Putting your prices up is something many freelance language teachers and trainers really struggle with. Even when they suspect they’re undercharging, there’s always a reason to put it off. People are struggling financially. What if clients can’t afford it? What if they go somewhere cheaper?

But let’s think about this for a moment.

If you were working for a language school or a publisher and they told you they couldn’t increase your salary despite rising inflation, you’d probably feel that was pretty unfair. So why is it OK to tell yourself the same thing?

If your costs are rising and your rates stay the same, you’re effectively giving yourself a pay cut. And as a freelancer, you have plenty of business expenses to cover too, as well as holidays, sickness and all those hours you work that nobody actually pays you for.

So inflation is one very good reason to review your prices. But there are plenty of others.

What if you suspect you’re undercharging?

I’d say that if you suspect you’re undercharging, you probably are. I don’t come across many ELT freelancers who are charging too much!

One of the problems is that people tend to base their prices on what other teachers are charging. But why assume that your services are worth exactly the same as someone else’s?

You may have years of specialist experience, a particular approach that gets excellent results, or a much deeper understanding of your clients’ needs. All of that has value, and it’s worth thinking about what the results you help people achieve are actually worth to them.

Of course, you also need to understand what your clients are willing and able to pay. But looking at what everyone else charges and deciding to pitch yourself somewhere in the middle isn’t much of a pricing strategy.

There are also some interesting signals you might be getting from your clients.

Wow, that’s cheap!

Sometimes clients will tell you directly that you’re cheap, or you’ll see the look of surprise on their face when you tell them how much you charge.

You might think this is a good thing. Everyone loves a bargain, right?

But being significantly cheaper than people expect can cause problems. For one thing, it encourages people to compare you with other providers on price alone. And there’s always someone cheaper.

It can also make people wonder why you’re so inexpensive. Fair or not, we do tend to use price as one of the ways we judge quality, particularly when we’re buying something we don’t know much about.

Price tells a story. Of course, you have to be able to back that story up and deliver the value you’re promising, but if you’re offering a high-quality, specialist service that gets great results, perhaps your prices should reflect that.

The price must be right because I’m fully booked!

This is another interesting one. If you’ve got a full diary and people are queuing up to work with you, congratulations! But it may also be a pretty good sign that you’re undercharging.

Pricing is partly about supply and demand. If there’s consistently more demand for your services than you have time available, why wouldn’t you consider putting your prices up?

I often see freelancers working ridiculous hours because they’re convinced the way to earn more is to squeeze in a few more clients. But there’s a limit to how many hours you can work, and at some point something has to give.

People worry that increasing their rates will mean losing clients. And yes, that might happen. But consider this: if you put your prices up by 25% and lost 20% of your work, you’d still be bringing in the same revenue while working fewer hours, assuming you’re selling the same service.

I’m certainly not suggesting that you should aim to lose clients, but the possibility isn’t necessarily the disaster people imagine.

And you don’t have to increase your rates for everyone immediately. You could start by charging new clients more, or give your existing clients plenty of notice.

Obviously, being fully booked for a couple of weeks isn’t the same as having consistent demand over time. But if your diary is permanently full and you’re still not earning what you need, I’d be asking some serious questions about your pricing.

Your clients are a pain in the bum

Now, this is a generalisation, and I certainly don’t want to suggest that people who have less money are more demanding or difficult.

But I have noticed that freelancers who are charging very low rates sometimes seem to attract more than their fair share of clients who want to negotiate over every penny, expect additional work for free or mess them around with cancellations.

I remember working with a client who was already undercharging, and when Black Friday came around, they were inundated with some quite unpleasant and aggressive requests for discounts.

There’s a difference between someone genuinely not being able to afford your services and someone who simply doesn’t value what you’re offering enough to want to pay your asking price.

And if people are constantly asking for discounts or expecting more than you’ve agreed to provide, you may need to look at the expectations your marketing and pricing are creating.

Of course, some of this is about setting boundaries, having clear terms and conditions and being willing to enforce them. Charging more won’t magically turn difficult clients into lovely ones!

But it’s worth considering whether your low prices are encouraging people to see what you offer as something fairly interchangeable with any other teaching service, rather than something worth investing in.

So, are you going to put your prices up now?

Maybe! I’d certainly encourage you to review your rates regularly, rather than waiting until you’re completely exhausted or wondering why you’re working so hard for so little.

Think about what your business actually needs to earn, how much time you’re spending on work you don’t get paid for, and the value you’re providing to your clients.

And if you do decide to increase your prices, you don’t need to make a huge drama out of it. Give existing clients reasonable notice, honour any agreements you’ve already made, and explain your new rates clearly and confidently.

You certainly don’t need to apologise for wanting to earn a decent living.

After all, you’re running a business. And the business needs to work for you too.

Want to earn more from your freelance language teaching business?

Sometimes putting your prices up is exactly what’s needed. But you may also need to look at the way you’ve designed your services, the clients you’re attracting and how well you’re communicating the value of what you do.

I’ve brought together some of my most useful videos and articles on pricing, money mindset and different ways of earning more as a freelance language professional.

Explore my Earn More resources