How much should a freelance writer charge?
Welcome to the 6-week series where I teach you how to become a freelance writer step by step! This week, we’re talking about your 💸 R A T E S 💸
A rate is simply the dollar amount that you assign to your freelance work.
There are so many methods to set your rates out there on the internet. You can find hundreds of blogs and youtube videos teaching you different ways to do this. It can be overwhelming AF…
But today, I’m going to teach you the way that instills the most confidence among the freelancers that I’ve coached.
Before we dive in… a note on mindset….
I know pitching your rates can be nerve-wracking, especially if you’ve never earned more than $20/hour before. When I first started freelancing, I was still a barista.
I was only making $16/hour plus tips! I started out charging only $20/hour for my writing, and I was so scared to even propose that. It felt like I was overselling myself so hard!
In reality, I wasn’t charging nearly enough. And I had no idea what I was doing. I just threw that rate out there because I’d never been paid that much before.
Understand that just because one or two potential clients can’t afford or don’t want to pay your rate doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be charging it.
For perspective: I now charge $100-$150/hour for my writing services. I got here over the course of almost 6 years, but it doesn’t need to take so long for you!!
Freelance Friday
Here’s how I set my rates, and how I recommend you do too – no matter what stage of business you’re at.
Step 1: Budget
Yeah… before you even think about how to talk to clients about your rates, we need to find a good starting point.
I want you to make a realistic budget. What do you actually spend each month? How much money do you need to make to cover your lifestyle and necessities?
Head to the Rates Calculator or take out whatever budget you already have. Fill in your personal expenses (and if you already know them, your business expenses).
The totals from your budgets should be the minimum amount you need to earn. These will serve as the starting point for your baseline hourly rate.
Step 2: Set your billable hours
How many hours per week/month do you want to work? Remember, you can’t charge for the time you spend on bookkeeping, pitching, and other administrative business tasks.
So the hours you actually charge for – your billable hours – only include your client work. Consider subtracting 1-5 hours per week for admin work from your desired weekly hours to make up for this!
I strongly recommend 120 hours or less for full-time freelance writers and 60 hours or less for part-time freelance writers. You’d be surprised at how much energy and focus this work will take – even though it might seem like you’re working “less hard” or fewer hours, you’ll likely hit burnout faster than you expect.
Step 3: Calculate your Baseline Hourly Rate
Inside the Rates Calculator, you’ll find a tab called “Rates Calculator.” This will auto-calculate your rates, just input your desired weekly billable hours!
If you’d rather not use the spreadsheet, just perform this easy equation:
([desired monthly income] + 30% for taxes) / [desired hours] = baseline hourly rate
For beginner freelancers, this is probably the rate you’ll go with for your first few clients. This is the MINIMUM you should charge because it’s the amount you need to make to live.
Now, if you want to save more, invest, pay off debt, earn more to spend on fun things, etc., add these goals to your budget, so they get factored into your rates.
For those of you who are more experienced, you can do market research and value-based pricing to earn what’s commensurate with your skills and experience. We talk about this in-depth in all of my coaching programs (Pop Club, 1:1 coaching, and Camp Moxie)!
That’s it?
Yeah… that’s it! That’s the basics of setting your freelance writing rates. Now… there are different types of rates you can use (per word, flat fee, and retainers). There are also special strategies you can use to make even more money, like pricing guides, packages, and done-for-you (DFY) services.
But those are entire lessons in themselves! If you want to learn more about these, I also teach them all within Pop Club, 1:1 coaching, and Camp Moxie 😉
Try This:
If you’re ready to set your rates, download the Rates Calculator to get started! Work through it and use the built-in rates calculator to find out what you should be charging.
Fill out the personal expenses tab
Fill out the business expenses tab
Add your debts to the debt tracker
Head to the Rates Calculator to find out what you should charge