How to Negotiate Your Rates When Working Freelance, Gigs, or Remote

There are several motives for why you would want to work from home throughout your life, but this is without a doubt the most important. You want to work online because you wish to make money. You can’t make a living wage just doing work that you love; you need substantial cash. Enough money to live on full-time, have a few months’ worth of savings, invest in your education, pay off your vehicle loans, and student debts, build a house, and so on. (Insert any other long-term aspirations that are truly important to you.) So, from the moment you land on an internet website and submit yourself for a job, your attention naturally turns to the following: “How much will I get paid? How much can I earn?”

The fact is, the majority of freelancers are more concerned with how much money they will make on a specific project than what it entails. They’ll be prepared to do whatever it takes to finish the work, regardless of other factors, for a reasonable price. However, to discover the secret number, you must consider additional variables such as your negotiating style or attitude.

There are several unspoken norms of online workplace negotiations that you must be aware of. These will ensure that you always make sure you’re charging the appropriate rates, conversing with your customer, pursuing jobs that pay well, and most importantly, winning!

Here are five things to bear in mind while negotiating your compensation for online projects you apply for:

Your Expertise Matters

If you want to charge a lot, make sure you have documentation to back it up! People believe that working online is equivalent to making cents, but this is far from true especially if you have proof of your expertise. There are freelancers on the market who charge $100-$200 per hour or $10,000 for a two-week project. They did not just wake up one day and decide to charge these rates; rather, they made a name for themselves through trust, competence, and experience in their field. When discussing a price, consider the following questions:

On a scale of novice to expert, how competent am I at what I’m selling?

How much evidence do I need to provide to prove my worth?

Course certificates, client testimonials, portfolio projects, and past work samples are all forms of evidence. Having examples of the work that you can provide is a great step to proving that you are worth your rate. If you work for a client long-term, you can also ask for a recommendation letter.

Furthermore, it is essential to establish yourself as an expert by continuously learning and keeping up to date with the latest trends in your field. No matter what skills you are promoting, knowing that you can get better and putting in the effort to do so will only make you more valuable as an employee/gig worker. There are many ways to do this, but the two most common are taking courses and reading books or articles from thought leaders in your industry. You could also aim to get yourself certified in your area of expertise.

Consider taking some free online courses in your area of expertise to increase your knowledge and sharpen your skills!

There are also a plethora of helpful youtube videos and podcasts that offer tips and tricks of the trade. Some YouTubers will share their own numbers and how they have grown as a freelancer/gig worker. There are also a lot of “what I would do differently” or “what I did when I started out vs. what I do now”.

The Needs and Wants of Your Clients Matter

Look at what your customer is searching for rather than focusing on what you want. These clients are looking for a service and there is a lot of competition out there nowadays. In general, online work clients provide adequate information in their project description to let you know what abilities they want for the task at hand. So, if you have 3/10 skills, you can sell yourself. However, if you have 8/10 skills, you may pitch yourself even more effectively! When interacting with potential clients, consider how well-suited you are for the project described and how much of your skillset you may use to request a higher fee.

If you feel that there is not enough information in the job post, most websites for freelancers have some sort of way for you to communicate with the client. you can also ask for more details about the job post in your application.

Your Customer’s Budget is Important

A lot of times, when clients submit projects for online employment opportunities on internet job sites, they include the money available for each project. The budget for a project is determined by a variety of factors, such as the client’s present financial situation, the size of the job, the length of time it will take to complete it, and the amount of expertise required. Some clients may also set a “placeholder” budget, which is simply an estimate. It implies that they can pay more than that, but they don’t know exactly how much it will cost or whether they would choose to pay a more experienced freelancer extra money.

The customer’s budget can assist you in determining how much you may expect to earn on each project. As a result, it’s something to think about when applying for online employment. At the start, I suggest that you aim for budgets that are sensible and match your comfort and knowledge level, and aim for greater pay projects as you gain more experience and confidence. Keep in mind, The more jobs you do, the more experience you will gain, the better you can pitch your services, and the higher the rate you can negotiate!

Finally, there is one more thing to consider: you may have the skills a client requires, but they may not have the budget for the rate you want! It does not imply that you can’t apply for the project. If it’s something you truly want to do, take into account the long-term earnings potential. It may be worth your while to consider lowering your rate for certain clients to get more work and build a good relationship with them.

Long-Term Earning is Important

There are many pros to working on a long-term project for a client even as a gig worker. one of the pros is that they could recommend you for other projects and to potential clients. Another pro is the long-term earning potential as opposed to a one-time payment. Some people even choose to give their clients a discount for keeping them at the top of the list for freelance opportunities. As an example: If you spend money on something once in a shop, you will pay full price. However, if you go to that clothing store every week for a year to purchase several items, you may anticipate receiving a discount! Simply said, if your client’s project is a long-term effort with the potential to yield revenue regularly (weekly, monthly, or yearly work), you may negotiate reduced fees and accept a smaller payment for a longer period. These are the fundamental principles of trade.

The Market Rates Matter

Keeping market rates for the skills that you are offering and the tasks that you are applying for in mind while negotiating your prices for online work is critical. The highest-paid freelancers realize that they are functioning and performing within a financial system, which is the gig economy. This does not imply that you must keep your rates low. However, before you raise your prices, consider the following:

What the market rates are right now (on the higher and lower end), what benefits and perks you have to offer to justify a premium rate, and how well you can demonstrate the latter are all factors that will influence the price you set for your time and services.

Having ways to show that you are worth the rate that you are charging, will ensure your success as a gig worker. Make sure that you keep a folder or portfolio with any highlights that will come in handy when you are bidding yourself out for work.

Finally, when it comes to working from home, the money discussion does not have to be weird or unpleasant. Many novice freelancers are hesitant to have that talk because they are unfamiliar with the factors that influence online pricing. Luckily, you’ve got the unfair advantage of having stumbled upon this blog post that gives you a rundown of things many did not have answers to when starting out with gig work.

in summary :

• Consider the customer’s budget when applying for projects
• Think about the long-term earning potential when deciding to accept a job
• Keep market rates in mind when negotiating your prices
• Don’t be afraid to have the money discussion–both parties must understand what is expected financially.
• Above all else, KNOW YOUR WORTH!