You get what you pay for

I’m all about bargains, discounts, and dollar stores. But some things are just too important to go cheap on. Like, I don’t buy a big-screen TV in Chinatown, for example. I would have no warranty, no service, no one to back up the sale in the event of malfunction (or flaming destruction). So I go to a reputable electronics dealer and buy a reputable name.

See what I’m getting at? Reputation is worth money.

Here’s a personal example. I run a very successful political podcast. I have anywhere from 800k-1.3M listeners every week. I get great guests, and even had Mark Steyn guest-host my show last week. My show obtains the services of a freelance announcer. It gives us a great professional sound to have him intro us every week. But he’s expensive. Well, he’s in line with his market, but still – expensive to me.

So we dumped him for a few weeks and went with someone cheaper. We figured we would save a few dollars that could be better invested elsewhere. We were wrong. While the new guy was good, and certainly inexpensive, he wasn’t quite up to the standard we had become accustomed to.

After about three weeks, my partner and I gave in and coughed up the cash to have our regular guy do our voice work.

So freelancers, think about what you are worth when setting your rates. Are you new to the business or do you have lots of experience? Do you offer something unique that your competitors don’t? If you are a seasoned professional always at the top of your game, you will be worth paying for. People may waver, or even leave you from time to time, but chances are they will be back when they see what a superior service/product you provided.

And those of you seeking freelancers: You get what you pay for. If you are concerned about quality and professionalism, as well as how the freelance product will reflect on your brand, don’t settle for second best. I did, but I learned quickly that the extra money was worth it to my brand.