It’s a brand new 12 months and it’s time for a author’s pep-talk. Job one: it’s time to boost your charges.

I can hear you quaking in your boots from right here. However I would like you to think about this. The start of a 12 months is a naturally nice time to interrupt the information to present shoppers that charges are going up. Ideally, you need to put the information out to them within the waning days of the earlier 12 months, however at worst the primary month.

Message: it’s a brand new 12 months, an enhancing economic system, and my rates are going up.

Perhaps not for each consumer. However when you’re going to maintain elevating your average hourly rate, it is advisable to maintain elevating charges.

So it’s time to try who you’re writing for, and what they’re paying you. Who pays the least, on an hourly foundation? Make an inventory of your lowest payers.

Now you’ve acquired a call to make. There are solely two methods to make charges go up: Both present shoppers should pay extra, or it’s important to exit and discover better-paying shoppers, after which drop the decrease payers.

So first query: Do you assume there’s any likelihood you will get these shoppers to pay extra? For those who write for flat-rate content material websites or bidding sites, that might be an enormous no. Their pay will doubtless stay precisely the identical within the coming 12 months. In case your shoppers aren’t negotiable on charges, it’s time to take a look at your marketing plan for adding better-paying clients.

Will you write recommendation articles on Biznik? Attend in-person networking events? What’s been working for you up to now? What do you need to strive that’s new? Determine how you’ll appeal to new shoppers this 12 months, and create a schedule for once you’ll do your advertising and marketing.

Whether it is attainable your present shoppers pays extra, it’s time to jot down them a letter. Allow them to know your online business is rising and thriving, and charges are rising.

Elevate your charges: an instance

I really simply did this with a consumer I had on a two-month contract at $1,600 a month. The challenge suffered from huge scope creep because it went alongside and have become actually $3,000 or extra a month of labor. After they let me know they wished to increase the contract, I knowledgeable them I used to be joyful to maintain working for them, however not at that fee. I proposed a brand new fee—not $3,000 as I used to be certain that might make them bolt, however one which gave me practically a 30% increase, to the purpose the place I felt the account can be value persevering with and wouldn’t decrease my general common hourly fee.

I documented how the challenge had modified and what going charges had been for the kinds of work I used to be now doing. I confirmed them the huge low cost they might nonetheless be getting. I discussed that the economic system is popping round and many consumers are competing for my time.

And backside line, charges needed to go up. Or I’m strolling.

Feels scary, doesn’t it? However you’ll want slightly braveness when you’re going to extend what you earn 12 months to 12 months.

In the mean time I despatched this proposal, in mid-December, January was solely about half booked up, and loads of assignments had been nonetheless hanging and unsure. Nevertheless it needed to occur, as a result of the purpose of all of it is I have to make a dwelling.

Now could be the time to lock in higher charges. You by no means know when the chance will disappear to speak fee will increase. For instance, I had one hourly-rate consumer that I used to be getting $85 an hour with. I had the sense different freelancers for them had been making extra, so I informed them my fee was going up within the subsequent 12 months to $95 an hour. They grumbled slightly, however went for it. (I later discovered others had been getting $120, so I used to be nonetheless a deal.)

In fact, my timing was nice. Lower than a 12 months later, the economic system was collapsing, and I wouldn’t have dared to broach a fee improve.

The payoff: it turned out to be a really busy time for this consumer, and I earned greater than $5,000 of further earnings over the following two years. That’s proper, 5 massive for doing precisely what I’d have achieved…simply getting paid extra for it. As a result of I merely requested for it.

So ask for a increase—you deserve it, and it’s definitely worth the danger.

This publish initially appeared on the WM Freelance Writer’s Connection.