Things to Consider When Pricing Your Work
Pricing Your Work is Hard.
There’s a lot to think about, and it can be tricky to find the right balance between making your clients run the other way and working for less than you deserve.
I can’t tell you what to charge for a given project, but I can highlight some factors that you should consider when coming up with your next quote.
Keeping the following things in mind will help you to get as close as you can to a fair and reasonable rate that will sustain your freelance business:
Cost of Living
Obviously, you need to put your survival first, so do you best to figure out the bare minimum that you need to earn per month in order to keep up with your expenses.
Industry Standards
What is the going rate for the project at hand, what do your peers charge, and where do you fall within that range?
Complexity and Scope of Project
How difficult is the Illustration and how long will it take you to complete? (Try to pad this answer, as most Illustrators underestimate the number of hours involved.)
Number of Revisions
How many times will you be required to go back and forth with the client?
Usage
What is the intended purpose of the Illustration, and what value will it provide for the client?
Rights Transferred
Are you selling all rights to use the Illustration for anything, anywhere, or just for one specific purpose?
Your Experience / Reputation
How much can you charge based on the demand of your work, if any?
Perceived Difficulty of Client
Some Artists refer to this as the Pain-in-the-Butt Fee, and it can help you to tolerate an otherwise taxing relationship.
The Client’s Budget
What can your client afford, and how can you accomodate their needs?
The Takeaway
Obviously, the intention of this post is not to answer all of these questions for you, but rather to help you to know which questions to ask when coming up with a quote for your next project. There is plenty more here to talk about in future posts, so stay tuned.
Escapee has spoken.
Now it’s your turn to share.
How do you determine your rates?
Have you ever used the Pain-in-the-Butt charge?
I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Related Posts:
Marketing Lessons from Fast Food Chains
Read More Escapee Speaks Business.
Who is this Escapee guy anyway?
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Setting your rates can be frustrating because people usually tell you to charge what you’re worth. So…I’ll charge $10,000+ for a blog post or 1200 word article :) Seriously, I found a PDF online that outlined what freelance writers could charge for certain projects. I also found a blog post by a guy who shared his rates when he first started out as a freelance writer. The information helped me to set my rates. I avoid being too low or too high.
Wonderful– a great post and I sincerely appreciate it, thank you.
The pain-in-the-butt surcharge made me laugh. I wish there were a more reliable way to compute same (see the need for same) when dealing with a NEW client. Then again, we learn by experience, and hopefully don’t make the same mistake twice.
I often encounter clients with set rates. If the rate seems low (based on my instincts or experience), I’ll ask if we can “bump it up a bit.” There’s often room for a little negotiation (especially if the client likes your work). It never hurts to ask.
Great blog, great site– thanks again for being so generous in sharing your experience.
Cheers, Mark
sure!
first is the scale and the budged client has, but
Pain-in-the-Butt is the most important issue for me as a light designer.
unfortunately, i need to name the price before i start working – so often it’s too late to bump the price when the work(client) is annoying.
thanx, ewa
and! it is so important it can double the price even!
:) ewa
Too many revisions can kill both your desire to deliver quality work, as well as eat into your time so the job is no longer profitable. And generally the final artwork is a stiff monstrosity as well.
I’ve added a “per hour” clause for revisions that helps, but it still is a pain with some micro-managers who seem intent on creating the least desirable results in the greatest amount of time.
Fortunately these clients are few and far between.
–Duncan
=====================
Freelance illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and many other publishers. See my illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
HA, what a coincidence that I stumble across this post(late i know) but a friend of mine(who should have BEEN getting regular published work!) just sent me an email because he’s serious about making his full-time job his part-time job and dive into the art-for-hire world like myself and the rest of our cohorts and he’s pretty much clueless as to what to charge.(and my rates my not be something he can get away with just yet… especially considering NOT EVEN I get away with them 50% of the time -__- haha, but I digress…)
Being one of those kids coming from that “online culture” of making/posting art online at different communities/forums as your “job” we are so used to putting EVERYTHING into our art for random weekly contests at several different sites without compensation whatsoever other than showing up your friends with friendly competition; that the transition from that into knowing how much your work is worth, how much time it takes you, all while trying not to get (excuse my french) DICK’T OVER in the process(we’ve all been there).. is all very frustrating and confusing because you want your clients to magically “just get it” and trust them not to be snakes.
The pain-in-the-ass-fee I’ve had to use too many times with both illustration AND photography… and if you think your clients don’t know one another and don’t EVER compare notes like WE ARE DOING, you’d be sadly mistaken. With that said I’m careful to see just how serious the person is about working with ME specifically to make sure I’m not just a bulletpoint of a laundry list of potential artists the person is checking off to see how cheap they can get SOMETHING done.
The original poster pretty much nailed all of my issues and things I go over in my head. I’ve been known to throw caution to the wind way too often and get over excited about working on a project ONLY to regret even replying to an email or answering my phone no less than 2-3 weeks later.
Its pretty hard to find this information online for artists/writers just starting out because by the time someone actually has the clientele and work-experience to put together a well-thought-out list they might be forgetful about just HOW difficult and taxing starting out was for them back when top ramen and crackers were their main foodstuffs :D
Well done guys!
I think it is important to gage your pricing depending on the client. Every project will be different. Until you have built up a reputation and credibility you are basically at the mercy of the budget. My advice would be to take any job regardless of price and build up your portfolio. most importantly keep progressing in your work, and keep it interesting for yourself.
Thanks for your comment. I see where you’re coming from, but I don’t know if I’d go so far as to take ANY job regardless of price. An artist might be better served working on personal projects than taking jobs that don’t pay you enough to be worth your time. The benefit of personal projects is that you can take advantage of the freedom you have to truly express your artistic vision while searching for jobs that will pay you a fair rate. I do agree, however, that each project is different that you have to weigh all the factors in order to come up with a proper quote for each client.
I think it is imperative that no matter what job you take, you should infuse your personal style into it.
In this regard, a job with a low budget is still going to add up more $$ than a personal project would, and at least then, when you present your portfolio you will have a client behind the project making you look more legitimate. With that said, I think it is important to always be working on personal projects on the side to develop. The key is to always be pushing forward, and not getting comfortable. No matter how established you may become as an artist, there will always be a mixed bag of low and high paying projects. Once you have established a steady flow of work, then you can pick and choose.
I completely agree, Doctor. I think my main concern is that you need to have a low end, or minimum that you’re willing to accept in exchange for your time and energy. In many cases, if a client isn’t willing to pay you a fair rate for your time, then they’re not worth your time, and they probably aren’t a reputable company that is going to add any amount of clout to your client list anyways. I think that accepting too low a rate of pay does just about as much harm to your business as accepting spec work as I recently talked about here. In particular, there are many more effective ways of spending your time to advance your own business, rather than someone else’s.
Although you can and should always “infuse your personal style” into a client’s project, there are often limits to how much you can do this, and if it doesn’t seem like you’re going to get paid a fair rate OR any freedom to create a piece that you think you would put in your portfolio, then there are 2 reasons to not take the job. I think it’s important to draw a line between building a client list and acting out of desperation.
One more point I’d like to make is this: I don’t necessarily agree that a low-budget-project is going to add up to more money than a personal project, if only in the long run. Having work that shows your personal style and that you are inspired to create will potentially lead to more work in the future, which is a better investment of your time than creating work just to get by.
I’m really enjoying this lively debate, Doctor. I’d love to hear more.
Thanks!
Well said Thomas, I agree with you on your points.
Perhaps what I did not make clear is that I personally would NEVER accept a job that wasn’t on the basis of it being my personal style. I just assumed this was an understood part of the conversation.
That said, no one should ever accept a job out of desperation that calls for a rendition of someone else’s style, it is unethical, and you are not helping yourself.
An example of a low paying project that I feel is acceptable would be something to support a good cause, or something you are passionate about that allows you total creative freedom. I don’t think we disagree on this point, given your other posts.
I’m relieved to hear you say that, Doctor. Working for free, or for low pay, should be a personal choice based on the factors you mentioned, rather than an act of desperation. As I said in response to Dani’s comment, Illustrators should get something in return for their work, even if that’s the reward of supporting a cause that you believe in.
We’re on the same page : )
barely,based on thistemplate!
unfourtunatel,thiswasoneofthemoremeatydiscussionsinthecomments:-(:-)
“Work for free or for full price. Never for cheap”
That wallpaper should be on your desk if you have trouble with pricing:
http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2009/11/how-to-price-your-work/
I think price determination is a long process and must be developed by demand and shapes over the years, but with the above Mantra its easier to make that happen.
-Fantasio
Fantasio,
I’m curious about why you suggest working for free, unless it’s for something that you feel passionate about, or for a cause you’d like to support?
Thomas,
well, the quote isn´t from me (thats why i linked to the source) but i can really relate to it.
I don´t suggest doing “client” work for free, reading between the lines of this 2 ironic sentences makes very clear that there are only 2 options: for free or for full price!
If you need to make a living out of that, there is clearly one option left: for full price!
But I tend to incorporate messages of such quotes for marketing and personal works,
or like you said: things that one can be passionate about or to support a cause.
From a marketing point of view this can mean: giving away free stuff, participating in conventions, submit works into competitions, writing articles in blogs, working on personal projects, doing exhibitions, show what you like to do and spread the word, this will surely drive by interested parties sooner or later… but thats what I consider: “working for free”
and even that will lead to full price work or revenues in the end.
Thats my interpretation of these words and why there is no place or time for “cheap work”.
When considering whether to do a project or not, I usually consider three things – PRICE, TIME, and INTEREST.
If the project gets at least two of these things right, then you’re usually looking at something that is worth your time. There are other ways to get value even if you aren’t getting full compensation monetarily. But still, set your standards HIGH. If I were going to take a project for a low price, I better be getting LOTS of time to do it, and I must LOVE the project or what it can do for my career. Don’t fall into the trap of taking whatever comes your way.
I agree to never do a project for cheap; that will only set you up for more cheap work in the future. Spend your valuable time doing personal projects because that is what WILL get you the good and better projects eventually.
Thanks Dani. I like your three considerations – PRICE, TIME, and INTEREST. You need to be getting something of value in exchange for the value that you are providing your clients.
I agree with Dani on this point!
Its been said by other people before, but I thought I’d throw this into the discussion for consideration and I think it dovetails nicely with Dani’s comment: There is FAST, CHEAP, and GOOD. Clients get to pick two.
FAST + CHEAP- The client gets a quick turnaround but the quality might not be all there or you can find short cuts. For example, flat colors vs. full rendering, etc.
FAST + GOOD – The client gets a quick turnaround at a high fee. Consider that we all got or are getting into this business because we love art. The goal is not to kill yourself. Therefore a higher fee should be charged to produce quality work that may require you to pull an all-nighter and run yourself ragged. Lets face it, we’ve all had a job like that and usually need at least a day to recoup afterward. That day could have been a potential money making day that could be lost. Your higher fee for fast + good rolls over to save that day. ( Hope I’m making sense here.)
CHEAP + GOOD – I’ll just reinforce Dani’s point here. Setting yourself up for cheap tends to make you the “cheap” guy or girl. If you do accept a cheap rate, you better be able to work on a much longer deadline and enjoy the work because you might be living with it for a while.
I wish there was an EXPENSIVE + GOOD category. ;) But, that does come as we develop our careers and produce quality work. EXPENSIVE + GOOD= STANDARD RATES.
In short, I advise to NOT sell yourself short. DO NOT do spec work! Have fun!
If you are going to work for free, work on your personal projects.
Thanks Kevin! The difficult part seems to be making new Illustrators aware of this point of view before they take on free or spec work out of desperation. Perhaps we are all destined to learn this lesson the hard way.
Thomas, sorry I did not get to this sooner. You folks all sound like you have a pretty good handle on how I feel about it.
I come from a slightly different arena, in that my main focus is as a gallery painter, and I will do some illustration projects here and there for cheap, but it is not my main source of income, and it is always for something that I think is wicked cool, like I am designing a header for a punk ska website for very little, but I totally dig punk ska stuff and don’t mind having a piece in my portfolio that has some punk ska stuff in it.
That said, were I to suddenly change gears and try to pursue the illustration more, I am not sure that my having done some projects on the cheap wouldn’t hurt my case for making a higher fee, but in the end, I think it is always most important to make work that you like. Even if it is a weird gig, you have to find something you love in it. If you can’t, then it is probably not a project that you should be working on, because it will hurt your portfolio to have a heartless piece of crap out there.
that’s all I got right now. I really enjoyed hearing what you folks had to say, and Thomas, thanks once again for the resource.
-Mike
Hi All,
I LOVE this website! I am learning a lot from you.
I am an artist. I draw pastel portraits. I am also a freelance Graphic Designer, mostly providing print graphics (brochures, annual reports, logos… things like that). I find it very hard to price my work. People will ask, “How much do you charge for a logo?” or, after you have already designed the logo/identity, when they move on to the brochures, they balk at the price to set that up, thinking “you only have to drop in my text. A click of a button.” I sometimes end up spending a lot more time on projects than I estimate because of the initial “want” of the job, and don’t make anything on it, thinking that this one project will grow into more… but most of the time it is the same on every project for that company, because I already set that standard… am wondering how to get myself out of that situation.
And in my portrait work, they see me at shows actually working on projects, LOVE it, WANT it done of their children/pet, then hear the price and say, “I’ll get back to you.” Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. I have also provided my portrait service to Fundraising events, putting the value price on my display, and having a disclaimer on it saying that prices may vary depending on… I have done this 2x, and one of the times I was able to charge more money, and actually earned some cash! Not much, however. AND I LOVE this work. That is a benefit. Doesn’t pay the bills, tho.
I have also donated graphic design to certain organizations, with a note on it saying it was donated by my company. This has led to calls asking for similar, and I have had to say that I can not offer design for free any longer, but would give them a considerable discount (only if it is a cause I like, or else I just say no). They seem satisfied with that answer.
I am also wondering about “rights” on design. I have a commercial printing background, and have always given the client their purchased designs, if asked for, without a fee. Am I wrong on this? They have paid for the time to create it, why should they be charged extra for using it on other things? Also, I take pictures of all the portraits I draw. I am able to use those in any advertising or displays, correct? as long as I ask their permission?
Thank you for this website, and thank you for any advice sent!
How much do you all charge for a pain-in-the-but fee? Is it a percentage or a flat fee? Do you use a range given how painful it is to work with them, or more like “I add 1% for every time the client tries to down-bid me”?
Hi Alexandra. Of all the elements of pricing your work, the “Pain in the Butt” fee is probably the most personal. The basic idea is to charge enough to make sure that you won’t regret putting in the extra time and energy when all is said and done.
Sure, but what range of a percent off the total project can you usually -get away with- that the client wouldn’t balk at upon receiving the estimate or invoice? 5%? And in the estimate or invoice, do you include it in your base fee (before direct and related expenses, etc)?
I just had a request for a commission from a woman who wanted to pay $40 for a week of work AND all of the rights to the piece! I didn’t accept, but it made me wonder if a client is being an a-hole about paying anything reasonable, how much do others manage to charge extra for dealing with someone like that in terms of % of the overal cost of doing the work?
I would recommend just making it a part of your base fee, without any need to disclose that to your client. As for the amount, I generally gauge/estimate how much extra work I’ll be putting in and balancing that with what else is going on my my business at the time (other clients, workload, etc). As far as what you’ll “get away with”, every client is different and it all comes down to communicating your value to them when negotiating price. In the case of a pain-in-the-butt fee, it’s kind of a last measure to make the project worth working on at all. If the “problem client” isn’t willing to pay the rate, then I generally would rather not take on the hassle if I’m not comfortable with the compensation. Hope this helps.
Ok, that makes sense – especially estimating how much extra work it might be (such as if they’re a bean-counter, or wanting a lot of extra revisions, and taking up a lot of time by phone or in meetings) and balancing that against what else is going on in one’s business.
Thanks, that does help a lot! And thanks for responding so rapidly, especially right after the holiday!
No problem, Alexandra. Glad to help!
All good comments… like the price base regarding copywriting/blogging… whats the same for illustration?
I’ve just been requested to discuss an illustration for a book cover. I never done one before though many other commercial pieces for advertising agencies etc.
How do you price a book cover?
I assume its a Cover Price + expected publication volume + time (and an hourly rate for revisions)… not sure where to start exactkly only that my average price for a single artpiece is £200?
Can anyone offer some guidance?
When you believe with what you have and your business, you can always justify your prices and your clients can’t hold you back. It will take courage but that’s what it is supposed to be. Thank you for bringing this one up! I like it so much. I also would like to recommend you to watch this, I’, sure it’ll help you. http://marieforleo.com/2011/12/should-you-raise-prices/