What I do if I have the time and interest in helping out the person is to go ahead and provide an invoice after completion of the project with normal pricing information and a clear message that this was done ‘Pro-Bono’.

In the case of NPO’s this actually has some value to them because they could consider it an in-kind donation of sorts. Not really tax deductible for me, but helps them show ‘value’ which they have created with their org.

This technique doesn’t work so well with parents, but it has given me a way to put a ‘dollar value’ on services which I have provided to sister organizations for free at times. And, has cut down on some of those requests from those organizations or shown the value of what I have done for them for free.

I gave some halfhearted feedback, then at some point included this line: “Not to put too fine a point on it, is this a paying job?”

No feelings were hurt and I got a small fee.

For everyone else I use the rule that if you’re going to use my service in your business. Then as a matter of fairness then I should bill accordingly.

It also helps if you’re a little creative, “you know if I do anymore than this I’m gonna have to send you a bill”. Most people understand and don’t have a problem with these solutions.

Regards

Sly

When you introduce two contacts who might possibly do big business with each other, and some of that ‘business’ might potentially include work for you, how do you position yourself so that you do get a piece of that pie?

Most of us (PR, marketing consultants or consultants of any kind, really) spend a lot of time networking and, for the most part, I am happy to refer business to other contacts (pay it forward) and expect nothing in return except, as a fellow consultant put it the other day “good karma.”

But, I’ve had this happen to me so many times, where I’ve put two contacts together and sometimes you don’t even get so much as a thank you or courtesy update as to how the ‘lead’ panned out!

Thanks, and great stuff you post, by the way!

best, Corin

Well written article. Over the last 2+ years I have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours learning about social media so that I can offer my expertise and knowledge to businesses looking to market online more effectively.

Similar to a doctor or an attorney each business has it’s own challenges so I cannot give a blanket answer to most social media questions without first understanding the uniqueness of the business. Your opening line said it all.

Thanks for writing the article. As we progress in social media I know we will get more and more people asking for free advice so it’s good to know where to draw the line and how to do it without offending.

To Your Success,

Tony Estigoy