freelance writing rates

How to Quickly Increase Your Rates as a Freelance Writer

March 16, 2020 by Freelance Writing Jobs 1 Comment

There are two major camps when it comes to freelancing. The first camp gets the best jobs, great clients, and earn a great living. The second camp gets the leftovers and seems to be fighting a race to the bottom. Penny pinching clients, vague assignments, and impossible work hours are the norm.

If you’re like most people in the world, you want to be in the first camp while doing work you care about. Normal advice will tell you that it takes years to accomplish those kinds of results. I disagree.

In this article, you’ll learn practical ways to earn more money as a freelancer without having to spend 10 years in the trenches. There’s just one prerequisite, you have to be able to deliver. [Read more…]

How Much Are You Really Making Per Hour?

May 4, 2018 by FWJ Leave a Comment

Most freelance writers aim for a target hourly rate to hit their financial and career goals, using that rate as a basis for the work they charge. For example, a writer might expect to produce one article per hour and charge $40 per article in order to make an average rate of $40 per hour. Given the salary they used to receive, this may be more or less than they were hoping for.

This is a simplified example, but it can be applied to most types of freelance work. The biggest problem with this straightforward approach is that it might give you a false sense of security about your hourly rate, or worse, cause you to calculate a rate that’s far too low to reach your goals.

So how can you figure out what you’re really making per hour? [Read more…]

How to Make More Money With Every New Assignment

March 3, 2016 by FWJ Leave a Comment

Everyone wants to make more money, but wishing isn’t going to make it happen. If you want more money, you have to earn it. Unfortunately, as a freelancer, it’s easy to feel like the cards are stacked against you. Since you get paid per assignment, your income is limited to how many assignments you can take on and what type of assignments people give you. Right?

Not exactly. It’s possible to earn more money with your writing, regardless of your current situation, and without necessarily taking on a greater quantity of work. There are three main types of strategies you can use to do this:

Broaden your skill set to make yourself more valuable.
Optimize your client base to maximize the number of assignments that pay the best.
Manage your time so you can do more work without a greater time investment.

Now let’s take a look at each of these categories individually. [Read more…]

Newbie Freelance Writer Needs Advice

September 29, 2010 by david 4 Comments

Hi Jodee,

I am very new freelance writing. Writing has always been a passion for me, and I finally decided to publish some stuff online. I have published an academic dissertation on scribt.com and received good feedback.

I have written on Hubpages purely for fun and recently I have started ghost writing, as well as writing for an article directory.

Of course, the income is very low, but it gives me pleasure to research and write. Despite the low income, I ensure that what I write is of high quality.

I have three questions:

1. How to make that step-up form being a content and directory writer, to a freelance writer?

2. What do I need to do to increase my income?

3. Sites like Demandstudios.com ask for a resume- if new to the business, will a covering letter do?

Thanks,

Iva

Hi Iva,

To answer your first question, you already are a freelance writer. The number or type of projects you take on or the size of your pay check doesn’t determine when you get to use this expression to describe yourself. You write and you work for yourself: you are a freelance writer. Congratulations!

If you want to increase your income, start applying for better-paying gigs. The leads posted here at FWJ on weekdays are a good place to start. Get some business cards made and start telling everyone you know that you are a writer and that you’re always happy to talk to prospective clients.

You can also make a list of prospective clients you would like to work with and start pitching them to hire you for their writing needs. Setting up a blog or a web site is another way to get the word out about your writing services.

One thing you do need to do if you want to get hired for writing gigs is to follow the client’s instructions to the letter. If you are asked for a resume, you will need to send one in. Failing to do what you are asked to do will lead to your application being discarded.

Here’s some tips about freelance writers and resumes:

Do You Need a Freelance Writer’s Resume?

How to Translate Previous Work Experience onto a Writer’s Resume

Functional Resume Format for Freelancers

What would you add to Iva’s questions about how to increase your freelance writing income? Do you have a question you would like to get answered in an upcoming column? Tell us what you are thinking in the comments section.

Writing for Free or for a Low Pay – Don’t Let Anyone Else Judge You

July 15, 2010 by david 19 Comments

I’ve been told that an ongoing debate that can get quite ugly on this site relates to whether or not people should take writing opportunities that are unpaid or offer a very low payment.

Let me preface my opinion on this topic by saying I don’t think anyone should judge why another person takes one job over another. Every person, whether they’re a writer, an actor, a business person, or work in any other profession, has unique experiences, education and circumstances. To judge another person’s willingness to take a job that is unpaid or low paying is completely unfair. Until you walk a day in that person’s shoes, you don’t know what his or her circumstances are that makes that person choose to work for a rate that you feel is too low.

Have I taken writing jobs early in my career that were unpaid? Yes. As a matter of fact, I still write for a couple of publications for free because the exposure they give me to a broad audience is just as valuable to me as money would be.

Have I taken writing jobs early in my career when I was trying to build a portfolio that were grossly underpaid? Yes. Again, a writer has to start somewhere and getting a portfolio is important to attracting future clients.

Now, there is a ugly little thing called online article farms of which I am not a fan. However, just because they’re not right for me, doesn’t mean that they’re not perfectly acceptable to another person. I have no intention of judging how another person values their time and their work. In fact, that process is none of my business. Based on my experience, I can give unbiased tips and suggestions and try to steer people in safe directions, but if a person is okay with writing a blog post for $3 because they need the money or need to build a portfolio, then that’s their choice.

To recap, I’ve written for free. I’ve written for the promise of a very meager portion of ad revenue on a site. I’ve written blog posts for as low as $4 per post when I was first building an online portfolio and brand. Each of these opportunities helped me build up my search engine rankings, so they served a dual purpose for me. I avoided writing for sites that could damage my online brand (meaning they didn’t offer the quality of content that I wanted to associate my brand with) as soon as I could, and I made sure any low paying opportunity would help me to indirectly build my business.

Finally, I would never presume to judge another person who takes a low paying writing job because they need the money. If employers are willing to hire people for low rates, and there are employees who are willing to do the work for that pay, then the rates those employers offer aren’t going to go up anytime soon. As with most careers, there are varying levels of pay, and there are different types of employers. It’s up to you to choose which pay rates you’re willing to accept based on your level of experience, goals, and financial needs, and it’s up to you to choose which employers you’re willing to work for based on their pay rates and reputations.

The goal for writers is to build up your portfolio with quality work, so in time, you can get even better jobs. The path to growth and success isn’t different for a writer than it is for anyone pursuing a career.

Bottom-line, do I like that employers get away with paying writers less than minimum wage? No, but we work in a global industry now where we compete with writers throughout the world who are willing to work for very different rates and for very different reasons. I just don’t judge anyone else for taking a low paying job, because they have their reasons. At Freelance Writing Jobs, I hope writers can learn that over time, they don’t have to take those low paying jobs anymore. It might not happen overnight (in fact, that would be a rare occurrence), but with patience and determination, it can happen. Freelance Writing Jobs tries to communicate the information, tips, and direction you need to make it happen.

That’s why I published the new comment policy yesterday. Comments that attack other people for taking low paying jobs or insult people, etc., will be deleted. Professional debate is always welcome. Remember, attack the argument, not the person.

Now, enough of the guidelines and process stuff and back to learning about freelance writing …

Next up, how to build your online brand and reputation, which will probably be a multi-part series since branding is one of my first loves and is so important for anyone trying to build a business these days since it is tied so closely to search engine optimization.

Oh, and back to shorter posts tomorrow, too. Long posts on blogs are not fun, but sometimes, it has to be done. Sorry about that. Shorter tomorrow!

Image: stock.xchng

How Much Should I Charge as a Freelance Writer?

July 13, 2010 by david 12 Comments

I think starting at the very beginning is always a good place to dive into a new blog community, so let’s start our journey together on Freelance Writing Jobs by talking money. After all, that’s usually the thing people are most interested in, right?

It’s hard to know how much to charge for your freelance writing services because job opportunities run the gamut in terms of pay rates. I’ll leave the discussion about whether or not you should apply for low-paying freelance writing jobs to another day (yes, I do have an opinion about that, which I’ll share later this week). Today, we’re going to look at freelance writing rates from the writer’s perspective. In other words, how much money do you need to make to live on?

Truthfully, the best way to establish your freelance writing rates when you’re new to the field is to determine how much money you need to make per hour to pay your bills or meet your personal goals. Each individual has very different needs from their writing career, so it’s impossible to compare your rates to another person’s. Doing so is like comparing apples to oranges, and will only confuse or frustrate you.

Take the time to analyze how long it takes you to write different types of content based on the amount of information you have to complete the task and all the extraneous bits and pieces that go into completing the task (such as research, adding images, citing sources, linking, and so on). Now, compare that amount of time with your required hourly earnings. Do a little math to determine how much you need to charge for a specific project presented to you based on the amount of time it will take you to complete that project. That’s the rate you need to charge for that writing gig.

Employers are used to working with writers with vastly different hourly rates based on their experience levels and abilities. Until you know where you stand in that rates spread, use the calculation below to determine the rate you need to charge in order to make enough money to pay the bills:

# of hours it will take you to complete the project X $ you need to make per hour to live = Project Rate

Check back later this week when I’ll talk about my views on adjusting your project rate, taking low paying writing jobs, and writing for free (don’t go crazy until you read that post).

How do you determine the rates you charge on writing projects? Leave a comment and share your tips.

Image: stock.xchng

Do You Quote by the Hour or by the Word?

April 18, 2010 by david 11 Comments

How do you quote jobs for new clients? Not everyone is specific about what they are looking for when they ask for a quote, unfortunately. I know some freelance writers talk about how much they charge per hour, but I want to focus on why it may be a better idea to offer a per-word rate than an hourly one.

If you quote a client an hourly rate, the client may not understand what they are getting for their money. Although the freelance writer is probably more likely to eat some time than pad his or her bill when charging by the hour, the client wants to keep a close eye on costs. They may feel more comfortable knowing from the outset how much something is going to cost, and the client doesn’t want to imagine the project they anticipated paying $X for taking longer and costing more than they had anticipated.

Providing a quote per word or for the entire project means the client has a much better idea of how much it’s going to cost. There may be an advantage for the freelancer, too, in quoting this way: he or she knows how much they are going to be paid. If the job ends up taking less time than the freelancer originally estimated, he or she doesn’t have to charge less for it.

Charging by the word is a clear way for the freelancer and the client to understand how the fees are being calculated. An hourly rate may be too vague, since the client can’t picture how much work can be done in 60 minutes. I know I have times when some hours are much more productive than others, and I suspect that other freelance writers are the same.

I prefer to keep it simple and quote per word, per page or per post when talking to a client. How do you handle quoting rates?

Freelance Writing Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions

March 21, 2010 by david 8 Comments

At Freelance Writing Jobs we strive to provide you with the best information possible about starting your freelance writing career. With so many posts offering tips and advice, it can be hard to find useful information that’s not on the front page of this blog. Since we receive a lot of email asking for tips on getting started as a freelance writer, how to set rates and more, I thought it was time for a static “Frequently Asked Questions” page. If you’re starting out as a writer, or just want a refresher course, use this handy list as a one stop shopping experience for all things freelance writing.

Warning: Work in progress. This list is by no means complete and will receive periodic updates, so do check back often.

Freelance Writing Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions

For daily freelance writing job leads, please see Freelance Writing Jobs for Web and Print and don’t miss our regular Monday Markets feature.

How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

Freelance Writing Rates

Not sure how much to charge? Check out the freelance rate calculator over at Freelance Switch.

Cover Letters, Clips, Resumes, Job Applications and Query Letters

Customer Service

Marketing and Networking

Tools and Resources

Freelance Writing Markets

Freelance Writing Taxes

Freelance Writing Clients and Business Tips

How to Raise Your Freelace Writing Bar and Get the Big Bucks

February 22, 2010 by david 3 Comments

raise the bar

You know from reading this freelance writing blog and others the most often asked questions have to do with rates. Specifically how to charge more as a freelance writer and how to raise rates on down the line. It’s easier said than done. We can all say, “raise your rates” or “charge what you’re worth” but many writers either aren’t sure how to go about doing that or lack the confidence to move ahead with their freelance writing careers.

I can’t give you confidence, but I can throw out a few things to consider.

I don’t believe in a one size fits all approach to freelance writing. You can poll ten different freelancers and find we all have different experiences. However, if you’re looking to get ahead, break out of a low paying rut and gain the confidence to advance your career, there are several ways to go about doing it.

Let’s look at a few:

Try a gradual change

The thought of going from writing for a web content site to a $1 per word magazine market is intimidating for many. However, who says you have to go that route if that’s not what you’re comfortable with? Rather than going from Point A to Point Z , stop at C and D and see what that does for your confidence. Try pitching an online magazine, one that pays a better wage. As you continue to achieve higher levels of success and higher levels of pay, your confidence will build to pitch those previously thought to be unreachable goals. You can absolutely go from low pay to extremely high pay, but if this scares you, see what happens at the different levels. Build your experience and your confidence.

Set a monthly income goal

I like goals. Goals keep me focused on the prize. So if it’s my goal to earn $5000 or $7000 in a month, I’ll pinpoint exactly what needs to be done obtain those goals. This might mean finding more lucrative clients, querying a higher paying market or, even, trying out a different type of writing.

Here’s what I learned about earning more money as a freelance writer, you’re not going to earn more doing the same thing day in and day out. You have to set that bar higher with each set of goals. Every few months, explore your monthly income and maybe raise the monthly monetary goal a little more – repeat the cycle. You’ll notice how which each level of pay you’re seeking out different types of clients, and shedding those who aren’t paying enough.

Research other high paid writers and do what they’re doing.

Is there a particular writer who you’d like to emulate? Why does he catch your eye? What is it about his career that that makes you take notice? Figure it out. Research this writer. Find out where he writes and follow a similar path. If you want to know what makes certain writers successful, ask them. You’ll find most are very approachable thanks to Twitter and email, and many have blogs. In 2010 you don’t have to pay a thing to learn from the best. Instead of sitting around wondering how to earn higher rates, take matters into your own hands. Learn where the higher paying jobs are, and do whatever it takes to land them.

Look beyond the job boards

Freelance writing jobs aren’t only advertised on job boards. Writers have different methods for finding work. most of the time it has to do with finding the places that hire freelance writers and taking the initiative. Don’t wait for clients to come to you. If there are businesses, websites or markets you wish to write for, contact the owner or editors. Ask for writers guidelines or if you can set up a meeting. I know that sounds challenging, but you’re not going to land those lucrative opportunities by wishing for them. You have to take action.

More education

If the reason you’re stuck in a low paying rut is because you don’t feel you know enough about writing or writing opportunities to approach bigger gigs, you might consider school. I don’t mean matriculating or investing millions of dollars for advanced degrees (unless you’re into that), but there are excellent offline and online courses available for freelance writers. Brush up on your grammar, learn about marketing, small business management, querying and so much more.

Try passive forms of income

One way many freelance writers are earning nowadays is through passive forms of income such as building websites, blogs, books, ebooks, courses and workbooks. The beautiful thing about passive income is that you continue to earn, but don’t necessarily have to continue to work. Why not explore the different ways you can bring in passive income with your writing?

Do one brave thing each month

Freelance writing took me way out of my comfort zone. I can tell you it wasn’t easy for me to write a pitch or sell myself to potential clients. In fact, I probably would have started freelancing earlier if I wasn’t so afraid. I can’t tell you what I was afraid of the most, but probably communicating with potential clients, rejection or just having to do something I never did before. However, I can tell you that once I received my burst of bravery and went for the first gig, the rest was icing.

What if you made a vow to do one brave thing each month? You could try querying a magazine you felt was way out of your reach or cold calling a potential client. It could be taking that first step and applying for your first gig. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you try to do something to achieve better opportunities.

You’ll be nervous, you may even receive rejection, but after the first few times you’ll wonder what you were so afraid of in the first place. Not all of us are aggressive with the sales tactics and not all of us have the confidence to just go out and get something. With practice it’s not as difficult.

Don’t look for the same rate, look for a higher rate

If you’re looking to earn more as a freelance writer, why are you still trying to land gigs paying the same rate?

Here it is, the plain and simple truth: If you don’t want to earn $20 an hour, stop accepting $20 per hour gigs. If you don’t want to earn $50 an hour, stop accepting $50 gigs. Draw a line in the sand and don’t cross it for any reason. Every now and then you need to give yourself a raise. Stop looking for simple projects and let existing clients know it’s time for a periodic rate increase.

It really can’t be put in simpler terms,. If you want to earn more money seek higher paying opportunities.

Now tell us, what are you going to do to raise your bar?

Why It’s a Good Idea to Check the Freelance Writing Job Boards Every Day Even If You’re Not Looking for Work

January 5, 2010 by david 9 Comments

I’m not actively seeking freelance writing work. I have a couple of clients and this blog to keep me busy. For the most part, I don’t apply for a gig or send a query unless I find something that truly piques my interest. Still, I check the job boards every single day. Even if I’m not trolling for freelance writing job leads to post here, I still make it a part of my daily routine.

I know not every freelance writing blogger recommends you look for work so often as it cuts down on productivity. However, I feel it’s important to do so, even if you only take fifteen minutes to scan the job boards. I feel it’s an absolute necessary part of my routine.

If I’m going to blog about freelance writing, I better have a good idea of the job situation

The name of this blog is Freelance Writing Jobs. I wouldn’t be true to this blog’s title or mission if I didn’t keep up with freelance writing trends. I can talk to you every day about finding work or applying for gigs, but if I’m not doing any of it myself, I really have no call doing this. Plus, as a freelance writer, it’s important to know what’s going on in the job market. I may not need to find work today, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be in a position to have to do so tomorrow.

Visiting the job boards each day allows me to see:

Who is hiring

Who is hiring tells me a lot about the freelance writing job scene. For example, if I notice a bunch of Fortune 500 companies begin hiring freelance writers all of a sudden, I will be curious as to the reasons why. I might want to investigate. Are these businesses now outsourcing because it’s cheaper than paying a salaried employee? I’ll also look into what they’re paying and the best ways to apply for these opportunities.

On the other side of the coin, it will also allow me to see the lower payers such as the content sites. I’ll want to research them too to see if they’re good opportunities for writers. I’ll see who is taking advantage of writers and if there are new scams targeting writers. If content sites are placing fewer job ads and not hiring as often, I’ll wonder about this trend as well. Do they have enough writers? Are they saving money?

It’s always a good idea to know what is out there, no matter where you are in your career. You never know when you’ll need to apply to any of these opportunities.

What they’re paying

In trolling the job boards every day, I’m noticing an upward trend in rates for web content and blog posts. Two to three years ago clients were offering $2 to $5 for a blog post. Now the norm is $2o to $50 for a post. If I didn’t read the job boards every day I wouldn’t know about this positive trend. By viewing the job boards, I also have an idea of which companies prefer a rate quote, and what many private clients and corporations are willing to pay writers. Again, I’m noticing an upward trend from several years ago. This tells me, I can raise my rate and still be competitive.

How many jobs are available:

By visiting the job boards each day I can note how many jobs are available. Fewer opportunities means more writers applying for each opportunity. I might also want to research the reason why the down trend for this blog or a proposed article.

Fewer opportunities means I have to be more diligent about perfecting my application or query because it has to stand out from all the other extra applicants. It also means I might have to apply to more gigs to ensure I don’t hit a “famine” period.

As a freelance writer you owe it to yourself to know what’s going on in your industry

Ignorance isn’t always bliss. It may be time consuming to check the job boards every day, but not doing so can be a mistake. The best way to know what’s going on in the freelance writing world isn’t through the blogs, it’s through the job boards. That’s where you’ll get the real information. It’s how you’ll learn the trends in hiring and rates. It’s a way to learn which jobs bring in the big bucks, which types of freelance opportunities are having a boom and who is going bust.

As someone who writes about freelance writing every single day, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t check the freelance writing job boards every day. How could I talk to you about trends, rates, opportunities or applications, if I didn’t keep apprised of any of these situations?

I feel keeping a close eye on the job board gives me and edge and keeps me fresh. That’s worth a half hour of my time each day.

What are some of the things you learn from the freelance writing job boards?

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Freelance Writing Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions

How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

Freelance Writing Rates

Cover Letters, Clips, Resumes, Job Applications and Query Letters

Customer Service

Marketing and Networking

Tools and Resources

Freelance Writing Markets

Freelance Writing Taxes

Freelance Writing Clients and Business Tips

Other Freelance Writing Topics

Try a gradual change

Set a monthly income goal

Research other high paid writers and do what they’re doing.

Look beyond the job boards

More education

Try passive forms of income

Do one brave thing each month

Don’t look for the same rate, look for a higher rate

If I’m going to blog about freelance writing, I better have a good idea of the job situation

As a freelance writer you owe it to yourself to know what’s going on in your industry

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