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How To Charge What You’re Worth

How To Charge What You’re Worth

You love writing. You’re inspired, you have the skills and you live for those moments when you can settle down with a cup of tea, in the peace and quiet, alone with your thoughts and just write.

And if this was all that was involved and you got paid handsomely for it, freelance writing would make you a fortune.

But you and I both know there is much more to making it as a paid writer than just the craft.

There’s the whole money thing.

Yep, that’s right. At some point, somewhere, you have to sell your services to a client who will reward you with the green stuff. And herein lies the problem.

The vast majority of writers I’ve met (and there have been a lot of them) are paralysed when it comes to:

  1. Charging for their services
  2. Charging what they’re worth, and
  3. Putting themselves out there

If this sounds familiar, you’re going to want to keep reading because there IS something you can do about it. 

What’s more, you’re not alone, and it’s really not your fault.

Break Into the New Land of Opportunity

How To Charge What You’re Worth

At school, it’s just assumed that if you’re a good student you can go out and get a job. But the world is rapidly changing, and never before has there been so much opportunity to follow your bliss.

You don’t have to put your little ones in daycare and go to a 9-to-5 job.  Making money from your home computer is the zeitgeist of the 21st century. No more do young people have to put on a suit to walk the air-conditioned corridors of inner city buildings. No more do people have to sacrifice their dream in order to make ends meet. This is the age of digital opportunity and whatever you want, you can have…

… if you have the inner confidence to step out and do it.

But in school, you’re not taught how to find clients. You’re not taught how to have pricing conversations. You’re not shown how to demonstrate your monetary value and have people lined up wanting to give you their bank details.

So of course, when you start to write for money, there is going to be some transition, and things you’ll have to learn.

It Doesn’t Start With Your Rates

Knowing what to say and how to charge, and then how to raise your rates is all a matter of information. This is something that I could tell you how to do, and it probably wouldn’t take that long.

What I’ve found, though, is there’s a more fundamental problem that needs tackling. That deeper issue is the matter of confidence. Not the confidence it takes to look someone in the eye and give a good firm handshake. I’m talking about the inner confidence that comes with absolutely knowing you’re providing a kick-ass service and can deliver and delight your customer — so of course you can charge top dollar.

Now, what probably normally goes on in your head is that on the surface you know you’re talented and your work is outstanding. You probably also pride yourself on being a little bit perfectionist. I’m right, aren’t I? 😉

But underneath this logic, there is a little child who actually isn’t sure. Deep down there is that haunting and half-forgotten doubt that maybe those childhood bullies were right about some hurtful thing they said, or maybe your parents did think there was something wrong with you, or maybe you were just a screw-up, despite achieving on the surface.

This deeply buried self-image is what is driving your life to this day.

Collapse This Negative Self-Image by Laying in a New One

The way to effortlessly being able to ask for the business, and talk about your rates with confidence, isn’t through tactics, or “doing sales”. It’s actually through dealing with these inner demons that make you think that you’re something less than amazing.

The first step to doing this is to recognise that there is a negative, illusionary self-image underneath all the mind-chatter, and then actively build up your inner-confidence to overwhelm it. What we want to do is give your mind so much evidence that you’re worthy of what you’d like to charge, that it can’t help but allow that to become your dominant self-image.

What you will experience when this happens is a sudden internal shifting, like a weight lifting, and all of a sudden your thinking will turn from battling with “I can’ts” to seeing the possibilities in “I can.” It’s a pretty subtle but distinct feeling.

So how do you do this?

Well, I’ve been using the exercise of a “Because I’m Worth It Map” for several years now, and I must say the results people have generated from it have been incredible. One lady went from being the dogsbody in a business to being a director of the company, with the new confidence and respect she found for herself after doing this exercise. Just imagine what’s possible for your writing business…

How to Create a “Because I’m Worth It Map”

  1. Grab a sheet of paper, and a pen.
  2. Decide on your desired outcome or goal. You may choose “to raise my rates to $XXX per hour”, “to have three new clients who respect me” or “to support my family through my writing efforts.”
  3. Write your outcome in the centre of the page, and draw a circle round it.
  4. Next you’re going to create reasons as to why you deserve this outcome shooting off in other circles which can be attached to the central circle, or to each other – as your brain sees fit. You want to find about 200 reasons.

Why 200?

Because somewhere around 150-170 something will shift, and it’s like your negative self-image just gives up, and allow the positive one to prevail. You will feel this shift, and from there, everything will change. Keep going to the full 200, because you want to make sure you lay in those neural pathways of success-thinking.

Get as detailed as you can — you’re looking for as many reasons as possible to layer the notion into your mind that you actually do deserve to have whatever it is you chose to map.

This is an example what it should look like, but you’ll build on this and make it massive!

Self Esteem Map

Remember you’re looking for anything that will increase your feeling of worthiness – that’s why it’s called a “Because I’m Worth it Map.”

Go ahead now, grab a pen and paper and make a start. Do it in your journal if you have one, and if it’s handy. If not, do it on a scrap of paper, and throw it away, and do another one later. It’s all good practice. You’re rewiring your neurology in a new way – the more you can do it, the more powerful the result. You can always make a start today and then add to your map later on.

Over to you… Pen and Paper

Ok, so now it’s time to put pen to paper and start making this map. Believe me, if you put the effort in, you’ll be thrilled by the results you create.

Imagine being able to raise your rates and still have a full complement of clients. That’s your reality if you put the work in.

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Comments

  1. Love this, Laura! Thanks so much, I’m going to give this a whirl. I got over a big pricing hurdle a few years ago but now it’s time to revisit what I charge for everything I do.

    • PS – 2 things are holding me back right now – first is sufficient marketing visibility for my local business and second is being in a building/launch stage of my online endeavors.

    • Awesome that you’re looking at stepping up your rates Leanne. Great decision!
      Re the things holding you back there are some practical things you can do depending on your personality (which we cover in the Get Unstuck course… http://www.getunstuck.biz/Sophie)…

      But then there is a theme in your hanging back. It seems you’re stuck putting yourself out there, and allowing yourself to shine. This is something worth looking at using the exercise above and the topic, “I allow myself to shine/ step out”. Hope this helps!

      warmest
      Laura 🙂

  2. HI Laura! There are two things holding me back right now:

    1) Lack of confidence (and the holiday distractions have NOT helped)
    2) Procrastination: I started a mind map weeks ago and am far from 200. I go to it and start coloring and mindlessly doodling instead of brainstorming. Then, when I’m away from it…wham, I think of 2 or 3, only to forget them when I sit back down…it’s time to install Evernote in my phone and my Nook!

    Anyway, thank you for a swift kick in the fanny…I will attain my 200. Every single thing you and Sophie suggest works every time. Thank you for being someone I genuinely trust and admire. : )

    P.S. I love peanut butter! ; )

    • Hey fellow Peanut Butter Feind! 😉 lol

      Thanks for your kind words Lynn. (blush)

      Yep, procrastination and distractions are our mind’s way of stopping us from making the progress we really want. Maybe have a conversation with yourself and work out what is the worst that can happen if you just get it done?

      warmest,
      Laura 🙂

  3. Wow, what a great post! There is a saying theory in self-help circles that if something feels uncomfortable it’s because it’s actually doing what it’s supposed to do, i.e. working. The thought of this makes me a little uncomfortable so I think this will be a really good thing for me to do.

    • Yeah, I heard that about skiing… Someone once told me that if you feel comfortable as a novice, you’re doing it wrong! lol

      Anyway awesome that you’re on to this Susan. Let us know how you go?

      warm wishes
      Laura 🙂

  4. Great article! Wonderful tool to get somewhere, the brainstorm session. Although I am stuck because I doubt myself all the time, like you said: past bullies, present colleagues and future bears on the road…they all haunt me. Please tell me how to make them stop harassing me , that would be amazing. Your course would definitely help me to find and charge customers, but also on so many other levels. _

    • Hey Georgina – yes, the course is a great way to combat these problems. I’m sure you’ll particularly resonate with Module 4, because that’s where we release the stuff around the past traumas and dramas, leaving you free to rock your business!

      Great to connect with you here…
      warmest
      Laura 🙂

  5. Thanks, Laura, for the juicy, yet simple tips. Mindmapping rocks! 200 huh? Okay, A.D.D. let’s focus here.

    Here’s what’s held me back:
    1) Dodging the wrenches the saboteur in my head throws at my self confidence.
    2) Shiny objects syndrome.

    Here’s to pushing forward with our writing businesses in 2014:-)

    • 200 indeed! lol It’s not so bad once you get going Marianne. 😉

      Ah – shiny objects! We have a tool in the Get Unstuck Programme PERFECT for that… a way of evaluating a project in terms of it’s return way before you start investing time and money in it. You’ll love it.

      Re the saboteur wrenches – Module 4 will have you beating the sabateur in no time.

      Yes, bring on 2014! Here’s to your success!

      warmest
      Laura 🙂

  6. Great post. I would say the things that are holding me back is a fear of rejection, confusion about how to find clients, and a lack of energy at the end of the day to prospect. I am working on the finding clients angle by signing up for Sophie’s Client Hunting Masterclass, and am working on the energy issue by changing my diet and exercising more.

    • Hey Chris – great to hear that you’re onto this.

      You’ve got the “how-to” and the physical sorted. Great job 🙂

      Now for the mental… the inner game work. You’ll love Module 4 in the Get Unstuck course because we take the mind-trash, the emotional stuff that makes us lack confidence, and bin it… forever!

      Looking forward to hearing how you get on…

      warmest
      Laura 🙂

  7. What a great yet scary task! I’m held back fromearning more by sticking with the same markets in stead of branching out, and by the ubiquitous lack of self-confidence.

    • Hazel – great to hear from you.

      This exercise is perfect for increasing your confidence. Just start it, and keep pushing forward. Spending an hour on this is far more powerful than doing other “stuff”… and you’ll make more progress having done it, to make up for the time…

      Let us know how you get on?

      warmest
      Laura 🙂

  8. 200 reasons why I’m worth it. Wow, that’s mind-blowing, and I haven’t even started yet! I don’t think I have a piece of paper big enough to fit them all. Is it OK to type them in a list?

    Two things that are holding me back are procrastination and lack of self-discipline. Two sides of the same coin, really.

    • Ah, but why the procrasination Bethanny? Maybe it’s not just a case of trying to push yourself harder…

      Yep 200. Yep type them if you want. The mind map helps because that’s how your brain works – connections and associations, but the most important thing to do is get going.

      Start with 10. Then add to it.

      And don’t worry about getting them all on one piece of paper. I use the back of a notebook and put as many on the page as possible… and then just turn the page and keep going.

      Promise me you’ll just start, Bethanny? 😉

      warmest
      Laura

  9. This was an awesome post and I really need to do this. I need to up my earnings next year. I didn’t hustle as much as I should have this year. What held me back was the idea that I wasn’t qualified enough to get paid more and I wasn’t able to handle the work that came with big dollar signs. It’s crazy because I freelanced on the side for 3 years before going fulltime. I need to get over myself! Lol

    • lol – I hear you Margaret!

      The fab thing is you have the evidence there ready to put into the map. You’ve already done what you want to do, so with a bit of chuztpah you’ll have it down.

      Looking forward to hearing your success story!

      warmest
      Laura 🙂

  10. Hi Laura,

    Great post, I’m definitely going to try this, even though 200 seems like an awful lot of positives…. I’ll go for it anyway!

    The biggest thing holding me back right now is self confidence. I’m just starting out in my freelance career and I still feel like I have so much to learn. Here’s to making 2014 a good one! 🙂

    • Hey Kimi –

      Every journey begins with a first step.
      Don’t fret about the 200. Just start 😉

      You’re so right about the self-confidence thing… it makes us feel we’re not good enough, experienced enough, like we need to keep learning, and doing courses, and on and on. You can totally crack this cycle though. I believe in you!

      L 🙂

  11. It always comes back to confidence. And I used to feel really guilty working after my day job because I fear I’ll neglect my husband. It’s been a long road trying to balance everything, and I now realize it’s ok to market yourself without being scammy/cheesy, which was another thing that held me back quite a bit in the first place.

    I will have to try that exercise. It sounds like it’ll work!

  12. The main thing that holds me back is confidence, which seems to be a common theme, but I’m working on it…

    I’m not entering the competition as I took Laura’s course a little while ago. The course was great and I’m still using the resources and working on the exercises. Need to try mind mapping again, thanks for the reminder. 🙂

  13. W0w= fabulous! I love the idea that writing 200 reasons will make the difference because somewhere around 150 -170 there is a shift. I will definitely do this. I’ve been very stuck for a long time- this course sounds like exactly what I need! Thanks for the opportunity!

  14. Hi Laura,

    Thanks a lot for the “Because I’m Worth It Map”.

    What a great way to start the new year!

    What’s holding me back and keeping me stuck is PDF:
    Perfectionism
    Disorganization
    Fear of Failure.

    I plan to get unstuck in 2014, with a little help from my friends…

    Happy New Year to you and Sophie.

  15. “Maybe those childhood bullies were right about some hurtful thing they said, or maybe your parents did think there was something wrong with you, or maybe you were just a screw-up, despite achieving on the surface.” – All three of them, I guess. And my siblings accuse me of haveing been costing my mum a fortune in “maintenance costs” over all those years I had my heads in the clouds and little money in the bank. Will I ever be able to pay her back?

  16. Great post!
    What’s holding me back:
    Fear of not being successful
    Lack of patience…
    Happy New Year!

  17. Hi Laura, this is really an insightful post and so many people are culprits without even knowing it.
    As for me what has been keeping it from making it big is lack of focus and confidence, I keep having this feeling that I’m not ready and need to wait a bit more and just keep practicing on my writing. I have actually written a lot now but nothing much to my name. I know this has to change. Thanks for the inspiration.

  18. Hi Laura, this is really an insightful post and so many people are culprits without even knowing it.
    As for me what has been keeping me from making it big is lack of focus and confidence, I keep having this feeling that I’m not ready and need to wait a bit more and just keep practicing on my writing. I have actually written a lot now but nothing much to my name. I know this has to change. Thanks for the inspiration.

  19. Wow! This post really hit a nerve. It’s so true — none of my school years could have prepared me for this type of career. There were no courses on negotiations or finding clients. I know most freelancers don’t get this type of education either, but at least they are ballsy!

    Unfortunately, I’m an overthinking Virgo, and I love knowing what I’m getting myself into. I’m the definition of a creature of habit. Fear of the unknown is keeping me stuck — it’s paralyzed my career because I just don’t want to make any mistakes. I’m taking baby steps, but I feel like I can do more. I am tired of sitting on the sidelines of my career. I’ll do my best to find 200 reasons, Laura. Thanks for the lovely post — feeling much less alone now 🙂

  20. I could make all kinds of excuses, but they would just be excuses, the thing that is holding me back is me. I haven’t being working as hard as I could have, but I am going to do better in the new year.

  21. This is a wonderful post. There are two main things holding me back — fear of failing (finding new clients) and worried people won’t like me or think I am not worth more money (this is particularly hard with my largest client… I have been at the same rate for six years but worry if I ask for more they won’t like me — it doesn’t help my main contact there is a good friend)
    I need to start coming up with the 200 ~ wish me luck.

  22. Hmm, what’s holding me back? At first it was moving 3 times and all that involved (one of those was entirely across country), then it was the holidays, then it was my husband’s spine/muscle injury.

    But now, if I’m looking at ME, my internal barriers, it’s all a lack of belief that I have anything to offer clients. I know I can write blog posts for them no problem, but I have no stats or social proof to back up my claim that my blogging “works.”

    • Are your potential clients *telling* you they won’t hire you until you can provide proof that your blogging works? Or are you focusing on that because it’s your hang-up, while your potential clients are happy to accept that blogging works in general and you know how to do it because you’re the blogger?

      My clients often ask about getting comments and social shares, but nobody’s ever asked me to prove that my blogging will increase sales revenue – I don’t typically have access to that kind of data on my clients’ sales funnels, and when clients do share that info with me, I consider it confidential.

  23. I think the biggest thing holding me back at the moment is time—I’m a student, and that leaves me without a lot of extra time to commit to blogging. But I know that I’m a really great writer, and everyone who I’ve worked with has loved my work. Finding and pitching clients, however, is very difficult for me, and that makes me hesitant to spend what little extra time I have on it. I need to find ways to be more efficient at client discovery and pitching this year, and I think if I can do that, I’ll see a lot of success!

  24. What’s holding me back right now is that I’m scared – I’m so scared of rejection! I told one of my friends what I was going to charge and she laughed. What if my potential clients laugh too?

  25. What’s holding me back? I need training on how to do it. There are experienced People out there and your one. I would love to have your course.

  27. Summoning the confidence to explain why I’m worth what I charge has been the scariest thing for me since I decided to start freelancing, and you really hit the nail on the head with your “deeply buried self-image” idea. This was a very worthwhile read for me–thanks for writing!

      • Hi Laura,

        I totally understand how these negative demons hang on my shoulders and keep whispering that I would lose if I ask for what I deserve.

        This is something that I had been trying to do but couldn’t come across the how-to part. Finally I got it :).

        I hope I grab great clients through it.

        Thanks.
        Sabita

    • I’m back! So…I just did the exercise. I haven’t reached 200 reasons yet. I think I have 80 so far. But damn, those 80 reasons have already created a shift in me! I realized that I truly provide value to my clients and that I am worth than my current rates.

      This is exactly the shift that I have been praying for. Based on my experience, when you take care of the internal things, the external things will be easier to manifest. So, I’m glad I took the time to do this exercise.

      I will continue keep on writing until I reach 200 reasons. The next step is to take concrete actions that will help me reach my goal for the next three months. Thanks, Laura and Sophie!

      Btw, if you’re going to do this exercise, you’ll need a paper as big as your carpet. 😀

        • Thanks for replying, Laura! 🙂 Today, I added another ten. Hope to reach 200 soon. Will keep you posted. Is it okay that some of the reasons are almost similar to the ones I already wrote?

          Once I’m done with the 200, I’m planning to write a post about my experience. Thank you so much for sharing this technique!

          • Hi Irene, yes it doesn’t matter if they’re closely related. If you can stretch yourself to reach for newer reasons that would be better, but at this stage it is great to keep the momentum going. Great stuff – and good luck with the post! L 🙂