Low Freelance Writing Rates and how to change this
Are your freelance writing rates entirely too low? If so, you are not alone. There is one main reason that many writers keep their rates on the low end of the scale: they think that this allows them to garner more business. And while this is true with some clients, others want to hire the best of the best even if it means paying more.
Believe it or not, low freelance writing rates can be a bad thing. Not every buyer shops with price in mind. When I am hiring a web designer I always look at their portfolio and experience first. After that, I then take a closer look at their rates. Just because your rates are lower than the industry average does not mean you are going to obtain more work than those charging more.
What do you think of yourself as a freelance writer? Take this for example. If you charge $2 for a 500 word article potential clients are going to think one thing: the quality must not be that good. You need to think more of yourself, and have confidence that you can get paid a decent rate for what you offer.
You can change your freelance writing rates at any time, but you need to be careful when doing so. Staying with the example above, if you are currently writing at $2 for 500 words it is going to be difficult to begin to charge $15 for the same project. If you attempt to spring this on your client there is a good chance that they are going to cut all ties and move on. You need to slowly increase the rates that you charge current clients.
On the other hand, with new clients you should start out at a higher rate. This will give you the chance to earn what you are worth, and eventually ask for more in the future when you feel comfortable doing so. But even if you never receive a “raise” you will still be earning a nice income.
Increasing your freelance writing rates is never easy. This is something that most freelancers dread because it means a major change to their business model. If you are currently working for pennies and are at the bottom of the industry, you need to make a change. The most important thing to remember is that writers with the lowest rates do not always win. Informed buyers shop for writers with experience and quality samples, and then consider project rates.
October 9th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I immediately wrote an article in eHow after reading this blog. This was exactly what I needed to hear about today. Link to eHow article: http://www.ehow.com/how_4541985_hourly-rates-freelance-writing-business.html
October 9th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I agree with you Chris and although I don’t write 500 word articles for $2 I have done a fair amount for $5 and getting off the one cent a word treadmill is not easy.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:18 am
[...] Low Freelance Writing Rates and How to Change This [...]
October 10th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Good points, Chris. It is very hard to get away from low rates once you set them low, especially if you go in to projects without explaining to clients that you will be raising your rates in the near future. Even if you’re only getting $2/article, a client may feel slighted or taken advantage of if you suddenly decide to raise your rates.
I recently trimmed my client list and built it anew by sending out proposals and quoting new rates. I kept one reliable client at the lower rate (lots of work, pleasant to deal with, always pays on time) and cut ties (nicely) to the rest.