you joined and then asked one question. maybe you need to do a bit more research before you assume that people will fly to you with all answers to your career questions.

@stephanie-saum I started doing consulting on the side for small businesses in my area. Before trying to dig-in and find clients I took time building my Facebook page for business to show what services I would offer. I also set up basic profiles for my “business” across other social media. Once I did all of those things I began speaking with friends and asking for referrals then spoke to owners of local businesses. Before taking on additional clientele I did pro-bono consulting and set up for the small Veterinary Clinic I take my pets to in order to gain the experience and the positive feedback and referral. I have built on that experience to build my services.
I don’t have a set pricing scale that I use. When I am approached I complete my due dilligence in what the business currently does, what they expect, and whether their expectations are something I can deliver. I offer pricing based on the bare minimum, what they expect, and then what I think would work best. Thus I give them options with committed terms and they select what they want most.
I personally work 40+ hours a week and even if I only worked 40 or less I would not ask to do contractor work. My preference has always been being a full employee in my profession and my small business for consulting is contractor work

@richardmclaughlin I wasn’t looking for people to answer all of my career questions. I have been working in Social Media for 3 years but always in a corporate full time setting. I have been reading SM examiner for a few years now along with other blogs, and was just curious about a few things. I am sorry if I offended you in some way.

@stephanie-saum, @alexandrabriggs Thank you both for sharing. From experience, I can say that being self-employed has perks in flexibility, etc. but steady pay check & benefits are worth a lot, & take some adjustment to not have. You might also offer “barter” to recruit your friends/1st clients. Good to chrg some small amount (or trade), in order to build client list. After making them happy, be sure to ask for testimonials & referrals! It is also a good time to track your time & figure out what you will need to charge moving forward. Good luck Stephanie! 

glad you jumped in and asked your question and hope you are searching throughout the forum for more information, Stephanie@stephanie-saum

A search for ‘guest blog’ will list several sites that are looking for content….and there you can find some places seeking bloggers and also some idea as to what the pay schedule may be. I have some misgivings about what I found because many sites want pages of content(fillers), not necessarily willing to pay a topnotch blogger for their work. From what I have read there are bloggers and then there are expert bloggers who are sought after and I am thinking that those  people are paid as consultants demanding substantial remuneration which is not disclosed..

@susanhand Thanks so much! I found your FB page and “liked” it.

@stephanie-saum

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice in this thread already, but that’s not going to stop me from adding my own .02.

One way which you might position yourself as a provider of social media services is connect with local organizations (Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and other business organizations,) and ask if you could present for free to their members on some aspect of social media.

I’ve gotten a lot of business over the years this way.

You should also have a blog and email newsletter (list building is critical for long term success) that you use to help educate your target audience about social media.

Find out if there are local networking events you can go to and do that.

As far as pricing goes, it’s wide open. Depends on what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, and how much experience you have. If you have friends running businesses you could have them do some recon work for you by calling other social media providers and asking for a quote. 

(Some people think this is wrong, but I chalk it up to competitive analysis.)

Find a couple of places you can do it for cheap or pro bono to build your portfolio.

Do this all after work, during lunch, etc., so you keep getting paid and keep your benies.

You’ll know when it’s time to make the leap.

Good luck!

@rich-brooks  @stephanie-saum

Great tips, Rich. Pricing was always a thing of interest for myself and my new prospects. I usually do get hit up by people on how much I charge for my services. But, for me, I charge on a case-by-case basis, usually on a sliding scale. Factors that help determine what to charge are 1) likelihood that the client will be troublesome, 2) size of the client and their current position in the market, 3) how often they’re willing to pay me, and 4) how “networked” they are, providing potential referrals for the future. You might want to try that, too, Stephanie. <shrugs>