No? I didn't think so. I wonder why so many people post here, wanting their _____________ revised/edited/critiqued for free?
To many people Internet era means information comes for free...! That being said, when someone asks to critique a copy, as in the copywriting forums here; people do so at will, with no deadline in mind and with no time invested on researching. Do you think it could be billed? If I did review a website or a copy I did so JUST for the love of it and nothing more, but maybe that's just me.
Sometimes we do things for profit, other times we do because we simply want to. Copywriters forum for me is about likeminded people sharing ideas and tips about something they love........writing. For me it comes easier as I do not make a living from writing, but I do write for the enjoyment and the love of it.(poetry) And working with writers as I do, makes coming on this forum and learning from it worthwhile. Free critques, why not if they wish to do it?
Nope, I didn't mean from fellow writers. I mean from website owners, people who have hired writers, blah blah. Can you look at my website and point out all the errors for me? Can you tell me if this guy wrote this thing using proper English? People looking for consultations without having to pay for them.....that sort of thing.
For the most part I ignore them. Would you go to a business forum for doctors or lawyers and expect free consultations if that was not a designated function of the site? For a while, there was a member who generally responded to them with "Sure, I see mistakes. Hire me and we'll talk about them." That said, if the request is from a new writer, I might throw my two cents in. Depends on my mood really and if I feel they are honestly looking for advice or simply looking for a freebie when they know they should pay for a writer. I cringe when I see good writers completely rewriting pieces that were submitted for review. I think as a group we can offer suggestions and guidance but should not extend that good will into undercutting our own businesses. Problem is that I think many of the review requests are simply clever ways to spam...oh please check out my new site and tell me if this great new service I'm selling, blah, blah, blah...they will get sales. It happens all the time. Whether it's simply a matter of website owners trying to support each other, the product actually does look useful or people just fail to see as forum members they make great targets for spammers.
This is the truth.. then when you put there url in google you see the posted the same thing in 10 different forums and it was probably a "SEO" guy who did it or the site owner read some low grade article on "how to drive traffic". So I just ignore them like I do with most low grade schemes and trash on this site.
I've noticed this on many marketing forums. Some people really need the advice and are honestly asking for it. And many times you'll get the spammers and black-hatters looking for back linking juice. I'll usually point out the headlines, Call to actions and other pieces. But, I won't rewrite anything for them. No way.