Small Print, Big Noise

Suite 101 is a reasonably well-known consumer website that uses multi-national freelance writers to provide its content. The writers only get paid from revenue generated by ads and page views, so it’s generally up-and-coming writers that tend to provide the content.

Recently, an email was sent out to all the site’s writers about a competition that’s being run. Up for grabs are three prizes of $101 for three different writers.

All the site’s writers have to do is write about spring, and if their name is one of the three randomly chosen by the Editor, they’ll win the $101. Great incentive, right?

Not exactly – here’s where the small print about entry regulations offers a nice kick in the teeth.

1. Only writers published in February can enter (so if you wrote about spring in January already, tough).
2. You have to publish a minimum of five articles about spring. They also have to pass the editorial process, and if one of them needs editing, it’s discounted as one of the five.
3. Only writers from Canada (except Quebec), the United States or the United Kingdom can enter. Which seems bizarre, since the parent company of the site is German and it uses writers worldwide.

So, all of a sudden, the $101 is only for a select group of people (despite the great work that other writers on the site offer) and you need five “perfect-first-time” articles to qualify.

The minimum word count per article on this site is 300 words. You also need to provide your own images, search engine optimization and formatting. So, generally, an article could take an hour or two to write when coupled with research and tools needed. Suddenly that $101 doesn’t look so enticing, except for the website in question that gets a whole slew of new content to please its advertisers.

I’m sure they may feel that the small print covers their backs when it comes to how crappy this deal is. The problem with small print, though, is that if it’s too small then people start using magnifying glasses to read it. And when it’s magnified, small print can have a habit of coming back and biting you on the ass, especially if it’s perceived as unfair to the end user.

Your choice.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment and subscribe to my RSS feed or via email to ensure you can enjoy the latest post(s).