Writers tend to be underpaid. As if that wasn’t an obvious understatement, you could be even worse off as a freelance blogger.

For some reason, many businesses seem to operate under the mindset that bloggers are like enslaved robots who can pump out a crap-ton of writing for their robot-like readers [*cough*search engines*cough*] and who will accept a measly sum of cash in return for our robotic efforts.

(I may or may not have watched I, Robot last night.)

But being underpaid is not something you can afford as a freelance blogger, especially when blogging is so much more than just those short (or long) posts you type out.

You know that you have to blog the right way to attract readers, leads, and clients. And the “right way” involves more elements than your potential clients might realize, or more than even you might realize.

For example, do you charge extra if you need to find images? What about promoting your posts? These blog elements are things you can’t overlook if you want to be taken seriously as a freelancer and get paid accordingly. 

A lot of freelancers agonize over raising their prices. I know I did.

With no boss telling you what to do or how much you should get, it’s easy to feel anxious and confused when it comes to increasing your rates. When should you do it? How do you tell your clients? More important, how much should your new rates be?

I used to spend weeks—no, months—mulling over these things and convincing myself I deserved it. Then when I arrived at the point where I had to tell my clients how much my rates were, I still sometimes ended up backtracking on my prices.

It went on like this the first few times I had to communicate my prices, until I realized one thing: Writing my new rate sheet or telling clients how much my services cost is the easy part of the whole process.

The real work involved in increasing your prices happens BEFORE you actually raise them. 

Reality check: There will always be someone offering cheaper rates than you.

There’s no doubt about it. You might be the cheapest writer on the forum or websites that you frequent, but there’s guaranteed to be someone out there doing what you do for a lower price.

While price is often number one on the list of hiring criteria that clients take into account, it’s also the one thing that you should leave well alone.

Take my advice: set your prices and stick to them. Only change them if absolutely necessary — even then, they should only be going up, not down.