It does a lot more than that, but for now, let’s focus on those three things.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”Knowing your #freelance value is a game changer for your business.” username=”LoriWidmer”]<\/p>\n

It really does change your business when you value what you do and know. Yet too many writers are exhibiting their lack of confidence in themselves every day. Just look at Twitter. LinkedIn forums. You’ll see it. Bemoaning the rates that they have control over, begging for “overflow” work (don’t get me started), and acting like starved animals whenever someone posts a crappy job.<\/p>\n

You, freelancer, are better than that. Much better. Here’s how to relocate your value:<\/p>\n

Make a list.<\/h3>\n

Yep, make a list of all the projects you’ve handled in the last two years. Go back further if you like. What types of projects, duration, pay: that goes on your list. Oh, and make sure to note the client and where you first connected with them. Now look at that list. Compare the duration with the project. Pretty good, right? You managed to get those completed easily. Now look at the pay. Ooo, are you sure you shouldn’t have been paid more? If you’ve gotten to a point in your career where you can knock things out pretty quickly, you need to stop charging per hour and start charging per word. Your speed is penalizing you and that’s not fair.<\/p>\n

Review your client work.<\/h3>\n

How have your clients responded to your best work? That’s your measurement for value. If they say things like, “I would never have been able to convey this, but you made it look easy” they’re telling you they value your skills. That’s worth something. That, your reliability, your communication, all of it matters to your happiest clients.<\/p>\n

Learn something new.<\/h3>\n

Learn a better way to invoice. Improve your sentence structure. Read up on how to put together white papers or case studies. Find your best method for putting articles together. Whatever it is that will improve your skills and make you\u00a0more marketable<\/strong>, do it. Ten minutes, half an hour, whatever time you can set aside each day, learn something. Talk to successful freelancers. Mirror their best processes and emulate their attitudes. Take every opportunity to glean from the best. Then tweak it to fit who you are and how you want to work.<\/p>\n