Have you ever been told that your freelance writing rates are too high? If not, it is safe to say that you are not charging enough for your services. When it comes down to it, there will always be clients who do not want to pay you what you are worth. Instead, they will want your high quality but at a lower price. The question is: what are you going to do when a client tells that you that they cannot afford you?
Believe it or not, many freelance writers take this as an insult. In other words, they let clients dictate future rates. No matter what you are told, you are allowed to charge whatever you feel is fair for your services. Of course, if you charge too much you will never find any new clients, but this is still within your rights. Even if a few potential clients tell you that you are charging too much, it does not necessarily make them right. You may want to consider their suggestions, but in the end you need to make the call on whether or not you change your rates.
How do I know if my freelance writing rates really are too high? Simply put, if you are charging an enormously high amount you are going to find it tough to obtain even one client. The market will more or less tell you how much they are willing to pay for your services, as well as those offered by other writers. But to go along with this, keep in mind that the market is huge. One buyer may feel that $10 is fair for a 500 word keyword article. Another may have no problem paying in upwards of $100. This is what can make it so difficult to determine whether or not your freelance writing rates are reasonable.
You should never be afraid to experiment with your rates. If you are not obtaining any new clients because they all say you are charging too much, negotiate down a bit. Just make sure that you keep your overall hourly rate in mind when doing so. On the other side of things, if you are receiving a lot of new work and clients are telling you that your services are a “bargain†you may want to consider increasing your rates a bit.
One of the most difficult parts of becoming a successful freelance writer is learning how much to charge, and how much clients are willing to pay. Once you become comfortable in these areas you will find it easy to maximize profits while regularly signing up new clients.
As noted last Friday, I am now offering a freelance writing course to aspiring writers or anybody else who wants to earn a living online. At the time, I mentioned that the course was not yet “official†but that I would be accepting early entrants into the program. While I figured that there would be some interest, I was not prepared for nine people to sign up within a day or so.
While I am glad that these nine members are on board, I am also sad to say that there is only one spot left. If you are interested in this spot, please get in touch with me right away via email. I am expecting it to be filled by the end of the working day, so act fast if you want in!
If you do not get into the course this time around, there is no reason to worry. Simply send me an email stating that you are interested, and you will have first crack when a current member drops out or if I decide to expand the class.
For further details and regular updates, keep an eye on the freelance writing course page at the top of the blog. As details change or spots open, I will be sure to let everybody know. But as mentioned earlier, you would probably be best served joining the waiting list so that you are guaranteed your spot in line.
Thanks to everybody who has already joined. I am anxious to get started with all new members, and am still looking for my last trainee. The first person to send me an email and payment will grab the final spot!
To protect yourself against deceitful clients it is important to negotiate for upfront payment as a freelance writer. In fact, this holds true for every type of freelancer. If you are not going to ask for payment up front you are putting yourself out there to be disappointed. This is not to say that every client is going to take your work and run, but as of late I am hearing more stories about this than ever before.
How do you negotiate for upfront payment? After all, the person hiring you needs to stay protected as well. First off, you do not necessarily have to ask for 100 percent of the payment upfront. In most cases, I ask for half payment and then leave it at that. Most clients will agree to this, and in the majority of cases they will send the entire payment because they do not want to deal with paying two separate invoices.
You cannot be afraid to ask for some money upfront. Many freelance writers are afraid to do so because they think that it will scare the client away. As a general rule of thumb, if asking for payment upfront is going to scare a client you would be better off without them. This is part of doing business, and both parties should be willing to negotiate until a mutually beneficial payment is agreed upon.
Once you complete one project for a client you may not need to ask for upfront payment any longer. After all, you should know at this point if you can trust the buyer to pay you. In my experience, once you ask for upfront payment one time many clients will continue to do so with all future projects.
You may not always be able to negotiate getting paid before you start a project, but most clients will agree to accommodate you in this area.
