Fake Testimonials & the Ethics of Freelance Writing
Fake Testimonials & the Ethics of Writing
I haven’t used a bidding site such as Get A Freelancer, so out of curiosity I started exploring yesterday. I may be naive but I was astounded to see the ad below..
In the interests of being fair I have pasted the whole ad so that I don’t quote anything out of context, and also because I’m not sure how long the link stays there. Some readers may wish to apply, but you can tell from my heading where I stand on this.
However, I’m open to different perspectives, so I’d like to hear your thoughts and experiences with bidding sites or on this topic in general.
Native English Speakers - Made Up Testimonials Writing
Here is the ad in full -
“We need about 25 short testimonials (From 80 to 150 words each) for a website which sells an ebook about publishing.
Each testimonial should come from an allegedly satisfied reader of the ebook, talking enthusiastically about his/her results. Short testimonials should simply say that they are satisfied, longer ones should be a bit more detailed about the results obtained, and how. We will supply all the necessary information.
Of course, the testimonials should sound totally different from the other ones, to give the impression of different persons writing, with different styles and even some random errors there and there (we all know how some people write on the net!)
The ebook is new to the market, so we need the testimonials as placeholders until we get real ones to use.
This project is extremely simple, so we expect a bid of a maximum of $20 for the entire bunch of testimonials.”
Responses
When I read it, I thought this guy was going to get flamed. I was wrong. I was even more surprised by the responses including e.g.”With over 10 years in the field of journalism and copywriting, I could provide you 25 testimonials of highest quality. Kindly check pmb for my bid details.”
Let’s Talk
What do you think? Have you used a bidding site? Do you think made up testimonials are ethical if used only as a placeholder until real testimonials come in? Would you accept a job like this for the right money?
Yvonne,
The ad is appalling, and the number of people bidding is even more appalling!
In my experience, it’s quite common for a business or entrepreneur to ask satisfied customers for testimonials, even going so far as to offer to write them and get the customer’s approval to save the customer time and effort. That’s not quite the same as people giving unsolicited testimonials, but at least the people are already customers and approve what is said.
But to fake testimonials out of thin air … to me, that’s just wrong.
Lillie - It certainly floored me - both the ad and what people were prepared to be paid for writing the testimonials. I value your insights.
I guess it all comes back to a previous Grow Your Writing Business post and discussion - Price vs Value
Yvonne, I can’t say I’m shocked about either the fact that someone would post such a job, or the fact that there are supposed professional writers willing to take it for the money. When I started my freelance career I used Elance for a brief time. There were plenty of jobs there that asked writers to take an article written by someone else, and re-word it so it could be used on another site.
There are some businesses that will do whatever it takes to sell a product, and there are some people who will do whatever it takes to earn a buck. Ethics be damned.
Mike - You’ve summed it up really well - “There are some businesses that will do whatever it takes to sell a product, and there are some people who will do whatever it takes to earn a buck. Ethics be damned.”
I was shocked at the price too. Okay, I’m easily shocked.
but I think there is a feeling that because it may not be someone’s main job, or because they can do it from home, that their time and expertise is worth less. It’s also about how competitive the market is too, I guess - which makes a good argument for writers specializing… certainly food for thought.
Hmm … Many, many years ago when I did marketing communications we hired a woman specifically to call each and every one of our customers to find out if they were satisfied. One of the goals of the project, besides customer interaction, was to identify customers who might be available to give testimonials.
What will this company do if a potential customer decides to follow through with one of these “testimonials” and talk to the actual satisfied customer? Will the company then hire an actor?
Still, like Mike said, I’m not surprised.
Hi Laura - hire an actor - LOL. I suspect they won’t have any contact details or outgoing links, but it might say - Mary Smith, Entrpreneur, California.
You raise an interesting point though. If you are prepared to give a testimonial should you also be prepared to be contacted as you’d expect to be if you give a job reference? Also, can you use something someone has sent you in an email and use it as a testimonial without their permission - not ethical, but is it illegal?
Ah… I do believe we have opened the proverbial can of worms. Any thoughts?
OMG! Jesus! OK… I don’t find the words. I mean scrapping content from other sites is nothing new, fake testimonials are usual too, but actually hiring some professional writer to do them is a bit too much! I can only swallow this piece of information with 3 slices of lemon.
Hi Mig - 3 slices of lemon… LOL. Sounds like we’re all in agreement so far. It would be interesting to hear from people who bid on something like this, just to hear their point of view.
Wow. That is just awful! I can’t believe people would bid on a job like that. People read those testimonials and use them to make buying decisions.
Katelyn - Thanks for dropping by. Yes, it makes you think twice about buying something online based on testimonials doesn’t it?
wow, talk about desperation….that’s like paying for comments, a good restaurant review…etc. The motivation is there but I can see how it is a lot harder to actually do it the right way and allow your readers to that naturally…reviews are long and most people will just tell you verbally their review. But being it is the internet and no offer of a free sample of the book given to reviews, that just makes the book so suspect.
Hi, Yvonne!
This just confirms what I’ve always believed about customer testimonials: Often as not, they aren’t legitimate–and perhaps MORE often than not! At any rate, the least one can say is that there’s no way of verifying whether or not they are real; so their value is questionable, at best. I have never tended to base my buying decisions on testimonials and, in fact, generally ignore them completely.
I love Laura’s suggestion that they might need to hire an actor to be contacted by customers for verification of their “testimonials.” The reason I find that so hilarious is that no actor would work for the prices they pay! (Sometimes we writers settle for far too little for all our hard work!)
It certainly is appalling that a company would resort to such tactics and be so blatant and up-front about it, as if it were just another normal, innocent business transaction. (Gee, I wonder why they don’t use their real name. How different do you think that ad would have been if the name of the company were required to appear in the ad? Just wondering…)
A company with any integrity at all would ask the writer to actually read–or at least skim–the e-book and write an honest review. If the e-book is, in fact, good, they should have little to worry about.
To answer your question: Though I never use the bidding sites, if I did, I wouldn’t take the assignment–even if the pay WERE worth it. Integrity is far more important than money!
Thanks for a very enlightening post!
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne - You bring up some interesting aspects. It would be interesting to know which company and which ebook it is. As ebooks cost nothing to distribute once they’re written, as you say, why not approach some well known/respected people in the specific topic and ask them to review it.
Alternatively, depending on the topic, e.g. if a “how to topic”, approach any regular bloggers to review the actual ebook to get feedback on how practical/useful/informative/interesting etc it is for them.
Claudia - I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it is similar to paying for a good restaurant review etc. I was interested that professional writers would take it on. Maybe they take the view that writing is writing and this is creative writing in the strangest sense of the word.
Wow… someone once asked “If you got an indecent proposal for $1 million, would you do it…?” oh well, I think it was a movie. But for $20??
Calvin - LOL. That is funny. I wonder if there are any $1 million writing gigs. I’d even write for half the price.
Makes one wonder if we can believe any testimonials. Does this also fall in line with writers asking colleagues to vote online for their book or e-book (on various lists, competitions, and awards) even when the voter hasn’t read the book…simply to help the author win? That’s always made me wonder how truly valid many of these awards are. That also applies to Digg, Stumbleupon, etc. How many voters really read the piece they’re voting on when colleagues invite them to vote? On the other side of the coin…when we read something negative about a book, product, etc., it is valid or simply someone with an axe to grind?
One word to summarise all: Unethical
Really. Do you need testimonials that bad? I think you can get a real testimony by giving your friends preview of that e-book. Do people need testimonials that bad? I don’t and I shun that practice.
Mary Emma - Yes, it makes me think twice about testimonials too. Even on Amazon there are some rigged reviews, but because there are usually quite a number, you can weigh them all up and make a more informed decision.
John - Apart from the ethics, I agree that getting genuine reviews is much more useful and informative feedback for the prospective buyer.
I’ve seen something like this once before, in an ad wanting writers to post positive book reviews on Amazon. That ad was also on a bidding site, I believe. I have a hard time believing any professional writer would take on ANY job of this much work for $20, let alone something this morally astounding. The “placeholder” excuse doesn’t cut it, either. And for an ebook about publishing? Sounds like some great material they’re trying to sell. If they knew anything about publishing, they’d send out some free copies to reviewers and ask for testimonials that way. All I can say is, I hope they get found out. It’s not difficult to spot a fake testimonial.
Hi Amy
Great to see you here and thanks for joining in. Amazon! Wow! I knew people might get friends to leave a review, but never dreamed that Amazon reviews might be paid for. It makes me even more leery of bidding sites and testimonials, and maybe even reviews, although I do agree for the most part you can tell a genuine review.
You make a good point about it not being consistent with knowing about publishing. It should be very easy to get reviews or genuine testimonials. I guess they think this is quicker and “safer” i.e. they get the testimonials they want. The part about including spelling errors on purpose floored me as well.
As you all know OR have read from some of my writings on my blogs - I don’t sugar coat stuff. I don’t care who you are, what ship you think you sailed in on, or where you are in the ecosystem of who’s who. With that said, I don’t review stuff unless I try the product for myself. If the person that wants the review wants me to take the time to write something HONEST up then they will take the time to send me their e-book in which case I will read it and write up an HONEST review. But, to tell people what they want you to write about.. I can’t take those type of ads too seriously.. ya know?
Hi Angela - Great to have your input. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. “Honest” is a key word to consider here on a number of levels. Thanks for joining in the conversation.
What a brazen ad! No way I’d write for someone like that. If we don’t have our ethics, we’ve sold too much.
This is the type of ad (and responses) that give our profession a bad name. I cannot tell you how many times people have assumed that I will write whatever they want even if it is factually inaccurate.
I used to belong to Guru, but quit midway through my second year with them as the level of clients out there was very low. These types of sites turn my gut.
Lori - Ethics is what it comes down to in the end. I like the way you put it..”..we’ve sold too much”.
Hi Matt - I was interested to see that professional writers still bid at these sites. I’m not keen on the idea of bidding at all, so I’ve never really ventured near these sites before. It’s quite an eye opener, though.
I’m not comfortable with this. Plain and simple, it’s lying. I can’t write about things I never experienced for myself. They’d all be hypothetical and hence, not real. You’re right, it goes back to ethics. This ad was interesting to read, but one that I wouldn’t want to be a part of.
Hi Toni - Thanks for dropping by. It seems most of us agree with you. This type of ad calls for a type of “creative” writing we don’t really want to be involved with.
Yvonne,
This has turned into a very interesting conversation. I’m continuing it on my blog with a series of four posts Monday through Thursday of next week. I’m referring to your post and raising some of the issues mentioned in comments.
Lillie - Great! Thanks for keeping the conversation going. It seems to have hit a chord with readers (and writers).
I’m not surprised by the number of comments to this post!
I would NEVER bid on this project or answer an ad for it. I would, however, send it over to Kathy for a good SCREW YOU! to the client.
I watched a special on Dateline or one of those types of shows about people who took acting gigs to give false testimony. I no longer consider testimonies when I buy things.
Hi Alicia
Yes, this post has sparked some great discussion. I’m not sure who Kathy is, but I’m appalled about the false testimony acting gigs. I know a lot of “reality” TV is rigged too. This discussion has certainly opened my eyes. Thanks for dropping in - great to see you here.
While I agree with what you are saying, this is a common practise. Even large companies who’s products are well recieved anywhere will use this practice. It is a sales technique, when a new writer has written something publishing companies pay for reviews about the book and not everyone will actually sit and read the book. I will ask to read the document, book or service before writting such a review but for the most part this is normal.
Hi Kayte
Thanks for stopping by. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable reviewing a book I hadn’t read, and it sounds as if you are the same.
A writer’s professional credibility is at stake when their name is on their writing.
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