When you should work for free

Someone on Instagram recently asked me: when should creatives do free work? It’s a good question, because some of the loudest people on the internet shout that creatives should never do free work. Usually, they’re saying this because they think free work devalues their paid work, and they aren’t getting enough paid work. But no one who is booked and busy is telling people to never do free work. 

There are a few scenarios in which doing free work makes sense. Here they are. 

1 - When it’s someone you really want to work with 

Anyone who shouts that you should never do free work secretly has someone in their mind (maybe a celebrity or a sports star) who they would do free work for in a heartbeat if they were asked. We all have people we admire. We can all think of people who we know could elevate our careers, and who we would be happy to help. Now, it’s not smart to convince ourselves that giving free work to stingy clients is a “great opportunity,” but it also does no good to lie to ourselves that there’s “no one we would ever work with for free.” 

2 - When it’s a cause you care about 

A lot of creative people get pushed around in negotiations, and then justify it by saying they’re “supporting small business.“ If we really want to support a small business, why not work for free? There are so many non-profits and small businesses that would be so helped by our thoughtful work. Instead, we use up all our generosity because we’re getting pushed around in negotiations. We should be saving that generosity to really help people who need it and will appreciate it. 

3 - When the rate is so low that you might as well be working for free anyway

If the rate is so low, and you don’t need the money, and you have extra free time, and you want to do the project, it probably makes sense just to do the project for free. This way, you don’t set a precedent that your rates are much lower than they are. You also elevate your status in the mind of your client. They feel like they “owe you one,“ (which is not really the point, but it is an added benefit). A year or two down the road, when they have bigger budgets, or are working for a company that spends more on what you do, they’ll think of you first. And they’ll pay whatever you ask.