Most European marketers I met were worried that they are charging too little.
Most ASEAN marketers I spoke to seem afraid that they are charging too much (and lost their customers).
I still remember, during one conference’s lunch break, a Swiss guy frown his face and asked “am I charging too little?” when a Malaysian guy “wow-ed” after hearing his hourly rate.
Pricing a project is an art. Finding the right balance is never an easy task.
It’s something I have been trying to learn.
Tom Hirst has some good points in his Twitter Tread.
You can read the whole thing in one page on his blog here – https://www.tomhirst.com/pricing-freelance-projects/
The key thing I took away from this:
You can’t charge a premium if your individual value isn’t obvious.
Things that increase perceived value and thus project price:
The scarcity of your time (availability)
What you’ve done before (credibility)The project price itself
Reducing your price means reducing your perceived value if you don’t also reduce scope.
* This short note was originally posted on my Facebook wall.
Coming up with the “right” freelance rate(s) is really difficult. I spent years experimenting until I found the right ones for my market. Still low-average according to the Writer’s Market and AWAI, but they’ll do for the small businesses I work with. :)
The hard part was not devaluing my work and myself as a professional. It was hard with low self-esteem, but the first person we owe respect to is ourselves.
– Luana