I’ve been doing social media for a long time and one thing comes up again and again: I keep getting asked to work for free.

Sometimes it’s because people don’t value my work and sometimes it’s because people simply don’t have the budget for me. But both times, it’s disheartening. And it’s very rare that I ever say yes.

Why? I don’t have the time. Any time I work for free, that’s time I’m taking away from paid work or spending time with my family. To be honest, that makes most cases an easy no. There is very little that I value above getting paid and quality time with my family. But there are a few things.

Let’s take a look at a few instances to see if it’s worth working for free.

Working for free for family

I had a family member who was running a business and didn’t want to do their social media. So they asked me to do it for them… for free. I didn’t even hesitate. I sent them my full hourly rate. Did I get a phone call from a parent chewing me out? Absolutely. But it was totally worth it.

Why? Don’t ever work for family without some kind of agreement that includes an exchange of money or goods. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for a big family fight, and you don’t want to do that to your support system. You want it to be as cut and dry as possible with a quick out for both parties in case things are starting to go south. And any sign of going south is when you should move on. Family is more important than business.

I personally won’t do any work for family in any circumstances. We’re Irish and Italian with big tempers and perfectionism problems. That is just a recipe for disaster for me. So if I’m sure the family member can’t afford me, I just quote my hourly rate to shut it down quickly.

Working for free for a nonprofit

It’s so tempting. You see a nonprofit struggling, and you know effective communication could make a huge difference for them. So you start off just giving a few tips. And then you somehow get sucked in. You’re doing more and more. But for the life of you, you have no idea how you got there. More importantly, you don’t know how to put the brakes on working for them.

What happened? There are a lot of things to consider when you are wondering whether you should work for free for a nonprofit. The first is their financial situation. If they are in a bad financial situation, they’re going to be looking for places to cut costs. If you’re willing to do marketing work for free for them, then they may start seeing you as the replacement for an employee. And if their financial situation gets worse, then they may depend on you more and more… like an employee. That’s an awkward place to be in.

The next is their response to your limitations. Before you start doing anything for them, outline exactly what you are willing to do in writing. And then you need to stick to that. Take note of what happens when you stick to that. Are they constantly bumping up against those limitations and trying to get more? Or are they respecting them? If it’s the former, it likely won’t stop no matter what you do. In fact, it will likely get worse.

And you should also know if they value what you do. The absolutely worst is working for free for people who don’t value what you do. They will try to pile work on you and have no idea when a position should go from volunteer to paid. And they likely won’t give you the information you need to do your job. It’s just not fun.

If you feel confident about all of these areas, then do what you feel is right. Just make sure it’s something you also have a time limit on and that it can easily be handed off to someone else. Because working for free is not forever even if you really believe in it.

Working for “exposure”

There have been several potential speaking engagements over the years that have offered exposure in lieu of payment. Nope. Never. Not ever. Easiest no.

Why? There are two reasons for that no. The first is about speaking engagements in general. The people who come to these speaking engagements tend to not be in a position to hire me. They’re not in leadership. They’re doing the day-to-day social media work. There is nothing wrong with that, and of course there is a chance they might recommend me for a position. But the likelihood is not good. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had someone hire me from a speaking engagement. In fact, this is the story I have heard from most consultants.

The other part of this is using the term “exposure” is a huge red flag for me. People who use this term tend to not value what I do for a living. And it’s not even just the use of the term. It’s the confidence that they have when they use it. Someone who values what I do is embarrassed to ask me to work for free, and they go out of their way to bring me something of value in return. I’m more likely to make something work for that kind of person. But if you come at me offering exposure, I’m not interested.

Know your worth

When working for free goes bad, it ends up going really bad. I have story after story of trying to offer an organization just a little something and ending up in a super negative situation with them. So in the end, enter into this kind of partnership carefully. Draw up super strict boundaries. And know that you are worth way more than this.

Has it ever been worth working for free for you?