Bartering for other web services

Currently I've got plenty of work, but I know these things go up and down.

When I do get some spare capacity I've thought of bartering or trading some of my services as I thought that trading some of my copy writing spare capacity with other people's web desinging, seo and other people's spare capacity.

So the question is have other people tried this? Have their been good experiences, bad experiences, or tips.

 

Has anyone tried to barter or trade their writing services for other web services before?

 

I have done graphic design for someone who wrote copy for me. It worked out really well. Just make sure you have exact expectations for both sides down on paper (so to speak). Any vagueness at all can come back to bite you. It's best if each party knows exactly what they have to provide.

I think bartering is an underutilized way to get things done.

 

Thank you for that reply BunnyB. Sorry I replied back so belatedly.

It does seem odd that there are so many people on here who are looking to do work and also get other bits of work done, but that bartering is seen as a bad thing.

 

I have a forum friend that I barter with and do paid work for. There's also some freebies that go back and forth. It works great for both of us. We've known each other for over 4 years which probably makes a big difference. With a bartering situation both sides have to feel they are getting equal results which is the trickiest part of the whole arrangement.

 

And where did you get the impression it is seen as a bad thing? I agree it is not applied very often, but I never got the impression it was frowned upon.

 

Well I tried to offer my copy writing in return for a simple website. There were a few replies that offered to do it if I paid (one even got upset with me when I said no) and there was one serious offer which when I worked out how much they were asking I realised that I could earn enough money to commission my site about three times over.

It wasn't a problem, it was an experiment. Maybe I was just unlucky.

 

I think part of the problem is that people believe (wrongly IMO) that writing is easy and anyone can do it, whereas their own skills are obviously much more valuable. That leads to an expectation that the writer would have to do so much more work to offer a similar value of service or skill. I disagree as I know how much skill high quality writing takes.
I deal with technical writing projects and customers in my day job and find that the tech writers are severely under-valued. For some reason, designers and engineers always think they can do as good a job themselves and that the author is beneath them in the pecking order. Invariably, their attempts need to be rewritten or scrapped.
In short, it's a perception thing. Writing is seen as a basic activity that anyone can do, when in reality it's not that simple.

 

PJ, you hit the nail right on the head!

 

That is soo right. When we copywriters do our jobs well, the words don't get in the way of the message. We carefully select the precise words to bypass the customers' "Junk Mail!" filter and feel so darn logical that they lodge themselves in their subconscious minds.

This means our words speak easily and clearly. Many clueless readers would say, I could've written that myself! Then, dear Copywriter, you know you did your job very well indeed.

Most people have no idea whatsoever how close copywriting is to writing poetry.
Dot

PS - In regards to bartering, I was able to work a trade with a WordPress expert - I wrote her website and autoresponders and in return, she morphed my own website into a complete WordPress blog. Happy-happy all around. And I've also referred a few clients to her since then; and she, me.

 

I've tried bartering my copy for all sorts of things, but it usually fails because I write the copy and then the person disappears, can't or won't deliver what they agreed to. I write a sales letter I would normally charge $750 but since they're not paying for it, what does it matter to them?

 

This is probably the saddest thread I've ever read in DP, bar the one with the guy buying a shotgun.
Here mate, have a Rep+. Cheer you up a bit...

 

Does iTrader not work?

 

I think bartering works best when you have a relationship already in existence. In my case, we had previously paid each other for the services involved so there was a set price in play. Bartering was then easy because we traded things fairly equal in value and we already knew the other person would produce.

constantmark - you gave a stranger $750 worth of work WITHOUT any collateral or payment? You made it easy for the other person to rip you off. I hate hearing stories like yours - there's so much scum out there taking advantage of honest folks.

 

Yes, you do have to be careful when bartering. There are a couple of websites that supply safety tips. One good thing about bartering is you don't usually lose money, even if you get scammed. Of course, you'll either lose time or items, but you're more likely not to go bankrupt as you would if someone stole all of your money. I feel terrible for those who are ripped off through these services. I guess sometimes you don't always know who you can trust, but I think the worse things get within the economy, the more people will be forced to barter.

 

People bartering because things are worse in the economy are not the reason why I think bartering is a good thing, it's just that this is a way to build a business from scratch - yet everyone seems to treat it as a sign of lack of professionalism.

 

I've never seen it as a lack of professionalism. I think in many cases it's just another form of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

I suspect many people shy away from it because with many trades one person almost always feels used and that the other person got the better end of the deal.

 

Huh. I never thought to barter.

There was a site I did copy for, but he couldn't pay me to do all that he wanted. He sold a product he makes that I could have bartered for! Damn and son of a bitch....

That's a good idea I never thought to do. Hmmmm....

 

Do you guys know that bartering is a huge international business and I'm talking about bartering products and services.

There are loads of barter networks, joining one is on my to do list. The only problem is some of the want you to pay a silly large joining fee and this fee is converted into their barter dollars or barter credits that you use to trade with other barter members ... any how I think you get the point it can be very profitable for you if you happen to need many of the services in that particular barter club. The good thing is members will want to trade with you because they often have too many spare barter credits. On the flip side, you may end up with the same problem, too many barter credits and too few products or services available in the network.