occasions), I do ask for samples. That gives me insight on more than the quality of the writer. I can see if they breach copyright agreements or not, and I can see if they give importance to having a beautiful portfolio or not. It shows me their style, their discipline, and how good they are.

Would you hire a designer without seeing things they’ve designed before?

Would you hire a musician without listening to music they did before?

Would you hire a web developer without seeing websites they did before?

Would you hire a home decorator without seeing what they’ve decorated before?

If no, why a piece of text should be treated differently?

After all, writing is an art, even if people consider it like this or not.

If I would be your buyer, you would basically ask me to have blind faith in you and assume that you are fit for me just because you have good reviews. Tons of people like the Kardashians, that doesn’t mean I like them too.

What if you’d have your own website? Do you think you could have got away with the fact that you don’t provide samples of your work?

Reviews improve the odds of getting an order, but they are not a guarantee. And they are not always a good reflection of the quality provided.

At least, that’s my opinion. 🙂

That’s a good point. Nowadays I refer buyers asking for samples to my blog where there are hundreds of posts to sift through!

[Guest roo3story]

Hello, I am roo. I’ve been given the impression there are a lot of scammers on this website. Is there a filter I can use for that? grin

I’ve also heard that a lot of the users that may contact me do not speak English very well. That’s a new one for me so I’ll watch for that.

I use Disqus on Bitchute. I’ve always been a commenter on websites I inhabit. I’ve been on a lot of creative websites, not websites for making money.

To any real writer out there, I’d tell that potential customer to look you up on places where you do your commenting. The customer can get a ‘sample’ of how you write–and, how you think and interact–by doing that.

But beyond that, remember: you are being paid to write. Don’t waste words on penny-pinchers.

roo

[weformat]

Good post. It is true that many buyers request samples, but I do refuse because of the copyright issue. I politely request them to have a look at my feedback and reviews, and if you feel that these reviews are earned, please give me a chance to work. I cannot share any samples.

[jymsym]

On 8/12/2020 at 1:07 PM, markp said:

Resellers ask for samples, not just to show potential clients as to what the seller is providing, but to pass off as their own work. I’ve had them admit it. They will go as far as to go round different sellers gathering up samples then passing them off as their own. This is also why you get some resellers asking for modification after modification. Because they have obtained samples, cannot remember who they got what from, and then when they get back their order its different from whatever sample they are looking at. This isn’t conjecture. This is a fact as I’ve had people pull out samples after delivery and claim what I have done is different. It’s different Captain obvious because its not mine . Then the icing on the cake comes when they say “well, can you do this then”

Some people will ask for samples with NO intention of placing an order. What they will do with it is take it round different sellers and ask “can you do this”. This is why you may sometimes find buyers asking for things outside the scope of the gig description. They are just going round copying and pasting what they want to find the lowest possible price. When you ask questions with regards to what they are asking for they usually say they, ‘dont know’ because they have no clue as to what they are looking at, but hey, someone else is selling for a good price so it must be good. Sometimes its clear who they have got the samples from. In one case I had some fool show me my own work from a customer asking me how much I charge to do it. When I pointed this out he even tried to claim it was his work and his customer. you can’t fix stupid

and this

“Sellers Who Give Samples, Don’t Care about Copyright or Client Confidentiality”

some buyers will ask you for samples and refuse to work with you if you provide them.I’ve had customers ask for samples on very high value orders. When I’ve said no and stated why they have said that is what they wanted to hear. Buyers do not want their sites, their work and what they are doing waved around for all to see.

I’ve learnt asking for samples is pointless. The hard way . From a buyers perspective. Well before Fiverr was a thing, I used to buy articles. Lots of them. Every day on a different platform. I found out very quickly that samples have very little relationship to what is ordered. sellers were getting people to write articles for them and providing them as samples. what was delivered in some cases came from a parallel universe where grammar and English does not exist as we know it. In one case, which I will never forget, what I received was terrible quality. I had the seller claim someone had hacked into their e-mail account and written the article and sent it to me. Another seller kept delaying the articles saying their uncle had died the week before. I gave them a couple of weeks and asked if they are able to do them or wished to cancel the order. Their response was, my uncle died yesterday. I asked them if their uncle was a zombie and promptly got a refund.

Asking for samples is pointless. The most representative sample you can get is by communicating with the seller about what you require. If they cannot string a coherent sentence together, or sound like they just stumbled out of a crack house, or do not appear to know much about what you require, that is going to tell you more than any sample could.

Totally agree with what you’re saying. What amazes me is that some buyers want samples of proofreading. Again, scam sellers could buy a proofreading gig from any proofreader and then present the results as their own. I’ve never used samples anyway because I don’t really think my clients want any of their work displayed on the Internet. 

[forcopywriting]

Oh wow! This is explicit. I think some of the people arguing in favour of samples aren’t considering the fact that a lot of us don’t just write blog posts and articles? We write personal letters and pitches that are supposed to be about the private lives and businesses of our buyers. I quite agree with this author wholeheartedly.

[arbabzahoor]

I am totally agreed. Although i am a seasonal writer at Fiverr but doing well at local market place. Yeah i am agree that providing sample is of no use. One should consult Gig Thumbnail or Gig pics as a sample.

[benedictrm]

Just found this. Very good.

Ditto for music. Except any Mix Engineer should have a Portfolio work of songs they Mixed they can show so asking them to do unpaid test work is equally unprofessional. Especially seeing “just a minute of my song” takes as long to do as the whole song which is 4-6 hours at least. More often 8-10 hours.

The Mix isn’t done until it is done. Show any decent (and honest) Mix Engineer your rough mix mp3 and they can advise probable outcomes. This is how you get to know your Engineer and what you can expect. Hint, anyone who suggests that you will get a Grammy Winning Hit is a big filthy fibber; e.g. Quincy Jones initially thought Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was a bust.

Talk to the Mix Engineer just a bit - after listening to their work - and understand how they think as that is far more important than if they mixed something that sounds exactly like your song as in most cases, the wrong type of engineer will make every single song sound exactly the same - big fail for you when you want your song to be unique.

I make a series of video where I show a Mix Before & After (unless it is a commercial work) and then talk through all the decisions I made and Why. Anyone who can’t see if I am suitable after looking at even the Final Mix (10:30 in this one) is not suited to me.

Quote

 

🙂 

[shamazahmad318]

nice, but I love to share my samples with my clients. After all, it gives my clients a proof about my quality work.

[syedalhajuddin]

A buyer is asking me to send me a sample for the work of "Children story book illustrations" which is a part of my nature of job. Can I send him a sample through fiverr inbox before starting the project. Please clarify whether that sending a sample to the buyer in fiverr inbox  is forbidden fiverr's point of view or otherwise? 

[Zahid I.]

If a buyer asks for a sample specifically after viewing your gig image, it's better for you to send it, preferably with a mock-up or using a watermark.

[usaycf]

It is completely up to you, however you should protect yourself by releasing a sample of partial work, previous work, or just watermarking it. When it comes to protecting your work, nothing is truly risk-free.

I'd recommend simply uploading your previous works to your gig image, video or project portfolio.
 

[donnovan86]

2 hours ago, mafizuddinhazra said:

Certainly! When hiring a writer, it's advisable to request samples. Samples provide a glimpse into the writer's style, tone, and proficiency. They help you assess if their writing aligns with your expectations and project requirements. Consider asking for samples relevant to your niche or project to ensure a better fit. It's a standard practice that professional writers understand, and it demonstrates your commitment to finding the right match for your needs. Ultimately, samples serve as a valuable tool in making an informed decision and building a successful collaboration with your chosen writer.

Ah, yes, the beauty of AI replies. When you don't have any insight but want those forum badges....

 

Leaving that aside, asking for a sample can be helpful, but the problem here is that a lot of so called writers ask genuine writers for samples and guess what, they steal those samples and share them as their own. I had that happen to me so many times, to the point where I can easily figure them out, since those people just ask for samples without saying what they want, what they need or anything similar. 

I am fine with people asking for samples, but I am not ok with thieves that steal your samples or even worse, publish them. I learned that the hard way when I saw my samples published by people who "seemingly" wanted to see how I write. Yet they were thieves trying to steal my content and make a profit from it. So yeah, it's a double-edged sword. 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by donnovan86

[moinul_karim19]

Yes. This is completely up to the buyer. Asking for sample is alright. As a writer with 6 years of experience, I don't find it wrong in anyway. However, sometimes clients ask for unpaid writing tests, which is definitely unacceptable in my eyes. You cannot ask people to write for you and waste their time if you are not going to pay them. 

So any buyer out there, don't make people write for free. 
For sellers, don't ever do Unpaid samples. 

Simple as that!

[nickj2013]

I don't give samples that are outside of my gig gallery when it comes to writing. People steal, and use them to pass off as their own. What's in the gallery, is all you get. And I will simply direct you to said gallery if you ask for a sample.

[strategist_ceo]

On 12/18/2023 at 8:06 PM, donnovan86 said:

Ah, yes, the beauty of AI replies.

I also sometimes use AI to help me write opinions, including in this very reply. The concept of "opinions" is that they're our own ideas which I may use the tool to rephrase, instead of just asking the AI for a reply without putting any personal thought into it.

I believe this would be a misuse of AI.

[melissaharlowvo]

Wow everyone! And @cyaxrex you ARE an amazing writer. Although my gigs are voice over, I take the same stand. I say that “this is not an audition platform, rather an order platform.”

I think asking for FREE work on Fiverr should be against the Terms of Service. That is what a great portfolio is for.