Negotiating Pay Within the Blogosphere

Whenever you have work that needs to be completed, you may either turn to a company that specializes in the work you are looking for, or else you head to a freelancer that can do the work for “cheaper” rates. As a blogger and consumer, you have to realize that rates are almost always flexible.

It is often difficult to set a standard rate for all your services. As a freelancer, you have to consider that you have to make a living with your work, but you also can’t overcharge to the rate people don’t even consider you. Set a rate that is reasonable, and be flexible – they are the keys.

Depending on how much experience you have in your particular niche – whether that is web design or writing – you have to consider these into your rates. I will pay more to someone who has written on larger blogs than someone who is new and has only written a few posts on his or her own blog.

Additional Elements of the Equation

There are several other methods used to determine how much you should be charged or are charging.

1. What your budget is.
2. How many other projects the freelancer/company is currently working on – it is all about how much demand they have and how well they are able to meet this demand.
3. The “popularity” of the person. If it is a well-known designer or writer, I’d expect to pay several times that of someone who isn’t as well-known.
4. How much time the project will take. If you are ordering ten posts, don’t expect them all to arrive in a day, it will generally take several hours to have professionally-written content.

The Negotiating Factor

While you shouldn’t expect to get work for free, you have to realize that people are generally flexible, especially if they haven’t had much work recently or want to expand upon their client base.

If their contact form doesn’t provide any rates, they are very likely to base their rates off of how much work you have fro them, and then the process will go from there.

Let’s say that you want to advertise on a blog, and they also have this “open” format. There is a good chance you will be able to get a $100/month ad for an extended period for $250, as an example.

Conclusion

What do you think about this negotiation factor involved in each project? Do you use it to save some money or do you think that all rates are final?