Most freelance writers want to earn as much money as they can. This pretty much holds true for most people regardless of their career. With that being said, you need to make sure that your freelance writing rates are good for both you and your client. In other words, if you are the only one benefiting from your rates you are not going to get far. Sure, you may find some clients, but in the long run it will become difficult to sustain your momentum. Remember, you want to give clients a reason to work with you. And while producing quality work is usually reason enough, fair rates can put you over the top and make you an important asset to any company or webmaster.
Setting freelance writing rates that are beneficial to both you and your clients is never an easy task. This is one area that most newcomers struggle. In fact, I receive emails every week about setting rates and this is one area that my writing course is focusing on in-depth. Obviously, your rates are going to change over time. I charge more now than I did when I started, but even then, my rates are far from set in stone. Simply put, different clients ask for different things. For me, having a set rate for each type of project would be next to impossible. After all, a 500 word article for one client could be much different than a 500 word article for another. Differences can be seen in the topic, research, sources, and much more.
You will know if your freelance writing rates are favoring you or your client. If you are getting a lot of work and being told that your rates are too low, they probably are. But on the other side of things, if every potential client is telling you that your rates are higher than others, you may want to consider a change.
When you find a happy medium, you will see that you are earning a solid income and that your clients feel that they are getting a good deal.
If you want to earn more money as a freelance writer there is one thing that you can do to increase your chances: ask! Does that sound too easy? Even though this is a simple thing, it can most definitely go a long way in increasing your income. Believe it or not, there are many freelance writers who are afraid to open their mouths. In turn, they simply sit back and earn the same wages month in and month out.
There are two situations in which you can ask for more money. First off, you can ask current clients to pay more. Of course, you need to base this on how much you are currently charging as well as the status of your relationship. If you are already earning a reasonable wage, asking for more may put the client off. In other words, you need to pick and choose which clients you ask for a “raise.†Chances are that you will be able to find a couple that you can ask to bump-up your pay.
The other situation is when you are first starting to work for a client. In this case, you want to ask more during the quote process. For instance, in the past you may have quoted $.10/word for a feature article. The next time you are dealing with a similar quote, why not see if you can secure the job at $.15/word? This may seem like a big leap in pay, but the client may not think so. Remember, you will never know unless you ask. If the client does not want to pay this much they will simply tell you no. From there, you can negotiate down to your old rate of $.10/word.
In some cases, all it takes to earn more money as a freelance writer is the guts to ask. If you are willing to ask for more money from both current and new clients, you should be able to increase your freelance writing income.Â
Yesterday, my doctor asked me what I do for a living. From there, I explained that I was a freelance writer and that I worked on other online related projects, etc. Much to my surprise, she replied, “do you get paid for that?†I nicely explained that I studied journalism in college, and that there are a lot of freelance writers and online professionals who are earning good money.
Do any of you guys and gals ever get questions like this? I always wonder why so many people think that freelance writers work for free. It seems as if more and more people are beginning to believe this myth for one reason or the next. And by the way that my doctor phrased the question, it really sounded as if she believed I had no chance of ever making money.
Keep one thing in mind: it does not matter what other people think of your career. I could have easily become frustrated yesterday, and in turn told my doctor that she has no idea what she is talking about. Instead, I explained what freelance writing is all about and hopefully opened her eyes to what this career path has to offer. From where I sit, being a freelance writer is better than being a doctor. Of course, she probably believes that being a doctor is the best job in the world because of the money or the ability to help people.
There are many benefits of being a freelance writer, and getting paid is one of them. How often do you field similar questions? And do you ever get upset after hearing them time and time again? Â
