If you’ve read my other money posts (HERE and HERE), then you’ll know discussing money can be pretty uncomfortable, especially if you’re asking for more of it.
You need a level of confidence without cockiness. You need to be assertive, but not pushy. And most importantly, you have to know the right way to phrase it.
We all know, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Plus the reality is that most of us have a full-time job in addition to our side hustle. And in order to eventually turn our side hustle into our only hustle, we need to fuel it with… you guessed it: money!
The more money we have, the more money we can invest in our business - remember blogging is a business. And the more money we invest in our business, the more money we can potentially make… So, I’m sharing how you can raise your rates as a blogger.
Assess how long you’ve been blogging and how many followers you have…
Overall, prices are rising constantly, so it should come as no surprise to brands that, yes, even we bloggers have to adjust with the economy. Not only that, but as an influencer’s brand grows so does his/her experience and followers.
When you first started, you may have been charging $20 per collaboration but now you have a few years under your belt, plus a few thousand followers, which means you are now in a place to raise your rates.
If you’re currently on a “post for product” collaboration basis, you may want to consider charging $15-25 now, especially if you have less than 1,000 followers. The fact that brands are approaching you is a good sign because it means you’re on their radar and they want your business.
Show what you’ve done…
It’s a good idea to be prepared to present what you’ve done in prior collaborations, so you can prove how much time and effort you put into them.
Without proof of concept, you got nothin’.
You definitely don’t want to fire back with an email demanding more money because you think you “deserve it”. As deserving as you feel, brands could have a different perspective, especially if they’ve worked with you before.
How has your engagement been? Has the brand’s sales doubled since you started promoting their products? Are you going above and beyond what was asked?
These are the types of questions to ask yourself when you raise your rates as a blogger. It’s a good idea to keep track of your stats (Instagram and Facebook make this super easy now with their Insights/Analytics tools).
Share what you plan to do…
The last step in successfully raising your rates as a blogger is to tell brands what your plan of execution is with these new prices. (This is the equivalent of taking on more responsibility at a 9-5 job.)
When you feed them more than just prices, you’re keeping them in the loop and your offer comes across as an even better investment for them.
You always want to make anyone you’re collaborating with feel like they’re getting the deal of a lifetime. And then when you actually do give them a deal of a lifetime, they’re likely to come back for more.
What’s holding you back from raising your rates? Tell us in the comments!
xx Britt
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Image Source Credits - Urban Outfitters, @inspocafe
You Should Also Read:
3 Question Every Successful Blogger Asks Before a Collaboration
4 Ways to Collaborate with Brands as a Micro-Blogger
The Right Way to Contact Brands for Collaborations
