With the end of the year approaching, many freelancers are thinking about raising their rates in 2021. I often see advice that basically amounts to raising your freelance rates 10% (or whatever) each and every year, which is fine as far as it goes. If you underpriced yourself when you were starting out, it might make sense; in some cases, you might be able to double or triple your rates and still get projects. Once you’ve been in the business for some time, however, you probably can’t get away with large, frequent increases.

The key is to find your sweet spot, and that requires a strategic approach to raising your freelance rates.

As you gain experience and expertise, your work is more valuable to clients—and no doubt you’re faster and more efficient. To me, there’s no reason to wait till the end of the year to bump your rates. If you’re so busy you can’t remember the last time you needed to market yourself, raise them now. Maybe you’ve discovered peers who are charging a lot more for similar projects and clients, or perhaps you’ve acquired a new skill or certification. The raise-your-rates alarm should really be screaming if you can’t remember the last time you got turned down for a project based on price.

Suffice it to say, there’s a long list of reasons to consider raising your freelance rates. So how do you do it without creating client pushback?

1. The Grandfather Clause. This one’s simple: Keep existing clients at their current rate, while quoting new prospects at a 10–20% higher fee. That way, you can test the market, while eliminating the concern about losing loyal clients who’d react poorly to a price hike. (If you’re freelancing for the long haul, of course, you’ll eventually need to raise prices for loyal clients, too—a much easier conversation if you have a strong relationship and deliver results.) 

2. The Stealth Raise. I’ll be honest: I’ve never understood why some freelancers feel obligated to make a big deal about a price increase. The stealth raise works exactly like it sounds: Build in another 10% in every new quote, including new and existing clients. Or if you do estimated ranges, which is my favorite approach, nudge the higher end a bit higher. No one needs to know but you. 

3. The Circumstantial Increase. There’s no reason you shouldn’t raise your fees during busy times or during the holidays. Think of it as a broad application of minor rush fees during a period of high demand (i.e., when you want to carve out some personal time away from the desk).

Note that all three of these are easier to execute if you generally provide project estimates. Indeed, I believe the ability to seamlessly raise rates is one of the best arguments in favor of using estimates whenever you can, rather than an hourly rate or publishing a rate sheet.

Two final thoughts on why there’s no wrong time to consider a fee increase: (1) Pricing serves as a market signal of your value, whether it’s high or low. (2) One of the strangest dynamics in the freelancing world is that, in most cases, higher-paying clients are better clients. That’s a pretty sweet side benefit in addition to the extra income.

 

Jake Poinier made the leap into freelance writing and editing in 1999 after a decade of positions in the publishing industry, giving him key insights from both sides of the desk. As the founder and owner of Boomvang Creative Group, he has worked with a diverse array of Fortune 500 and small businesses, consumer and trade magazines, and independent authors. Jake is committed to helping freelancers improve their businesses and shares his knowledge and experiences frequently as a speaker at industry conferences, through webinars, and on his blog.

August has always been an awesome month for me. It’s my birthday month. (Shout out to my fellow Leos.) It’s the month that I experienced my first kiss. It’s the month I survived what should’ve been a life-ending accident. (Got run over by a pickup truck 1,000 miles into an ill-fated cross-country bike trip, when a guy fell asleep at the wheel in broad daylight in the middle of Nowhere, Montana.) It’s the month I finished writing my first book, The Science, Art and Voodoo of Freelance Pricing and Getting Paid. But above all, it’s the month that I quit my final corporate job forever back in 1999 to go into this wild and wacky world of freelancing.

So, while the rest of the world tends to do their State of the Personal Union in January with New Year’s resolutions and all that jazz, for me, it’s August when I think about where I’ve been and where I’m headed. A recent article in the Atlantic, Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think, happened to strike just the right note at just the right time. No matter where you are in your career, I highly recommend reading it—it’s a lot more hopeful and thoughtful than you might believe by glancing at its headline.

Being of a, let’s say, particular age, this concept jumped off the page for me: “Vanaprastha . . . whose name comes from two Sanskrit words meaning ‘retiring’ and ‘into the forest’ . . . is the stage, usually starting around age 50, in which we purposefully focus less on professional ambition, and become more and more devoted to spirituality, service, and wisdom. This doesn’t mean that you need to stop working when you turn 50—something few people can afford to do—only that your life goals should adjust.”

I’m no mountain-top mystic nor am I especially touchy-feely, but this hit my browser at a time when I’d been thinking those same thoughts. I recently started mentoring some younger freelancers. In 2019, I’ve spoken at the ACES and Editorial Freelancers Association conferences, and I’m looking forward to doing the same at the NAIWE Be a Better Freelancer Conference in October.

Sure, I’m as ambitious as ever and not retiring anytime soon. The later I get in my career, however, the more I get a charge out of seeing newer freelancers (of any age) strike out on their own.

 

Jake Poinier made the leap into freelance writing and editing in 1999 after a decade of positions in the publishing industry, giving him key insights from both sides of the desk. As the founder and owner of Boomvang Creative Group, he has worked with a diverse array of Fortune 500 and small businesses, consumer and trade magazines, and independent authors. Jake is committed to helping freelancers improve their businesses and shares his knowledge and experiences frequently as a speaker at industry conferences, through webinars, and on his blog.