Another Thing I’ve Learned As A Freelancer

Freelancing is a never-ending journey of gaining insight and knowledge. I’ve learned many things so far in my tenure as a freelance copywriter, and here’s another:

Clients often don’t value your worth and try to drag you into a bidding war.

Your prices as a freelancer are based on a formula that determine how much money you need to bring in to live, your skill, and your expertise. When a client tries to get you into a bidding war, it sends a few signals:

They only care for their finances, not yours

They don’t respect your expertise

They see you as a machine, not a human; furthermore, a machine that has no boundaries or self-respect and will do anything for money

Don’t let clients drag you into a bidding war by saying, “I have a client who’ll do this work for less money.” I had a prospective client say to me the other day, “I have another copywriter offer to write these 1k words for $5, what can you do?” I just replied with, “That certainly is a low price but I absolutely cannot write 1k words for only $5, so I can show you the door. Best of luck.”

I know that may sound harsh but I wanted to show a strong message that trying to drag me into a bidding war was insulting and I wasn’t going to entertain the idea in any way.

Well, that’s all I have to say, thank you for coming to my TedTalk. Stand firm, my friends. Don’t let clients play you like a fiddle.