Defending Your Prices

I used to avoid any potential job where the client stated prices up front that were too low. I would just not apply to the job, or I’d let the project go without any objection. There was plenty of work out there that paid well, and I didn’t want to waste my time.

It occurred to me at one point, though, that negotiation wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—and some of these lower prices represent what the client ideally wants to pay, not what he or she is ultimately willing to pay. I started defending my prices in situations like this—more as an experiment than anything else. Sometimes, it didn’t work—the budget was truly inflexible. Other times, however, it actually did work—and I got some projects I never would have landed if I hadn’t bothered. Here are a few pointers for defending your prices.

Talk about what the money buys you. One of the things I emphasize—particularly when talking to the five-dollar-an-article crowd—is that there are certain things you can’t get when you’re paying that little for writing. You don’t get research, for one thing. What you’re usually getting is work recycled (or sometimes directly cut-and-pasted) from other articles already on the web. You don’t get someone assessing your market and the type of information your audience is hungry for. You don’t get research into topics that aren’t already well-covered. You definitely don’t get interviews. Breaking down exactly what work and expertise the client gets—and explaining why they won’t get that with the low-budget option—can be enormously eye-opening.

Talk in terms of money saved, not money spent. If someone’s trying to find a student or newbie to do their ten-page brochure for $50, it’s not necessarily money wasted—there are a lot of talented newbies and students out there. But the likelihood is higher than if you pick someone with a track record of experience in this area. And if you’re putting money behind the campaign—mailing costs, printing costs, graphic design, etc.—then the message is definitely something you don’t want to skimp on.

Talk about results. I like to talk about successful past campaigns. I talk about clients who’ve dramatically decreased time spent in sales, boosted revenue, or raised their click-through rates or web traffic as a direct result of my work. It helps to occasionally check in with clients to get the results of finished projects—and a few testimonials with specific figures definitely don’t hurt.

This won’t work all the time. But it does work enough that it’s worthwhile to do. How do you defend your prices?

Do You Do Craigslist?

Just saw a post over at Avid Writer on Craigslist. I've had good and bad experiences on Craigslist. I've posted ads there--particularly for resume writing--and I've also applied to Craigslist job ads. But I spend a lot less time over there these days than I used to. Craigslist is crawling with ads promising exposure in place of pay, telling you "this would be a great job for a student or work-at-home mom" (why? Because students and work-at-home moms don't need money?), and generally trying to get more for less. But it can work in your favor too--and I've actually landed a few good clients this way. Here are some thoughts on using it.

Don't expect a lot of money. Craigslist tends to attract people looking for cheap solutions. I've found that if I'm advertising resume writing services, for example, a lot of the time I'll get passed over for someone who'll do a resume for $50 or something like that. Occasionally, you can find better--but it's not common.

Expect a lot of competition. Speaking of the competition. Craigslist is free, and it attracts a lot of people. This can be bad--but bear in mind that a lot of higher-profile professionals don't use Craigslist. However, a lot of people who use Craigslist to find work are beginners in copywriting (I used to hang out there more when I was first getting started than now, because I just didn't really know where else to go)...so if you can present yourself as a real professional when responding to a Craigslist ad, you'll stand out. That means following the response instructions exactly as well as having a strong cover letter and some great samples to show.

Be prepared to defend your pricing. A lot of Craigslist buyers are really expecting cheap work. That doesn't mean you can't respond to them--but be prepared to defend your pricing when you quote. I sometimes respond to low-budget ads with a letter that discusses my pricing, why I charge what I do, and why it's better for the client--just to see if I can win them over. I actually have landed the occasional client this way.

Generally, I don't make Craigslist a big part of my marketing strategy. Occasionally I'll wander over there, but it's pretty rare. Still, every so often I'll get a good client. I landed a huge project this summer that's just ending now--through Craigslist. And I have picked up the odd resume writing job through there, which has definitely helped boost my earnings. It can be worth it--but it helps to know what to expect.

Things I Could Do Better

I'm a weird beast--I actually love New Years Resolutions. I loved them even in the days when I used to forget all about them within the first two months of a new year. I loved making lists--I'm a bit of a list junkie. In 2011, one thing I did differently with my life was actually stick to my resolutions--and I made discernible progress in some things. I really liked that. I think I'll try to make it a habit.

So I have a lot of resolutions for my creative stuff--novels, acting, and so on. But I also have a few for my business. Some of these are tentative--if I get to them or can afford them, great; if not, maybe next year. Some are a bit more important.

Get better about client appreciation. I'm sorry to say it, but this isn't my strong point. I am not much for Christmas cards. Or any types of cards. Or anything that makes me go to the post office. But I have several regular clients, and I realize that client appreciation is a good thing. I deeply appreciate these clients and love working with them. I just think I should be better about telling them that every so often.

I think maybe this year I'll get in the habit of sending a "thank you" postcard to one client per month. That can't be too hard, right?

Get a nifty blog redesign. This has been a goal of mine for years. I would love to get CatalystBlogger off blogger and onto its own URL, with some really professional graphics. Maybe even graphics that match my copywriting website. So this year I plan to do some research and talk to some people and get some quotes. We'll see where it leads.

Get a little better about marketing. This has been something I've struggled with every year. I only market when I need to. And usually that's fine. But this year I kinda want to move to a better neighborhood in New York, and doing that means making more money...and making more money will probably entail putting more effort into the "business" side of business. I know marketing doesn't have to be that time-consuming. So my goal is to read some marketing e-books--Lori Widmer has one I've got my eye on--and put together an easy strategy I can do regularly. The key is not to be too ambitious--I need things I can fit quickly into a regular routine.

Meet more freelancers in person. The thing about freelancing is it can be isolating. I don't have coworkers. Really, while I had the blog running consistently, this was my coworking community--and where I came to talk about the biz and commiserate with people who really got it. But in New York, there are so many freelancers to get to know--and I'd love to make some in-person freelancing friends. Not necessarily to generate more work--although that couldn't hurt. Just to get myself out there and meet new people.

So what are your goals for this year?

On Coming Back From the Dead

So, if you've been a regular reader of this blog in the past, you've probably noticed that I kinda skipped the whole year of 2011.

It's something I could be kicking myself for now. After all, isn't this the cardinal sin of blogging? If just not posting regularly is bad, think of how bad it is to evaporate for 12 months or more...no word of explanation, no goodbyes, no nothing. And before I disappeared, this blog was doing pretty well. It was popular, it had garnered some industry attention, and it had a readership. And then I quit. Which is actually pretty out of character for me. I'm one of those annoying, type-A overachiever people. I work hard. I study hard. I cut my hair so I wouldn't have to let it down.

I don't know what it was that made me want to disappear. Some of it was that I was busy. Extremely busy. But really, if you want to do something, you find the time. I think there were other factors, though. I was looking into using Twitter to expand my business. I was working on my novel, and my super-talented literary marketing friend kept telling me I needed to get myself out there and start a personal / noveling blog. My acting teacher said I needed my own YouTube channel, I was starting to think about a "strategy" for LinkedIn...and then all of a sudden it just got to be too much. Too much exposure. Too much out there. I started to feel like I wanted to be a hermit for a while.

I guess what I started to feel was that the online world was getting too demanding. Not my readership here, but just the general constant demand to expose more, to share more, to be "social" in a way that sometimes felt more self-promotional than social to me. I just had this emotional reaction to that. And unfortunately, CatalystBlogger was one of the casualties of that--for a while.

I also felt like I'd run out of things to say. I think a lot of bloggers go through this, and I'd gone through it in the past--but never to this extent. I felt like I'd said what I needed to. I was done. I just couldn't think of anything else insightful to write about. This happened for a week...then a month...then two months. And after a few months of this, I started wanting to go back...but once you stop for a while, it's hard to get started again. You start to feel guilty about all that time, and you start avoiding thinking about it, and then all of a sudden it's been a year.

...and you realize you miss it.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that I just read a post about pretty much the same things I'd been feeling--over at Men With Pens. And even Bob Bly apparently took a hiatus recently. It's good to find out I'm not alone--that even really high-profile bloggers sometimes spazz out and quit for a while. And I love what James says about using this as a time to remake the blog, to get back to what made her passionate about blogging in the first place. Before I quit, I was thinking seriously (had been for years, really) about getting a pro wordpress design...maybe I'll actually do that this year. Maybe that year-and-some-change break I took was just the springboard I need.

The Barter System: What do You Trade For?

I love the barter system. And I've gotten a lot of valuable things from it. In the past few years, I got a swanky overhaul on my freelance writing website by bartering for freelance work. I also got a great deal on a really expensive acting class through bartering--I now write the occasional press release for the company for free. Throughout the years, I've bartered for business advice, restaurant meals, and even (once) health care.

Freelance writers can definitely get discounts and freebies for business favors. There's a bit of a trick to it, though. Here are a few tips for bartering.

Pick the right people. Not everyone is a candidate for a trade. I usually try it with companies I know a). have worked with freelance writers in the past, or b). are seeking to work with them. For example, with the website overhaul, I knew this company was used to working with freelancers in a lot of ways--and I didn't have to sell them on the concept of working with a freelancer. This wasn't a new and strange proposition for them.

I usually wouldn't offer just for any dentist's office, restaurant, car repair place, or anywhere else that I didn't know already worked with freelancers. For some businesses, even if I could help them, it's just too alien a concept for them and requires too much up-front sales. Although for some people, it may be worth it.

Look for someone you know wants to hire you. Some clients won't hire you because you're too expensive. In some cases, these are prime opportunities for a trade. With the company that ran the acting classes, they'd asked me for a quote in the past--and didn't wind up hiring me because I didn't fit their budget. Usually, that would be the end of it--but I saw how they could offer me something besides money to get me working for them.

Don't overcommit. I usually try to keep any for-free project fairly small--or to spread it out over a relatively long stretch of time. That's because I need to be sure I've set aside enough time for paid work to get my bills paid. That said, I also treat all my barter projects with the same professionalism I'd give to a paying project. I meet my deadlines, I do the research work, and I don't worry about how much the client paid (or didn't). If I agree to a deal, I do it to the best of my ability--period. Because of this, I need to make sure I don't take on too much. A big lengthy project or a long-term, regular agreement that doesn't take more than an hour or two per week is probably not the best candidate for a trade for me.

What do you barter for?

Resumes: Do Freelancers Need Them?

I came across a post on Words On the Page about resumes. Namely: do freelancers need them? Lori expands the definition of "resume" to include websites, brochures, and other documents about your business and writing background--but I'm going to stick with the traditional definition of a resume here. And I'm going to take a middle-of-the-road tack on this. My answer is, pretty much, no. Usually not. Until someone asks for one.

I got through most of my freelance writing career without an official resume. I had an unofficial list of clients, which I would send people whenever they asked who I'd worked for. And I had a work-related resume that talked about my experience before freelance writing. I sometimes sent that along with the client list. This seemed to work fairly well, especially since I was hardly ever asked for these things. Most people were content to see the samples on my website.

If you're applying to jobs online or working with a creative temp agency rather than sending out postcards and marketing yourself in other ways, then yes, you will be asked for a resume--although not always. Some people still just want to see samples. But I think that when it comes to job postings, most people who don't have a lot of experience hiring freelancers just ask for the resume because that's what they're used to doing for all positions.

The thing is, a resume might be useful in showing a prospect what your history is, but it doesn't show him what he really wants to know--can you write? Does he like your style? Do you have experience really satisfying clients? You can show that much more effectively on your website with samples and testimonials.

The bottom line, though, is that when you're marketing yourself proactively, you generally choose what to show prospects--you may get a few who ask to see a resume, but if they see the samples on your site and your testimonials, that usually provides them with the information they really want when they ask for a resume. If the prospect is the person controlling the terms of what they see (as in job posts), you'll get asked for a resume more often--usually because that's what the person hiring is used to asking for.

I do think you should have a resume on hand for when people want one. But you'll probably not be asked for one often, and it's more important to put time and energy into your website.

Getting Back in the Swing

Right, so how long has it been?

…Yeah. Pretty long.

So, apologies to my followers that I dropped out of blogging for such a length of time. New York City will do that to you sometimes, but I missed blogging here, and one of my New Years resolutions was to come back.

So what have I been up to?

First of all, massive amounts of freelance writing work. My work schedule picked up a considerable amount after landing a few new clients, which was wonderful—but it meant my morning blogging habit got replaced by a morning extra-work habit. That work hasn’t slowed down too much (and I always feel the need to knock on wood when I say things like that), but I can carve out the time. I just haven’t.

I’ve also been traveling a lot. This past year I went to the Netherlands, Crete, Bretagne, India…and also out West for a ski break with my brother who lives in Utah. Most of these breaks were actually work breaks…one thing I love about the freelancing lifestyle is the sheer flexibility of it all. I’ve been having a blast.

In addition, I’ve been getting more involved in creative things I wanted to do in New York City. I’ve picked up guitar and salsa dancing. I’m putting a strong, concerted effort into learning French. I’m working on a poetry chapbook and getting involved in the slam scene in New York. I’ve got three and a half novels under my belt now—and a major goal for this year is to get one agent-ready. I’m taking acting classes. In other words, I’ve been busy.

I won’t be talking much about my extracurricular activities here. If you’d like to read about them, you can find them on my personal / creative blog, Song Up In My Head. Here it’s strictly freelance writing. Same rules apply…three times a week, come rain or shine or handsome men trying to whisk me off to Paris. Missed you all—but I’m glad I’m back.