Client wants to pay per published guest post, from ready-made material...

[maszatjanka]

Hi, I've been contacted by a client to do link building in a niche field, in a small country (so: target media is quite low). It's only guest posting to first-tier sites (no directories, Wikipedia etc.), and it turns out that:

- he wants to send all the materials, without letting me edit them before pitching

- he only wants to pay per published article.

I don't want to accept this, as nobody in PR does anyway - especially that I wouldn't know in advance whether I have to sell **bleep**. My question is:

- Does it even comply with Upwork terms? Is it OK to pay based on such a flexible milestone? (Can I refer to it that it isn't?)

- Can he have any practical experience about this, or is he just trying? Does anyone pay like that at all? (For me it sounds like a trap, which no professional might accept.)

[moonraker]

I've seen a lot of these myself, I won't apply for them either. I want to know before I start working that I will be paid for my efforts.

It also sounds to me as though it is sailing close to the wind where breaking the rules is concerned. 

[maszatjanka]

Thanks! So you think it's not exactly breaking the rules, just close to it?

(Of course I wouldn't have replied if he had clarified this system in advance... That's why I guessed that he knows it's not fair, and also this is why he directed further communication to Skype.)