Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

Earlier this week, I spoke at the very first Freelance Fest about how you can keep your pipeline full--forever (well, hopefully forever!). You can watch the recording here.

P.S. This week on Instagram I shared my thoughts on why your prices aren't too expensive. Watch it here.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to this week work-wise:

👉 I wrote 4 pieces for clients (including Whop, Klaviyo, and an MSP software)

👉 I refreshed 1 piece for Shopify

👉 I spoke at Freelance Fest!

👉 I chased up more unpaid invoices (still one more to be paid)

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~20

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~2

💰 Total revenue this week: £5,070

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Check out my three practical courses that have helped 500+ people get more clients, earn more money, and create better content.

Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

Earlier this week, I received an email from a client I worked with briefly about three years ago. They had a new project on the horizon and would I be interested in working on it with them?

“You’d be the perfect fit,” they said.

Some backstory: this client had been a bit of a nightmare to work with before. Their editorial guidelines were RIGOROUS and I remember having to run multiple rounds of edits. The pay wasn’t great either.

So, I went into this interaction feeling a bit skeptical. But, you know, I’m willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. I replied with my welcome packet and my current price list.

Their response came through in the dead of night (for me, anyway, because we’re in different timezones).

“We can only pay [price that is less than half of my current rate]”.

They went on to say that this is the rate they pay their most experienced, senior, long-term writers, so if I could agree to this, they’d love to start onboarding me right away.

2021 me would have thought “am I overcharging? Maybe I could take the project just for now”

2018 me would have had a stomach-sinking moment of feeling not worthy and probably accepted the lower rate.

2016 me would have absolutely jumped at the chance.

Let me tell you what 2024 me replied:

“Unfortunately, it looks like we’re not a good match right now. Best of luck finding the right person!”

You see, even just a couple of years ago, I would have felt shamed by this interaction. I would have felt greedy for charging way more than their “most experienced, senior freelancers” get paid.

The thing is, as freelancers, it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. This company pays their writers the same as they did three years ago. Even their most senior writers. It would be incredibly comfortable to continue working at that rate.

But where’s the growth?

Where’s our chance to get a metaphorical promotion and a pay rise?

And this is the thing with freelancing. It often feels like everyone else sets our rates for us and we’re at the mercy of what someone decides is or isn’t “too much”.

Luckily, these days, I’m confident turning down an opportunity that isn’t a good fit. But this hasn’t always been the case. For a long time (longer than I’d like to admit), I adjusted my rates depending on the client’s needs. I’d charge £100 to one client and £300 for another. Instead of starting a conversation by sharing my rates, I hesitantly asked “what’s your budget?”.

It’s taken a while to gain that confidence and I still have wobbles now.

Last year was the first year in my freelance career that I didn’t raise my rates (because, you know, it was a crazy old year).

But there have been some helpful tasks and thought patterns I’ve learned that ensure I don’t feel guilty when I raise my rates.

I think of my other clients

If all my other clients are paying ££££ and another brand wants to pay ££, it’s not really fair, is it? My time and effort should be worth the same to each client, so I always consider the fact that a) there are clients out there that (willingly!) pay my higher rates and b) how would they feel if they knew I was doing the same work for a fraction of the cost?

I imagine I’m in an employed role

Look, there’s no one out here advocating for us. There’s no boss to notice our performance and offer us a pay rise. We’ve got to do it ourselves. When I’m feeling particularly fragile, I think about how my employed friends enjoy a pay rise every year—why shouldn’t I?

I think of my business

When you’re a freelancer it’s so easy to take things personally, but we’re essentially running a business. And, for a business to survive, it has to be profitable. It always helps to separate my own personal feelings about money from the needs of the business when I’m raising my rates. You can bet your life savings that mega-corps like Apple and Google increase their prices every year, so why shouldn’t we?

I think about where I am in my career

It’s easy to feel beaten down when someone says our rates are “too high” or “way out of budget”. It’s tempting to relent and back down, but I think about how far I’ve come. I didn’t write about short spine syndrome in dogs and bat poo to still be earning £25 a piece 10 years later. I’ve worked with household names, talked in front of 200+ people on stage in Europe, and received countless glowing testimonials from clients.

Yes, there are some people who are only just starting their freelancing journey who charge less, but there’s a reason for that. They’ve got all the good stuff to come. We can’t compare ourselves to people who are at different stages of their career—it’s counterproductive and just makes us feel bad.

At the end of the day, no one can tell you what you should and shouldn’t charge.

What I will say is this: freelancing is a business model (note the word business). And businesses set their own rates. You wouldn’t tell your plumber how much you want to pay them. You wouldn’t say to Apple “oh no, sorry, I only want to pay £5 a month for my brand new iPhone”. We often forget this as freelancers because it’s just us on our own, so it feels like we’re a glorified employee.

We’re not.

We’re a business and I guarantee 99% of businesses out there feel absolutely no guilt at all when they raise their rates.

We need more Freelance Money Diaries entries!

I'm in awe of how many people have been open enough to share their freelance finances with us, but to continue the series we need more submissions.

Just a reminder that you can do this anonymously if you prefer :)

I appreciate every single one of you and I want to continue my mission of financial transparency in the freelance world. Can you help?

As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

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