Saying No to Free Work
Decline unpaid requests while keeping goodwill.
The Open buttons send the prompt text as currently shown below to that site only when you click. Fill in the placeholders first.
Help me respond to requests for free work. The request and who it comes from: [REQUEST]. My relationship with them: [RELATIONSHIP]. What I would be willing to do, if anything: [WILLING_OFFER]. Draft five replies in different tones: a warm no, a firm no, a counter-offer with a paid scope, a request for a paid trial, and a referral to someone else. Each should be under 90 words. Add a decision checklist for when unpaid work can make sense (a clear trade, a limited time, a written outcome). Provide a policy statement I can keep on my website about spec work. Include a rule for not letting guilt drive the decision. Add two lines I can say aloud on a call, and a way to turn a request for free work into a discovery conversation about paid scope. Add a short list of people who deserve a different answer, such as a friend starting a project, and a way to give a limited, clearly bounded favour on my terms.
Fill in before use
Optional: type your details and the prompt above updates. Nothing is saved or sent.
Replace each bracketed placeholder with your own details, then paste into Any AI or another assistant.