Some of you know that I do some pro bono work (without pay) because some people who need my help (such as students) cannot afford to pay me at my freelance rates.
If you are seeking my services for free, you need to understand what I am telling you in this blog if you want to continue to receive my help for free. The monetary perspective is the way most people can easily understand this. So that’s the way I will explain it here, but I actually do not think in monetary terms.
First, you must understand how much you are getting for free to avoid wasting my time and avoid frustrating me. My freelance consultation rates range from $30 to $50 per hour. Also, I have been paid $100 per one-hour seminar, or freelance speaking engagement. In terms of my freelance writing, my highest paid assignment so far compensated almost $2000 for almost 4000 words.
For those of you receiving my help for free, you need to know how this translates into internet equivalent in order to better understand what it's costing me (since the most important aim of my work is on the internet). To offset what it's costing me, I ask you to at least click a few likes and shares (which would help me help more people.) Let’s be reasonable. This is nothing compared to what you are getting from me in return.
Generally, $30 to $100 is equivalent to 10,000 to 50,000 hits/views on my websites and blogs. (But this is an oversimplified estimate.)
1 Hour of My Time = $30 to $100 = 10,000 to 50,000 hits/views on my web pages
1 Hour of My Time = 10,000 to 50,000 hits/view on my web pages
1 Hour of My Time = 10,000 to 50,000 hits/view on my web pages
In other words, to compensate for an hour of my time, you would have to be able to direct 10,000 to 50,000 viewers to my websites and blogs. Even if you “like” or “share” 50,000 of my web pages, it would not automatically translate into 50,000 hits/views from others. But I am not even asking you to "like" or "share" that many. For some of you, all I ask is to click "like" or "share" here and there, whenever I direct you to a page or whenever you see a new post from me.
Again, let’s be reasonable. A few likes on my Facebook, Twitter, and web pages obviously do not generate 10,000 views/hits and therefore definitely cannot compensate for an hour of my time (not even close). However, if you are willing to do at least some "likes" and "shares" whenever I point them out to you, I will be willing to continue to help you.
I hate to sound negative, but the progress of my work on the Internet is way behind what I had planned and the number of people on the Internet I am serving is far below what it should be right now. One big reason is my lack of time. I am still willing to help you, but you have to be willing to help me by merely moving your finger a few times, in clicking "like" and "share", which does not cost you any money. And I am not even asking you to like or share 10,000 of my pages. I don’t even have 10,000 pages for you to click “like”. (I hadn’t had time to put that much content on the web and that’s part of my problem - lack of time. The other parts of my problem is lack of funding and lack of people to help.)
There are other ways of looking at this. When you use up my time, you are not just costing me in dollars, but you are also taking away my services from the multitudes online. One hour of my time can reach/help a lot more people on the internet than in person.
Step one for you would be simply adding me as friend on Facebook at - https://www.facebook.com/amadeoconstanzo
and follow me on Twitter at -
https://twitter.com/amadeoconstanzo