My opinions on low-paying freelance work
This week’s blog was inspired by this podcast episode with freelancer Shelbi Polk. Sometimes, to get your foot in the freelance writing world, it’s okay to accept low-paying freelance work, although there are some caveats.
Here’s the thing: sometimes, it’s helpful to accept low-paying work to get started. Whether you’re getting your first freelancing clients or you’ve decided to change your niche, low-paying work can be used as a tool to build momentum faster.
However, taking on work below your minimum rates certainly isn’t okay in the long term. The way I see it, low-paying gigs should always be temporary and can act as stepping stones to the higher-paying work you want.
You don’t ever have to take on low-paying work if you don’t want to. But if you want to build your business as quickly as possible, it can be helpful to take on lower-paying gigs.
If you’re going to take on low-paying work, don’t just do it willy-nilly. Set some boundaries and do it strategically. Here are 3 tips for taking on lower-paying gigs so that you don’t get stuck earning $30/hour for the rest of your career.
What are low-paying gigs?
Every freelancer’s financial needs are different. That’s why I recommend setting your rates based on what you need to make to pay for your lifestyle goals. All that’s to say, “low-paying” depends on your financial needs. It also depends on how fast you can write.
To most newer freelancers, low-paying is anything less than $30/hour. For me at this point (6 years into freelancing and working through paying off some debt), I’d consider anything under $50/hour to be low-paying. But these examples are just my opinion.
How to use low-paying work as a tool
You can temporarily leverage low-paying work to achieve your goals more quickly. You might want to take on lower-paying gigs to:
get your first client(s)
learn a new skill (and get paid to do it)
break into a new or difficult niche
If you do choose to take on low-paying gigs, I recommend following the rule of 3. Don’t take on more than 3 low-paying clients in 1 niche or skill. For those clients, try to limit your contract – maybe only offer 3 blog posts or 3 months of email copywriting. This is enough to add it to your portfolio and get experience without getting sucked into doing low-paying work long-term.
Once you’ve secured a few low-paying gigs in the niche/skill or your first client(s), you have these low-paying gigs as a buffer. Start seeking higher-paying work as soon as you secure these lower-paying contracts.
With each new client, raise the rates a little bit until you reach your goal rates. I used to charge 10-20% more with each new client. It’s a comfortable, consistent way to work your way up. It’ll also help you build momentum in your business as quickly as possible.
When low-paying gigs aren’t worth it
You’ll need to set your own boundaries around low-paying work if you choose to accept it or seek it out. But, low-paying gigs, in my opinion, aren’t worth it if they:
Pay less than $20/hour
Push your boundaries and require you to break your rule of 3
Aren’t in your desired niche, helping you get experience with a new skill, or one of your first 5 clients