Pricing for Artists and Creatives
It can be difficult to put a price on something as nebulous and subjective as creative work.
But as a freelance creative, it’s up to you to assign a dollar amount for your time, skills, and ideas. So how do you determine your “fair” price?
Thanks to the Internet, there are a couple of websites that can help you find your magic number while also providing some context, reassurance and justification to your client.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS (BLS)
Probably the most commonly used metric for determining pay is dollars per hour. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website conveniently provides that information for almost all occupations.
For example, the BLS website screenshot below shows the national average hourly pay for fine artists and crafters:
For an even better estimate, you can drill down to specific states to get an average specific to your geographic location.
When you find your BLS average hourly rate, you can also adjust it for things like demand or experience. For example, if you are swamped with commissions, you may want to raise your hourly wage to lower demand and more accurately price your work. Conversely, if you’re just starting out, you may want to lower your hourly rate to compensate for your lack of experience.
Once you finalize your hourly rate, multiply that figure by the estimated number of hours needed to complete the project to get a total project quote:
Example:
$20.00 per hour x 20 hours = $400.00 total estimated project cost
COMPARABLE WORK POSTINGS
Another way to price your time is to find requests for services similar to what you are offering.
Catchafire.org is a website where non-profits can call on skilled volunteers for help with some of their projects. The screenshot below shows how much the non-profit will save by having a volunteer design a new flyer for them (approximately $1,800).
This amount can serve as a ballpark amount that you can adjust as you see fit.
Finally, a couple of tips:
Address Revisions Early
Include revision information in your quote. It’s not unusual for clients to request changes to your work, so be sure to account for this time in your estimate. Things to consider: how many rounds of revisions, if any, are included in the cost? Can a client purchase more revisions if they want?
Control Extra Costs
Reassure your client that if the cost of the project is heading past the original estimate, you will let them know before charging them. Furthermore, at that point, it would be nice to give them the option to either adjust to stay within their budget or allow them to purchase additional time.