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Don't lower your rate! - Agree? Disagree?


miiila

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In a recent blog worth reading and titled “How to Stay Sane—and Thrive—During a Work Lull, Fiverr tells us to not lower our rates.

The blog writer, Fiverr’s Social Media and Content Manager Hannah Curran, makes some really good points:

It’s super tempting to offer a deal and slash your standard rates when things are slow. The thing is, this lowers your morale and hurts your business down the line. (And let’s not forget, it undercuts colleagues working in the same space too.) Instead, offer different services that you are comfortable charging less for. For instance, if you normally charge $75 an hour to write, offer editing for $50/hour, or $50 for a set of six product descriptions. Are you an illustrator who normally charges $50 for a custom illustration? Then create sets of pre-designed illustrations and sell them for $20 bucks. While work lulls can be stressful and anxiety-inducing, they can also be blessings in disguise. There’s no need to push the “panic” button. If you see them as an opportunity to rethink your business, expand your creative and marketing skills, and make the most of that time, you can not only get through it, but will be laying the building blocks for a thriving, kick-butt freelancing business.

But, of course, writing a blog about how to get through a Fiverr lull is one thing, actually getting through a Fiverr lull might be another.

What’s your take on that, do you have experiences to share?

Did you try something like the things mentioned and did it help you through the lull? Even better ideas or tactics you’d recommend your fellow Fiverr sellers?

Did you push the panic button and lower your rate? Share what happened! Would you do it again, or nevermore?

Or do you play it cool and just kick the can down the road whenever it happens?

My own experience is that mostly, when it looks like a lull is coming and I think “Finally! Enough time to … work on my passion project (another thing the blog mentions, though, to be honest, I don’t have a passion project but several of them, which probably is not good in terms of getting to work on them), clean the stairs, just play or read or … sleep!” 😉 usually the lull is already over again before I even got started on any of that …

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My theory is when you are in a lull without orders and start to worry about it, catch yourself and use the time to do other things you might have neglected, and it takes care of itself eventually. I think just taking your mind off of something and refusing to worry about it can be helpful and actually turn things around in your favor sometimes.

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I just try and focus on other activities (currently found a lot of enjoyment in casting Age of Empires II matches) and wait for the lull to fly by. It always is something temporary. The clients do not know what you are going through, and I belive it should not affect the level (and price) of deliveries.

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In a recent blog worth reading and titled “How to Stay Sane—and Thrive—During a Work Lull, Fiverr tells us to not lower our rates.

The blog writer, Fiverr’s Social Media and Content Manager Hannah Curran, makes some really good points:

It’s super tempting to offer a deal and slash your standard rates when things are slow. The thing is, this lowers your morale and hurts your business down the line. (And let’s not forget, it undercuts colleagues working in the same space too.) Instead, offer different services that you are comfortable charging less for. For instance, if you normally charge $75 an hour to write, offer editing for $50/hour, or $50 for a set of six product descriptions. Are you an illustrator who normally charges $50 for a custom illustration? Then create sets of pre-designed illustrations and sell them for $20 bucks. While work lulls can be stressful and anxiety-inducing, they can also be blessings in disguise. There’s no need to push the “panic” button. If you see them as an opportunity to rethink your business, expand your creative and marketing skills, and make the most of that time, you can not only get through it, but will be laying the building blocks for a thriving, kick-butt freelancing business.

But, of course, writing a blog about how to get through a Fiverr lull is one thing, actually getting through a Fiverr lull might be another.

What’s your take on that, do you have experiences to share?

Did you try something like the things mentioned and did it help you through the lull? Even better ideas or tactics you’d recommend your fellow Fiverr sellers?

Did you push the panic button and lower your rate? Share what happened! Would you do it again, or nevermore?

Or do you play it cool and just kick the can down the road whenever it happens?

My own experience is that mostly, when it looks like a lull is coming and I think “Finally! Enough time to … work on my passion project (another thing the blog mentions, though, to be honest, I don’t have a passion project but several of them, which probably is not good in terms of getting to work on them), clean the stairs, just play or read or … sleep!” 😉 usually the lull is already over again before I even got started on any of that …

(And let’s not forget, it undercuts colleagues working in the same space too.)

Says a blogger from a freelance platform which undercut the entire marketing industry…

To be honest, I hate advice like this. It’s just feel good blogging waffle. How people set rates and when they change them needs to follow a much more complicated formula.

i.e. Did you save enough to survive a lull of a few weeks or months when you had the opportunity? Moreover, is this a normal lull? Or is a lull the result of a something like gig category restructuring, the loosing of a TRS badge, or a new competitor arriving on the scene?

It’s easy to say “don’t lower your rates and you’ll have a glorious future.” However, what do you do when the baby needs feeding?

I’d say don’t panic but always have a backup plan. - And extra baby food if you have an infant in the household. 😉

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(And let’s not forget, it undercuts colleagues working in the same space too.)

Says a blogger from a freelance platform which undercut the entire marketing industry…

To be honest, I hate advice like this. It’s just feel good blogging waffle. How people set rates and when they change them needs to follow a much more complicated formula.

i.e. Did you save enough to survive a lull of a few weeks or months when you had the opportunity? Moreover, is this a normal lull? Or is a lull the result of a something like gig category restructuring, the loosing of a TRS badge, or a new competitor arriving on the scene?

It’s easy to say “don’t lower your rates and you’ll have a glorious future.” However, what do you do when the baby needs feeding?

I’d say don’t panic but always have a backup plan. - And extra baby food if you have an infant in the household. 😉

Says a blogger from a freelance platform which undercut the entire marketing industry…

Well, that’s not entirely true, it’s not Fiverr undercutting but the sellers. And it’s a bit more complex than that as well, for some sellers it might seem as if they undercut the industry but seeing how they work, how much they might save by working from their living room, etc., it might not be quite like that. Also, when I look at some gigs, I’m not sure there is much undercutting. But generally, sure, probably the majority undercut “normal wages” with their prices here.

Did you save enough to survive a lull of a few weeks or months when you had the opportunity?

I’d say don’t panic but always have a backup plan. - And extra baby food

Very good points, can’t be said often enough. Stash some FU money, or lull money, or whatever you might find it fashionable to call it, people, while you can, much easier to not panic then!

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I think the problem is with freelancers that not know why they’re offering specific price for a service (gig). Everyone need to explain to customers why they’re charging specific price and on that way they will never have problems.

Also now customers not look only the PRICE because many times that’s waste of TIME. Because they know that someone can’t offer lower rates than others for the same price. And few people lower their rate only to get jobs but that non-sense.

**INVEST IN MARKETING AND NOT TRYING TO LOWER RATE AS YOUR MARKETING INVESTMENT!! 😃 **

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I think the problem is with freelancers that not know why they’re offering specific price for a service (gig). Everyone need to explain to customers why they’re charging specific price and on that way they will never have problems.

Also now customers not look only the PRICE because many times that’s waste of TIME. Because they know that someone can’t offer lower rates than others for the same price. And few people lower their rate only to get jobs but that non-sense.

**INVEST IN MARKETING AND NOT TRYING TO LOWER RATE AS YOUR MARKETING INVESTMENT!! 😃 **

Everyone need to explain to customers why they’re charging specific price and on that way they will never have problems.

From my experience, I’d say no to that. I did try explaining why I’m “too expensive” to some people but I learned it’s better to just say some polite good-bye and spend my time on the people who realize that I’m not too expensive on their own.


Also, to people who tell sellers they are too expensive, don’t, chances are it won’t make them lower their prices if that’s what you were hoping for but that they won’t want to work with you, even if you’d then accept their prices.

Usually, you can see or guess the price for what you want, so there’s no use walking in and telling them they are too expensive, especially if obviously other people don’t think so and buy. It’s pretty rude too. I guess you don’t walk into a store, point at a jacket you saw in the window for $50 to tell the shop owner that they are too expensive. They aren’t. Your budget is too low for that jacket/shop, you’ll need to find a different shop. If they really are too expensive, they’d be out of business, or be soon.

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Everyone need to explain to customers why they’re charging specific price and on that way they will never have problems.

From my experience, I’d say no to that. I did try explaining why I’m “too expensive” to some people but I learned it’s better to just say some polite good-bye and spend my time on the people who realize that I’m not too expensive on their own.


Also, to people who tell sellers they are too expensive, don’t, chances are it won’t make them lower their prices if that’s what you were hoping for but that they won’t want to work with you, even if you’d then accept their prices.

Usually, you can see or guess the price for what you want, so there’s no use walking in and telling them they are too expensive, especially if obviously other people don’t think so and buy. It’s pretty rude too. I guess you don’t walk into a store, point at a jacket you saw in the window for $50 to tell the shop owner that they are too expensive. They aren’t. Your budget is too low for that jacket/shop, you’ll need to find a different shop. If they really are too expensive, they’d be out of business, or be soon.

It’s pretty rude too.

I feel that when people tell me my price is too high for them then my high price is doing it’s job of discouraging them. I want clients who appreciate that I am good at what I do and understand why a higher price is justified. If other sellers who do what I do are cheaper there is a reason. Let them go to whatever seller they can afford, rather than come to the highest priced one and complain about the prices.

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