by Leo Wiles
19 September 2014
Amidst the recent hoo-hah of indecent rates of pay and content mills, it can be comforting to know that along with avoiding bad clients, and making sure that you do end up being paid, that there are skills and techniques you can learn to ensure a better return.
Because let’s face it turning down work can be as alien to a freelancer as booking regular overseas holidays – but along with learning how to negotiate a better pay rate it can be one of the smartest things you can do for your career and your bottom line. The reason being, if you’re spending time on underpaid work then you’re not free to earn what you’re worth. Here’s how to score the kind of gigs every freelancer should be doing:
Help them find you – LinkedIn, your blog and a website are all useful tools in showcasing your wares. While there’s much debate about including a rate sheet on your site, it can help stop people approaching you with unrealistic offers.
Stick to your guns – Know what you are worth and charge it. If the client doesn’t want to pony up chances are that they don’t understand a) how much work is involved or b) the experience and know-how that you bring to the job.
Target well-heeled clients – Research and contact bigger clients rather than spending your pitching time on clients who don’t have a revenue or budget. That means if it’s a mag, check out circulation figures and their ad rate sheet via their website to find out how viable they are and how much money they may have to spend. For corporate clients, start with the ASIC register. Are they a blue chip company with a $10m revenue and several outlets, or a start-up looking for ways to cut corners financially? And if it’s an online client, Alexa offers information on website rankings. If a company is high-ranking chances are they want to protect that with well-written content that they are prepared to pay for.
Avoid the traps – Rachel’s List doesn’t encourage low-paid gigs, even though one slipped through earlier this week (and was taken down). However, as a newbie, applying for work on bidding sites or content mills such as Fiver, Craigslist and Airtasker can seem an easier option than cold calling or pitching and if you’ve never been paid for writing it can seem like a big break. But what you’re really doing is devaluing your abilities and poking holes in your self-belief. Instead, pull on your big boy/girl panties and believe that there are well paid options out there and find them rather than losing the war before the battle for a fair days work for a fair days pay has begun.
Are the days of a $1/word gone forever or are you able to locate clients that pay? Share your thoughts here.
‘ … pull on your big boy/girl panties and believe that there are well paid options out there and find them rather than losing the war before the battle for a fair days work for a fair days pay has begun’
This is an important mantra to adopt, given the current situation where many media jobs cry poor and say that they can’t pay writers. As freelancers we can’t accept this situation if we are to survive and thrive.