Thank you for inviting me, but I’m not for free
Me @ MindTrek Conference – MindTrek is the leading Nordic digital media and business conference, focusing on social media & Web 2.0 – Photo by: Daniel Erkstam
Arrogant? No. Just realistic.
Listen, it’s really simple:
I don’t charge you a penny for the massive amount of hours and energy I spend in writing blog posts, for organizing guest interviews and for the editing of the episodes I release on my media channel, neither I charge you for the time I spend to skim juicy news items that get delivered to you on my communications report, again for free. All this is for free.
In addition to this it seems that I’m pretty good at what I do. No it’s not me saying it. People… say it. Still not sure? Have a look at the recommendations on my Linkedin profile.
Recently via Linkedin:
“Andrea is a great speaker and moderator for conferences and events. Not only does he know the ins and outs of social media, he IS the phenomenon. At MindTrek 2009 he did an excellent job and prepared his track by inviting people to discuss, share ideas, and plan the themes and questions of the track in advance. This engagement of the audience continued during the session and after it. He is a true pro and a pioneer!” October 13, 2009
Top qualities: Personable, Expert, Creative
Jukka Matikainen – Conference Chair at MindTrek
Now… do you want me to come to your events? Thank you for inviting me but you have to pay for my travel, accommodation, expenses, and if you want me to speak I’ll charge you a fee for it (yes, even if I’ll deliver my presentation remotely/online).
Can we talk about it? Yes we can. If you are organizing a small event you probably can’t afford to pay the same amount of an international conference. But I still won’t speak for free.
Why? To prepare a keynote I need on average at least 10 hours of work + keep in mind that the time I spend in traveling and delivering it to you, at your events, that’s time that I have to take away from other activities related to my research, book writing and work that I have to take care of for my clients (in case you forgot I’m the CEO of an international digital strategy agency… and that’s a lot of work. Trust me on that).
Did I occasionally do it for free in the past? Yes, and I think I’ve done enough, but not from now on.
I’ll get exposure/business/contacts by presenting/blogging/participating at your events? Please… don’t embarrass yourself. Skip this, we both know it doesn’t work like that.
Just to set it clear:
- I add value to your event by maximizing the profit/visibility you get out of it, not vice versa.
- I do this for a living. I believe in it and I entirely dedicate myself to it. If you want free-wanna-be speakers, help yourself… it’s full out there. I’m not one of them.
For the ‘Future Fans Club’:
Don’t ask me to talk about the future. Again, I tried to make people happy about it in the past, I won’t do it again. Why? Mainly for 3 reasons:
- We all know this is just an easy way to attract more audience to register to your event. I can give you an excellent picture of the past, and clear view of the present but I can’t tell you how the future will be.
- If you are not happy about what I see in my crystal ball, it’s too easy for you to bitch about it (especially if you are the kind of person that doesn’t pay speakers, or if you were lucky enough to have me for free in the past).
- No one can predict the future. I can share my thoughts and views on the near future, but again it would be quite uncomfortable hearing you bitching about it.
I’m not happy to write this on a post. I truly wished we could have worked well together without it. Unfortunately it seems that the time has come for it.
Wondering if I’m the only one feeling this way? I can guarantee you that I’m not.
Andrea
Author: Andrea Vascellari
Andrea Vascellari is the CEO of itive.net. All thoughts and opinions on this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer or clients; neither past or present. If you liked this post feel free to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or subscribe to this blog.
Coole Idee. Wie wird mann denn Official Blogger an die LeWeb in Paris? Falls du noch Infos zu Paris benötigst, schau bei travelstone vorbei. Vielleicht kann dir ja Melanie noch helfen.
This comment was originally posted on der leumund.
Christian,
Thanks for the mention & link.
I guess it depends from which point of view we are looking at it.
If someone does it once or twice a year and doesn’t work in the web/social media industry it’s actually a good opportunity to get some good contacts and therefor to pay for your travel and accommodation.
My case is exactly the opposite, I have a schedule that is quite full http://www.andreavascellari.com/?page_id=1208 and I’ve been working in the industry for years.
About sponsors. That’s a good idea and sometimes I get sponsors too. For instance I have one for LeWeb, they take care of the expenses so the conference organizers don’t have to think about it.
Hope I didn’t misunderstand your post since my German is not excellent (yet).
See you in Paris!
Andrea
This comment was originally posted on der leumund.
Getting asked to do something for free where you utilize your skills and profession is _sometimes_ even insulting. Do some really think that I was born with these set of skills and knowledge? I hadn’t spend any time studying and learning?
I don’t mind fixing a friends or a family members computer, installing the latest anti-virus software or whatever, but when a _company_ asks me to “check out our Adwords campaing, why isn’t is working” or “could you do upgrade our X amount of servers to latest OS version” and they want you to do it for free, that just sucks.
(I re-wrote this comment many times, but can’t make it not sound arrogant. Please, possible future customer – don’t take it the wrong way
)
@Tommi: You make very good points. I loved => “Do some really think that I was born with these set of skills and knowledge?”
I’m wondering if those companies give their services/products for free too.
Anyway I think we ended up in this situation for 3 main reasons:
1) Too many self-made experts that sale themselves for free/cheap are popping up everyday more on the web (but we both know the quality of what they provide).
2) Too many organizations still see everything web-related as free, when it’s actually not (the worst thing is that they got used to it).
3) Too many conference organizers that are desperately trying to disrespectfully maximize their profit/visibility no-matter-what.
About your n:o 2… are we giving away too much online for free?
Long time ago, when newscorps around the world came to realization that they also need to have an online presence, they took the easy way. They started publishing news online. Same news that were on the _next days_ paper in some cases. Now they have pressed the panic button. “We need to make money with our online papers”. People get all they want from the online versions or other similar services, like Google News, and so they don’t need to buy the real paper.
Are we doing the same? Every time you post a link to great whitepaper or how-to-impliment -article or write a blog post, are you doing more damage to your business than you are doing good via promoting your expertise.
No. No you are not. Think it this way – if a famous chef would post a one of his many recipes online, do you think that would damage his business. People could now do the famous Flaming Duck at home, why go to the restaurant? Because even if you have the step-by-step guide on doing something, it is easier said than done.
Here is a recipe for “canard à la press”. “Thank you, but I don’t know how to make french cuisine. I rather go to restaurant and enjoy this there”.
Here is a link to Googles Adwords guide. “Thank you, after reading this I’m now a online advertising genius”.
No your not. Get an expert. And like in restaurants, prepare to pay your bill
@Tommi: There are so many aspects that have to be taken in consideration and often they change from client to client. So the free-tips shared online can make you understand what and why you need something but to then implement it in your organization you’d better rely on someone that knows how to do it the right way. Agree.
Kleiner Restaurant-Tipp nebenbei: Ich kann dir das “Le Refuge des Fondus” (17, rue des Trois Frères) sehr empfehlen! Kleiner Beschrieb dieses (vermutlich weltweit) einmaligen Restaurants findest du auch auf meinem Blog: http://krz.ch/fondus
This comment was originally posted on der leumund.
Konsequenterweise müsstest du eigentlich Microfunding machen!
http://www.chipin.com/ finde ich ganz gut.
This comment was originally posted on der leumund.
Microfunding hab ich schon versucht. Das klappt bei solchen Sachen nicht. Aber ich hab mittlerweile eine innovative Firma gefunden die mich zumindest mit 300.- CHF unterstützt. Find ich cool.
This comment was originally posted on der leumund.
Dear Andrea,
This was quite interesting to read, especially all the comments/discussion that followed. One thing – off topic – that I came away with is that I desperately need to learn foreign languages. I’m studying abroad right now in Singapore and finding that many (really, most) of the European exchange students speak upwards of 3-4 languages and I feel at a great disadvantage not being able to understand many of your comments.
I have two point on speaking for free: First, in “The Four Hour Work Week”, Tim Ferriss talks about the benefits for the young or new/aspiring speaker in speaking for free at conferences and the like. While he supports it and proposes that it’s one way to build your credibility factors, he also clearly explains that you should be able to begin charging a fee even after speaking only 2 or 3 times for free.
From what I gather, you ‘gave away’ your expertise at no charge for years. The idea that you should even have to defend your new ‘policy’ is somewhat unreasonable to me. Personally, I think it speaks more to how the web culture is based on being very open with your decision-making (which is another reason I love the web) and facilitating conversation.
Secondly, I think there is one more instance that speaking for free is a good ’strategy’: charity and ‘mentoring’ events. Speaking for free at a charity event is something I hope does not require an explanation. The latter case is exemplified through the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization annual conference in Chicago (http://c-e-o.org). I was President of my school’s chapter last year and have been to the conference three times. Each time it has had an enormous impact on my life, and all the speakers are successful entrepreneurs who speak for free to both young and aspiring entrepreneurs across the world who are in the CEO club at their colleges.
This is actually something that I would love if you came to speak at. The conference (as good as it was this past year) has not had a successful web entrepreneur as knowledgeable as you are in the social media space give a keynote. This is something that I personally wish you would do as I think you might have a large impact on the students in attendance.
Regardless, apologies for my long message (please do not feel as if you need to reply quickly) and I hope that perhaps one day you might speak at that conference! Thanks for sharing this really cool article, it is very well articulated. Loving the hustle, keep ‘em coming!
@john Yes, languages are the first ‘passport’
Charities and mentoring to students/education system are something that I support. I’m more than happy to donate my keynotes to contribute to more than worthy causes and if invited I would accept to speak at your event.
Thanks for the great comment!
Dear Andrea,
Might you have any tips for learning other languages? Have you used Rosetta Stone, taken courses, or learned them some other way?
I’m glad to hear that you’re interested! I would be happy to facilitate an introduction between you and the organizers of the annual National CEO conference. It’ll be in Chicago this fall, early November. Do I have your permission to introduce you via email?
@john:
About languages: grew up speaking Italian, English and French. Studied Spanish (+ lived in Spain), Portuguese and Finnish
About the event: sure, I give you the go!
Andrea – after graduating I hope to expand my foreign language speaking, I have a foundational understanding of Spanish but it is very rudimentary.
I am happy to introduce you to the founders/directors of the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization annual conference! I just sent an email to you and Gerry Hills (the founder). I used the address “mail@vascellari.com” and “andreavascellari.com@gmail.com” – are either of those correct?
Why some event organizers who charge 1000$/participant pretend not to pay decent fees to speakers? I don’t understand http://bit.ly/2AhJm4
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Could not have said it better my self! RT @vascellari: Thank you for inviting me, but I’m not for free http://ff.im/-ax4Pu
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @girlygeekdom Could not have said it better my self! RT @vascellari: Thank you for inviting me, but I’m not for free http://ff.im/-ax4Pu
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Thank you for inviting me, but I’m not for free | Andrea Vascellari http://retwt.me/1tXMc < too right!
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @girlygeekdom: Could not have said it better my self! RT @vascellari: Thank you for inviting me, but I’m not for free http://ff.im/-ax4Pu
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @girlygeekdom: Could not have said it better my self! RT @vascellari: Thank you for inviting me, but I’m not for free http://ff.im/-ax4Pu
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
well done.
You have done it again. Superb writing.