Comments on: Freelance Writing Rates: How to Stick to Your Pricing Guns

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Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:14:49 +0000

[...] Freelance Writing Rates: How to Stick to Your Pricing Guns – All freelance writers should read this post NOW. Don’t skip the comments because they contain good advice too. [...]

By: adam

adam — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:29:58 +0000

So important to stick to your guns! I’m in a similar situation. I don’t mind the work, but I’m sure as heck going to get paid for it.

By: Philip Yana

Philip Yana — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:50:52 +0000

I meant: “What the heck do people get for 1 cent a word?”

Really I’d love to know.

By: Philip Yana

Philip Yana — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:49:03 +0000

The business person in me is thinking:

“The critical thing is to never get yourself in a position where you have to be that afraid of losing a client.”

But like someone asked what the heck to people get for 1 cent a word?

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:23:10 +0000

So important to stick to your guns! I’m in a similar situation. I don’t mind the work, but I’m sure as heck going to get paid for it.

By: Dennis Edell

Dennis Edell — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:12:08 +0000

Similar circumstances, i can’t tell you how often zI’ve had this issue with repeat customers….of course I’m going to give a discount, but don’t go nuts on me.

By: Nick Writer

Nick Writer — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:07:06 +0000

Great advice, thanks for this.

Just starting out as a freelancer and talking rates is the thing that worries me most. Which is daft as in other companies I run I have had no problem negotiating rates/fees.

Good to hear of someone sticking to their guns confident in the quality of their work. Kudo’s!

By: High Score Guide

High Score Guide — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:59:25 +0000

Ugh! I’ve been in the same boat. You give a client a break based on volume and then they want longer posts making the project not even worth your while. I totally agree that cutting these clients loose or sticking to a profitable price is the best way to go. They wouldn’t take a loss in their business so why should we?

By: Salwa

Salwa — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:57:28 +0000

Well I am fed up with low paying writing gigs, i mean come on $0.01 per word
Even thou I have never worked with that rate and most probably will never, I find most of the client’s I get usually ask for something between that price range and when you give them your price they say it’s too high and in most case’s walk away as they know they can go to another writer who will sell him self so cheap and do the work. What i fail to get here thou, what do you get from $0.01 per word? Maybe someone can shed some light for me on this?

By: B. Durant

B. Durant — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:10:42 +0000

We (the company I work for) struggled a little with the thought of dropping prices. Ultimately it was decided to keep things where they always have been pricewise and escalate the level of service. It seems to be a good trade off.

By: Yuwanda

Yuwanda — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:05:25 +0000

Sarah:

I’ve had more than my share of these typees of clients over the years and my gut tells me to tell you to run from this client. He is the kind who will cost you money over the long run because he’s already showing signs of it (eg, not sticking to a previously agreed upon rate). This is not ethical. And if he wants to go with those content writing mills, let him. Eventually, he’ll do that anyway.

If you do any work for this guy, at least get partial payment up front because something tells me that you might have problems getting paid later on. Again, it’s just a gut feeling developed over many years of being a freelance writer (I’ve been at this since 1993).

And remember what I wrote Sarah, never be afraid to lose a client. Usually, this type of client is not worth hanging on to anyway. If he’s negotiated in good faith with you, then wants to switch terms midstream — that’s a red flag.

This is why freelancing requires nerves of steel sometimes. You have to TRUST that other work will come along. This is why continuous marketing is a must.

Good luck and happy holidays.

Yuwanda

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:35:50 +0000

Thanks for this. I’m actually struggling with a pricing situation on a pending project right now. We agreed on a pay per post, and then the next day he emails me, saying he’s found an online content mill able to churn out a bazillion posts and articles, very quickly, for a low price. He still wants to work with me, but he wants me to quote him the “very best price I can offer” (so, lowball what he’d already offered and agreed to). After asking me to do this, he went on to describe how my underpaid work has to be a “must read” to keep readers coming back to his site for more. The guy also speaks in vague generalities and can’t clearly articulate to me what he wants in terms of content or even who the target audience is. I also just read the press release for the company which stated they are investing $10 million in advertising over the next three years, which makes me wary and a little insulted that he’s asking me to undercut the already reasonable rate we’d agreed on.

A part of me feels like the best idea would to run in the opposite direction of this potential trainwreck of an assignment. But I’m just starting out in freelance writing and assignments are few. Difficult quandary! Your article has made me feel better about sticking to my guns on the rate we initially agreed upon.

By: Blog Expert

Blog Expert — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:14:59 +0000

Writing jobs always fail me. Web design is my expertise.