Not-so-new Freelancer’s Guide: Moving Past Beginner Rates & Clients

Last week we talked about building a mid-level freelance career. Part of that post touched on rates — specifically, the rate you should be charging.

This post is all about two things that get your freelance career moving up the freelance food chain:

Better rates and better clients.

I think you’re going to be surprised by how ridiculously simple doing both can be. Let’s start with your price.

Rates

Back in 2013, Walt Kania of The Freelancery wrote this excellent guest post that revealed the secret to earning more. That secret?

Charge more.

Did anyone else just hear that mic drop? That’s the entire secret — get it in your head what you want to charge. Charge it. Move forward. (Do read Walt’s post — great anecdotes in it that may help you get over your own fear.)

[bctt tweet=”Earning more from your #freelancewriting takes one ridiculously simple move.” username=”LoriWidmer”]

“But Lori! I’m going to lose my current clients!”

Yes, you probably will. Or not. It could be that your clients like your work enough that they’ll accept a higher rate. Or it could be that you’ve been charging $30 an hour when you really should be charging $100 an hour. That client isn’t sticking around.

And you shouldn’t care.

I’m serious. Why exactly would you keep a client who is grossly underpaying you? That’s not a life raft, honey — that’s a ball and chain. And you’ve tied yourself to it out of fear.

I had a client once who’d asked for a simple job. Like the beginner I was, I charged him $100 for a one-page website rewrite. It took me no time at all, but the price was way too low. I realized my mistake when he referred me to his mother and her business partner. I worked up a presentation and a price more in line with the job they were wanting — a full website (I’m remembering 12 pages). When I stated my price, there was silence. Then she said the words that changed my business forever:

“I thought you were cheap.”

Who the hell wants to be known for being cheap? Not me. Not anyone.

Of course she didn’t hire me, and I didn’t care. It was in that one sentence that I decided I was done undercharging just to get a gig. My rate went up that day, and continued to go up.

That’s where you lose clients. Guess what? That’s a good thing.

Clients

Because now, you can find better clients. And your new, higher rate will help you.

It’s a bit of psychology. The higher your rate, the more seriously clients will take you. Frankly, you’ll take yourself more seriously, too. That attracts people.

Other things that attract clients are just as easy to pull off:

Boost your professional image: Take down those vacation photos from your website. Stop arguing politics, filter how you present yourself on social media, and improve the photo you have of yourself. Or take it down if you don’t want to spring for a professional photograph. Make sure you use language, cadence, and tone that your ideal clients would use. Spruce up your website so that it reveals more about the benefits clients get from hiring you and much, much less about your background and history of being special. That doesn’t sell to anyone but your mom.

A word on social media filtering — pick one person who presents themselves well on social media. Emulate that. They don’t post dirty jokes or conspiracy theories? Neither will you. They talk about work and not their kids? Try it. If you want to argue and debate online, create a non-business account and go to town. Oh, and match your posts to the tone of the social medium you’re using. A goofy picture of your dog on LinkedIn hits the wrong note. On Twitter? A little more acceptable. But keep that stuff to your non-business accounts.

Engage your ideal client: Those companies or clients that have the money to spend, the need, and the desire to work with freelancers. How do you find that out? Watch them on social media. Study their website. Read their blog and newsletters. Then share their posts, respond when appropriate, engage them online. Set up a Google Alert for news coming from them, or news that relates to their business. These become great talking points for engaging them, and man, the impression you leave is so much better than the “I’m available for work!” plea.

You’re leading with getting to know them. Even if nothing comes of it, you’ve just expanded your network.

Become that partner they need: Here’s the real trick to improving your freelance career — shift your focus from winning the gig to winning the client’s trust. Ask them smart questions about their projects. Make suggestions. Point out how they can boost results. Brainstorm with them. Tell them about other projects you’ve done that were similar, and how success (or not) was achieved. You are part of the team, and your buy-in means you’re committed to their success.

Follow up: On everything. Every conversation, every interaction, every tweet. Be smart — don’t follow up with the “Your tweet made me think you need a writer” ask. Extend the conversation instead — “You mentioned XYZ on Twitter. I thought this article might interest you.” Boom. You’ve followed up. When you have a consultation, follow up. When you send a letter of introduction, follow up. When you answer someone’s question or ask one and someone takes the time to answer, follow up. Stay in touch with people in your network. Say hello, ask what’s new in their world, how the vacation was, what’s new at the company …

It costs you a few minutes to leave a great impression. And if you do it without asking for work, bonus. You’ve just improved that relationship to the point where they’ll come to you if they have a need someday.

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I touched on other ways to attract better clients in the previous post. There are infinite ways for you to attract better freelance clients, so don’t assume this is the entire list. Not even close.

None of these things listed here are tough to do. All of them can help you improve your freelance career and boost your freelance earnings.

If it feels like too much, break it down. For today, make one change. Once you get comfortable with that, make another change. Experiment. Look online for other ideas. Find your personal sweet spot, then get out there and boost your freelance career.

Writers, how did you move beyond your beginnings? 
What worked best for you?