Do you struggle to set your freelance writing rates? Knowing what to charge for different services can seem like a mystery or even like a shot in the dark, but it doesn’t have to be!
Why you need to have freelance writing rates
When you’re new to freelance writing, it’s easy to focus more on finding work that what your rates should be.
Totally makes sense!
And then someone asks you the dreaded question, “What do you charge for this service?”
How do you answer?
Do you freeze like a deer in headlights? Do you stammer and throw out the first price that comes to mind? Or do you have a rate sheet and an internal hourly rate that you consult before quoting?
There are SO MANY BENEFITS to having a system for pricing your work and setting your freelance writing rates.
Most importantly, you’ll actually make money.
Hear me out.
Pricing your work properly means you’ll set rates in a way that your business runs profitably. And if your business doesn’t make money, then you’re not running a business.
You’re working on a hobby.
Speaking of hobby, I filmed a little video talking about the time I realized my knitting passion was, in fact, a HOBBY and not a BUSINESS.
This realization was great because allowing my passion to remain a fun hobby allowed me to create a business that was actually a business.
There are many different ways to set rates but the most important thing is to make sure you’re bringing in an amount you need to live.
I’ve created a course on this topic called How to Price Your Work so I’ll do a quick summary below but keep in mind this can take a bit of time to figure out, and there’s a lot to consider.
How to set proper freelance writing rates
- Note how much money is already coming into your household on a monthly basis
- Look at your fixed expenses so you have a baseline for what you need to bring in with your business
- Figure out your cost of doing business, including equipment, software, office space, utilities, contractors, childcare, housecleaning, fuel, meals or whatever else factors into running your business
- What is your ideal income? Write it down so you can figure out what you’ll need to bring in to make this amount
Like I said, this can take some time but trust me, it’s SO worth it. Because once you understand what you need to bring in to run a profitable business, you can set your rates accordinly.
But what about pricing specific services or projects? How do you price those?
It is a good idea to refer to the going rates in your industry for three reasons.
First, you will be able to price your services competitively.
Second, if a “going rate” is well below your threshold, then you can avoid offering rather than being frustrated for doing a service that doesn’t meet your monetary needs.
Third, if someone offers to pay you a certain rate that doesn’t meet industry standards you can walk away with confidence, rather than accept a rate that is below the bar.
Where to find freelance writing rates
I’ll list a few places where you can look through rates but keep in mind you should compare these rates to those in your local area as well. These are general rates and depending on where your clients are located, this could shift dramatically.
- AWAI 2021 Copywriting Pricing Guide
- Journo Resources Freelance Rates
- ProCopywriters Survey 2020
- Make a Living Writing Freelance Writing Rates 2020
- London Freelance Freelance Fees Guide
Are you ready to Charge What Your Work is Worth?
One more thing. You may be interested in my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
