Inspired by one of my readers, Melissa A who asked how to set the price point as a freelancer, which is very important to start off your freelancing career right, I decided to write a post about it.
Other than how to find your clients, another perplexing problem is how to determine your worth. To help you with that, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself. After all, we are all offering different services, from writing to telemarketing, to data research and web programming, to web designing and many others.
What is your experience?
This matters whether you are a newbie or you have actual working world experiences in the service you are offering. If you are a fresh graduate or a newbie, your rates should reflect that versus if you have relevant experiences, you can ask for a higher rate.
What is your track record?
There is a difference if you have published work under your name or if you are only beginning to experiment. The more you have got to show, the more the clients are willing to pay you.
Tip: If you have a personal website or personal branding, you will fare better with your clients.
Who are you?
Whether you are a fitness enthusiast or a fashionista, it will come into play for certain projects. Sometimes, the clients want a certain someone that is subject matter expert or in line with their company’s culture (yes, even though you are working offsite). A yoga studio might prefer someone who practices yoga to do telemarketing while a pet food company will hire an animal lover to design their website, not only because you know their customers but you are their targeted customer as well.
Where you come from?
The country you are in and the languages you have matters in the rates. Clients usually prefer you to be native in your the language you need to serve in. If you are bilingual or trilingual, your rates will be higher if translation is required.
Research Is The Key
Next up is to do a little homework of your own. Search around the web for a few freelancing platforms like Fiverr.com, Upwork.com and Freelancer.com just to name a few. Look at the bottom feeders and the top cream of the crop.
How much are they charging? Do they have ongoing clients? What their clients’ reviews say about their work?
All these will take into the factor on how you are going to price your services.
When You Determined Your Rates
Ask yourself honestly how long will it take you to complete the job to the client’s satisfaction? Is your rate worth the hours you going to put in?
Last but not least, don’t be afraid to adjust your rates. Knowing your rates are not fixed, you can test out the market’s response to it. Some clients do approach you to negotiate your rates. Listen to them and work your rates accordingly. I do lower my rates if I find a project interesting enough that I want to put into my profile or I think it will challenge my skills.
I hope the above will help those who don’t know where to start off with charging their freelancing services. Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
If you are thinking about starting as a freelancer, these are some of the articles that may help you: 7 Ways To Supplement Your Freelancing Income Regularly Bad Habits You need to Change if You want to become a successful freelancer
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