Due to unemployment issues alongside the need to make extra income, experts continuously break into a variety of freelancing platforms to offer their services for a fee. While that is a move in the right direction, job or no job, it is very important not to start ghost-working with charge rates that read like a premium phone number.
Logically, it is nearly outlandish for a newbie on a freelancing website to simply charge ₦50,000 for a 500-word blog post that would be turned in in 24 hours. It is perfectly normal to charge based on worth and quality of work, especially for graphic designers, but this may not be the right employ in the first place.
Buyers Are Conservative
Granted that buyers on these sites are looking for the best at the most convenient price, it is highly unlikely for new freelancers without track records, formidable profiles and a litany of attractive reviews to land big-ticketed online jobs all at once. Except a miracle happens, it is very unlikely that a client would patronize you with a huge budget if they are able to notice that you just joined a few days or weeks ago.
Being that you need to start from somewhere, there is no need to quickly chomp at getting rich and being the most expensive freelancer on the platform. If anything, it takes a great amount of time cement a place for yourself on these platforms as the premium ghost worker.
Building Trust
Every freelance relationship, whether on popular or unpopular websites, waxes based on trust between buyer and seller. And, trust is something that starts small. If you are able to convince a client by means of your quality work that you are a true expert, he or she would hardly raise an eyebrow when you demand a raise. Yes, there was a time when you could burst at seams and burn the midnight oil just to earn around ₦2,000. But that time, like everything else is fleeting.
Gradually, good work will begin speaking for you, and referrals could be in abundance. When you are convinced your clients are overly satisfied with your work, there would be no harm beginning with a 25 percent increase. All that matters is the trust of service, which shouldn’t diminish in as much as price increases.
Growth
This may come off as mere propaganda, but you need to understand that there is a chance you are not as good as you think. Whatever niche or industry you are in, it develops every day and new trends are always on the rise. Except you have some AI or cyborg-like chip installed in your brain to search, download and implement databases as soon as they arrive, then you will have to learn the new stuff one at a time.
The best way to not burn yourself out fast and preserve your reputation on freelancing websites is to charging less and learning more. You may get reported and blocked if your rates aren’t commensurate with your expertise.
