Freelance Writing Rates and International Competition

Virtual world online business is tough. You’re competing against writers that offer the same services as you do, and you’re also competing against writers from different countries that have completely different economical situations than yours.

You may often feel discouraged or that you’re in the wrong place, when you see your Canadian or US freelance writing service rates paired against rates of freelance writers in other countries. Don’t forget that in certain places, 1$ USD goes a lot farther than it does where you live.

Many new writers question whether to drop their rates to be competitive and land some work or continue to bid at higher rates. After all, writers write to make money, feed their kids, and pay their mortgage, just like professionals in any other job.

Believing in your rates and that you’ve set fair ones to both you and your client is important. Dropping freelance writing rates to match those of other countries isn’t realistic or fair. You may lose plenty of potential contracts to lower bidders, but you will uphold your self-worth. That confidence and integrity will shine through and you will land jobs that do pay your rates.

When setting rates for your freelance writing services, take a few things into consideration:

• Your quality of service
• The level of your skills and ability
• The minimum hourly wages for your country/region
• The suggested hourly rates of associations and groups
• How long you’ll actually spend working on a project
• The amount of effort you’ll need to put into a project

Also, take a look at what other freelance writers are charging for the same service, both those in your region and internationally.

Finally, set a rate that you feel comfortable with and that you believe to be fair to both yourself and your client. Choose rates that you’ll also be confident justifying with the information you’ve gathered to help determine your prices. You’ll be able to feel good about quoting on a job and that will show through to the client.

And if you do lose the job to a lower bidder? You won’t feel any regret at not being chosen and will be looking to the next potential contract to work on.