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Industry professionals
Creative? Pricing your work
Why it is an issue?
Three moments to consider here:
- creatives come to their profession because they love it
- creative work has no clear criteria of evaluation
- creatives have to sell your work themselves
And mostly creative people love to perform their direct duties, but they hate and do not understand sales. That is what we will talk about today.
So how to understand and set your fees, especially in the beginning, and what tricks can be here?
Three moments to consider here:
- creatives come to their profession because they love it
- creative work has no clear criteria of evaluation
- creatives have to sell your work themselves
And mostly creative people love to perform their direct duties, but they hate and do not understand sales. That is what we will talk about today.
So how to understand and set your fees, especially in the beginning, and what tricks can be here?
Minimal price
Many newbies are dropping the prices for their work when they are just starting out. Wrong.
First what you need to do is to sit down and calculate. Understand what amount you want to make in a month, let us suppose 3000 dollars per month. Then count how much work is comfortable for you to take in a month for the moment. For example, 10 wardrobe revisions with shopping in a month. So every service should cost at least 300 dollars, there is no sense to charge it less. This would be your minimal price. If you would charge less, you will not be able to live from it.
If there is a high competition for this price already, think how to improve your service and make it unique, start building your brand and increase professional level.
Do not work for the minimal amounts. The clients are asking the same service and sometimes 10 times more, not respecting you and the services you carry out. And after it would be very difficult to fix your reputation as a cheap professional. And if you would start to work in a cheap segment, you are unlikely to get to the higher level afterwords, as the target audience and clients are completely different and do not cross with each other.
More than that, the more your charge and higher is your level, the more adequate the cooperation usually is.
My recommendation would be either to work for a good money or to work for free (really perspective projects for some benefits, in what you are interested in and in what volume you are interested in).
Many newbies are dropping the prices for their work when they are just starting out. Wrong.
First what you need to do is to sit down and calculate. Understand what amount you want to make in a month, let us suppose 3000 dollars per month. Then count how much work is comfortable for you to take in a month for the moment. For example, 10 wardrobe revisions with shopping in a month. So every service should cost at least 300 dollars, there is no sense to charge it less. This would be your minimal price. If you would charge less, you will not be able to live from it.
If there is a high competition for this price already, think how to improve your service and make it unique, start building your brand and increase professional level.
Do not work for the minimal amounts. The clients are asking the same service and sometimes 10 times more, not respecting you and the services you carry out. And after it would be very difficult to fix your reputation as a cheap professional. And if you would start to work in a cheap segment, you are unlikely to get to the higher level afterwords, as the target audience and clients are completely different and do not cross with each other.
More than that, the more your charge and higher is your level, the more adequate the cooperation usually is.
My recommendation would be either to work for a good money or to work for free (really perspective projects for some benefits, in what you are interested in and in what volume you are interested in).
Maximum price
Depends on your target audience. One of the markers of the market would be your competitors fees. Find the best equivalent specialists in your city and discover their fees for different services.
Keep in mind that in many cases, not professionals can not differ your service by the quality and they have to judge it by the price. They suppose that the more is the price the more professional the person should be.
Many people are afraid to claim high prices for their work, constantly asking themselves as they cost so much and if they merit it. Everything in life has difference prices, and only you are to decide how much you cost. Sometime all this fears comes from wrong social prejudices or family issues and what was considered little and a lot in your family. Clients can tell you are not worth this money only if they feel your own insecurity about the price you claim.
Sometimes we do not set the right price when we really enjoy our work and it comes too easy. But when you count the price for your work, do not forget all your education, investments, efforts, experience, constant upgrading and developing, social connections and time you put into it.
Remember to set your fees based not only on your experience and professional level, but first of all the target audience you are comfortable to work with.
Keep in mind that in the beginning would work only one option of ten and it is considered be a perfect result! Usually the problem is not in the price, but just in insecurity and you just do not do enough attempts in getting your clients. And step by step you will get less failures and more successful attempts. Do not be afraid to name high price, as most of the freelancers actually work too cheap.
Depends on your target audience. One of the markers of the market would be your competitors fees. Find the best equivalent specialists in your city and discover their fees for different services.
Keep in mind that in many cases, not professionals can not differ your service by the quality and they have to judge it by the price. They suppose that the more is the price the more professional the person should be.
Many people are afraid to claim high prices for their work, constantly asking themselves as they cost so much and if they merit it. Everything in life has difference prices, and only you are to decide how much you cost. Sometime all this fears comes from wrong social prejudices or family issues and what was considered little and a lot in your family. Clients can tell you are not worth this money only if they feel your own insecurity about the price you claim.
Sometimes we do not set the right price when we really enjoy our work and it comes too easy. But when you count the price for your work, do not forget all your education, investments, efforts, experience, constant upgrading and developing, social connections and time you put into it.
Remember to set your fees based not only on your experience and professional level, but first of all the target audience you are comfortable to work with.
Keep in mind that in the beginning would work only one option of ten and it is considered be a perfect result! Usually the problem is not in the price, but just in insecurity and you just do not do enough attempts in getting your clients. And step by step you will get less failures and more successful attempts. Do not be afraid to name high price, as most of the freelancers actually work too cheap.
Price experiments
In marketing departments of the companies, specialists always experiment with the price and advertising campaigns. Then they are analyzing their success and failures. This approach should be applied in every sphere. In creative spheres is very difficult to evaluate the work and that is why it is especially important to know hot to sell yourself.
In marketing departments of the companies, specialists always experiment with the price and advertising campaigns. Then they are analyzing their success and failures. This approach should be applied in every sphere. In creative spheres is very difficult to evaluate the work and that is why it is especially important to know hot to sell yourself.
Increased price for some special occasions
Sometimes exist some dates we are not ready to work due to some special occasions or some situations with increased risk or any other challenges. Here it is absolutely normal to name the price you are ready to work for. It can differ in several times from what usually you charge for.
In that case many clients with refuse to work with you, but some who really need exactly you will still have the opportunity to work with you.
Sometimes exist some dates we are not ready to work due to some special occasions or some situations with increased risk or any other challenges. Here it is absolutely normal to name the price you are ready to work for. It can differ in several times from what usually you charge for.
In that case many clients with refuse to work with you, but some who really need exactly you will still have the opportunity to work with you.