Why a work for exposure contract? A while back I was thinking about how designers and other creative professionals can deal with a common situation: a potential client wants you to work for them for free in exchange for them giving you exposure, which presumably leads to more paying work. It happens all the time, so I wanted to see if there was a way that we could make that into a contract.
Doing work for exposure is not always a brilliant idea.
The Work For Exposure Contract
So I wrote a “work for exposure” contract template and put it online at www.workforexposure.com – you can go there and download it now, if you want. It even comes with an annotated version.
There is an educational aspect to this work for exposure contract, too. I hope that it will make some broader points about how contracts can be used by creative professionals and businesses to make things run more smoothly.
Here are some thoughts on the work for exposure contract and general lessons about contracts:
- Contracts are about risk allocation: One of the main functions of a great contract is that it can be used to allocate risk. If something goes wrong, who pays? If things don’t go according to plan, what’s the plan? The work for exposure contract addresses that issue by allocating the risk of the new business not materializing to the client making the promise. By default, that risk would be on the person doing the creative work in exchange for exposure – if the new business doesn’t materialize, the creative professional is the one who pays by not getting paid. If the client has to bear that risk, they have an interest in seeing that new business and exposure does materialize.
- Contracts can create opportunities: On the flip side, contracts can create opportunities that might not otherwise exist. Let’s assume that the new client does actually have the will and ability to get the designer exposure – if they follow through on that promise, that’s actually a good value and can be a great deal for the designer. If the client follows through. New business has value, and theoretically, a work for exposure contract protects the exchange by making sure that the designer gets what he or she bargains for and allows the deal to go through.
- Contracts can screen out deadbeats: But let’s be real. Most people who are offering “exposure” in exchange for free work have no intention of ever delivering on that promise. By presenting a contract that would require them to follow through on their commitments, you can find out if the person really means to give you the exposure they promised. If they are unwilling to sign a contract to that effect, it could be a red flag that they have neither the will or ability to honor their side of the bargain. Knowing that before putting in work will save time, money and frustration.
Contracts are often seen as a “necessary evil”, but the point that I am making here is that they can be tools that help to build a thriving business. If one looks at a contract simply as “boilerplate” or “legalese” without giving it deeper thought, there is real possibility of misallocated risks and rewards.
Not every contract needs to be custom, but there is generally a way to put even the most outlandish or annoying deals into a written document that benefits both parties. And that’s what contracts are about – making sure that everyone gets what they bargained for.
