She wrote:
Hi Yuwanda, I received the following response to one of my marketing emails from an SEO company. I thought I was pretty bargain basement at $20 when I have no experience.
I’ve been marketing for a couple of weeks, and I’ve already gotten a couple of clients so far (emphasis added) so I’m not willing to work for these rates; I don’t think I need to. But I’m wondering how I should respond to him at this point? Could he be just testing to see if I’ll bite? Thanks BL
POTENTIAL CLIENT’S EMAIL TO BL
Hello BL,
Thanks for getting in touch with me. We are currently working with a writer team that offers a lower price. ($10 per 500 word article). So far we have been happy with the quality of the work. If you can lower your fees we might be able to send you some work in the future. Thanks
MY RESPONSE
BL:
If you don’t feel like you need to lower your rates, then don’t. Sometimes I do for volume, but it has to be what I call “easy, breezy articles.” These can usually be turned out in 15-35 or 40 minutes.
Regarding his offer, if you can do 2 articles an hour at the $10/article rate he’s offering, then that’s $20/hour (about 40K/year). And if they’re offering you volume, then that might be something you want to look at.
In general, I think every freelancer should have a bar they don’t go beneath. But, that’s just my personal opinion. In the end, it’s up to you. You know your financial situation; just don’t get sucked into forever low-paying gigs.
If you find yourself having a hard time landing gigs but don’t want to lower rates, you might consider targeting another niche and/or specializing in an area where there’s not a lot of competition (eg, science, medicine, legal, financial, etc.).
In conclusion, the only way to really make a living in this industry is to price your services fairly (which is very subjective), and then go after clients who won’t quibble about your rate. There’s a market for every price point. Hope this helps, and continued success to you.
SECOND PART OF MY RESPONSE
(I forget to fully answer her question in the first email):
And, no, I don’t think he’s testing you. I’m sure that’s what he’s paying. As for how to respond, something to the effect of:
“Thank you for responding to my query. While I understand my rates are above what you offer, I’ve been fortunate enough to develop a growing client base at this price point. I appreciate your offer of work and if you ever find yourself in a pinch for a reliable, professional SEO writer, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. Once again, thank you for the opportunity and continued success in your business endeavors.”
That should do it.
P.S.: I’m Ready to Start a Lucrative Career as a Web Writer.
Unsolicited Testimonial
Hi Yuwanda!
Just wanted to say thank you for your e-books! I bought your SEO e-book on May 10th and just received payment for my first order of SEO blog articles! It’s a recurring job for an SEO company that is working with an allergist. All I have to do is take some stock articles and rewrite 8 articles per month at $25 each. I got this job by [following the marketing plan] in your e-book. … Now I am confident that I can charge more for my work!
This is just in time because I was worrying about having to break down and find a full time job. I want to stay home and work because my fiance has kidney failure. He needs a transplant and we fully expect that he will receive one and live a long life. However, if he does not, then he has a good 15 years of life.
While 15 years can be a long time and any number of things can happen in that span of time, I don’t want to spend it stressed out about a job and commuting to a place I hate. Thanks for giving me the tools to create a flexible online career!
P.P.S.: Have something to stay to the freelance community?
Have some freelance advice, tips and/or a success/failure story to share? Submit a guest post. Read the guidelines and if I like it, I usually publish it within a few days.
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