Don’t Apologize for Increasing your Rates
Increasing your rates as a freelance writer is one of the best ways to start earning more money. That being said, some don’t do this for a number of reasons. One of the most common is feeling uneasy with clients. The last thing you want to do is keep your freelance writing rates low because you are worried about offending your clients. Sure, you may put some of them off but this goes along with running a successful business.
Entirely too many freelance writers apologize for increasing their rates – this is a big mistake. Here is a good example of what may be said: “It has been a pleasure working with you over the past few months. Unfortunately, I am increasing my rates. I hope this does not bother you, but it is something I have to do.” While this may not be exactly what you would say, it goes to show you that apologizing for increasing your rates is a bad idea. I would never want to say this to a client, and hopefully you feel the same way.
Keep this one tip in mind: as a freelance writer you are in charge of setting and changing your rates as you see fit. You do not have to clear this through a boss, or make sure that everybody is okay with it. While you do not want to go overboard, it is important to know that the final decision is yours.
If you are in the midst of increasing your rates you will need to tell your clients. Be careful about how you do this. Those who play this situation smart can keep all their clients onboard, while earning more money.

October 27th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Great Post. I find that another reason that freelancers do not increase their rates is that they are afraid that they will not get clients because they can easily find someone who will do the work cheaper. The economy enhanced this fear along with competiting with people overseas who will work for $5 in many cases. It causes many freelance to devalue their work and not earn the money that they should.
Jenn
October 30th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
[...] That’s why he knows that consultants, freelancers, and other independent contractors should not apologize for increasing their rates. Raising the price is part of the [...]