Are you a new freelance artist and wondering how to enter the world of online remote work without getting scammed?
I have some bad news for you guys.
Let's start by saying that there are 3 main areas for online work:
-Remote work for structured companies
-Commissions through work platforms
-Commissions from individuals and small companies.
Let's analyze each option and try to understand the pros and cons
CONS
1 Remote work for structured companies
This option can be considered moderately safe and the level of safety depends on the reliability of the company that is hiring you. Very large companies tend to operate in a systematic manner and there are very few occasions where you might even see real collaboration contracts. Why then is it only moderately safe and not very safe? Because on one hand no company -that made you sign a contract with clear terms- wants to have legal problems. But on the other hand, international lawsuits are extremely difficult, for example in case they no longer want to pay you for various reasons (like they are not satisfied of the final work, they have changed their mind, they ask for more work than agreed etc) a real lawsuit is only worth it if we are talking about relatively high amounts to be redeemed. Contacting a lawyer has its costs and you must be very motivated to do so.
Personally, after having found myself in the midst of difficult collaborations several times, I now have a contact with a lawyer who assists me in case of need.
I can assure you that with a real legal notice most companies will pay what they owe you, but you will have wasted a lot anxiety, anger and your vital time in having to keep up with this thing.
2 Commissions through work platforms
This option has many facets, as many as the online job platforms you can find.
There are platforms that ask for fixed registration costs, others that earn a commission on what you sell to customers, or other mechanisms that still allow the platform to benefit from your presence on it.
In this case most of the time the toxic mechanism that is established is
"the customer/platform is always right" and for what reason?
Because the websites, having a profit from your work on it, tends to index you based on your performance, and guys we are talking about extremely competitive markets usually open to freelancers from all over the world.
We can easily understand that the cost of living is not the same everywhere of the planet, so if to do a quality job in a random country costs $10, in another country to do the same job of the same quality costs can be $100. This creates an enormous imbalance, where freelancers often tend to produce jobs at cheaper prices (finding all their shortcuts to make it work) in order to be able to emerge, losing not only in the quality of the final work but very often also in mental health, accepting degrading conditions in order to remain high in the indexing.
3 Commissions from individuals and small companies
I saved the worst for last, this is where the risk of fraud can really be high, no contract in 99% of cases, no protection platform. It's sad to admit it but the majority of online artists, in order to earn something, often fall into fraudulent collaborations, false hopes, promises of this and that which guys, without exaggerating, almost never arrive. I'm not saying that all work for private is a scam obviously, but small companies and fraudulent individuals exist and they are the most difficult to avoid.
There are methods to give you a minimum of protection obviously, such as making staggered payments, you can be charged a sum at the beginning and the balance at the end of the collaboration for example (always protecting your work with watermarks).
If you want advice from someone who has fallen for it too many times to feel smart, be wary especially of small companies, they will ask you for a lot of work, the contract for one reason or another will never arrive, and above all if they decide not to pay you in the end, they will practically be unattainable.
PRO
1 Remote work for structured companies
Here the pros outweigh the risks in my opinion. Working for large companies allows you to enter a structured work pipeline, with precise deadlines, terms and times. Your CV will improve significantly and large companies usually pay artists honest amounts for their work. Furthermore, if large companies are satisfied with your performance, they could structure an ongoing collaboration, which is always very good if you are a freelancer.
(Small CON side note, usually the NDE you sign will not allow you to insert the artwork created into your portfolio, but it is likely that after the publication/launch dates you will be able to do so.)
2 Commissions through work platforms
Here depending on the platform the pros could be about the same level as the cons.
What is certain is that you will not have to spend too much time on the sponsorship, the platform will take care of it for you. Your work can be (moderately) protected through internal mechanisms, that can guarantee you get paid if you have worked fullfilling the customer request, even if he/she decides he/she doesn't want to complete the collaboration for trivial reasons.
3 Commissions from individuals and small companies
*Diletta you have to say something*
One of the pros could be greater creative freedom or being able to earn the full amount without platform costs...but you must keep in mind that to have customer traffic on your site you really need to be able to self-promote in an excellent way, and this (most of the time), has a cost. The question you need to ask yourself is simple, why would a customer want my illustrations and not the cheaper ones from a platform? When you find the answer to this question, invest your resources in making this characteristic of yours evident.
Final advice
Here's the moment when I think *you're saying something so obvious* but it's the truth and the basis from which to build everything else.
Guys you will make mistakes, you have to make mistakes, you have to be scammed by companies and individuals to understand how you can structure yourself and your business, in this way you will find a formula that can work for your way of working. Something that is compatible not only with your style (it's the least of the problems) but with your times, your way of working, something that can make you feel at peace with yourself when you close the PC the evening. Certainly you can try to reduce the damages, like don't work again for people who have let you down professionally in the past, try to get back the bare minimum with the initial payment rate, work on platforms that give you some guarantees, always try to get contracts and read them carefully, if you don't like the terms, expressly ask to change them according to your needs. And above all DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENTS IN VISIBILITY. What visibility can have a project that doesn't have the funds to pay the artists who work on it? Spend the same time promoting yourself on social media, you will surely have a better return in visibility and you will be able to produce something you like. Have a good adventure in this digital jungle guys, in the next post I want to talk about online scams for freelancers in a little more depth, and share with you some of the worst ones that have happened to me!
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