It’s been a complex and difficult time for many freelancers. Most of us are thinking about how we can do things differently for you, our clients. Uncertainty over Brexit started it all off but now, this global pandemic has given me pause for thought on how I freelance.
In truth, changes to how MG Mason Creative functions began last summer when things first started getting quiet thanks, mostly, to Brexit uncertainty. Then, I took some time to define my niches and update my website and social media. This led to a much-needed boost.
So far this year, I’ve given the website a more thorough revamp – it’s much more mobile friendly now with less text and more attractive visuals , fewer pages, and a more professional theme and interface. I’ve also rethought my social media strategy, started a second Instagram, a second Twitter, and revamped Pinterest.
Most of that was for my photography and books. Now I have turned to my bread and butter, how I work and what I do. I am proud to introduce to you the new “day rate”.
What is a Day Rate?
Until now, and like a lot of freelancers who started back at the beginning of the freelance boom, my pricing structure was one of two options: by the word and by the hour.
Content writers today are expected to multitask and be multi-skilled, sometimes take on social media marketing, source stock photos, or use a content management system. It’s not always easy to price these individual tasks but when it becomes clear that the requirements of work will take days rather than hours, the freelancer essentially charges a flat fee to cover all work. That is a day rate – totalling all work up together as a day’s work for one flat fee.
How Much Work is a “Day”, Really?
When I charge you a day rate, your are hiring me for a day’s work to do all work it is possible to do within a typical working day, defined as around 6 hours of productive work. In one complete working day I can typically:
- Write 2,000-2,500 words
- Proofread 4,000-6,000 words
These are my two core services, but for various clients I am regularly called on to:
- Source stock images
- Basic photo editing and banner creation
- Uploading the content to a CMS like WordPress
- Creating a bite size social media post as summary
The time taken for these things can vary wildly and are, naturally, not always easy to price.
That’s where the day rate comes in.
