Freelance Writing Rates: Why Not Charging Enough Can Lose You Writing Gigs

Feb. 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Freelance writing is an ideal home-based, internet business to start. But, one thing that stumps newbies is what to charge for this like blog posts and web articles. It can be challenging, as freelance writing rates are all over the place. And, believe it or not, you can lose freelance writing jobs by not charging enough.

Proof?

A prospect once emailed me the following:

"Your educational experience is impressive. But the web site refers to a "stable of writers", and at [what you charge for] original content, I have to ask from what third world country are you drawing these writers? Surely someone such as yourself (if you're no [sic] fictional) who's a Masters candidate in expensive New York City would need higher rates than that to survive. So how does this work, really? Cordially, Bill"

You see, when you set your freelance writing rates too low, prospects tend to automatically think that you're unskilled and/or inexperienced. They lump you in with the plethora of cheap writers on the web who aren't skilled and/or have very little experience.

On more than this one occasion, I've found myself having to defend my freelance writing rates (really!) -- until I raised them.

Setting Your Freelance Writing Rates: 3 Reasons Higher Is Usually Better

I. Brand: If you produce content for businesses, they care about their brand. Hence, it's like any other business expense for them - and they don't mind paying decently for it.

II. Become a Team Member: Businesses tend to want to work with someone they can add to their "team." This means they want someone who is not only experienced, but reliable.

If you set your freelance writing rates too low, they fear that the quality may not be up to snuff. Hence, they may have to spend time correcting it. In business, time is money - and most companies don't want to deal with someone they feel will not do a good job. So, they're more likely to hire a freelance writer who's more expensive - because they correlate price with value.

See what I mean?

III. Attract Quality Clients: When you set your freelance writing rates higher, you attract a higher-quality clientele. Cheap clients won't even approach you (if you advertise your rates on your site), because they know from jump that they can't afford you.

Tip on How to Feel Comfortable Raising Your Freelance Writing Rates -- and the Key to Landing More Jobs

I've been a freelancer since 1993, and one thing I've learned is that for most, they have to work their way up to charging more. I know I did. But, one thing that allowed me to feel comfortable raising my rates is to assess my skill.

Assess Your Skill: Ask yourself if you have experience in the niche in which you want to specialize.

I always advise "nicheing it" when freelancing. If you do, you'll find that you can comfortably charge more because you can sell that experience/value to clients.

For example, I have a background in real estate. In past professional lives I've been a real estate agent and a home loan consultant, so I can write within these niches with great insight. This makes it easier to land writing jobs.

I hope the advice here has shed some light on how to set freelance writing rates (http://inkwelleditorial.com/how-to-set-freelance-writing-...) you're comfortable with - as that can be half the battle in landing writing jobs.
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About the Author: Yuwanda Black heads New Media Words (NewMediaWords.biz), an SEO writing company. She's the author of over 50 ebooks (mostly on freelance writing), which include, How to Set Freelance Writing Rates for Online Writing Jobs: A Definitive Guide to Setting (and Getting) the Rates You Deserve (the hyperlink in the article above). This ebook outlines an easy, surefire way to price online writing jobs so you never risk under charging or over charging again. Good for setting freelance writing rates for blogging jobs, SEO article writing jobs, web content writing jobs -- and more.