+ve for this. As someone who also sells press releases, I understand where you are coming from, it does make sense to charge upfront for such a specific service. Article writing however, I tend to go with my gut instinct when selling - and for established clients I'm willing to invest a certain amount of trust.
Be careful with this, though. I am the managing editor of a medical site and I am often soliciting applications from new writers. I've had many people send me excellent samples, so I hire them. Then they submit their first articles and they are full of mistakes and gibberish. It turns out that some people have been copying samples off the Internet or copying articles from their local newspapers and sending them in. The samples were well-written because they were plagiarized. So, don't rely on samples for 100% of your decision.
Yes, press releases are the jokers in the deck when it comes to pay issues It's interesting--I find that a lot of new freelancers are afraid of getting burned but equally afraid of negotiating favorable terms. Overcoming the fear of both is part of the ritual.
Depends on the advertiser/writer relationship and trust,,, It can be done in bulk or as single , in advance or after completion...
It's not just press releases. Most of my business writing is like that. For example, if I research a company, their products, their market, etc. and write highly tailored copy, it's pretty much useless elsewhere. Same with their white papers, because they're ultimately tied to the company and / or their product. Same with pitch letters, or features I ghostwrite for trade magazines set to specifically position that client and their company as an authority. A lot of business writing is so tied to the client that it just doesn't make sense to invoice afterwards, because you can't use it anywhere else.
Totally agree. For any articles with a somewhat competitive niche, I have no problems with getting payment after completion with a satisfaction guaranteed stipulation. When dealing with content that's so specific to your client, it's essential to request payment upfront, or at least a partial payment. Instead of offering a "satisfaction guaranteed" type stipulation, usually when dealing with such specific content I'll guarantee multiple revisions if necessary. Accepting payment upfront for any specific content is something I learned the hard way. A while ago, I got stiffed ($XXX project) by a new client. The content was so specific that it could only benefit him since his "niche" was one he created himself and had no competition for. I haven't really had any bad experiences with waiting to receive payment besides that one but I'm very selective with who I choose to work for. I suppose once you're established, payment upfront for any work in a community such as this one would be logical. It's always a personal decision though. If I ever set up a website to offer my services, maybe payment upfront would be how I operate. I just feel more comfortable with accepting payments once the work is done. It makes things less troublesome if the inevitable occurs and you are late finishing some projects.
I know many aren't going to agree with this, but for me, I like to have as much at risk as the client--I kinda think it's only fair. Maybe it's the naive young girl in me (um...yeah...she's in there), but I don't want to hold the full deck of cards. I ask for a retainer--10%-50% depending on the project/ client, and then collect the rest as we go. This way, the client isn't obsessing over whether or not they just hired a scam artist, and I'm not worried about getting stiffed.