I am new to the world of freelance writing. I have written some short articles, research papers, stories, newsletters and a small series of brochures. Nothing really big yet… but I will get there! I have taken courses on writing and editing and communications and now have my ‘Business Writing, Public Relations and Marketing Communications’ certificate. I like to think that I know what I am in for as I attempt to carve a living out of writing. I am ready to begin.
And this is when I face what I had already suspected might be the difficult part of beginning a freelance writing career: setting fees, getting paid, and actually making money at this crazy writing thing.
I applied for a short-term job writing website content for a small business owner. The man who advertised the position – we will call him Joe – contacted me and we talked on the phone. He asked me how much I would charge. I explained that I need to know more – make that at least something! – about the job before I could quote a fee. Joe told me he needed content for his business website. I asked what his business is, and whether he needs someone to edit or rewrite existing content, or begin from scratch and research, write and edit all of the content. He still just wanted a fee. Again I explained: I need to know more about the job before I could quote a fee!
Joe skipped right to the point. He told me that while he could see that I am a professional and that he would really like for me to do the writing for his website, he can’t afford to pay a writer very much because after all he also has to pay for a web designer, a Flash designer, and a graphic artist. Clearly the actual words were deemed as less important and were on the bottom of the priority and funding list! I knew that this was not a job I was interested in, but for practice, I threw out a fee. I said it would be 500$ for a complete edit and rewrite, including some research, of a website. I didn’t even know how much content is included in the website. Joe reiterated that he couldn’t afford to spend much on the written content. And here I was thinking I was quoting too low!
We acknowledged that we were not ‘right’ for each other for this work and we ended the conversation politely. No big deal.
It’s not that I blame Joe for wanting to be economical and not spend a ton of money on his company website. But this experience – and it is not the first one like this – showed me once again that setting fees and sticking to those fees and actually getting paid those fees is perhaps trickier than the actual writing part! And I am still not sure how I should have assessed this job in order to quote a reasonable fee, or even what a reasonable fee for such a job is.
So at least I know that this is a skill I need to focus on and learn well. Onwards!
9 comments:
First of all Joe is an idiot if he thinks pretty pictures and flash animation and no content is going to get him very far. But that is entirely another story.
Good for you for establishing a "walk-away" point - although you were asking for too little.
It is very difficult to substantially raise your rates if you start low. Starting low gets you no respect and little money.
So what to do?
I am not being facetious when I say only go after clients with decent money? You want clients who are looking to save time not money. And that just means staying away from the very smallest of businesses. If their first questions are about price, they can't afford you. That should be your mantra.
The best way to test your mettle when it comes to setting higher rates is when you have leverage. That's usually when you are busy and they need you more than you need them. You would be surprised how often this is the case. They really want you to be "the one" because if they can't settle the deal with you they now have to spend more time looking to find someone else.
I think there has only been one instance where a client has said "no" to me because of money. In fact I have left more money on the table than I care to admit to.
There is another issue about money and time that does affect your earning power - and that is - as a single entrepreneur you only have so many billable hours in a year.
The real money is when you subcontract out your writing services to other writers. But that is the subject of another post.
Perhaps others will comment on this issue to give you their slant on the matter.
First, i must apologize to Colin for not testing the comment thingie the other day as you requested -- I got distracted...
Second, yes, "thingie" is a technical term.
Third, I'd like to comment on this post. I think that the issue, if I read the initial post correctly, is how to quote on things, not what rate to use when quoting, right?
You absolutely need to build into your quotes an escape hatch for when clients agree to six pages of content, then add 13 when you're not looking. The way I do this is to restate my understanding of what is required, then add: "Should the scope of this contract change from what is outlined above, additional charges may be yada yada blah blah blah."
I think you should probably be glad that you and Joe recognized that you weren't a good fit, by the way. It sounds like he's big on flash and small on content (much like some of the men in my past).
It's important to interview the client, find out the content areas, then do an outline with word counts. That will help you figure out how much time you'll need to spend on a web writing gig. If they totally don't know what they want in there, you totally have no idea how to charge.
Another way would be to find some existing websites that you like, and estimate how much time you would have spent on them, had you been the writer. Then you can show the client examples (don't take credit for the writing, of course, but just for the sake of examples of length and complexity) ..."Something like this will run you $5,000, while this site over here would only be $3,000."
Anything you can do to focus the client and get them thinking content areas will help. It's great if you can convince them that they need a strategic plan for their website. What are they trying to accomplish? What information will move them toward their objectives? How will they know if they've succeeded?
Such a long comment...sorry!
One more piece of advice, building on Colin's point about new-ish communicators selling themselves short. Of course if you are new, you need to charge less than a seasoned communicator. But then, as Colin notes, it's hard to raise your rates.
I advise getting around this by putting something on your invoice that says "introductory rate" or "new client rate" or "special 2005 rate" or whatever. Clients need to know that they're getting a deal, so they won't be surprised when 2006 comes around and you want a raise, based on the boxes of portfolio pieces you'll accumulate this year.
Hope that helps!!
Boy, the fee quoting challenges, eh? The best strategy I’ve learned through the years is to firmly quote my fee and then...SHUT UP. The toughest part for so many freelancers or independent/self-employed people is to know when to hold your tongue and take a breath while the potential client contemplates the decision. Of course, I’ve also found that it’s helpful to have an alternative offer ready to go, and it’s always wiser to express suggestions for adding extra value for the same quoted fee, rather than starting to discount services. Sometimes, however, if they get you at a good moment (meaning a temporarily/financially hurting moment), one may subscribe to the each case on its own merit, philosophy, to pay the bills and keep on plugging away :)
Ah the power of silence. I wish I had learned that lesson a long time ago.
I really believe that clients need us more than we need them. That we have a great more leverage than we think about matters of pricing. And that we only have to throw the price ball into their court and let the next words be theirs....it's hard to be defensive about your rates if you aren't actually saying anything!
To the person who mentioned silence as a powerful tool - I absolutely agree. Totally my experience so far in business - and, finally - in other areas in life! I break out in hives and start sweating when money comes in...but I've found that people usually have a price in their heads going in. For example, I just got hired on for a job writing web copy - but the person who hired me, and typically (I hear) the one who most values web-writing skills, was the web designer. She asked about my fee and I just told her what my hourly was. I was told in school (oh so recently left) that giving out your hourly was not a great idea, but that gave me ulcers even trying to think about, so made an executive decision to always just tell people my hourly.
In this case, the web designer did some quick math, told me what her cap on paying for copy was, asked if I figured I could make it work with those time/cost specs, and I said okey dokey.
Also in regards to charging an hourly: last year when I was in school I did a job that I was scared to do because I had to learn the software as I did the job and I didn't get the content for layout until three days before it was going to print (no, I don't have cojones the size of mason jars, I'm just into risk-taking behaviour and too chicken to take up sky diving). anyhow...I undercharged for the job because I had no confidence (paper cojones!). This year, they asked if I would do it again, which I did, but when I invoiced I realized I was going to end up charging them double what I'd charged last year. Because I'd not checked in and warned the woman who hired me about the fact that my hourly had gone up, I panicked. I decided I'd better place a call before I sent the invoice so that the woman wouldn't freak when she got my bill. I called her and left her a message telling her that the invoice was forthcoming, but that it was quite a bit more than the year before. I briefly gave her a couple reasons why (ie: I was a student last year and my fee had gone up since). I invited her to give me a call to "discuss" (read: re-negotiate) the invoice if there was going to be a huge issue. I apologized for not having foreseen this and warning her before doing the job, and I told her that it was important to me that I not blow her project budget for her simply because of my oversight. I emailed the invoice right after. I never heard back that day, or the next, so I burned a cd of the work, put a hardcopy of my invoice and my card in an envelope an sent it by courier. The lady got back via email, telling me that she got the disc and the invoice, she said the job turned out great and thank you very much. The tone of the email was friendly, so I took that to mean all was well.
Whew.
so far...no major problems. Although, I have had one client who happens to know that I'm a single mom with two kids call her quick payment of my invoices "being compassionate". I was tempted to give her a peice of my mind on that....still chewing on that on. grind grind.
It's quite amazing how we tie ourselves up in knots - agonizing over about alienating clients because we think we might be charging too much. The irony being of course it's us doing the agonizing - not the client. It seems to be a writer's disease. I am guessing our plumbers are not giving much thought to what they are charging us to unplug our drains.
So everyone. Have courage.
And good posts you anonymous writers .
I've also been told not to quote your hourly rate, but to quote on a "solution" basis. Easier said than done with the smaller fish. Also when you get into things like web site maintenance, hourly just makes more sense.
You really can't quote for a solution until you know what the "problem" is in clearly defined terms. Having trouble finding clients that can clearly define their needs? You might try subcontracting to design firms or other consultancies (is that the right word? I'm a designer, not a writer!). The good ones should have the project scope clearly defined by the time they look for a writer.
To the person who said not to quote by the hour, I disagree.
I always quote the first job with a new client on my full hourly rate. I estimate how many hours I think it will take, giving them a range, and agree in writing not to exceed the upper limit without prior approval. But this protects me against additional work I hadn't expected for a flat fee, and gives the client a reason to get it right with me the first time.
I think it also shows the client how quickly I work. I'm pretty confident that I take fewer billable hours to do work than others at my price range, and this helps prove it.
But my big advice, get in wriitng each time. Even a letter of agreement that just reiterates what you discussed when you took the job is needed, and get it signed before you start work. Don't be afraid to also ask for a down payment (their cheque will have their banking details, which can be very helpful down the road if you ever have to sue them for payment in small claims court).
I have learned more from the responses to my 'how do I quote a fee' comment than I have from all the marketing and freelance writing books that I've read so far! The ideas and advice have been taken to heart - and I will take them to practice as well. Thank you!
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