Article writing gigs: "watch the video to find out what I need"

[dimana_att]

All of my gigs have a “please specify the exact topic” requirement for the buyer to fill in upon placing an order. Most clients follow the instructions to the letter, so working with them is a pleasure 🙂

However, from time to time I’ll get an out-of-the-ordinary request, such as a link to a YouTube video and a note from the buyer to watch it to “see what they’re looking for”. In most cases, the video itself will be around 20-30 minutes, which is more than I’ll spend on actually researching and writing the typical $5 gig.

What do you usually do in this case?

I prefer choosing my own sources, firstly because I know they’ll be reliable and also because actually reading a couple of sources takes me a third of the time watching a YouTube video will. I’ll usually ask my buyers to write down their requirements, instead of sending me a video link, but they’ll insist the video “shows exactly what they need”. I don’t want to spend more than half an hour on a gig I’ll usually complete in 15 minutes, so I tend to cancel these orders.

If you decide to go through with the order, would you ask the buyer to purchase an extra to cover the additional time and how would you price it?

[fonthaunt]

I haven’t had this with video yet, but I’ve had people send me 30 pages of their research. Some say that they’ve done the research so they don’t need to buy my research extra and they want to pay $5 for a base blog post.

I changed my description some to try to make it more clear that a $5 gig is for niche topics I know well and they get unique writing based on my own knowledge. If they send me things to read or watch that I can’t do in 5 minutes, I politely explain that it’s extra for all time I spend doing something besides the writing. Some tell me to ignore the content they sent because their budget is five bucks. Some order research and a few don’t want the gig anymore.

[johniey]

i have read your gig descriptions. i like it because you have specifically said that ( if you fail to submit all the necessary information, I reserve the right to cancel the order at any time. well, about your question here. i think its best to request the buyer to purchase an extra and you can cancel when he refuse to do so