How to Increase Your Prices

If you’re a busy freelancer, but aren’t earning anywhere near what you’d like, or you’re turning work away because you have too much, it’s probably time for a price increase.

I know it can be daunting putting your prices up, but if you never increase your prices, you're actually earning less money year on year. As the cost of living goes up, you need your income to go up with it.

And unless your prices are the highest in your industry, you can stand to charge a little bit more.

Increased pricing for future clients

The easiest place to start when you want to increase prices is by setting new rates for future clients.

If you list prices on your website (or anywhere else), increase these by 10-20%. If you work on bespoke pricing, quote 10-20% higher than you usually would. If you don't see a huge drop in enquiries or sales, you can stand to increase your prices a little more.

But even if you do see a slight drop in conversions, don't panic. The drop might not be directly related to your price increase, so give it time.

You don't want the sole reason people work with you to be because you're cheap, so don't undervalue yourself. As soon as you get one client at the new price, you know there are people out there who are willing to pay a little more for your services - you just need to find more of them.

Increasing pricing for existing clients

Once you’ve started getting those higher-paying clients, you can increase prices for existing clients. You don't have to do all of them at once if you don't want to. You could start by increasing the rates for the lowest payers (or the most difficult clients), and then work your way through the rest.

And it’s a good idea to give notice, rather than springing it on them. Send a note or email, or call each client to explain your rates are going up, what the new fee is, and when it will take effect.

If they value what you do, they’ll be happy to pay a little extra. Most of them have probably had to increase their prices at some point - they know how business works.

And if you do get some resistance, see it as an opportunity to drop some of those low-paying clients so you can focus on attracting clients who are prepared to pay what you are worth. A little attrition and change isn't always a bad thing.

Don't let clients intimidate you or make you feel bad for charging what you are worth. If they don't value you, let them go elsewhere.

And if you have clients who can't afford your increase, but are great to work with, you could look for a compromise. You could consider a stepped increase, or you could change the type of service you provide for them (depending on what it is you do). But if you can't find a compromise that works, it might be time to part ways.

Sometimes business relationships just run their course - as long as it ends on good terms, it's not a problem. And they may come back to you in the future when they can afford you.

Why you should increase your pricing

Getting your pricing right is vital. If you fill your time with low-paid work, you'll risk burnout. I know because I've been there.

When I started freelance copywriting, my fees were far too low, and I ended up having to take on everything and anything just to make enough to live on. I was working long hours, often working evenings and weekends, but I was barely earning the equivalent of minimum wage.

I told myself I wanted to keep my prices affordable so I could help more of the people who needed it. But that mentality was flawed. I ended up attracting people who didn't value what I did - they just wanted it cheap. And I was making myself miserable.

When I increased my pricing, I started getting better clients. And because I didn't need as much work to earn what I wanted, I could be more selective about the type of work I took on. Plus, I was able to give more time, attention, and energy to each project because I wasn't overloading myself with work and stretching myself too thin. It was better for me and better for my clients.

I moved away from offering done-for-you copy in 2020 (although I still take on the odd project to keep my skills sharp), but I learnt my lessons when it came to pricing.

I would never have had time to write my books or start my email list or create regular blog content if I had continued filling my days and evenings with low-paying client work. But because I now charge a reasonable rate, I have enough flexibility to work on those things. And that means I can reach more people. I can create low-cost products like books and online courses, making it easier for people with low budgets to access my support.

You could do the same. If you charge higher prices, you don’t need to fill as much of your time with billable work, so you have more time to help people who may not be able to afford your services. You could create free or low-cost resources. You could even volunteer your time and skills to a charity if you wanted.

If you are serious about helping as many people as possible, charging low prices is not the way to go about it.

So don't be scared to increase your prices. It's perfectly normal to adjust your rates to the market, and you certainly won't be the first person to ever do it.