How to Price Your Freelance Services and Get Paid What You’re Worth

We all want to be paid what we’re worth. But how do you turn your skills and experience into profit? This article will teach you how to price your freelance services and get paid what you’re worth.

So, you finally built your website, opened your social accounts, and set your profile on Fiverr. Are you already having a headache trying to determine how to price the freelancing services you offer?

Should you set an hourly rate, or is there a better way? If this is you, continue reading.

You will learn how to price your freelance services, avoid mistakes that will hurt your bottom line, eliminate pricing anxiety by providing a straightforward process for setting prices, and create a price strategy to set your rates.

I will provide you with tips on how to get paid what you’re worth as a freelance professional, a step-by-step process on how to increase profits with your freelance business, and get the clarity and insight to pursue a successful freelance business.

How to Price Your Freelance Servicess

One of the most important decisions for any freelancer is how to set prices for their services. When you’re just starting out, it can be hard to know your worth and how to price yourself.

Many freelancers charge an hourly rate, but you might want to consider charging per project or mix of the hourly and project rate. If you are a writer, you could charge for word, or have a set price for articles of different word counts. Or if you’re a designer, you might want to charge an hourly rate or charge for a project and any additional work could be an hourly rate.

Why is it Important?

Pricing is a crucial element in the freelance process. It sets the expectations for both parties and it can determine whether or not a freelancer will be able to generate enough revenue to cover their costs.

Freelancers often find themselves in a position where they mistakenly charge less than what they are worth. This is because they don’t know how to properly price their services and they don’t want to lose out on potential jobs. However, this can lead them into making less money than what they should be making if their pricing was accurate.

It is important to price well in order to ensure profitability. Even if you are new to freelancing, it is essential to know yourself and what you can provide in order to sell your services at the right rate for each project.

If you don’t have a set rate, then clients may lowball you on what they’re willing to pay for your services and they might expect you to do a lot of work for less than what the service is worth.

The goal should be finding a balance between providing clients with quality services at an affordable price while making sure that you are still earning enough money to cover your costs and allowing yourself to earn some profit from each project.

Sell Value, Not a Product or Service

When setting prices for your services, you should always aim to provide value. This means you should package your offers as a pain point solution for the client, you are solving a problem for them. That will enable you to charge higher rates.

Remember, you are not trying to get by charging just enough money to cover your costs. You want to generate more than what you need so that you can have some extra money while also being able to afford the things that you need.

How to Determine Your Freelance Services Rates

The first thing you should do is figure out who your ideal client is so you can price yourself accordingly. You want them to be someone whom your business will benefit from.

You should also list the services you are offering, your experience level, your location, etc., which can all affect how much money you make as a freelance professional. It would be helpful to do research on other freelancers who are in similar positions as yourself by checking out their websites and seeing what skills they have listed under their profiles.

After researching other freelancers, you should create a list of all your skills to determine what services you can offer. You can also use this as a reference to see how much each service costs compared to the others.

Check Out the Compettition

In addition, there are tools online where you can find appropriate prices for common freelance services, like Clockify.

Many freelancers charge per hour, but you might want to consider charging per project or per word. Or if you’re a designer, you might want to charge by the hour or by the design.

I used Upwork and Fiverr to find out how much I should be charging based on the industry standards. However, it’s important to note that these numbers aren’t necessarily what you should be charging; they are simply examples of average rates for the services listed.

“I will charge this much because I believe that my clients should receive the same quality of work that I would expect from others. If someone is willing to pay me less, then I don’t want their business.”

I will give you an example for setting your rates on Fiverr. Go to the home page and to the section of your interest. I will use Writing & Translations and choose Articles & Blogs from the dropdown menu. Sort them by Best Selling and check the rates on each seller on the list. Select 15 rates from the lowest to the highest add them then divide them by the number 15. You will get an average rate that you can now use as a ballpark for your rate.

It can be helpful in getting you started, although I don’t think it is the final word on what you should be charging and you should adjust as you gain more contracts and experience. Just get your foot in the door.

The most important thing that I can stress when determining your rates is to always do research in order to make sure that you are not undercharging for your services.

Check this blog post for the ultimate how to guide to freelancing.

Things to Consider When Setting the Price for Your Freelancing Services

It is important that your minimum charge helps cover the cost of your overhead, which includes, but is not limited to:

• hardware cost (computer, printer, drawing tablet etc.)
• software expenses
• licenses and permits,
• Virtual Assistant, Accountant etc.
• home office furniture, or office rent space
• travel expenses
• internet bill
• marketing expenses (PPC ads)
• business phone number
• business insurance

How to Determine Should you Charge an Hourly Rate or by Project

The rate you charge is dependent on many factors, including your skillset, experience, location, and the current market demand for your services.

Some freelancers charge by the hour while others charge by the project. Hourly rates will vary depending on how you want to charge clients and what type of work you do. Most use a mix of the two.

Freelance writers can charge anywhere from $10-$100 per hour, 5-10 cents per word, or 100-500 per article, depending on their skillset and experience and on their pricing model.

How to Determine Your Hourly Rate

Hourly rates are the simplest, most straightforward way to price your services for clients. You can use them when you are working on many different projects at once, or when you are doing a small, short-term project.

It could also benefit you if you are working with a client over a long-term period or on an ongoing basis. It can be difficult to plan and complete a project when the client and you don’t know how long it will take. When this occurs, we recommend charging hourly instead of task-based pricing. Clients may come back to change things as the project progresses, but they will have to honor your time by paying for what it takes to reach their goals.

If an item falls outside the scope of your project, you can get reimbursed for it by billing a per-hour fee. It can be difficult to anticipate how things are going to go in your client relationships. This is a way of testing them out before you take on a larger project with them

Bonus tip: Keep a spreadsheet for all monthly living and business expenses. If your total monthly expenses are $ 4000.00, add your potential 25% profit margin.

$ 4000 * 1.25 = $ 5000

That means you need $ 5000 per month to cover your business and living expenses and make some profit.

If you work 20 days with an average of 8 hours/ day, you have 160 working hours.

To get your hourly rate, divide $ 5000/160h = $ 31.25

Your hourly rate should be $ 31.25 to achieve this.

How to Determine Your Project Cost

There are a lot of factors that affect the cost of your project. The cost mainly depends on the following factors:

1. Duration of project – a longer project is more expensive than a shorter one)
2. The complexity level of the project (more complex projects are more expensive than simple ones)
3. The time frame for the project (it’s always better to have your customers pay for it in advance. A payment plan also helps build trust between you and your customers)
4. Level of research required for the project to be completed successfully (if you have to do a lot of research and interviews, your project cost will go up)
5. Number of drafts needed (the more the drafts, the more expensive it will be and vice versa)
6. The number of people that need to work on it (if you want different experts in different fields to help you with your projects, then you will have to include their rates in the pricing)
7. Level of expertise required for the project

Once you’ve chosen either hourly rate or project-based pricing, make sure to clearly communicate it to your customers.

Remember that it is always better to have your customers pay for the project in advance at least 50% of the total amount. A payment plan will help establish trust between you and your customer, as well as give your customers peace of mind knowing that they are not at risk of being cheated.

The terms of services and payment plan should be within a written contract which you will have signed by your client before the work begins.

How to Determine Your Minimum Service Package

If you are a freelancer with a wide range of skills and abilities, you can decide to offer service packages with different sets of services that your client would be willing to consider for a particular project. For example, if your work involves writing, editing, and proofreading services, you might do it as part of a minimum service package that includes all levels or one specific level depending on the client’s requirement.

Your services may include research, writing, and editing which means that you can offer a minimum service package consisting of either one or two levels (one level consisting of research only; the other level adding the writing and editing part). For blog posts, you could add SEO services for the article, press releases, etc. This way, your customer knows what options they have if they want to choose your services.

Some freelancers are unsure of what the minimum service package should be for their business, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s important to take into account what your time is worth and the type of work that you do in order to determine your minimum service package, and the value you provide to the client.

If you plan to do a broad range of services for your clients, it may be prudent to have separate packages for writing content, editing articles, blog posts, press releases, etc. If you do plan to have separate packages, make sure that you clearly communicate what services are included in each package.

What Are Your Thoughts?

How to Negotiate a Rate with Clients

Before you start negotiating with a client, it is important that you research the market rates for your services.

After you have established what the average rate is, decide on what percentage increase you would like to ask for when negotiating with clients. After allocating 20% of this amount for your overhead costs (as discussed above), determine how much you will ask for when negotiating with clients.

When you are just starting out, it is advisable that you set your rates at least 20% lower than what you feel comfortable charging. It will be easier to raise the rates once you have established yourself as a freelancer. You can always increase them gradually based on performance or because of increased overhead.

If you are uncertain of how to negotiate, consider the following negotiation tips for freelancers:

When negotiating with a client, follow these negotiation tips for freelancers and you will be sure to increase your rates without having any problems.

1. Do your research so that you have an understanding of what rates are prevalent in the market.
2. Prepare a contract agreement which you can send to your client after negotiations are complete. The agreement should spell out the rate you have agreed upon, payment terms, and your conditions. This will put both of you on the same page and allow for a smooth working relationship. In addition, it is advisable to have payment terms included in the agreement, as well as any other clauses that you think might be pertinent. Be sure that what you agree upon is within the laws of your state.
3. You should also practice your negotiation skills with a coach, friend, or family member until you are confident enough to try them out on your client. You will need to identify your goals and be specific about the results you want to achieve during negotiations. For example, do not say that you merely wish to increase your rates; instead, say that you want to increase your rates by X%, and ask the client if they are willing to pay that rate.
4. When negotiating with clients, do not give in easily; remain firm about what you expect. If the client asks you why your services are worth more than others offer, explain what makes your service exceptional and all the benefits their business will have if they work with you.
5. Be professional and courteous. Never be emotional or rude during negotiations as this could ruin a great working relationship with a client. It might also lead them to question your skills as a freelancer for writing articles, proofreading books, etc.

Don’t give in to pressure and lower your process. You can decide to give a discount only in case you are offering:

1. A discounted rate for the project if they commit to more work in the future
2. Discount for payment in advance
3. Offering an extra service for free (e.g., social media promotion) when they purchase a package of services

You should always try to negotiate rather than refuse or give away your services for free. If the client does not agree with your rates, tell them politely that you can refer them to another freelancer who offers lower rates. However, do ask them whether they were planning on hiring someone else.

Keep Your Client Testemonials Ready

Now that you have the information you needed, it is time for the last touches. Keep your portfolio updated with the latest, or the most relevant projects for potential clients.

Don’t forget to get testimonials from your previous gigs and present them to prove value for future job opportunities. Good testimonies will enable you to charge more and steadily increase your rates.

In conclusion, setting your prices for freelance services is a delicate balance. You need to understand your value and what you have to offer, while still being accessible to the market. Remember that the value of service should be based on its quality, as perceived by the client.

Since quality is subjective, do your research and find out what the going rates are for whatever you offer. Make sure to allocate a certain percentage of the price towards overhead costs. Practice negotiating with a friend or family member until you feel confident enough to negotiate with clients. And always be courteous and professional in negotiations so as not to risk losing any business opportunities!

Have you negotiated your rates recently? What was your experience like? What was the result? Do you have any additional tips and tricks for negotiating prices with clients?

Leave a comment and tell us about it– we’d love to hear from you!