Retainers mean the client is already booked with me. Nobody else is going to get that client’s spots. Retainer terms vary by freelancer, but to give you an idea what sort of thing you can expect, here are five elements that appear in my retainer agreements
The surprise benefit of being a scientist AND communicator
“You’re a scientist too?! Phew!” It’s a comment I get a lot from the scientists I work with to produce content, reports and synthesis pieces, or communication strategies, and from the scientists I interview for work I’m producing for others. Why does it matter that I’m a scientist? Here’s five things I’ve learned
Should you ask for byline or ghostwritten content?
White labelling, aka ghost-writing essentially means that the content producer doesn’t get their name attributed to the content. Sometimes a company name may be used in place of the content creator, sometimes another person entirely different. A byline on the other hand is when the creator is the named author.
Tell us your story
Don’t jargon-away your audience
What copyright agreement do you have with your freelancer?
If you work with freelancers or are thinking about working with freelancers, it’s probably not a question you’ve thought of before. After all, you’ve paid for something to be produced – surely, you can do what you want with it… right? Not necessarily – unless explicitly agreed, the freelancer owns the copyright to the deliverable they have produced.
The public is not your audience
As the old adage goes, one size does not fit all. One communication platform does not reach all. One style of communication does not engage all. One message is not relevant to all.
This is true whether you are a business trying to sell your products or services, a researcher trying to share your science, or an NGO trying to help address a social or ecological problem.