How to Negotiate Freelance Rates
I’m no master negotiator. In fact, I’m kind of a pushover, and I hate conflict. Yep, not a great negotiator. However, negotiating a freelance project doesn’t have to be a terrifying prospect. To get a general idea of what you should be paid, feel free to Google and find a general range, BUT don’t stop there (as Sara Miller of Zasio says, it’s obvious when freelancers just Google it)
If you’re going full-time with your freelancing, hopefully you’ve already figured out what amount of money you need to make your freelancing career work (Julia had great advice on how to figure it out), and that should factor into what you want to be paid, but here are some other things to consider:
Break the Job Down
One way to help figure out how much to charge is by breaking a job down into the parts and figure out who long they’ll take you to complete. Interviews, revisions, research—these are all things to consider when you figure out your rate. You can estimate the time all these elements will take, and figure out what you’d ultimately be getting per-hour, which will also help you assign a value to your work (but I'd recommend setting your rate based on the whole project, not an hourly rate. See below). This strategy is also helpful when you send the ask to the client—you can say, “Here’s what I’ll be doing and what you’ll be getting out of it,” to help make your case.
Pinpoint the Value
Taking the above tip a step further, the client will be interested in what you’re providing them. Yes, there’s the actual finished product (one blog post, coming right up!), but they’ll be getting more than that. This is where you can sell them (and display your expertise) on how things like increased connections to the community, increased website traffic, a better image, insert benefits here, will improve their business. Obviously, the specific benefits vary depending on the job, but the client will likely be reaping benefits beyond the physical product you provide them. Be sure to spell them out!
Never Work Hourly
One of the freelancers I spoke with advised to never work at hourly rates. She said you should be able to figure out how much time a project will take, and you need to take into account the fact that your client is paying you for more than that specific job–they’re paying you for all the experience you’ve built up to that point, PLUS the job you’ll actually do. In fact, she said she had one job she really didn’t want to do, so she quoted a rate that seemed outlandishly high, but was what she would be willing to do the job for. And they accepted! Don’t undervalue yourself.
Be Willing to Revise
If the client doesn’t like your rate, think about how you could revise the project to fit a different pay range. This happened to me in my negotiations with Boise Trails. My price for community member profiles was too high for the site, but they really liked the idea of looping in the local interest. So, I devised a new idea: a Q&A format that would cut out the intensive profile writing side of things for me, still get local folks on the site, and hey—the questions could be recycled to make a regular feature on the blog with a variety of local figures in the trail community. The best part: Although I’m getting paid less per piece, I’ve ensured my involvement with the site into the future.
Talk to Your Network
It also never hurts to talk to contacts in your network. When I got the freelance job with Boise Trails, I was fortunate to have the boss at my day job a chat away. She guided me through the negotiation process and was an excellent cheerleader. Other people who are familiar with freelancing will have unique perspective, and their advice and insight is invaluable. Don't hesitate to get in touch.
More Resources
For more in-depth information on negotiating rates, check out some of the freelance books I read and these articles: