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rachelbergeron
Community Member

Setting a contract with first client

Hi everyone! I've just been accepted for a proofreading job with my first client. (Very excited!) The client has agreed to send me a sample of the text to look over so I can gage the difficulty, and is open to discussing the rate with me from there. They also want advice on SEO and keywords so their novel can be found by their target audience. 

 

Should I charge for SEO advice, and if so, how much? I'm also not sure how to go about setting the contract once we agree on a price. Any tips would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

3 REPLIES 3
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Should I charge for SEO advice, and if so, how much?"

 

Rachel:

We really need you to NOT work for free if you are going to be an Upwork freelancer.

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Congratulations on your first client, Rachel! 

While I'm unable to recommend a good rate for you and your first project, I would recommend that you check other freelancers rate in the same category to have a benchmark. 

Also, I highly recommend that you read up on the freelancer resources we have compiled, for great tips and insights on how you can work successfully on the platform. Please also pay attention to the Safety First! section of the resources, and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs for more information about working safely through Upwork.

Hopefully these help. Good luck, Rachel!


~ Avery
Upwork
martina_plaschka
Community Member


Rachel B wrote:

Hi everyone! I've just been accepted for a proofreading job with my first client. (Very excited!) The client has agreed to send me a sample of the text to look over so I can gage the difficulty, and is open to discussing the rate with me from there. They also want advice on SEO and keywords so their novel can be found by their target audience. 

 

Should I charge for SEO advice, and if so, how much? I'm also not sure how to go about setting the contract once we agree on a price. Any tips would be helpful.

 

Thanks!


These are questions you can only answer yourself, as you are the owner of your business. I understand how exciting it is to get that first contract (your received an offer, and you accepted, and now you see it in your "my jobs" tab?), but these are questions that MUST be clarified with the client BEFORE acceptance. Never accept a job before you have seen the file, you risk: not being able to do the job, being unwilling to do the job because the pay is too little, and finally, ending up with a no work delivered/ no  money paid contract that is bad for your rating. 

So no matter how enticing it is to click the "accept" button, never do it before you are sure you know everything about the job, and have received the file(s). 

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