How to Set Your Freelance Rates for Video Editing

How to Set Your Freelance Rates
As a freelancer determining your rates can be one of the hardest aspects to get right. If you don’t charge enough you’ll get burnt out, however if you charge too much you may not get any replies. In this guide I’m going to tell you about the 3 main pricing methods and exactly how I price my video editing clients with real examples!

The 3 Pricing Methods

• Hourly Prices
This is charging clients per hour. For example: $10 per hour for 5 hours means $50. This is very straightforward. However you are penalised for working quickly! As your skills improve you’re earning less per video.

•Project Prices
This is charging clients a flat rate for one project. For example: $20 per short video or $150 for a full YouTube video. Clients love this as they know exactly how much they are paying. As you get quicker you’ll earn more.

•Monthly Prices
This is charging a flat rate for a certain number of videos per month. For example: $600 for 30 shorts. You’ll have a constant income and the client will also get a better rate per video. This is ideal for long term work.

I personally favour using project based pricing first, then monthly packages.

Start With A Paid Sample
Never give a free sample to new clients. Always ask them to pay a small fee for their sample video (around 5-10 dollars).
This helps to:
•Weed out clients who just want free work.
•Let’s you know they are serious.
•Also makes you feel valued from the start.
•Many beginners struggle with asking for this fee but most serious clients will agree. It’s a small test project for you so you shouldn’t feel bad.

Discussing Rates

Once the client loves your sample you can discuss your rate. Since you’ve already got a sample done you aren’t begging for work. You’re just talking about a rate. Let’s imagine you settle on charging $20 per video. Make sure to let them know that you’re charging this price. Over the next 6 months keep this rate consistent with this client. This helps build trust between you and them and makes it easy to plan.

Don’t be changing your rate every few weeks. It’ll confuse the client and make you look unprofessional.

Clients Don’t Order Consistently.Some clients may not order consistently. They may order one video this month, none next month and then 2 videos.This is completely normal.However you can still keep your $20 price. It doesn’t matter. It’s better than nothing and they may start ordering consistently. But remember, you can increase your rates. If they are ordering inconsistently and want to pay the low price forever increase your rates. Your time is valuable and you’re losing time planning for inconsistent work.

Client Wants To Pay A Low Rate
This happens all the time. You tell them your rate ($20) and they say they can only afford $15 per short. Many beginners will either say yes or no and lose the client.A clever thing to do is say yes but ask them to commit. Tell them you can do $15 per short if they commit to ordering 50-60 shorts per month.

Let’s do some quick maths.
•50 Shorts x $15 = $750 a month
•60 Shorts x $15 = $900 a month

Compared to your usual rate:
•10 Shorts x $20 = $200 a month
•15 Shorts x $20 = $300 a month

I call this volume selling.Often it’s better to have a consistent client paying $15 per video rather than 3 random clients at $20.

Quick Time Check
Before agreeing to volume rates ask yourself how long it takes to complete one short video.If it takes 45 minutes to complete one short, then 50 shorts will take around 37 hours of work in a month. This means you’re earning around $20 an hour. Which is a very healthy income for a freelancer! If it takes 3 hours to complete one short, 50 shorts will take 150 hours of work. This means you’re only earning $5 per hour. Not worth it!

Always do this calculation first:
•Total price / Total hours of work = Real hourly rate you’re earning

How To Increase Your Rates?
As your skills improve you should increase your rates. These are some easy ways to do this:

•Increase your rates for new clients first. Easier to do.
•Tell old clients 2-4 weeks before increasing your rate.
•Only increase your price by a little (10-20%) rather than doubling it.
•Add more value such as faster turnaround time or extra edits.
•Wait 6 months before increasing your rates. Make sure you’ve been working consistently and received good feedback.
•If an old client doesn’t agree to your new rates you can offer them a package. For example offering more videos but a little less per video.

Example Rate Plan (Beginner Video Editor)
This is just an example. Your rates can vary depending on your skill and market !

•Sample: $5-$10
•Short Form Video: $15-$20
•Package (50 Shorts): $750
•After 6 months of good work increase your price by 10-20%.
•After a year offer premium packages with increased prices.

Things To Avoid
•Giving free samples to everyone.
•Constantly changing your rate.
•Agreeing to low rates.
•Not calculating your actual working hours.
•Suddenly increasing your rates without informing them.
•Comparing yourself to people with unrealistic low rates.

Final Thoughts
A good rate is a combination of confidence and smart planning. Start with a small paid sample, and keep your rates consistent for the first 6 months. If they offer a low rate ask for volume and calculate your monthly total. Always check how many hours the job actually takes. Be consistent and you’ll see your income increase in a healthy way.

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