There are many reasons why you want to work online at this stage of your life, but this is probably the main one. You want to work online because you want to make money. Actually, not just money but… substantial money. Enough money to provide for yourself full time, have at least 6 months of savings available, invest in your education, pay off your car loans, pay off your student loans, build your house, and … insert other long term dreams that you truly care about. So, from the time you land on an online platform and pitch yourself for a job, you automatically think about “how much does this pay? How much can I make?”

The truth is, the majority of freelancers focus more on how much they would make on a given job, than what the job truly entails. For the right price, they’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, disregarding all other parameters. But in your approach to negotiating your online work rates, the salary you want is not the only factor that comes into play in unlocking the magic number. 

There are a lot of unspoken rules of online work negotiations that you need to know. By considering these rules, you will always ensure that you set the right rates, speak your client’s language, go for jobs that can pay you, and always win! (at least, 9/10 times). 

So, here are 5 points that you should consider when negotiating your rates for online work projects you apply to:

Point 1: Your Expertise Matters

If you’re going to charge high, you need to have receipts to back you up! People think that working online means you’re earning pennies, but it’s not true. There are freelancers out there that charge 100-200 USD per hour, or 10K for a 2 weeks project. They did not just wake up and decide to charge these rates, though. They built trust, demonstrated experience and expertise in the field, giving the client’s enough leverage and comfort to hire them at that rate. So when negotiating, ask yourself:

• How good am I at what I am offering?
• How much evidence/proof do I have to back this up?

Evidence, proof or expertise comes in the form of course certificates, clients testimonials, portfolio projects, past work samples. 

To build up your expertise, consider taking some free online courses in your specific skills category!

Negotiation Rule #2: Your Client’s Needs Matter

Take your eyes off what you want, and look at what your client is looking for. Generally, online work clients provide enough details in their project description, to let you know what skills they require for the job that needs to be done. So, if you meet 3/10 skills, you can pitch yourself. But if you meet 8/10 skills, you can pitch yourself even better! So, when negotiating with clients, think about how good of a match you are for the project, and how much of your skillset you can leverage to ask for more. 

Negotiation Rule #3: Your Client’s Budget Matters

A lot of times, when clients post projects on online work platforms for online jobs, they indicate the budget that they have for each project. That budget is based on several factors: the client’s current finances, the size of the project, the duration of the project, and the level of experience required to complete it. Additionally, some clients can also place a budget that is considered a “placeholder”. It means that they might be able to afford more than that, but they don’t know exactly how much it would cost or, they would pay a more experienced freelancer more. 

The client’s budget can give you an idea as to how much you can expect to make on each given project. Therefore, it is definitely something to take into consideration when applying for online jobs. At an entry level, I usually advise my clients to go for budgets that are reasonable, and level for higher paying projects when they are more confident and have more expertise/experience to show for.

Finally, there is one more thing to consider: you might have the skills that a client wants, but they might not have the budget that you want! It doesn’t mean that you cannot apply for the project, though. If it is something that you really want to do, then you should consider… the long term earning potential. 

Negotiation Rule #4: The Long Term Earning Potential Matters

If you step into a clothing store and purchase an item once, you can expect to pay full price. But if you go to that clothing store every week for a year to buy several items, you can also expect to get a retailer discount! (you get where I am going with this, right?). Simply put, if the client’s project is a long term project for which you can expect to earn consistently overtime (repeated work weekly, monthly or yearly), then you can consider giving your client a discount and negotiate reasonably lower rates. These are the simple rules of business. 

Negotiation Rule 5: The Market Rates Matter

Keeping the market rates in mind is crucial when negotiating your rates for online jobs. The best paid freelancers understand that they are operating and functioning within a financial ecosystem, which is the gig economy. Now, this does not mean that you need to consistently keep your rates low. However, whenever you are planning to raise your rates, consider:

• What the market rates are currently (on the higher and lower end)
• What advantages and perks you bring to the table to warrant higher rates

And the better you can demonstrate the latter, the better you position yourself to land higher paying clients!

In conclusion, when it comes to working online, the money talk does not have to be weird and uncomfortable. A lot of new freelancers are not prepared to have that conversation because they are not clear on what factors come into play when it comes to negotiating online rates. Luckily, you’ve got the unfair advantage of having stumbled upon this blog post from me, and take advantage of the expertise that I have built over the past 10+ years, working and coaching online. 

If you’re ready to take your online work journey to the next level, check out my free class: How to find the right online job for you! 

Photocredits:

Photo 1 by LinkedIn Sales Navigator from Pexels

Photo 2 by Monstera from Pexels