Anyone who makes a living through creative work has encountered the phenomenon where someone wants their services and offers “exposure” in return.
Decades ago, when exposure was scarce, its value was entirely different. There were only two radio stations, two or three TV channels, and people stayed informed by reading local or regional newspapers.
Back then, visibility in those limited media channels was truly golden for many creatives. That era is gone for good, yet exposure still seems to be considered a valuable currency—at least by those offering it as payment.
In the good old days, communication was more limited, and advertisements weren’t flooding the average person’s field of vision from every possible channel 24/7.
Today, competition for the spotlight is fiercer. The cliché about getting 15 minutes of fame is outdated; with the sheer volume of media flooding our lives, we’d be lucky to get even 15 seconds—if that.
Exposure has undergone inflation. Much like income inequality, visibility gaps have also widened.
Thanks to social media, almost everyone now has their own communication channel. Some users have an enormous following and genuinely make a living simply by selling exposure.
But then there’s the vast majority—profiles that barely generate any visibility at all. A handful of followers, a few polite friends, an in-law keeping tabs on family updates, a dedicated Instagram for their pet gerbil, and maybe a swarm of spambots or Russian troll farm bots.
Even when the offered exposure has questionable value, many businesses seeking graphic design or other creative services still consider acquiring work without monetary compensation in exchange for mere visibility.
“Design a logo, and we’ll feature it across our social media!” “Create a poster, and we’ll spread it around everywhere!” “Plan our event, and you’ll get great exposure!”
Imagine walking into a store and asking for a discount—or even a free coat—because you’ll be wearing it around town and providing the store with exposure. Or borrowing a car from a dealership for free, promising them visibility as you drive around. Does that sound like a fair deal?
The next time you’re looking for a product or service and consider offering exposure as payment, think twice. Is that really fair to the creator? Exposure doesn’t pay rent, cover loans, or put food in the fridge.
My personal experiences with exposure-as-payment have been dismal. More often than not, it doesn’t lead to any actual demand for your services.
Sometimes, the very person who got your services for free might even forget to mention where they came from—or worse, they may not think your work is even worth mentioning. That’s a brutal realization if exposure was the only value placed on your work.
It’s also common for a creator to start a project for exposure, only to have a competitor—who fell for the same trap—take over, or the client’s nephew or the client themselves decide to complete it, leaving your contribution diluted or devalued. In the worst case, another creative professional may ride on the success of your unpaid labor.
And even if the exposure does lead to new client inquiries, they, too, often offer—you guessed it—more exposure as payment.
That said, exposure can sometimes be beneficial. There are good people and inspiring projects that make unpaid work worthwhile. But usually, in those cases, the creative professional offers their services voluntarily, on their own terms, because they genuinely want to support a cause or collaborate on something meaningful.
Link: The Oatmeal – Exposure
Pro Tip: If you want to support a creative professional, you can do so not only by paying them fairly for their work but also by recommending them to paying clients, following them on social media, engaging with their content, and sharing their work.