How much should I charge?

Joel, what online bliss is saying sounds like a good strategy, but I think there is no one better than yourself to determine what your talent and work is worth. Since this is your first project where you will be charging, you may want to do some trial prices. As you move up and prove yourself, your value and hence your prices will increase.

The best of luck to you.

I am fairly new to the web design and internet marketing field, but I did this with one of the first sites I built for someone. It is paying dividends. I get 10% of whatever business I send, and the site is for a photographer.

You are right. Do not charge by the hour or the page. Charge for the project.

One of my niches is the martial arts niche. I charge the schools that use my marketing materials and websites a licensing fee each year. If they fail to pay, they lose the right to use my system and website to bring students in their front door. I charge $5400 a year.

How did I get that fee?

I am selling dollars for dimes.

The LIFETIME VALUE for each student is approximately $9000. And the average school brings in 8-10 students a month.

So $5400 per year is a steal!

Do not underprice your experience and training. If your marketing and website tactics will pull in 20 leads a month for that real estate agent -- and that translates to 2 sales at $5000 or more per sale. Why under-price yourself?

And you definitely want to license your stuff. You will own the website and marketing materials.

Aloha,

Jason

Definitely do not charge by the hour or the page. Charge an initial fee to get the site up and running. Then you could upsell packages and benefits such as hosting for a year, a specified amount of changes or new pages per month, any SEO services you felt comfortable doing (or outsourcing), etc.

It depends on the business and the business owner and you'll be able to charge more if you learn what they really want and feel is valuable to the growth of their business.

Here's a suggestion;

Realtors get "New Listings". That's their job. If you use WordPress...your client can go in and add the New Listings THEMSELVES! You can show them how to use the "DashBoard".

If they want YOU to add New Listings (Photo of 2 plus text description) then you've GOT to add a pretty good fee for your Time & Talent.

I've stayed away from realtors because of their "persnickety-ness". However, I charged $1500 set up and $250/mo and each New Listing would be $35ea additional, one-time.

AND...here's a Promotion Technique that "Blew Them Out Of The Water" as far as any competition was concerned.

I offered to give each New Listing....their Own Web Page with a Sub-Domain (Hostgator) of their address;

Ex: www.123Main.JonesRealty.com (an extra $50 per Listing)

And...if they wanted to pay for it...I even gave the New Listing their own Domain and WebPage;

Ex: www.123Main.com (an extra $150 Per Listing) AND....THIS feature REALLY helped my realtors get Listings (Realtors make money from Property Listings whether they sell it or not. 1 1/2% to 3% just for the Listing. It's split with the sales agency) Property Owners LOVED the idea of having THEIR ADDRESS with it's OWN DOMAIN...on the Majestic Internet. It was something that appealed to their EGO and helped get many High-Ticket Listings and gave MY Realtors an Aura of "Professionalism and Uniqueness".

Midas Man
50 Ways to Make $50,000