Low-Balling Pricing is Bad Business

There are a lot of writers who take low-paying work. If you're one of them, know that it's killing you and your business - for no good reason. Here are some of the results of this business strategy:

• You get caught in a trap. When you take low-paying business, it means you need to do more work to make what you need. That leaves you with even less time to do marketing and to pull yourself out of the hole.


• It's the marketing of need. People who are willing to work for little send off vibes of being needy, because the client generally knows that what it's offering is less than the market might generally demand. If you're willing to take it, that must mean you are ripe for the picking.


• You drive down the average. The more writers go for low pay, the more they help drive down average rates, and so actually create a condition for lower pay for everyone.


• You miss the power of value. People and businesses buy things because they perceive that they want or need them. They want value for what they pay. When you charge low amounts, you say through the action that you don't offer much in the way of value. If you're talking to an entity that has a real need, there's a good chance that you'll lose the business to people who charge more, because they communicate that there's something of value to be had.


• You feed low self-esteem. When you work for too little, you feel like crap. By taking more work at too low a rate, you only feel worse. That turns into self-pity (keep a look for it as it hovers near), which likes even more such experience. I once heard self-pity described as sitting in a tub of warm piss. Keep that in mind next time you're feeling sorry for yourself.

Getting out of this rut is easy - charge for the value you can deliver. If you can't deliver enough value, learn how to. I recently got a large chunk of corporate work that will pay very nicely over a month, without even being full time. I know there were three other people in the running, and I doubt I was the low-bidder. When they wanted a sample to compare to the other writers, I said sure - at my regular rates. And they agreed.

If you have respect for yourself, your abilities, and the value you can bring to someone, then you charge a reasonable amount. When you have true respect for yourself (not defensive attitude), then others start to as well. Remember the saying that the way to get respect is to earn it? This is the big first step.