How Much Should I Charge?

[Josh Harmsen]

So I’m a Graphic Designer who’s only ever done free work. After watching a podcast on how to build a client list, I decided to try it out. I tried his tactics out by hitting up my community Facebook Page, posting on its wall talking about my services and such and not even an hour after posting it, I received a message from a lady who lives by me, asking for me to design an advertisement. She said that this advertisement is going to be placed in a community magazine a couple miles from my communit and will be reached out to 96 families. The only problem is that I don’t know how much to ask for money wise. If you take the cost amount for her product ($4,995) and multiply it by the potential amount she can make off this advertisement ($479,520). How much should I ask for?


Edit 11/7/17 - ì finished the ad and got paid $150 for both ads. It wasn’t much but it is my first ever client and she said she liked it so much that she wants me to be her personal designer which is great!

 

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[C-Jay]

So I’m a Graphic Designer who’s only ever done free work. After watching a podcast on how to build a client list, I decided to try it out. I tried his tactics out by hitting up my community Facebook Page, posting on its wall talking about my services and such and not even an hour after posting it, I received a message from a lady who lives by me, asking for me to design an advertisement. She said that this advertisement is going to be placed in a community magazine a couple miles from my communit and will be reached out to 96 families. The only problem is that I don’t know how much to ask for money wise. If you take the cost amount for her product ($4,995) and multiply it by the potential amount she can make off this advertisement ($479,520). How much should I ask for?

How much is your time worth? What's your experience level? How long will it take?

If it's a 10 hour project and you think you're worth $50/hr, charge $500.00. Is this reasonable given your experience? Or ask what her budget is. Or go on freelancer sites and find a similar-sized project and deduct what others would charge for it. Given that you have zero paid references, you may want to under-charge and over-deliver, thus beginning to build a referral chain and a reputation. The better your reputation, the more you earn in the future.

For your first gig, I'd say the amount is of little importance compared to the other stuff: delivering value, creating a satisfied customer/potential referral source/potential repeat customer, etc.

 

[Markov]

I don't think it's wise to prepare quotes based on what you think your client might earn. In the end, it's not really your business, unless you're one of the top world designers working for AAA companies.

Estimate your daily / hourly rate considering you only did free jobs before and try to land your first commercial client. Be sure to include time spent on e-mails, communication and feedback as this may consume way above 50% of your time.

 

[ZCP]

What does the competition charge? How do you compare?

What would you be willing to pay if you were her? Charge a little more than that and get started.

 

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[Josh Harmsen]

How much is your time worth? What's your experience level? How long will it take?

If it's a 10 hour project and you think you're worth $50/hr, charge $500.00. Is this reasonable given your experience? Or ask what her budget is. Or go on freelancer sites and find a similar-sized project and deduct what others would charge for it. Given that you have zero paid references, you may want to under-charge and over-deliver, thus beginning to build a referral chain and a reputation. The better your reputation, the more you earn in the future.

For your first gig, I'd say the amount is of little importance compared to the other stuff: delivering value, creating a satisfied customer/potential referral source/potential repeat customer, etc.

This was very helpful. I think I’ll do about $20-25 an hour because I want to focus on the outcome and building a client list, rather than just focusing on one paycheck.

 

[WJK]

So I’m a Graphic Designer who’s only ever done free work. After watching a podcast on how to build a client list, I decided to try it out. I tried his tactics out by hitting up my community Facebook Page, posting on its wall talking about my services and such and not even an hour after posting it, I received a message from a lady who lives by me, asking for me to design an advertisement. She said that this advertisement is going to be placed in a community magazine a couple miles from my communit and will be reached out to 96 families. The only problem is that I don’t know how much to ask for money wise. If you take the cost amount for her product ($4,995) and multiply it by the potential amount she can make off this advertisement ($479,520). How much should I ask for?

Since it's your first job, what you really want is referrals, and more work from her. See if you can cut a deal with her that includes more work and introductions to her business circle. At this point, the money for this job is less important than getting your new business up and going. In the meantime, do a survey. See what others are charging, who are also beginners. You can always raise your prices later when you have created demand for your services. It doesn't matter how much money she's going to make on this project -- that's none of your concern at this point. Make sure she doesn't see dollar signs in your eyes when you quote your price, or you are dead in the water. Take the opposite approach. Provide her with complete value, and then add some more. Put your heart and soul into this project. Give her a few choices of how she can proceed on this project. Make it your quest to please her. Wow her with your good work. Good luck!