How much to charge client & is it okay to make suggestions outside scope of job description?

[seejanewrite]

Good morning everyone!

I have a two part question. 

1. I have just been contacted for my first job.  The client is brand new to the site also and we are trying to figure out payment terms.  I list my hourly rate on my profile as $20.  However, the assignment is to write a couple of blog pieces and I have no idea how much of an hourly rate that would be.  There would be some research involved, but nothing over the top.  

Not only is this my first job on the site, it is my first paid writing job ever.  So I've nothing to go on as far as what to charge.

2. I went on this client's website to look at the blogs she has posted so far and to get the general layout of the site.  The grammar and flow could really use some cleaning up and there are a lot of typos.  Would it be rude to ask her if she wants me to work on that as well?  If she does, does she need to set up a different job posting or is that something we would just work out ourselves?

Thank you!

[paul_smith_1]

Hi Becky welcome to upwork :).

#2. 

extra services always go a long way, it shows your attention to detail as well as your willingness to help progress your clients business. going the extra mile goes alot further than a mile 😄

#1

I am not a blogger so i cannot really advise you here, but if your client did reach out to you knowing your rate then he is willing to pay it, just make sure you deliver 🙂

[wlyonsatl · Accepted solution]

One of the biggest challenges you'll have as a new writer and a new freelancer will be pricing your services. 

You don't want to charge so much that it makes you uncompetitive ( and it is my impression the "writing" categories on Upwork are very competitive) or too little to make a decent income (or so little that potential clients think you're services are so inexpensive the quality of your work must not be very high).

Others here will disagree with me, but I think it is initially more important for a new freelancer to get some jobs completed successfully than to try to maximize their income from Day One, especially if the freelancer has no experience in the type of work they'll be doing on Upwork. (And figure out a way to put some writing work you've done in the past for your portfolio. No portfolio = little to no interest from potential clients.

If you are finding a lot of jobs that fit your criteria for desirable work, I recommend you price your proposals for them across a range and then see if there's any pattern to how many jobs you actually win. (Upwork doesn't have a great feature that its predecessor Elance had - telling all applicants to a job what the winning bid was.) Over time, you'll figure out where the sweet spot for your pricing is.

Good luck.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Is it okay to make suggestions outside scope of job description?"

That is only something that the most highly-valued members of any team do.

Regular freelancers will "stay in their lane" and stick to doing what they are assigned to do.

Extraordinary freelancers understand the larger picture of a project and will provide counsel and advice that benefits the client and her project.

[paul_smith_1]

Get some projects under you....

This is great advice and what i did when i first started, if you plan on using upwork as a means of meaningful income you need to get that freelance rating up high, its essential and without it your taking yourself out of the top tier of workers. 

I cant comment on how a writer gets paid but for me i take alot of fixed paid jobs, lowering the payment did work and got me alot of jobs when i got started, and it paid off, i gained a 100% rating very quickly doing this. just make sure you perform.