When you are in the business of freelance writing, it is sometimes hard to raise your rates, even if you have gained experience and skills that have made your work more valuable. So the big question is, how can you charge more for your writing services?
Writers can make more money by doing it gradually, putting together a portfolio of their best work, negotiating with clients, and working for returning customers as much as possible. These habits show that they are a skilled and dedicated writer who knows their worth.
It can be hard to make consistent money as a freelance writer, so setting good rates is essential. This communicates that you know your worth and won’t be underpaid for your efforts. Let’s explore some good practices for freelance writers to use when they’re trying to increase their rates.
Raise Rates Over Time
First of all, don’t raise your rates immediately after you finish a writing project. Instead, raise your rates gradually. No matter how you charge, whether it is by word, page, etc., raise your rates slowly.
For example, if you are currently charging $15 per page, but it has been a few months or so since you raised your rates, start charging $15.50 per page. Then, a few months later, start charging $16 per page.
Raising your rates slightly over time will make people feel like you are not overcharging because they likely won’t notice the slight change. If you are currently charging $15 per page and then suddenly raise it to $17 per page, your employers may feel like your rates are too high and they increased too quickly, even if it has been a long time since you last raised your rates. Sudden and frequent changes will likely irritate employers, and they won’t want to pay these higher rates.
If you raise your rates slightly over time, your employers will be more likely to pay them because they feel like you are worth it and you are asking for a reasonable amount of money.
Put Together Your Portfolio
When preparing to raise your rates, put together a good portfolio. Make sure all of the high-quality work that you have done in the past is included in that portfolio.
Your portfolio is proof that you have experience with writing, and the people who have hired you in the past think that you are worth the rates that you charge. When you first raise your rates, use your portfolio as proof that you have honed your writing skills over time, and your writing skills are worth the money you are asking for.
If you want to raise the rates you charge for your writing services, then you will have to have a well-designed and well-put-together portfolio that shows your skills are worth the price. You want your rates to match the quality of your work.
Negotiate
When you are raising your rates, be willing to negotiate. If you are willing to negotiate your rates, you’re demonstrating that you are flexible and are willing to work with people, which will make companies want to hire you to work for them more than once or twice.
Not every company will have a large budget they can use for paying freelance writers, so they will not always be able to pay some higher rates. However, your writing skills are still worth money, and you deserve to be paid for your skills and experience. However, before going to negotiate your rates, you should have an amount that you are not willing to go below, and you should have your asking rate ready.
When negotiating your rates, you should also bring your portfolio. Your portfolio will help you defend your rates. It will help your future employer see how much writing experience you have and that you have honed your skills, so your rates are accurate, and you should be paid what you are asking for.
Do your research beforehand. Find out what other people in your situation charge and use their rates to decide how much you will charge for your writing. If they have more writing experience than you, but you have a variety of skills relevant to writing that they don’t have, you should earn about the same amount of money.
Talk to your writer friends and ask them what their rates are for their writing projects. Knowing about other people’s rates, especially if they have about the same amount of writing experience as you, will help you make an educated decision on how much you should be charging for your writing services. It will also help you have the information that you need to defend your rates to employers and help you stand firm when negotiations occur. (Source)
Work for an Employer Consistently
If you are a freelance writer, try to work with one company consistently, even if you also work with other clients on the side. Over time, ask to renegotiate your rates and compile a list of reasons why your rates should be raised.
If you work with one company consistently, then they will be familiar with your work, your work ethic, and your writing style. You may have even made friendships within the company that will make people more willing to negotiate a higher rate for your writing services.
They will also know your strengths and weaknesses in your writing and how much editing needs to be done before or after you submit your work. If they know that they don’t have to do a lot of work on your written projects after they are turned in, they will likely be more willing to pay you more than they have in the past.
If your writing style changes over time and less editing is needed before it’s ready to publish, they will see that you have improved your writing skills and will be willing to pay you more than they have in the past.
Sometimes it can be awkward to ask someone you work with frequently for a raise, but you need to remember that you have gained writing experience since your rates were originally set, and your skills are worth more money now. Recognize that the worth of your writing will continue to grow as you gain experience.