Tag Archives: freelance pay

advice, editorial

The Future of Freelancing: 2009 Beckons

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freelance-writing-advice-3In our current economy, more and more people are being driven out of the traditional workplace and into contract positions, freelance gigs and other arrangements formerly the exclusive territory of the full-time freelancer.

What’s going to happen to freelance writers in 2009? From where I sit, it will be a combination of  “more of the same” and a major shift to the Internet from the newsstand.

I remember when the dot com bubble burst back in the late 90s, and many net workers were out of a job after being paid staggering sums by overvalued .com companies. The dot commers killed themselves inthe late 90s because companies that had nothing to sell were getting mad startup money, tricking out their offices with pool tables and video games, and basically driving themselves into the ground.

Now we see the inverse happening damn near exactly ten years later–solid companies with much to offer are being pulverized while companies selling dollar electronic widgets (see the iPhone App store for a great example) are thriving. What does any of this mean for US?

Two big things spring to mind. If your website still looks like a web 1.0 dinosaur, you’ve got trouble coming. What is the sound of no mouse clicking? That zen riddle I just made up is something you’ll be pondering next year unless you get into web 2.0-land. Things are shifting to the net so completely that some people are actually discussing the “death of bookstores”.

The second thing–which is already happening to my fellow freelancer pals in some quarters–is that there will be a larger tidal wave of ridiculous freelance clients out there who actually expect you to take the penny-per-word rates they offer. Folks—one cent per word is what NOOB FICTION WRITERS make. Not freelancers who deal in non-fiction, e-commerce, SEO writing or other skilled areas.

There are plenty of people who will settle for these rates. I strongly urge you to re-evaluate your rates NOW and tell clients who want you to accept their peanuts for your hard work a polite version of the following:

“I understand your need to keep your overhead low and I am happy to work with you on a volume discout basis, but I also want to explain someting to you: with today’s SEO environment, you GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. You will find a writer willing to write for a penny per word, I assure you. I can also assure you that NOBODY WILL TAKE THAT WRITING SERIOUSLY. You may get the right attention from Google, but when HUMANS read that crap, they will click away from your page.  Today’s market is not just about Google placement–it’s about CONVERSION. What good does 10,000 unique visits do you if you have 0% conversion from those visits?”

I could rage on about this, but why bother? Everything you need to know (in this context) is in those last two sentences.

advice, editorial, gear, lifestyle

Strategic Tax Write-Offs

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First things first: this is NOT tax advice. I am simply telling you what I do to protect myself. Use this info at your own risk and don’t say I didn’t warn you to get the advice of a tax expert before committing to a financial strategy like this. I take no responsibility for…anything every anwhere. Nyah nyah.

Onward.

One of the best things in the world any freelancer can do for themselves is to–this Monday–gather up all the year’s receipts and tally them up. Compare your deductions to how much you think you’re going to owe on your 2008 tax form.  If you don’t know how to do that, consider how much money you made this year, calculate approximately 22% to 28% of that sum as your taxable income. If you made 30K this year, chances are you’ll be closer to 22%. If you made more than 50K chances are you’re edging closer to 28%. (These are guesstimate figures, folks. Do your homework.)

Once you have a number, take a good look at your office equipment, your desk, your phone, and anything else that might need to be repaired, replaced, upgraded or purchased as a legitimate enhancement to your business. Do you have a resume website? Are you conducting business on your home phone instead of a dedicated line? Does your computer have a date stamped on it older than 2005?

If you are in dire need of some additional deductions, consider making some FY2008 last-minute purchases that legitimately apply to your freelancing business. You have two choices–you can pay the money you’d spend (and legally deduct) to the government, or you can take any deduction you’re entitled to by law and improve the state of your freelancing business in preparation for 2009. Continue reading Strategic Tax Write-Offs →

advice

Freelancer-to-Freelancer Marketing

See all those empty office chairs? Offices like these could get even more empty if freelancers take my new bright idea and run with it. Let me state for the record that I should NOT be telling you this right now, I SHOULD be developing it MYSELF and making a cottage industry out of it. But I’m obviously not as smart as I should be, since I’m going to spill it now… Continue reading Freelancer-to-Freelancer Marketing →

advice

The Art of Freelance Fee Negotiations

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In my mind, one of the worst aspects of landing a freelance project is the point where it’s time to talk money, and the client says “make me an offer”. For those of us who have experienced this over and over, it’s clear that this is–in some cases–a shameless attempt to get you to bid yourself down out of fear of pricing yourself out of the gig. In other cases the client simply doesn’t know what your time is worth and looks to you to set your own value. In one or two situations I’ve had clients who had gotten bids from others and wanted to see where I fell in the price wars. Any way you look at it, these are tricky waters to navigate.

Here are some of my strategies for dealing with negotiations over my fee:

Continue reading The Art of Freelance Fee Negotiations →