Do you offer discounts to your clients? Has anyone ever asked you for a discount on your products or services? Or maybe you’ve been the one asking for one?

Personally, I know I’ve done both.

And when I was starting out in my business, I certainly found myself in situations where I had either agreed to a discount or where I’d been the one offering that discount in the first place!

But on reflection (and in hindsight), this is something I no longer do. Because discounting my services doesn’t do me, and (most importantly) my clients any favours.

And here’s why.

My current prices reflect the quality and the value of my work

When I first started out as a Content Writer, I fell into the trap of underpricing and underselling my services. I didn’t have much experience, and I hadn’t worked with enough clients to fully understand the value my work was delivering. 

My confidence and self-belief were low. And a good dose of Impostor Syndrome resulting from my recent career change was definitely holding me back.

But that was then.

Since starting out:

• I’ve invested time and money in myself and my business. I’ve worked heavily with both mindset and business coaches to address my own lack of confidence and self-limiting beliefs and to develop a clear path for my business.
• I’ve done market research and reached out to more experienced business owners, both inside and outside my industry.

But more than anything, I have become laser-focused on my clients’ needs. And as a result, I’ve been able to create services and packages that add value to my clients and their businesses.

Over time, I’ve adjusted my prices to reflect the quality and the value I deliver.   

Delivering value to my clients

To give you an idea of what some of the lovely feedback my existing clients share with me, here are a couple of snippets from two testimonials I’ve recently received. You can find more under the Recommendations section on my LinkedIn profile.  

“I was immediately struck by how quickly Sara grasped the tone of voice for the business and how fluidly she writes about the topics we throw at her month-on-month. She’s professional, always working within our deadlines and always spot on with the content – both from a style and SEO perspective. I would heartily recommend Sara for your content-writing and business blogging. She really is an expert in her field.” – Angela Zeballos, az.design.

And here’s one more:

“I was amazed at just how much time Sara has saved us. […] She’s saved us hours of work every week that we use to spend on other areas in our business. When you hire Sara, you’re hiring an amazingly talented writer with knowledge of SEO, who can write in your voice, format your blog posts, and take care of everything from beginning to end. You don’t have to worry about a thing. Sara is a HUGE asset to any business owner, and I couldn’t recommend her more!” – Martin Huntbach, Jammy Digital.

Showing confidence in myself means my prospective clients can trust me

Underpricing and underselling my services when I first started out in business didn’t do me or my clients any favours.

For me, low prices meant I had to work longer and take on more clients to just break even. Doing more work in the same amount of time meant that the quality of my work could be at risk. And I certainly wasn’t prepared to compromise on quality! (Just so you know, I never will be!).

But my prices communicated a lot more about me than what I realised at the time. Pricing my services too low meant that prospective clients I would have loved to work with wouldn’t even take a second look at me.

And quite rightly so. Because by underselling my services, I was involuntarily sending out the message that I had no confidence in my own skills or experience. Or in the value of my own work! And as a result, my prospective clients had no confidence in me either.

But I don’t blame them. Because (as cliché as this sound), if you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else believe in you?! (I did say it was going to sound cliché, sorry!).

Also, when my prices were too low, some of my ideal clients may have been doubting the quality of my work. And that’s because often, when something’s too cheap, we make assumptions and judgments about its value. And I certainly wasn’t saying anything good by pricing my long-form, fully optimised blog posts at £50!

As a consumer, if you’re going to pay anything for a piece of work, you don’t always just go for the cheapest product on the market, do you? Sometimes you’d rather pay what feels like a fair price for what you’re buying but be safe in the knowledge that you’re getting a good quality product that meets your needs and your requirements.

I soon realised that unless I priced my services at the right level, I wouldn’t stay in business for very long!

You’re hiring a specialist

The reason why I call myself a Content Writer (rather than a copywriter) is because I specialise in writing blog content. I either write search-friendly blog posts for your business from scratch (based on my own research or on your pointers and notes), or I re-purpose your content from either a podcast or another type of audio or video recording.

In other words, I’m a specialist when it comes to blog writing. If you’re a podcaster looking for someone to re-purpose your episodes into standalone blog posts, for example, you may struggle to find other writers who offer a similar service or work in the same niche. And we all know that people like working with specialists!

Now, if you were just about to have back surgery, for example, you wouldn’t want your specialist to be underpaid, would you? You’d be too scared they may be cutting corners and not putting the time, care, and attention required to do a good job. (And in that case, you need them to do a good job!).

Okay, blog writing is hardly the same as having back surgery. I get that! (Promise!).

But if I were to offer you or agree to a discount, wouldn’t you worry that I may not give your projects the time, care, and attention they need? Of course, that wouldn’t be professional, and I would never do that. But how would you know? In all honesty, wouldn’t the thought cross your mind? Wouldn’t you wonder whether I may dedicate more of my energy and attention to another client’s piece of work?

If you look at my pricing structure, you may notice that unlike a lot of other copywriters or content writers out there, I don’t charge per word or per hour. I charge per piece of content. And the flat rate I charge for each web page or blog post I deliver allows me to put the time, care, and attention that’s required to deliver something of value to you.

You’re not just hiring a writer

Plus, when you’re working with me, you’re not just hiring a writer. You’re hiring someone who understands how your blog fits in with the overall marketing strategy for your business. Someone who, over time, has gained a wealth of experience and expertise in my speciality. And you also get to benefit from my continuous improving, learning, and development.

My existing clients will happily tell you that I never ‘just write’. I also ask tons of (challenging) questions and openly share my advice and knowledge on what works and what doesn’t. I will always bring ideas to the table. And if I think a content idea could be improved to make you a better return on your investments, I won’t hesitate to tell you and take action to ensure your blog posts work harder for you and your business.

If you want to find out more about what it’s like to work with me, you can read my post: What you get from hiring me as your Content Writer.