Pricing And Freelancing: Things You Need To Know

Let’s talk about money today! After all, you guys wanted to know about freelancing and pricing, right?

“How to set your prices as a freelancer?” Every freelancer is searching for this (Google told me so!). And how can we be not? There is no one-price-fits-all. There isn’t any standard according to which we set our writing charges. It can be anything!

From INR 1 per word to INR 500 per hour or INR 2000 per article – even the pricing models vary. There’s is just soooooo much information available online. Which way to go?

Here are some essential questions answered about pricing – based on my experience with the clients and as a freelance copywriter and content writer. Read on…

How to determine my freelance writing charges?

See, no one can tell you an exact fixed-rate, like charge so-and-so amount. It depends on several factors:

1. The niche? Tech or non-tech?
2. Your expertise in that niche?
3. Your experience as a writer?
4. The number of words? (in case of blogs)
5. Research required?
6. Long-term or one-time?
7. The time involved? Is it urgent?

And the MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION – whether you want to do it or not?

Should I be charging the same for all my freelance projects?

There isn’t one-size-fits-all when it comes to pricing. How can it be? The effort is different. The project is different. The approach is different. The requirements are different.

So, there‘s no one price for them all.

Discuss the requirements with your clients; look at what is required, and what can you do for them. Ask questions. Understand the details. (That being said, don’t just switch on the interrogator mode with endless questions, be practical in what you ask.)

Then, quote according to what you feel is right and something that you can justify.

Should I charge a price per word (PPW), price per hour (PPH), or price per project (PPP)?

As a beginner, you won’t have much idea about how much time it would take you to write or how worthy is your writing.

So, my advice would be to start with the price per word (PPW) model. Do some projects, note down the time you take to complete them (research, editing, revisions, all included). Then, as you gain some experience, move to charge a price per hour (PPH) or price per project (PPP).

Some websites make you calculate your PPH based on what you want to earn annually. See, there’s nothing wrong with that – but I don’t advise it. WHY? Because that calculation gives a flat per hour charge that you should take to meet your target earnings. But, be real! You cannot be charging the same amount in month 1 and month 9. As you work and gain experience, you can choose to increase your hourly charges too.

Personally, PPP is the go-to choice for me: but it takes a certain amount of experience. Most importantly, it takes A LOT of trial-and-error and understanding of the businesses –

1. your client’s business: you cannot be charging exorbitant amounts; they also need to see their finances!
2. your business (as a freelancer): you cannot be undercharging or taking whatever that comes or agreeing to abysmal rates; you’ve got a business to run too 🙂

Find a balance – that’s agreeable to both.

. . .

This article is turning out to be longer than I had imagined. And there are still so many questions that remain unaddressed.

So, what do I do now? How do I find that balance in pricing?

What matters the most while setting pricing?