Why Now is the Time to Raise Your Freelance Writing Rates
Your list is probably pretty long right now with things you want to get done for the holidays and work projects you need to wrap up by the end of the year. But you need to add one more thing to your list – raise your rates with your regular freelance writing clients.
Now is the best time to do it because:
- You are not the only one. It’s no secret that everything is more expensive. Each trip to the grocery store reminds me how much. And pretty much every business has raised its rates. Your clients have likely raised their rates with their own customers. I’d also bet that you are likely one of the few vendors who haven’t raised their rates.
- Clients are creating their 2023 budget. Right now, businesses are figuring out how much money to lot to each line item. When you ask for more money now as opposed to April, it’s much easier to get the extra funds. January is the natural time for businesses to raise rates.
- You lose nothing. The worst they can say is no. And then you have a choice to make – walking away or keeping your rates the same. And then you make the same you are making right now. A client is not going to fire you for asking – I promise.
- Little increases really add up. Let’s say you are earning $450 for a 600 to 800-word blog post and you write 2 a month for the client. If you ask for $50 more per blog post then you earn $1100 more for doing exactly the same thing and $2200 if you raise it to $500.
How to raise your rates
Raising your rates is a lot simpler than it feels. All you have to do is send an email to let them know of your new rates. Here are a few tips:
- Tell don’t ask. Does your vet ask you if you are OK with the new rates? No, they let you know of the new prices.
- Give them a date that the new rates start. I recommend saying January 1, 2023. It’s a natural transition.
- Remind them of your value. If you’ve seen any tangible results this year from your work, be sure to include the details in the email. You want to make them remember that not paying your rates will actually lose money in the long term.
- Do it ASAP. Like first thing next week. The longer you wait, the more finalized budgets will be. And people start going on vacation.
- Consider a 10 to 20% increase. What to charge is where everyone gets jammed up. I usually recommend 10 to 20% depending on if you are currently undercharging. The right price depends on a lot of factors – how much they love you, your current rate and the market rate. If you are invaluable
Here is a sample email:
Hi Frank:
I hope your December is going well. I’ve really enjoyed working with you this past year and am looking forward to continuing.
I am so happy that due to the blog postings you increased newsletter subscribers by 25% this year. I really enjoyed seeing the comments on Facebook from readers about the blog posts as well
I wanted to let you know that as of January 1st, my prices are increasing. My rates for the blog posts that I write weekly will be $750 and case studies will be $1000.
Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you have a great holiday season.
Jennifer
I’ve always struggled to raise my rates. It feels uncomfortable. I get anxious. But I remind myself that clients wont’ think badly of me. They expect me to raise their rates.
Have you raised your rates recently? What was the result? Are you planning to do it in January
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I tend to try to raise rates with new clients. It seems weird to go from $500 to $550 or something like that.
I do that as well. But I think it’s important to raise rates with long term clients. I don’t think it’s weird at all to go from $500 to $550 or $600. Clients expect that you raise rates over time, especially if you have been working with them for years and especially with today’s inflation. I think that you are likely leaving money on the table by not raising rates. I find it uncomfortable as well but every time I do, I get more money and it adds up pretty quickly.
You mentioned, Tell Don’t Ask. I can’t afford to lose a client and walk. What do I say if they say No?
So in your case I would add to the email “Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.” I hesitated to recommend that to everyone. But that opens up a conversation if they can’t afford it. Then you can have a conversation and then say you can continue working with them at the lower rate if you want to do that. In very few cases will a client totally drop you without giving you a chance to keep your old rates for a 10 percent increase. And if they do, then they were looking to stop using you anyway.
I think with labour shortages everywhere, long term clients will value your services and understand a 10% rate rise.
Do you have any recommendations for agencies, who have a set rate already?
I have an agency I work with and love, but recently I’ve been turning down work because it just doesn’t pay competitively.
I would have a phone conversation with the contact you are closest to and tell them that their rates are now a lot lower than your other clients. But you would love to continue working with them. Ask if there is a way to increase your rates or have you work on only higher paying projects. Since you love them and they like you, then I would have a personal conversation over ZOoom or phone not email. See if there is a way to work together .
That said, when I was moving up in my earnings, I had to drop clients and find new ones. It’s a stair step. And the clients that were great when just starting out or in earning 50K aren’t going to cut it to get you to 125K. So you have to let them go and find new ones. So it’s very possible that you have simply outgrown this agency. And that’s totally fine. I was always very honest with my clients when this happened and they were always happy for me. Several times the editor went somewhere else with a bigger budget and hired me.
Ack, I’m going around and around with this one! I’m still pretty new to freelancing; my best client is a consistent weekly gig that’s currently now my lowest-paying. Earlier this year, this awesome editor gave me a 10% raise I didn’t request and added a byline to their site for my regular articles. She never edits my work, publishes everything I give her virtually unchanged, and has helped me land another (higher-paying) anchor client. She also just (literally two days ago) gave me a glowing review on LinkedIn. I love everything about this client, but the pay is starting to grate on me. What are your thoughts, Jen?
I would talk to her on phone or Zoom and explain the situation. Say that you love working with them but she’s your lowest paying client and was wondering if there was anything on their end that they could do to help? It sounds like she really values you and wants to keep you. She may not be able to pay you more, but the professional thing to do is have the conversation so at least she is aware if it comes to that and has a chance to fix it if she can.
Thank you! That’s what I’ll do.
Your book, and then your site & blog, have helped me get this far. They were my first road map. Everything you share is so appreciated, especially the uglier side!
I’m glad you”re so successful. It makes me happy to see the good ones getting ahead. 🙂
You made my night. Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate you!
Thanks for this kick in the pants, Jennifer. I saw this from another freelancer the other day and was too hesitant to try it, but seeing it again was just the nudge I needed to actually DO it with my best-paying client.
That’s awesome! How did it turn out?