Your Freelance Writing Worth
One of my biggest mistakes in my early freelance writing days was that I undervalued my worth. In other words, I worked for low pay because I didn’t think that I deserved more. While there is nothing wrong with starting out at the bottom, too many freelance writers work for peanuts for entirely too long.
The main reason that many freelancers are afraid to raise their rates is because they think they will get laughed at. But guess what? This very rarely happens unless you increase your rates above and beyond anything imaginable. Remember, clients are willing to pay good money for good work. Believe it or not, a lot of companies and webmasters have been burnt by low quality content in the past because they tried to skimp and save money. For this reason, they are more than willing to pay you what you think you are worth.
The question is: how do you determine what you are worth as a freelance writer? There is no easy way of doing this, and much like me, you will have to learn as you go along. With that being said, there are two points to consider.
1. How much experience do you have? As mentioned above, when you do not have a lot of experience you cannot command high rates. But luckily, as you build a client list and samples you can quickly increase the amount of money that you charge. There is no easy way of taking your experience and directly relating it to your rates. This is something that you have to decide on based on what you are comfortable with, as well as what you think your clients will pay. My freelance writing rates are always on the move, and yours will be too.
2. Although I have beat on this a lot in the past, I want to say it again. Find out what other freelance writers in your shoes are charging. I am always on the look out for other writer’s rates so that I know what I am up against. If my prices are lower, I know that I have a leg up on them from the start. If they are higher, I don’t lower my rate, but instead sell my experience and work samples against the competition.
It is important that you believe that freelance writers are worth a lot of money. Remember, content rules. If a company or website does not have the words to explain themselves or sell their product, they will be out of business in no time at all. For this reason, they are willing to spend a reasonable amount of money on a solid, reliable freelance writer like yourself. Â
