freelancers

Negotiation: The Secret to Freelancing Success Top Writers Swear By

Negotiation is a powerful money-making tool. If you use it well, you can earn more without increasing your workload.

Anangsha Alammyan

Apr 22, 2023 • 3 min read

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

This one skill can 10x boost your freelance writing income.

As a freelance writer, writing is not the most important skill to get rich.

Negotiation is.

But 90% of writers lack this skill and work for peanuts.

Negotiation is a powerful money-making tool. If you use it well, you can earn more without increasing your workload. It allows you to:

Make a living by writing what you love,
Get high-paying deals, and
Attain time-freedom.

Most writers run away from the idea of negotiation. They feel charging more is hard or unethical, and they might lose the client.

But this isn’t true! ⛔

If done right, negotiation can enhance your value in front of clients and improve your bank balance. Learn these four dead-simple strategies to become a world-class negotiator and never underprice yourself again.

1. Know and show your worth

Spend some time building a stellar portfolio. It should clearly communicate to the client your:

past achievements,
biggest skills,
social proof, and
how you’re the best person to help them achieve their goals.

When the value is apparent to you, you can convey it better to your prospects. And when the client knows what you bring to the table, charging your worth becomes easier.

2. Save the ace in the hole for the end

An ace in the hole is a metaphor for the biggest unfair advantage you can bring to the deal.

Use this when clients negotiate on price. Show them how your superpower can benefit them more.

When they get more for the same price, money won’t be an objection anymore.

Here’s an example to better demonstrate this idea:

If you charge $500/article and the client is negotiating for $400,
Mention you’ll promote the posts on your socials for the same amount ($500).

Your writing and SEO skills ensure a valuable article is created. Add to that the distribution to your audience, and it guarantees more visibility and better traction for the client.

The takeaway

Your skills might get replaced by someone, but not your community.

If your community and the client’s target audience overlap, you have the biggest upper hand in negotiations.

3. Offer bonuses to sweeten the deal

When you create a pitch for the client, pay special attention to the “pricing” section. Here’s a tip that’s worked wonders for me —

Charge for high-effort, high-return services.
Offer low-effort, high-value bonuses for free.

An example would be to charge for an article and add a bonus Twitter shout-out to sweeten the deal.

This increases your offer value and makes it irresistible for clients. Here are some ideas for bonuses you can pair with an article:

• Free promotion to your social media audience.

• Repurposing content on other platforms for a visibility boost.

• Content strategy by leveraging Google search console analytics, etc.

4. Keep your tone positive

Not all negotiations land in your favor.

Even if you offer the best perks, clients might still demand a cheaper price.

At such times, keep your demeanor positive.

Politely explain why you can’t give a discount and either offer them lesser services for a lower price or let them go.

Acing negotiation as a freelance writer: Final words

Summing up, here are the four dead-simple strategies to become a world-class negotiator. TL;DR:

Share your credibility and past results to show your worth.
Offer your biggest superpower when they negotiate on price.
Offer bonuses to sweeten the deal.
Even if things don’t work out in your favor, keep your tone positive.

What negotiation tactics have landed you high-paying freelance clients as a writer? Feel free to share your tips in the comments.

Curious about how to land high-paying freelance clients? I’ve designed a detailed 90-day action plan to shortlist, pitch to, and convert high-value global clients. 100+ writers have benefited from this framework so far. You can be the next.