Comments on: Service that Scales: Pricing Guidelines, Tips, and Strategies for Freelancers

By: Issa

Issa — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:31:49 +0000

Hi Mathew,

Love your sharing! Bottom line is – always set your rates… the way you truly deserve ( not anything else ). Know your worth as an independent professional. Thanks for the tips.

By: Bob Rollar

Bob Rollar — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:53:09 +0000

Really good article. Well written and packed with good practical advice for the freeland designer. Nicely done!

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:16:34 +0000

Great post. Lots of excellent tips here – especially about marketing yourself based on VALUE and not price.

In fact, low prices can often turn clients away! The assumption is clients seek a bargain price, but very often clients equate low prices with cheap, amateaur, low quality work (and they’re often right about that).

By: Sujan Patel

Sujan Patel — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:16:00 +0000

Great tips. I run a internet marketing firm and a lot of your advice applies in my business as well.

By: Cristian

Cristian — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:01:13 +0000

Interesting post. Didn’t find much new here. My own two cents. Charging by the hour works if you estimate accordingly and leave a cushion for unexpected issues, since they always arise. Charging on a project basis also works, but charging by performance is the most preferable. If it takes me one hour to complete a task that takes you two, should I charge for one hour or for two? Logically it’s about raising the rate, due to expertise and proficiency, hence performance. And here’s the secret, performance is based on experience plus perceived value. Key word: “perceived”, something that will always be subjective, and here’s where the sales skills do the work. And as a final note there will always be asymmetries in the marketplace(now more than ever since we live in a global digital environment), and people going to the cheapest vendor for work. But in the end its about knowing your client very well and knowing how to communicate with them effectively. Step 1) Find the clients you want to work with; Step 2)Offer them value; Step 3)Communicate constantly.

By: Glenn Gillette

Glenn Gillette — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:27:22 +0000

I was just in the middle of this decision: which horse to ride now, Elance or re-design my web-site? So, web-site it is, both showcase of skills & trial by web-fire of the design thus produced. After 5 years dedicated to a single client, it’s time to show the world what I can do: cadre of applications & matrix of experience. No pressure there, yikes!

By: Noor

Noor — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:26:57 +0000

Very well written article. I’ve spent some time digging into freelance websites (I’m a web developer) and I couldn’t believe how low some coders can bid.

However, low bids don’t necessarily always mean a bad quality service. As we all know, the value of American dollars varies from region to region. For instance, 100$ in India has a lot more national worth than 100$ in the USA. This is why the international competition is not fair and is falling victim to the messed-up global economical system.

By: sarroora

sarroora — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:37:43 +0000

Thank you so much for this article! It’s useful and I learned some wrong strategies that I can now avoid falling into! I’m an aspiring artist and I want art and design as my career for the rest of my life, so thanks again for all the heads-ups!

By: Eko Setiawan

Eko Setiawan — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:41:41 +0000

This article gives us very valuable information.
I liked this quote: “Being a successful designer is not just about your design ability.”
Thank you …

By: Tracey

Tracey — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:48:35 +0000

Thanks for a really informative article Mathew.

Do you think web designers are cannibalising their own industry by publishing some of the quick-fix web design ads on their own websites? I see those BuySellAds – cheap PSD to HTML, free Flash websites, etc – on most designers’ sites and feel we are shooting ourselves in the foot for a few extra bucks in revenue.

What do others think?