When I first started out as a freelance business writer, my goal was to get my name out there and start earning a living. So, I did what everyone else does — priced as low as possible. Eventually, I realized my freelancing prices weren’t cutting it for me anymore. Here are the signs that I realized!

4 signs you need to change your freelancing rates

These are the signs that finally forced me to have to change my freelancing rates. I held off a lot longer than I should have simply because I was worried about losing all of my customers. Still, I’m glad I went ahead and changed my rates to something more manageable!

1. You’re turning away business: When potential customers see your excellent ratings and your low prices, they’ll come in swarms. If you’re so overbooked that you are forced to turn away work, this is a major sign that you need to increase your prices a bit. Firstly, it will slow down the order speed a bit and help you weed out anyone who isn’t totally sold on what you can do. Only those that are okay with paying for your quality will work with you — which is a good thing.
2. You feel like your work isn’t worth the paycheque: This is the one that most got my attention. I was exhausted, working waaaay too many hours, and the paycheque just wasn’t worth it. Increasing my rates helped me see in real-life terms that my hard work and effort would be (literally) paying off at the end of another crazy month.
3. You want to quit/offload to someone else: If you get to the point where you seriously want to get someone else to take on the work just so that you don’t need to deal with demanding customers, tight deadlines, or complex projects, it’s time to raise those prices. You deserve to be paid for the stress you put into your work, after all!
4. You’re losing money when you do a check on time/effort: Every freelancer should set an hourly rate. Even if you charge per word or per project, you should still have an hourly rate. If you are getting paid less than the amount of time it takes you (using the hourly rate), it’s high time you take another look at the rates you are charging!

Freelancing rates aren’t set in stone

There seems to be a misperception somewhere that you aren’t allowed to change your mind regarding your freelancing rates. I’m here to tell you that this is a total myth! Not only do freelancing rates change, but they should also change. After all, your level of expertise and professionalism isn’t the same in year 1 as it is in year 10, right? So, why should your rates be? Exactly.

If you’re curious about how to actually change your rates as a professional in freelancing, that’s the next topic! Any thoughts or questions? Share below!

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