Business Rates are never easy to figure out, even with a checklist and a guide. In this article you’ll learn your worth.

You should charge what you are worth, and you are worth a lot.

As you meet a new client and they provide you with the details of their content needs, you complete what we call a New Client Intake questionnaire.

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This worksheet helps give you an idea of what is needed and how much you should charge.

Regardless of what the client believes, writing worthy content takes time, research, and writing.

Don’t be like some clients and undervalue yourself or your writing. Set your business rates to reflect your value, and the work you produce. 

Standard Market Value:

An easy way to see what the market value is of freelance writing you should do a little research on websites such as the Editorial Freelancer’s Association.

You should think about your experience, what you can offer and what you think people will pay.

Now is a great time to check what your competition is charging.

According to the Editorial Freelancer’s Association, an average “non specified” writer charges anywhere from $0.20 to $2.00 a word per writing assignment.

Those with more experience charge more.

If you did a little math, you would see the “average writer” would make ($2.00 X 800 words) $200.

At first glance, $200 is a good start for 800 words.

Please take a minute to think about this; let’s dig deep.

What you do as you write for a client:

research, become an expert in what you are writing (learning as you’re going), edit, proofread format, etc.

On average most freelance writers will charge anywhere from $500-$800 per blog post.

Why?

 Because of what I just mentioned, you have to understand what is involved in a blog post BEFORE you tell them your fees.

This way, you are getting paid what you are worth.

Charging or lowballing is a knee-jerk reaction, but you’ll underpay yourself.

$200 does sound great, but it is not paying you what you’re worth when you think about the work put into the project. 

One issue with clients is they believe you’re a writer there, for you can write on a whim.

That isn’t true, and a blog post, although simple, does take longer than five minutes.

Especially when you want fantastic content.  

Create Your Fee Schedule

Take your time and decide what your freelance writing is worth and what you are worth.

As a newbie who is just starting, consider that.

You will need to charge a bit less due to your experience but not that much.

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For instance, you would not charge $800 right away as a starting price for a blog post.

Who are you?

Think about charging anywhere from $350-600 per blog post.

But remember to think about the scope of work; use your questionnaire or creative brief to help you determine how much of your time you need to put into the job before you shout out a price.

Don’t create prices as you go

Everyone is guilty of this, and it is easy to do so; no judgment here. You don’t want to be caught off guard if someone approaches you regarding your services.

Choose how much you believe you should charge for your services based on how much time, research, and work you need to put into each content creation.

From there, determine your experience.

Do this all before you sign on a client. Sit down and work through the fair rates not only for you but also for the client.

Write them down, and create a document with what you offer your service.

Such as blog post: $500

• Research
• Formatting
• Outlining/writing
• Proofreading/editing

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Break down your rates and projects by task.

One thing that helped me determine the rates I wanted to charge was how much my competition was charging.

Again, I took how much experience I have, which is a lot to me but not so much to others.

I have been writing all my life, blogging for about seven years, etc.

I do not charge by the hour or by word. I charge by the amount of work involved.

I have a range of rates, as with a blog post, from $300-$700, depending on the complexity of the topic.

I found this critical when providing estimates to clients, which has served me well.

Be firm with your Business Rates!

Clients will try to get you to lower your rates, but you should stand firm.

Yes, you risk losing your client, but in the long run, think about what it is worth to you.

If you get the job and have to do more work than it is worth, what did that do for you?

The amount of work and effort you put into your job, which is a lot of hard work, should be rewarded.

As a business owner:

• You set the rates
• You set the operational hours
• You decide the tools and the software you want to use
• You decide who you want to work with

As with any other business, unless it is a car lot, you cannot walk in and begin negotiating prices.  It is not for the client to tell you how much you should charge.

Again, clients think all you have to do is write a few sentences in a couple of hours, and then you’re done. Easy…..right….

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Your services are up to you, as are your rates. The services you provide to your client can be proved when they receive good turnaround (ROI) in increased traffic, Better conversions, and great content.

Setting a rate isn’t just putting a price on your writing skills, time, and experience. You are an expert, a writer, and the whole package.