‘Hi Bryan, could you write something up for me really quickly?’

This is a request I sometimes get from casual acquaintances: write a blurb for their website, edit a CV, generate a script for someone’s video project. Do them a favour.

Of course, for friends and family, I’m happy to help.

But if such a request came from a complete stranger, offering not payment but exposure, my answer would be an emphatic no – this is my trade, and exposure doesn’t pay the bills.

Unfortunately for people working in the creative industries, requests to work for exposure are all too common – to have a client or publication interested in your work, but not interested enough to pay real money for it.