I may be going out on a limb here with some of my fellow (or fella?) freelancers, as I’m wondering just how many people are actively reviewing their rate structure as the year comes to a close. I’ve been following some of the blog conversations lately that talk about rates, labor organizing, and the like and understand the frustration some people are going through as they look ahead.

Business Dives, I Sell A Bunch Of Sites

Earlier this year I experienced a significant drop off in my business which played a part in me selling off some of my websites. The income derived from these sales covered me for several months, but it was only within the past three months that I noticed an up-tick in my writing business. Today, I’m working for three very good clients on a long term basis while taking the occasional one-offs (article, press release, etc.) as time permits. I’ve also launched several new blogs which will be a part of my long term business strategy.

Setting Your Freelance Writing Rates

Now back to setting rates: Part of my drop off this year was attributed to me raising my rates. I let some of my older customers go and I began to take on some new clients under my new rate structure. The gap between dropping the old and bringing on the new was much wider than what I had expected, but I’m finally where I want to be. You may ask why didn’t I simply raise my rates with current clients, which is a good point, but I didn’t do that for two reasons:

  1. My rates for these clients would have doubled.
  2. Long term, I wasn’t interested in writing for them. No sense hanging on to something that is of no interest to you.

I based some of my rate changes on what I found online, particularly what Lynn Wasnak and Paul Lima shared. Links to their sites can be found in this article and I also discussed freelance writing rates here this past September.

Are Your Raising Your Rates For 2008?

So, my question to you is this: will you be raising your freelance writing rates for 2008? At least one inquiring mind wants to know!