Hiya writer friends,
If you meet me one day, you’ll notice two things about me immediately:
(1) I’m female
(2) I’m Indian
So, a large part of why I’m such a huge fan of negotiating rates and getting a great deal is because I’m a woman and boy, do we love a good deal. Also, because I’m Indian and boy, do we love a good deal.
It’s hard-wired into my genes. I can’t help it.
I want you to get comfortable with The Ask because not only is it going to put more money in your pocket today, it’s going to put more money in your pocket every single time you get another assignment from an editor or client. And if you make a habit of asking for more (as I have done), you’ll find that it’ll make a difference in your career overall. So learn to ask.
There is a right way and a wrong way to negotiate, however, and you should be aware of those ways going in.
Here are some of the best negotiation strategies I know.
Know that it’s a relationship of equals
You know, I get it. When you’re a new-ish writer and feel like the people you’re pitching are far more experienced than you and know a lot more about writing/editing/publishing than you do, it’s easy to fall into the employer-employee relationship trap.
They’re paying you to do some work for their publication so that makes them your boss, right?
Well, no.
Even with editors, especially at prestigious publications, it helps to think of them as clients. Sure, they may have a ton to teach you, but your business is your responsibility. You’re working as an independent contractor, which means you don’t get the benefit of hand-holding, making mistakes, health insurance, or the personal feedback that employees get, and therefore, you need to be paid at a certain level to make it worthwhile.
Negotiate on more than just price
Perhaps your potential client has a fixed budget and no matter how hard you try, they simply can’t budge on price.
Maybe they could budge on something else?
Perhaps they could give you a bio at the end of the article with a link to your website? Maybe they’ll agree to post a testimonial on LinkedIn if they’re happy with your work? How about they agree to assign four stories at a lower rate than one story at a higher one, which saves you marketing time?
When an editor or client can’t move on the budget, think of other ways you could benefit from your relationship and offer those as ways to make it worth your time.
Know your base line
It’s really important before you go into any sort of negotiation to know what your minimum is and what you simply can’t go below. It’s a waste of everyone’s time to be discussing, say, a $300 fee for a 1,000-word article if you know that you’re not accepting anything below 50 cents a word.
Watch out for common phrases that tell you a client is a no-go before you’ve even started a conversation. For me, when someone says they have “American freelance rates” and “Indian rates” I know that’s the end of the conversation, no matter what they say from there on out.
I know how these relationships go. It’s not worth my time to prove myself to people who have decided that all American freelancers uniformly deserve to be paid more than all Indian freelancers. This is offensive to me on so many levels and I point blank refuse to work with people or organizations with that worldview. Strictly in the business sense, I know that no amount of negotiating is going to help me go from that “Indian rate” to the “American rate” without major plastic surgery, so I don’t even bother.
Offer to add extras instead of lowering the price
If you quote a number and your potential client comes back with a lower offer, I recommend adding benefits instead of reducing the price. For instance, you could suggest that for the $500 she’s paying, the client would not only get the blog post she’s asked for, but that you’ll also add some copy for social media.
If you write for traditional media, you could offer to help coordinate and arrange photography for your story. Add sidebars, additional research, or social media strategies and you’ve suddenly added more value for the same price. Offer this first instead of simply reducing the fee.
Quote higher than you’re willing to accept
When you’re asked to quote a price, don’t offer your base rate. It’s typically a good idea to quote 10-20 percent more than what you really want so you have the option of accepting less than your asking price and still earning your base rate. That said, whenever possible, let the other person come to you with a number.
Have a few fallback phrases to use
For all my bravado, I’m actually really crap at negotiating in person. So, whenever I can, I make it easier for myself by either talking about money on the phone or, even better, email.
Since there’s no point reinventing the wheel every time, figure out what phrases work best for you in terms of your personality and the response you get—and get excellent at using those. “Could we go higher?” is popular among writers I know. “I typically charge $1 a word, but I’m really interested in this project and would be happy to make an exception. Could you do $0.75 a word?” is something I’ve used with a client who was offering 50 cents a word.
Act busy
Hopefully, you’re already busy, but if you’re not, don’t be all, “I’ll have this to you by tomorrow,” which is what I used to do. I’d be prioritizing them and they’d think I was a sucker desperate for work.
These days I schedule my work weeks in advance because I have a steady income with regular clients. I will only take rush work if it pays exceptionally well.
You know what this does?
It makes people value me more because they see me as an in-demand writer. It plays into the psychology of making me more desirable in the minds of clients, which means they’re less likely to offer me crappy rates.
And if they do?
Well, I actually am busy, remember? So it’s easy enough for me to turn them down.
Also, I feel like I should mention this again: Don’t act desperate.
Many of us feel as though we have to decide right away, give a yes or no answer that very second, but it doesn’t have to be like that.
I will sometimes ask for more time to think about the assignment, and this isn’t just a ploy. I mean, I need to look at my schedule and see what work I can fitt in, when, and crucially, at what rate. If I have a ton of lower-paying assignments cramming up my month and I’m already spread thin, then I simply can’t accept another one. But I might move them around to make space for something that might pay half a month’s bills.
I tell my clients the truth, which is that I’ll run my numbers and get back to them, and this gives me time to seriously consider how that assignment fits into my workload and my targets.
Think win-win
My rule for negotiations is that no one should walk away feeling as though they’ve lost. In fact, the sign of a good deal is when everyone walks away from the table feeling happy and excited to get started.
See, the thing is, for all the talk of money and hourly rates, this isn’t just a job you’re doing. You’re here to write about things you’re passionate about and build relationships with people you respect. You can’t build relationships solely on numbers and certainly not if either your editor or you feel you’ve been taken for a ride. We all have egos and ways in which we enjoy doing business. An editor who feels they’ve been outsmarted by a freelancer is unlikely to jump at the chance to hire them again. So, sure, negotiate as hard as you can, but understand that the goal here is to make everyone happy and positive about the negotiation.
So there you have it—easy ways to get more money for your next assignment. Was this helpful?
Let me know how these tips work out for you, and happy negotiating!
Cheers,
Natasha