DEAR FREELANCERS, HERE IS HOW TO CHARGE WHAT YOUR SERVICE IS WORTH
A majority of freelancers face the menace of being underpaid. It’s a bit sad, but you do have to work your way to earning what you actually ought to earn- in terms of the service which you are offering, and what you are bringing to the table.
That being said, today, we are bringing you fabulous tips on how to earn what you ought to, in your freelance career.
1. Build a great portfolio
What is a freelance portfolio, really? A freelance portfolio is a fact file which represents your entire freelance career, online.
The common thing with successful freelancers is that they all have portfolios, and if you want to join them, it would be highly beneficial if you had a portfolio.
There are a couple of essentials if you would build a great portfolio- some of which are: your niche- i.e. what you do best, or your area of specialization in freelancing. Yes, you’re a freelance writer- but what exactly is your forte? Do you write stories better, or would you rather write an article? Are you good with motivational pieces?
In order words, you can’t afford to generalize. You have to be specific because when people have specific needs, they seek specific answers and this way, you can be readily singled out from the crowd.
Your portfolio also contains previous works done- and of course, you would like to include therein your best work. When your potential clients see this, they would naturally, be more encouraged to work with you and better still, pay you adequately.
That’s not all your portfolio is comprised of- it is also made up of information of how you can be reached or contacted; for instance, your email address, phone number, social media handles- such as your LinkedIn URL, social media pages where you display some of the works you’ve done; an author’s bio- i.e. a brief summary of who you are, your interests and so on. Your portfolio should also contain a photograph of yourself- people are more likely to hire individuals whom they have faces to link to; it’s only natural.
2.Let your work speak for itself
If you do great work but no one knows about it, then you might not get the much-desired clients. Which is why you need positive input from third parties- and by this, I’m referring to your clients.
When positive reviews from fellow clients are seen by would-be clients, there is a higher chance of them wanting to employ you, because it seems like ‘one of them’ has given you a thumbs up. In a way, it’s reassuring. And so, when clients give positive reviews, be sure to make them visible on the net, especially if you have a website. With this, you would win a measure of trust from your clients and be able to ask for what you’re really worth.
3. Branding
At a point, you wouldn’t really be paid any more for the work you do, but for the brand which you have succeeded in creating. And so, from your first day in freelancing, set out to create a brand that will stand the test of time. A trusted brand.
At first, you might not earn so much, but when your brand has gained recognition, you would earn startling figures; all because you took the time out to create something beautiful.
4. More Value
I would like to reiterate that if you painstakingly try to churn out more value than what you have been paid for- and are being paid for, or if you fine-tune your skills so that you don’t just do any kind of work but specialized work, you are likely to get paid a lot more than someone who does everything.
There’s this rule on specialization, that as you become more and more specialized, there are fewer individuals who can do what you do, and thus, the demand is higher for the few of you who can provide such services- and this, of course, leads to more pay (law of supply and demand).
Need I say more about doing specialized work? What kind of graphic designs do you do? What is your writing niche?
5. Confidence
Confidence is absolutely essential if you would be paid what you ought to be paid. Needless to say, you need to believe in your work so much, that you exude tons of confidence in your conversations, and even in your emails.
You need to have that sense of knowing what you do really well, and being able to deliver quality work for the money which would be paid to you. Even if you don’t know everything you ought to know, confidence will help you to do further research and learn even better.
