6 Secrets to Pricing Yourself Beautifully

There are two things that cause level 10 anxiety for a person that works for themselves:

1. Telling a client how much it’s going to cost *deer in headlights* 🦌 🚘
2. Trying to type in the authenticator code in time before the little torturous thingy pie chart thingy expires (thanks for that extra cortisol)

Unfortunately I have no solution for the latter (it takes me 3 hours just to wash the dishes), but I’m marginally better at the former. I’ve been working for 15 years as a creative writer and newsletter publisher now, and so far, no one’s hunted me down and peeled up my fingernails because they thought I charged too much.

But, god, it’s so hard, isn’t it? Figuring out how much value to place on your art? Especially when your art comes easy to you—that’s the worst, because the less it feels like work, and the less time it takes, the more weird you’re going to feel about charging for it.

But, time is a poor way to determine value.

Would you pay more for a book if it took the author longer to write it?

Similarly, no one wants to pay more for a photograph just because it took the photographer longer to take it. No one wants to pay more for a haircut because it took the stylist longer to cut it.

What they will pay more for, however, is the best fucking haircut they’ve ever had.

So I’m just going to start this with the most true thing I know about pricing your work:

The best pricing strategy is not a pricing strategy at all.

It’s a positioning strategy.

Because when you become dangerously good at your craft, the price no longer matters.

People will find a way—when it’s the best.

This is why it’s important to pick a lane and own it, especially when you’re new at this whole “working for myself” thing, because it’s the fastest way to build a reputation.

Your name should be associated with A THING.

Like Hunter Harris says here: “Find a niche that someone knows to come to you for…[It’s about] building some kind of rapport with your community, and having things that they expect from you. Then, consistency.”

That is hard to do when you’re just flailing along in a river floating downstream as just another average website designer / copywriter / photographer / coach in a sea of ‘em, all saying the same thing on their websites.

How do you stand out to anyone if they can’t see you?

Letting people sort through all your competitors and figure out why they should hire you out of all of them” is not a good business strategy. It’s a lazy business strategy that reeks of another problem: lack of clarity.

When you’re clear on what you actually ARE the best at in your world, you can advertise it. You don’t have to be the best in *THE* world (that’s a tall task!), but aim for being the best in your world—your community, your circle, your online peers—at something, to give yourself an edge. A flag. A sign in the air. A way for people to clearly see you through the murk.

When you are the best in your world at something, your world will know.

And, they will pay you for it.

Example:

You could be a life coach like the other 34,200 life coaches currently in the U.S. (That’s a real statistic!)

Or, you could brand yourself as “the friendship coach,” like Danielle Bayard Jackson did.

The receipts don’t lie! She’s now been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, Shondaland, The Washington Post, Vox, The Wall Street Journal, Tamron Hall, Psychology Today, and NBC as THE go-to source for anything friendship related.

That’s because people can clearly link her to something—in this case, “friendship.” That’s the buzz word she owns.

The more specific, the easier it is to get noticed.

And, the easier it is to charge a premium that aligns with a premium reputation.

Right now, she’s charging $399 for an hour call with her—except, she’s phasing out 1:1 sessions because girl’s gotten too big for ‘em! I also noticed this language: “Due to Danielle's unpredictable media schedule, new appointments are added on a weekly basis.”

^^^Anyone who has a media schedule is blowing up. And, I guarantee you 99% of that is because of the way she’s branded herself.

So, this is lesson number two in pricing your work (that doesn’t sound like a lesson in pricing your work but totally is): brand yourself.

What’s a word you can own?

What’s a concept you can own?

What’s an idea you can own?

Lesson No. Three: Pick an Affluent Target Audience (And Stop Trying to Help Everybody.)

This is going to be controversial, but you can’t operate like a non-profit if you want to actually profit. This is an article about charging premium rates that the right clients will be delighted to pay for, and as such, the key word here is: right clients.

There are lots of people in this world that you may feel called to help, and you should: but I’m a bigger fan of volunteering when that’s expressly the goal. I mentioned last week I’m starting an initiative in this rural community to get local businesses online. I’m not doing that because I’m hoping for a payout: I’m doing that because it’s meaningful to me. So, it may be worth separating what you want to do professionally (as an expert in your field), and who you help personally (as a volunteer). Putting the pressure on your work to give you everything—money, fulfillment, creativity, meaning, etc.—is A LOT. No job can do that (and that might be why you’re feeling unfulfilled). Imagine expecting a grilled cheese sandwich to give you all the nutrients you need? SAME.

This is why there’s a problem with the framing of the question “who do you want to help?” That word, help, automatically paints your clients as victims of something, and you as their savior. And, when you think of your clients that way, it skews your perception of what’s “right” and “wrong.” Of course you’re going to have issues charging money, if you think you’re asking someone in distress to give it to you.

So I’d ask yourself:

How can you offer your skills professionally? (To clients with appropriate budgets and willingness and ability to pay?)

And, how can you offer your skills personally? (To make a difference in a way that feels meaningful to you?)

Thinking about your work in different layers can be helpful when it comes to letting go of the need to force your work to give you everything.

Next up, we’ll talk about the other 3 mission-critical things that have helped me price my own work at a premium rate clients are happy to pay.

Note: the second half of this article is for paid subscribers. Join us!

Lesson No. Four: Know What It’s Worth to Whoever’s Buying It

“Worth” is relative.

What’s that phrase? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure? ACCURATE.

There is no “right” price. There’s no number that is “correct.” What is expensive for one person may be pennies for another, and what’s important to one person, might be trivial for another.

This is why knowing who you are working with is fundamental to knowing how to price your work.

Like I always say: not everyone can afford a penthouse, but that doesn’t mean you lower the price of the penthouse. You find the clients who want a penthouse.

This reminds me of the age-old saying: “don’t sell nuts to dolphins.” Dolphins don’t want nuts, so they aren’t going to be willing to pay a premium rate to acquire nuts.

Which says nothing about the objective worth of nuts. Nuts are delicious. And you know who would pay a premium for nuts? Squirrels.

So, in considering your pricing strategy, first consider who’s buying—and what kind of stake they have in buying your product. Are they a ravenous for what you sell? Do they need what you sell? Can they not go on without what you sell? Are they obsessed with what you sell?

Or, are they indifferent? Are you doing a lot of convincing? Do you have to practically beg them to buy? If so, you might be talking to the wrong target audience.

Lesson No. Five: Double the Price Tag and the Timeline

This one should be entered in as gospel: it will always take you at least 50% longer than you thought. Like hands down, rule of the universe kind of stuff. GOOD WORK TAKES GOOD TIME.

And yet, how many times have you sold your work on the promise of speed and expedience? Emphasized how fast you could get it done? (Even when they didn’t ask for it?) Promised a client the world, and then had to re-neg later when you realize you couldn’t even get a quarter done in the tiny time frame you quoted?

Listen to me on this one: do not make yourself look bad later just because right now, you’re an eager hen trying to make the sale. Be conscientious; be thorough. Promise excellent work, and promise it in double the time you think it’ll take—and for double the amount you were about to charge.

You will be surprised how many clients are totally fine with that (and would prefer it).

Lesson No. Six: Don’t “Feel” Your Prices. Justify Them.

Part of the reason why we don’t charge the rates we should is because a number like $20,000 feels like a LOT of money on its face.

You could buy a car.

You could put an addition on the house.

You could go to Madrid and stay at the Four Seasons.

…and, you are aware of this. Without the right level of confidence, it’s devastatingly easy to start imagining that your work is not as valuable as those things. That you couldn’t possibly charge a number like that. Who’s going to pay that? It’s a lot.

And so what happens?

You bring down your price to a number that feels comfortable for *you* to spend. A number that feels do-able…to you. A number that is not a reflection of your excellent work, but of your inherited money story. (Which may be problematic, if you’re like most of us.)

All because $20,000, while appropriate, “felt like a lot.”

Answer: stop “feeling” your prices, and start justifying them.

Go through each step you actually take in order to fully execute a project from start to finish. The research, the brainstorming, the drafts, the trial and error, the edits, the meetings, the phone calls, the deliberation, the consultation, the costs, the materials, the time, the method, the process, the emails, the thinking, the everything.

All those steps? Are invisible labor.

Your clients can’t see them.

And, if they can’t see them, they can’t value them.

Moreover, so often YOU can’t see them, either. When you’re in it, you’re in it! And you completely take your own self for granted. That is why it’s an important exercise to do periodically: go through every step, document each one, describe each one, time each one, and then when you see that a project is actually going to take you 5 months to complete, working full clip?

$4,000 a month — or $20,000 total — is an appropriate number.

What are some tips you’d add to the list?

Any mind tricks that help you get the confidence to pitch a big number?

(And, have you ever had a client be totally fine with your big number…to your surprise?!)

Let me know in the comments! ⬇️