How Much Should You Charge?

[skirklan]

Wondering how much to charge? Part 2 of the series is up and has information on how to set a price. The four Ps (Produce, Price, Promotion and Position) are something to consider when marketing your freelance skills. If you don't know what they are, here's a good place to start.

http://blogs.graphicdesignforum.com/...ting_2_of.html

This is an effort to share free learning information with fellow freelancers and small business owners; not an effort to drive traffic to a web site I don't own (just so you don't misconstrue my intentions).

Thanks.

[MrGamma]

You should charge whatever it will cost you to survive... Everythign else will fall into place...

Really... I shouldn't be giving this advice since I can barely survive on what I charge...

[fred]

9 out of 10 times it's not that they're charging too much... it's just that they're not getting to the clients who know the value, and are willing to pay.

Get yourself a membership, then poke around in these project descriptions and see what some of the national clients are willing to pay for what kinds of jobs. This can be a realy eye-opener. You may just discover that you've been leaving money on the table.

[amritrr]

How much you should charge would depend upon your proficiency level and the kind of clients you have. You need to have both to survive as well as prosper. Just having one will make you make you fail.

[tscreative]

Frankly fred, I've looked at a lot of those projects and quite frankly I think most of them are way too low for the amount of work involved!

Maybe I charge too much, but I think not.

[TOLETTA]

Originally Posted by skirklan

Wondering how much to charge? Part 2 of the series is up and has information on how to set a price. The four Ps (Produce, Price, Promotion and Position) are something to consider when marketing your freelance skills. If you don't know what they are, here's a good place to start.

http://blogs.graphicdesignforum.com/...ting_2_of.html

This is an effort to share free learning information with fellow freelancers and small business owners; not an effort to drive traffic to a web site I don't own (just so you don't misconstrue my intentions).

Thanks.

This is a good topic. I can offer advice from a small business end client perspective. Having worked with a variety of graphic design companies and freelancers on many projects just because someone is expensive doesn't mean they are good. This goes for all types of jobs. As a result I learned how to spot value for dollars very quickly.

My decision to hire a graphic designer / web developer is based on two criteria. First, what do I see on the website. If the website sucks and the portfilio isn't good (or worst isn't there) I don't call them - period. Second, I judge hourly rates based on what I see (website & portfolio), experience and overall value. I put the highest ephasis on what I see then I compare price to actual work. Below is a break down of what I think are good prices to set based on your experience, company size and awards.

1. $30-$40/hour - Recent grads and freelancers with 2-3 years exp.
2. $40-$60/hour - Good exp, good portfolio and a few employees.
3. $60-$90/hour - Established company with employees and some awards.
4. $90-$150/hour - Large company, lots of awards, impressive client list.

The only exception to the above pricing model is a niche focus or particular client. If a company for example has a niche focus of let's say retail packaging, then I am willing to pay more. Alternatively, if I see some work examples from a particular client I admire or who is in my industry then I will also pay more. I hope this helps.


TOLETTA

[sebastianlinu]

Once my web analytic is completed -what after sales service do you offer?