After writing alone weblog about how freelance writers ought to intention for making $100 an hour, I heard from many writers. Principally they needed recommendation on the best way to obtain extra modest targets—simply shifting up from the $8- to $15-an article degree and maybe making $30 an hour. In order that’s my subject—move-up markets.
Should you’re writing $15 or $20 articles now, you ought to be in search of $50-an-article purchasers who would permit you to slowly drop your lower-paying gigs and elevate your common hourly price.
To research move-up markets extra, I trolled on-line job adverts for gigs that paid round $50 to $100 an article
These aren’t ordinarily adverts I have a look at, so I used to be stunned as soon as I targeted on this value level to seek out fairly a number of listings.
Clearly, this doesn’t embrace the numerous, many higher-paying gigs you could possibly discover by networking, approaching small companies in your city, utilizing social media to prospect, and in any other case aggressively advertising and marketing your enterprise.
Along with those I discovered, Writers Weekly lists many roles at move-up charges…the difficulty linked right here had fairly a number of, together with $125 to $300 from Alaska Enterprise Month-to-month, and assignments from $75 to $150 about hockey from Puck Life.
And over at All Freelance Writing, Jennifer Mattern posts job listings solely for gigs that pay over $50 a put up. What simpler method is there to display screen out the slave-wage jobs and focus on move-up markets?
Right here’s what I’ve discovered—{the marketplace} won’t set wholesome pay boundaries for you. There’ll at all times be cheapskates. You need to set the boundaries your self.
Should you entertain the notion of $15 articles, you find yourself writing them. Should you flip down low-paying jobs as merely beneath your backside asking value and preserve wanting till you discover better-paying ones, you’ll possible find yourself being higher paid.
Why doesn’t all people do that? As a result of switching up could cause a short-term cash-flow downside when you get new purchasers lined up. You need to overcome your worry that you just’re going to starve in the event you maintain out for higher gigs, and even spend a part of every week prospecting for higher assignments as a substitute of writing your present low cost articles. Saying “no” to potential purchasers—or to that oh-so-easy to entry project web page on a content material mill—can really feel harsh, scary, confrontational, possibly on this economic system even a little bit loopy. However that’s precisely what it’s a must to do to maneuver up.
I’m well mannered with potential purchasers who name and provide me $20 an article, or $50, or $70. I thank them for his or her curiosity, and allow them to know they’re not in my ballpark. I provide my rewriting providers in case they uncover the content material they acquired low cost isn’t as much as snuff, and encourage them to be again in contact after they will pay skilled charges. I don’t go away mad, I simply go away, and go away the door open. Attempt it—you’ll discover that valuing your time sufficient to show down lowball purchasers feels nice. It additionally leaves room in your schedule for better-paying purchasers.
What’s your move-up aim, and the way do you intend to attain it?
This put up initially appeared on the WM Freelance Author’s Connection.