Why Creative Freelancers Should Never Work for Free

Posted on by Jeff Riegel, Producer/Editor

By Charles Yeager | Envato Elements

Still getting paid in “exposure”? Just because you’re working freelance, doesn’t mean you should be working for free!

As a creative freelancer, there’s no doubt that you’ve been asked – at some point – to do work for free. In a way, this can feel like a recognition of your talent because the better you are, the more likely clients will approach you to do free work (it’s pretty ironic when you think about it.) You’ve likely been promised free “exposure” for your efforts or perhaps a project that’s so much “fun” that you don’t need compensation, right? Wrong! 

In this article, we want to share why creative freelancers should never work for free – or, if you’re going to work for free, ensure you’re doing it for yourself! Here’s top advice for getting compensated for your creative work.

Firstly, Why Do So Many Devalue Creative Work?

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For two decades, Jeff Riegel was a senior level Producer/Editor for the Department of Defense and various government contractors in Northern Virginia. Outside of the workplace, Jeff keeps himself busy with the creation of festival worthy documentaries "Tori Nelson: Fighting for Her Future" and the once nominated and two-time Emmy award winning "A Journey of Education and Remembrance." His short film "The Great Realisation" captured the eyes at 18 international film festivals with various winning honors; a poem that takes on heavy themes such as fevered capitalism, man-made ecological issues, digital addiction during the global Covid blight. Jeff is looking for funding investors and co-producing "The Lost Clipper," a two+ decades project about the first hijacking in U.S. history and the search for those 15 lost souls abducted in 1938, the true first act of war with Japan. Filming takes him to Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Canada, and locations across the U.S. (see www.LostClipper.com) He enjoys creating media-marketing social networking campaign for personalities such as 13-time world boxing champion Tori Nelson, Netflix's "Narcos" personalities Steve Murphy and Javier Pena, and renowned landscape photographer Frank Lee Ruggles. Jeff is eager to attack any project head-on. Jeff's Motto: think beyond convention...and consider it done!