There are a lot of ways to price your work.
The one that will probably net you the most money in the long run is value pricing.
Value pricing means capturing a percent of the value you help create.
The problem with value pricing is it involves a more nuanced conversation. You have to be patient, ask good questions, estimate your costs, and be able to calculate potential ROI situations to find the right price.
It’s an advanced method but one to try out as you get further along with your career.
Until then, keep it in the back of your mind and use it to inform the direction of your prices.
Another way to price, one more common to a lot of us, is based on how we feel about our prices.
Feeling out your prices may seem like the wrong way to do it, but I think it deserves more credit.
The longer we do our work, the more conversations we have. The more conversations we have—and the more work we do—the more patterns we see.
Over time, our ability to feel out a good price becomes honed in.
The market gives you feedback, you see how long things take, you factor in the typical value of each result you produce, and eventually, your prices become obvious.
If you’re not sure where to price, pick something that feels right. Add a little to it so it makes you at least a little excited to do the work.
That’s your price. At least for now.
Have more conversations. See what results you get. Adjust accordingly.
Feeling out your prices may leave some on the table in the short-run, but it’s not a bad strategy if you keep evolving over time.
Pricing is as much about how you and your buyer feels as it is any logical metric based on estimated value.
