Would you write for a site you found morally disgusting?

No, I wouldn't. I tried to do it before, promoting something I knew was a lie. In the end I backed out of the deal because I couldn't handle trying to willfully deceive people. But I sure wanted that money!

 

Depends on how broke I was. If I had a decent income, I would not. If I was hungry, morals go out the door.

 

I don't have problem writing articles without my name on it but I would not write articles about drugs and illegal stuff. However, I always make sure that I write for people who are genuine in blogging for long term rather than those who are just trying to make quick bucks out of their so-called blogs or sites. Research background of a potential client is the key. Ask as many questions about their intention with the articles is helpful.

 

Guilt is the biggest pressure of all

 

I can't do it, really. Sure, I can put words together to create stuff for it. But, there's no feeling... no identifying. If I can no way find it in myself to be in the reader's shoes then I shouldn't be writing your copy.

 

I wouldn't.. I don't think I would be able to write neutral articles.

 

Never! Yesterday I rejected a job because of this.

 

i would write the facts,... If something is wrong and I think is going to hurt somebody... NO NO...

Yeah but if you ask me review a product.. ofcourse I will write good reviews no matter what..But if you say write for a medicine which says it cures fever..but really I think it doesnot... NO NO... All souls are created equal.. No playing with them!

 

I would never write about anything that I could prove didn't work, or anything that is going to generate false hope. Those are the ones to worry about as if they seem shady at the beginning, you can only wonder what the ending will be like..

i worked with a client who paid me a handsome amount to basically recreate a known affiliate program, went above & beyond only to have them say thanks and then three weeks charge backed the amount they paid, trying to pull a fast one over Pay Pal. Luckily, I had a plan of action should that occur.

Morals are often the solidity of what makes & breaks us.

JAM

 

It is easy to say "I was young and I needed the money" but ultimately when you look down the road, you never know when you run into someone or befriend someone who was affected negatively by something/someone you wrote for.

Although some might not have a problem with that, I would say that if you feel a moral twinge, then you'd better not sell your soul.

I run into the same situations when I do comedy. There are subjects that I could write funny material about but I choose not to because it goes against my moral grain.

Now my job as a comedian is to make people laugh and some audiences want raunchy or inappropriate material (and I've used material that was blue) but I refuse to do racial or perverse material (animalism, racism, etc...) just to get a laugh. That audience will just have to think I'm bad if I don't meet their needs. And I have walked off stage because people got ugly because I wouldn't.

I witnessed a girl break down in hysterics over one comedian's jokes about date rape victims, only to find out she was one. It ended the show and he was floored and never used that sort of material again.

So if you want to write about something that might do someone else harm in any shape or form...
you're on your own and you'll have to live with the repercussions when ever they show up.

Cheers, Smiles and Success,
Crazy J
a.k.a. Johnny Hollywood
Comedian turned Internet Marketer

 

Definitely wouldn't

As cliched as it sounds, there is more to life than earning money. It's not worth sacrificing your moral values, simply to earn some extra revenue.

You won't enjoy it, and by writing about it you could argue you are personally endorsing it.

I have problems even promoting a lot of clickbank products, quite simply because I don't want to be promoting a product that I wouldn't go near myself!

At the end of the day you need to uphold what you believe in over earning money. You may earn less as a result, you may even have to work harder to achieve that, but at least you can look back and know you earnt the money with integrity and without sacrificing what you truly hold close to your heart.

 

Do not associate with bad people.

It's tempting to take the money and look the other way. It's the easy thing to do. Years later, you'll regret it. Even if you can get away with it and no one will ever know, you'll still feel bad eventually. Or you'll be scared that someone eventually finds out.

You'd have to be really, really, desperate (kids have not eaten in days) before it would be ok. Everyone has their limit.

 

It's interesting that you phrased it the way you did because this implies that one would think differently (in a moral sense at least) about doing something as long as their name was not attached to it. This seems to fall along the same philosophical moral thinking that something is okay as long as you "don't get caught" and I've always found that type of thinking hard to wrap my head around.

One guideline I try to use when writing anything is whether or not I would want my name attached to it. If not, then I don't think I would write it.

 

I agree with you.. Great comment

 

I get asked this all the time and have refused every time.

 

I think I will not write for the site ,no matter how much money they give me !

 

I agree... and it's interesting to see some of the justifications from people saying they would take on such a project.

Aside from the moral issue, there are entirely practical reasons for refusing any projects you can't be 100% proud of...

1. It eats at your soul, and lowers your self esteem and self worth.
2. You'll eventually burn yourself out.
3. You won't produce good copy because your heart and soul aren't poured into it.
4. Because you don't produce good copy, you're unlikely to get referrals or repeat business... and even if you DO get referrals, it will most likely be more of the same. (Birds of a feather.)

Stick to what you're good at, what you enjoy, and what you can be proud of. Refuse everything else. (Try it... it actually feels good to turn down projects from time to time!)

 

Nope! You can survive without money but you have to look at yourself in the morning. "To thine own self be true." Your integrity matters.

 

Not again. I took a job in a niche that I hated, it was far from reputable, and the client skipped without paying. Overall, a learning experience, but not one that I'd like to repeat any time soon.

 

I was surprised by the varying responses to this question. I understand what Y. L. Prinzel and cd928 mean about writing for health products etc., and I suppose if there is some sort of leeway in how you can approach it, as well as being able to include a disclaimer, then you probably wouldn't consider the job unethical. But, like vgal stated, there is no way I could write about something I disagreed with completely. Maybe I could get the words on paper, but I wouldn't believe a thing I wrote and that wouldn't make me feel good about myself either.