Charge More For Your Graphic Design Work By Knowing Your Worth
Vol. 017
Charge More For Your Graphic Design Work By Knowing Your Worth.
You have the opportunity to make more money for doing the same amount of work. You just need more context…
A quick bite:
Creative pricing is difficult, especially when you’re working for yourself. I am still navigating this process with every project. However, through a combination of open communication with my peers, using industry resources and learning how to upsell, I’ve been able to more confidently navigate the oftentimes uncomfortable conversations around money and pricing.
Continue reading below…
Navigating pricing conversations with clients is a nuanced skill that takes time to both navigate and they’re all a little bit different from one another. And at times, it can be quite frustrating. Why don’t these businesses understand our creative worth?! Well, there’s a lot of reasons. Let’s start by considering that it is in a business’ best interest to get the “best price” (low), just as it is in your best interest as a creative business to get the “best price” (high).
With that knowledge, when your client suggests what their budget is, we need to take this information with a grain of salt. The price suggested is oftentimes misinformed for numerous reasons:
This is their perceived value of the project: what they think the project should cost.
This is based on work that they’ve hired in the past (and oftentimes we as designers undercharge, and thus set the precedent for those after us — let’s annihilate this!)
They simply don’t know what it should cost, and think they should be spending the amount that they suggest.
It is possible that they know the value and they’re simply trying to get the best price for their company (i.e. low ball you).
They have a set budget, and they’re mentioning it to you.
It could be a blended combination of the above.
I recently turned $8,000 into $16,000 (for the exact same amount of work) by 1) understanding the “normal” market value for the work being created, 2) understanding what my perceived “equals” (in regards to experience, skill set, and notoriety) charge and 3) having the confidence in knowing what I can truly bring to the table, and being able to upsell.
Know what the general industry is charging
I think one of the key components to confidently pricing your work is to know the fair market value of your work. This means knowing what the industry is charging for similar work: i.e. what does a freelance graphic designer in Denver charge for a logo? What does a mural artist charge for a 10’ x 10’ wall? What is the going hourly rate for a graphic design studio near me?
Think of it like this: if you for the first time started to sell a new cereal recipe at grocery stores, you better damn-well understand what other boxes of cereal cost before you price yours. While yes, there is a range from $3 / box to $12 / box for that weird, premium organic shit with dried Acai berries (I actually love that stuff), you need to have an understanding of what the industry is charging so that you can price your box accordingly. You don’t want to price out at $1, because people will assume it’s cheap tastes like cardboard (and your profit margins will be very low), and you don’t want to say $20, because that’s so high above the “normal” going rate, that it is way more unlikely that anyone will purchase that box. This is a weird cereal analogy, but you get where I’m going here…
If you know what people above and below you are charging around the state and country, this information will help better inform your pricing.
A great way to know what price tag your work tickets is through reference of the book: Graphic Designers Guild to Ethical pricing. Have ya heard of the book yet? This staple in the design industry is a book designed for helping freelancers navigate the world of pricing their work. It’s amazing!
This book has examples and use-cases for everything under the sun including pricing for: logos and brand identity systems, typefaces, lettering, painting, licensing, book design, magazine cover design, illustration and so much more! It prices this work out for small, medium and large businesses/clients and the book gives you plenty of examples, ranges, and other super insightful information. I would HIGHLY suggest this book.
Two years ago I created a custom typeface exclusively for So Delicious, and I had NO idea where to start with pricing. Like, is this a $3k $15k or $75k project?! This book helped me understand the range in which I should fall, and I was able to more confidently price and negotiate from there.
2. Know what your peers charge
One of the easiest ways to navigate your creative work pricing is through TALKING ABOUT IT! Stop treating the conversation of pricing like it’s a taboo subject. It’s not. Call every plumber in the state, they’ll tell you exactly what they charge for what. I talk about my pricing with other logo designers, graphic designers, illustrators, design studio owners — you name it — all the time! If everyone was more open about this topic, we’d be able to embrace the aphorism “a rising tide lifts all boats.” If you know what I’m charging, it can inform what you’re charging, which if openly discussed, can inform what “they’re” charging… For the same reason I write this blog every week, we should all be open and help each other grow together!
Sometimes there is a fear that as a freelance creative, if you let other freelancers know what you’re charging, they’ll undercut you — they’ll charge slightly less for the same work, and thus win the work. But in reality, it doesn’t really happen like that. These pricing conversations amongst ourselves not only benefit each party, but they holistically support and benefit the creative industry!
As you have these conversations, use them as a baseline. Your pricing should also be adjusted to account for:
Your own experience
Project timeline (is it rushed, or do you have a months to execute?)
How much you actually want to do the project/portfolio worthy-ness
Difficulty of execution
Your own current workload/need for work
Other factors…
3. Upsell
Upselling the process of getting your customer or client to purchase a more premium or larger version of what they initially suggested or stated they need or have in the budget. Upselling is a nuanced art in itself, and I do want to disclaim upfront here that this isn’t supposed to be a “sleazy car salesman” upsell. This is the opportunity for you as the professional, knowledgeable creative freelancer to use your expertise and help your client understand the value of something they haven’t yet perceived. The idea of saying: “yes, I understand your problem, and I understand that you think that this would solve that problem; however, if we did this+, we could better solve that problem for your business/consumer because of XYZ.”
So, how do you show a client that they need more than what they think they need (upsell) in these situations?
4. Convey value
One of the best things that you can do as a creative entrepreneur and business person is to focus on conveying your value.
You need to position yourself as an investment, not as an expense in the eyes of your potential employer or client. As an investment, you aid in the business moving forward. As a cost, you’re an obstacle in the way of the business moving forward.
So, how do you do this? Unfortunately, there is no simple or easy answer here — this is a broad topic and is case by case. But, generally you should focus on what is your client’s main problem? Don’t talk about numbers right away, try to understand what your client actually needs—and sometimes what they say they need and what they actually need are two different things! What is the problem that they are actually trying to solve? If you’re a logo designer or brand designer, their problem isn’t “we need a pretty logo”. Their problem is probably more like “we are currently not getting enough market share in our industry because our business isn’t positioned to be approachable enough — it’s currently too austere and unapproachable.” When you, as an artist (read: creative, graphic designer, photographer, painter, etc.) are able to understand the client or consumer’s problem, and you’re then able to succinctly propose solutions to those problems (with visual, creative solutions) you are positioning yourself as an investment. When your client sees that the money they put towards you will ultimately help solve their problems and thus give them more time, resources, or money, it won’t really matter how much your services cost!
5. Giving tiered options
Tiered pricing (i.e. various pricing options that offer more, larger, greater work = more money) gives your client the opportunity to choose what is right for them based on their budget. From a psychological standpoint, offering 3 options oftentimes works best. This is referred to as the “Goldilocks Pricing” model: you have one that’s a bit small, you have one that’s a bit large, and then you have one in the middle that’s juuusssttt right. While yes, it’s great to land that “larger” option, having these three options allows your customer to feel empowered to make their own selection. And, if you know the psychology of consumer purchase behavior, you can adjust that “just right” option in your favor in terms of it’s pricing, the work delivered, etc. More in this article on Channel Dynamics.
I recently landed a mural project that started with the client noting that their max budget was $2,500.
Instead of focusing on their budget, I started talking about “their problem.” I asked what they were trying to solve with this mural — why did they want a mural in the first place? Ultimately through various conversations and questionnaires, I used their words to help them articulate the problem as: we need (a mural) to be identifiable and attention grabbing in a way that both represents (business) and communicate some of the brand values/uniques while also drawing attention to the building from the street to inform consumers of the business switch.
It’s hard to put a value on actually being noticed and looking cool in a neighborhood laden with popular, new and cool business.
In my proposal I suggested various solutions that ranged from their $2,500 suggestion, which hardly solved the problem at hand (because realistically for the space/request on the table, $2,500 was far too low — I think this was an instance of the client not knowing what this type of creative work actually costs), up to a $20,000 solution that not only solved the problem, but did so with fun detail and complexity. They kinda squirmed at the high quote, but landed almost smack dab in the middle, at a ~$10,000 solution that will truly solve the problem at hand!
Throughout the entirety of our correspondence, I continued to focus on the what’s, the why’s as I spoke to how this creative work addresses and solves their “problem”. When presenting my design work, I continue to position myself as an expert, and I position the work as objective. I state “this is why this creative work solves your problem” instead of asking for their subjective opinion: “which one do you like best?” Specifically in the world of freelance design, we’re not here to make something “they like” we’re here to create something for “their ideal consumers.” If a 50yr old woman has a business that sells products/services to millennial men, it doesn’t matter what she likes, it matters what they like.
From $2,500 to $10,000, that’s a 400% upsell!
These are just a few of the tactics or learnings that I’ve picked up over the years, and embracing these concepts has helped me more confidently price my freelance creative work. Through destigmatizing the pricing conversation with your fellow freelance graphic designer friends, your illustrator and photographer friends, and fellow studio owners, through understanding the market value for the work at hand, and through navigating the art of upselling, you’ll find yourself more confidently pricing work that pays you what you deserve.
I hope this info is helpful for you, and I hope you can draw some correlations between the examples above and your own freelance journey.
As always, hit me with any questions!
