As a freelancer, you have a lot of competition out there. This sometimes means that work isn’t as abundant as you’d prefer and it can be tempting to work for a lower rate just to have an income stream. But you can only work for a discounted rate for so long before you begin to get frustrated with the work that you’re doing. If you’re talented at what you do, you should be getting a rate that fits your skill level.
作为一个自由职业者，你面对着这里的很多竞争。这有时候意味着工作并不如你想的那样丰富，而它诱人的地方在于能以较低的收费去获得一个收入源。但在你对你的工作感到沮丧之前，你只能以一个打折的收费工作。如果你擅长你的工作，你就应该得到一个符合你的技能水平的收费标准。
Regardless of whether you are a writer, graphic artist or computer programmer, here are some ways that you can get paid what you are actually worth.
不论你是一个作家、艺术家还是一个程序员，这里有一些你可以得到你应得的报酬的方法。
Your Expertise with the Questions You Ask
通过你问的问题展示你的专业知识
If you take a job and are given only a sentence or two of instructions, you probably won’t be creating what the client actually wants. The problem is, many clients don’t know what they actually want and so they provide instructions that are not specific enough. It is your job as a freelancer to ask questions that will not only show them your expertise and commitment to their satisfaction, it will greatly reduce the number of unsatisfied customers that you have.
如果你接受了一项工作，而只被给予一、两句指令，那你可能不能创造出客户真正想要的。问题在于，许多客户并不知道他们真正想要什么，所以他们只能提供不够具体的指令。作为一个自由职业者，这是你的工作，去问那些不仅能展示你专业知识也能给他们满意承诺的问题，这会极大你拥有的不满意客户数量。
Of course, the questions you ask will vary depending upon what service you are providing to them.
当然，你问的问题应根据你提供给他们的服务而异。
What to Charge
知道收取费用
If you don’t know what the going rate is for the type of work that you are doing, you will have a hard time charging what is fair. Often, freelancers find themselves low-balling their bid for a project only to find that the client would have been satisfied with a price that was double what they actually bid.
如果你不知道你在做的这类工作的现行价格，你会对如何公平收费感到困惑。自由职业者经常发现当自己低价竞争一个项目时，只会发现当他们要客户2倍于项目实际价格时客户就会满意了。
You’ll also need to decide how you are going to set your rate ? per hour, per word or a fixed rate for the entire project.
你还需要决定怎样确定费率—每小时、每字或者对整个项目是一种固定收费。
rtise by Word-of-Mouth
口头宣传
The best way to advertise is not by posting on Craigslist or visiting forums where writing services are bought and sold. Instead, the best way to advertise is to impress every single customer that you do work for, so that they will recommend you to their friends and associates.
最好的宣传方法不是在Craigslist上打广告，也不是浏览那些买卖文案写作服务的论坛。相反的，最好的宣传方法就是给每一个你效劳的顾客留下好印象，这样他们会把你推荐给他们的朋友和合伙人。
Posting on forums means that you will have to keep the same rate or even lower your rate, but when you advertise by word-of-mouth you are going to be in demand and that means that you can set your rates much higher.
在论坛上打广告意味着你要保持相同费率，甚至降低费率，但当你得到口头宣传时，你就会处于被需求之中，这意味着你可以设定更高的费率。
r to Work on a Trial Basis
提供试用工作
If you want to show a client how valuable you are, it might be worth it to work for a short time for free. Depending upon what type of service you provide, you might be able to offer an article, a design, a block of code or just an hour of service to show clients that you are the freelancer that they should be working with.
如果你想向客户展示你如何有价值，免费工作一小段时间可能是值得的。这取决于你提供的服务类型，你可能提供一篇文章、一个设计、一串代码或只是一个小时的服务以向客户展示你就是他们应该与之合作的自由工作者。
If you are trying to land clients that pay decent rates and have consistent work, this is a great way to attract them and it is definitely worth the unpaid work that you will be doing to get a great long-term client.
如果你正在试图寻找可以付给你体面工资并一直有工作需求的客户，那这是一种吸引他们的极好方法，完全值得你要付出的免费工作，去获得一个长期的大客户。
r What Others Don’t
提供其他人没有提供的'
Some of the things you might be able to give clients that no one else does include great communication and the ability to ask the right questions, fast turn-around times, multiple revisions and advice on other aspects of the project that they are working on, to help them get the best result possible. If you can provide clients with the experience that they desire, you will not only improve your chances of getting more work from those clients, you’ll also improve your odds of negotiating for a higher pay rate.
你可能能够提供一些其他人不能提供的东西，包括顺畅的交流，问正确问题的能力，快速周转时期期间，多次修订和他们正在工作的项目的其它方面的建议，去帮助他们获得最好的可能结果。如果你能够提供给客户他们渴求的经验，你不仅仅会提供从这些客户得到更多工作的机会，还会提供你索要一个更高费用的可能性。
By following the 5 steps that I’ve outlined above, you’ll have customers begging to take your money. Sometimes, I even have to turn down some seriously intriguing software development contracts and offers — but I’ll take that problem any day.
通过采用我上面概述的5个步骤，你会拥有让你赚钱的客户。有时，我甚至必须拒绝一些真的很吸引人的软件开发合同和工作—但我随时能解决这个问题。
