The Counterintuitive Fact About Increasing Your Rates
Are you struggling to increase your freelancing rates?
If so, welcome to the club. You are in good company. But it’s time to make a change.
If you’re anything like me, it can be very easy to blow off increasing your rates:
“ Oh, it’s fine, this new client doesn’t have a huge budget…”
“I increased my rates last year, that’s probably good enough…”
“I don’t want to have that conversation and lose my stable client…”
And like, yeah, fair enough. Choosing to increase your rates is a nerve-racking experience.
But, I promise it is worth it, for more reasons than just getting paid more for your work.
So, let’s get into it!
When you should increase your rates
Small side note, before you understand the benefits of upping your rates, you need to know when you should increase them.
I am by no means the be-all-end-all resource on this topic, but these are the general guidelines I strive to follow with my personal rates:
When I first started, after I got three consistent clients, I upped my rates
From there, every time I got a new client, I increased my rates
For retainer clients (which is something I am still new to!) my plan is to increase my rates on a yearly basis
The hidden benefits of increasing your rates
OK, with that out of the way, let’s deep dive into the lesser-known benefits of increasing your rates:
#1 — You position yourself as more of an expert
Expert experience comes with expert prices — and by undercharging for your skills and knowledge, you are actually limiting your ability to grow as a leader in your chosen niche.
Top-level clients who want input from thought leaders in their industry are going to be confused (and even put off by) lower-than-expected prices for your services.
Low prices make these clients think:
“Does this person actually have the skills needed to get this done for me?”
Avoid this by understanding your value and charging rates equivalent to your experience and skills.
Now, not every client wants (or requires) an expert to be helping them with their content. But, if you want to work with clients who do want a more premium experience, you need to be comfortable charging premium prices.
#2 — You command more respect and authority
This is a lesson I have learned from my time working at two different writing agencies.
Without fail, the clients who you undercharge (either by not having high enough rates or by offering a discount) are ALWAYS going to be your most difficult clients to work with.
Clients who understand your value (and, therefore, are paying our premium rates) are RARELY difficult — and, if anything, are more likely to want your specific insights and opinion on their content.
Ditch the difficult, low-paying clients and start working with higher quality teams who value you for your work and skills by increasing your rates.
I promise, it will change your relationship with freelancing and running your own business!
#3 — You strengthen your CEO muscle
Finally, committing to increasing your rates regularly helps you become a better business owner.
Because freelancers often work just for themselves, it is very easy to let rate increases slip because it “is only really impacting me”.
HELLO. EXCUSE ME? NO.
You are the top performing, star employee of your business. You need to continually reward that effort (the same way a great boss would) with increased wages.
And the only way to do that is by choosing to put your business first and upping your rates as you sign on new clients.
Mo’ money, less problems (kind of)
So… is it time for you to reconsider your rates?
(Writing this article has made me think about mine, might be time to reassess…)
Best of luck and remember that you deserve every penny you charge!