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How much do you charge?

by Noirmaybe
24 replies
So I ran into my old high school chemistry teacher and he tells me that he has quit teaching to do photography full time. Tell him that I've been doing websites and Local SEO Consulting and he ask what that consist of. After I explain it he tells me he isn't happy with his current site and sees the value in SEO work and ask me how much would I charge for my services. And BAM! Just like that, I landed my first potential client.

I told him every project is different and prices vary from business to business because of this. I told him to give me some time to look over his site, do some research and I would get back with him with a quote. The problem is I have no Idea what to charge ! I don't want to charge him to much and scare him off and I don't want to charge to little and make the work not worth the pay (which I have a bad habit of doing )

Help Me out here

Here are the services that I'm going to offer him so maybe you could give me an idea on how to charge him. ( Or some Ideas for your on business )

Website/Website Redesign - His current website is just horrid. He knows It, I know it, the world knows it. It's also not it's also not SE optimized at all, onsite or off. I plan on setting him up with a word press and a theme from elegant themes ( Do I have to tell him this? ) . My only concern is that I've read google places hates word press. Idk how true this is because I did a site for a local auto glass repair shop (Done in wordpress) and without any SEO at all and it's currently in the bottom of 7 of google places. I'm just unsure because this is the first time I ever tried to do Seo for google places.

Mobile Web App (Fancy way of saying Mobile Website) - He was really excited when I told him I could do this for him, so when I noticed I asked to see his business card and I guessed right so it brought me to the next thing...

Redesigning business card/ QR code - His card is really plain and boring. It also has no QR code.

Facebook Fan Page - I'm going to offer to set him up with a custom FB facebook page along with

Favicards- These are small square cards that are really simple and can be passed out at events or set on coffe tables. I think they are eye catching and worth the investment. They are small, different, look like an app, get attention, feel cool to the hand, easy to disburse.




And of Course Ranking Him in Google Places - I've never done this before and I'm unsure how much this service usually goes for but I'm sure I can rank him in google places without many problems.

Any Ideas of what I should charge ?
#charge
  • Profile picture of the author guyd
    well the obvious is work out how much you want to earn a day and quote accordingly. Its all about finding that win win with the client so he is happy and so are you.

    There is no rule of thumb apart from looking what the local agencies charge and under cut them (which you can afford to do as you have little over heads)
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    • Profile picture of the author manny2513
      Originally Posted by guyd View Post

      well the obvious is work out how much you want to earn a day and quote accordingly. Its all about finding that win win with the client so he is happy and so are you.

      There is no rule of thumb apart from looking what the local agencies charge and under cut them (which you can afford to do as you have little over heads)
      Yeah before quoting someone I first see how hard and how much it will cost me to get it done then I go 3 times that sometimes more.
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  • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
    Clever post to get all you offer in a forum post. Even included a picture with your business card in it.

    Wonder how long before this gets reported as an ad?
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    • Profile picture of the author Noirmaybe
      Originally Posted by TopKat22 View Post

      Clever post to get all you offer in a forum post. Even included a picture with your business card in it.

      Wonder how long before this gets reported as an ad?
      This isn't an ad it's a legitimate request for advice/help and It's not my business card. I googled the Favicards to show an example of what I was talking about. If it where an ad, why would I be asking for help and stating that I just landed my first client?
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    • Profile picture of the author dminorfmajor
      Originally Posted by TopKat22 View Post

      Clever post to get all you offer in a forum post. Even included a picture with your business card in it.

      Wonder how long before this gets reported as an ad?
      Wow man, just wow... I guess I missed the affiliate link the OP's post had in it. Actually, I probably just missed the part where he tried to sell me one.

      Where's the dislike button?!
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      • Profile picture of the author tobyddd
        Bit confused with the 1st paragraph "Tell him that I've been doing websites and Local SEO Consulting" and "BAM! Just like that, I landed my first potential client." which would imply that either you haven't been doing websites and SEO or this isn't your 1st client.

        However - regarding charges - charge what you are worth - if it's £50 an hour / £400 a day - whatever - if your client thinks it's too high, maybe that's why he's not been happy with the previous people.

        Don't undersell yourself - tell people you aren't cheap, but tell them the reasons why it is more than worth their while using you. Figure out how long it takes you to do each task - and then charge accordingly.

        As for using Elegantthemes - that's only good if your client doesn't want too much customisation work doing - just beware.

        As for Google places not liking Wordpress - poppycock mate - not true.

        Good luck in whatever you do and however much you charge - but before giving prices - make sure "you" are able to complete the work yourself - if you can't, you could be left to look a little silly and damage your reputation for the future.
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        • Profile picture of the author Noirmaybe
          Originally Posted by tobyddd View Post

          Bit confused with the 1st paragraph "Tell him that I've been doing websites and Local SEO Consulting" and "BAM! Just like that, I landed my first potential client." which would imply that either you haven't been doing websites and SEO or this isn't your 1st client.
          I've been doing websites for people for a while now, and I've been doing SEO/Online Marketing for myself for some time too, but I'm just starting out doing local seo work for clients. After reading the offline forums for a bit, I figured it was worth a try

          Typically my clients are artist who need portfolio sites and people who want a website for random reasons [Music, selling of a new book, promotional website for plays ect. ]

          Thanks alot every one for the advice. I think I have an idea of what to charge now after a combination of this thread and some research.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    Really depends on how much work you but into the website. I am thinking a minimum of $2,500.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by sdentrepreneur View Post

      Really depends on how much work you but into the website. I am thinking a minimum of $2,500.
      Lately Im turning toward the school of thought that, you charge whatever you want your client to think your service is worth. There are different operating systems that work for their various reasons.

      You get customers who buy on price when price is your usp, but you dont get value customers.

      You get value customers by building value, and you lose them if you charge too little by making them think your work isnt even valuable to YOU.

      Just depends on your operation mode... Are you selling on price or value?
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Considering this is a first time client and someone you know personally here is how i would price it.

    Figure out the number of hours you think this will take
    Est hours x 125%(flub factor) x The hourly rate you want to make off this($10, $25, etc) + any outscource/etc costs

    That should be a good way to go. If you price low tell him that and ask for a testimonial in exchange for the lower rate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben_R
    whatever you think your worth - if you know your delivering something they would otherwise pay alot more for - say that to them and charge less -- that way they get a good deal and pay and you have a deal and a good rep from them - thats what i reckon anyway
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  • Profile picture of the author tranndee
    Love the Favicards. I had not seen those before but I will look into getting those. Thanks for sharing the photo!
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  • Profile picture of the author Danielm
    I wouldn't be concerned with the elegant themes thing. Their support is pretty decent if you want to customize anything, I have a subscription there and they've helped me tweak some themes pretty well. For a photographer you might find something perfect. I also wouldn't bother explaining it to the client, if they ask what you use you can tell them it is a wordpress CMS, you can tell them whatever really because for most people it won't even mean anything.

    I've never heard the "wordpress is bad for G Places" stuff, no reason why it should be at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author dominateseo
    Hey, the favicard is cool. I would try to implement it for my business. Also, yeah, i never heard anything about Big G not liking Wordpress, many professional SEO websites use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    All of your strategies for helping him sounds really easy. But to him it will look like quantum mechanics. Charge this dude $5,000 and call it a day. Time to teach him a lesson. Lol
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  • Profile picture of the author kayetaylor
    Anyway you have a really great idea... They all right it depends on how long you would do that and soon.....
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  • Profile picture of the author Seantrepreneur
    Sounds like a decent amount of work. I wouldn't charge a penny under $1,000 per month and I would also charge for the website separately. Be very careful under charging him because he is an old friend.

    This is a tricky situation because unless he is a very busy or high-end photographer he might find a quote for a grand or two a month to be more than what he can afford.

    Definitely keep us up to date on how this turns out.

    Sean
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  • Profile picture of the author jbtooloo
    As so many of you have already said, people should cost according to need.

    Every job is different, thus price should differ too.
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    So what did you end up charging him?
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    • Profile picture of the author nickhale
      I would say if you were going to charge him for all those things you would be looking at £1500 - 3000. Obviously you could charge less. But it's far easier to start high and come down!
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      • Profile picture of the author Wisdom Raphael
        Originally Posted by nickhale View Post

        I would say if you were going to charge him for all those things you would be looking at £1500 - 3000. Obviously you could charge less. But it's far easier to start high and come down!
        I agree. Its a sensible pricing strategy for a decent amount of work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Bucker
    This seems much like you asking what I charge my old friend or my Conrad in arms. Often people struggle with knowing what to charge a friend or acquaintance for their services.

    I will answer it by something I remember a pastor saying about that actual question when I was young. I will never forget it. He said; charge you friends the same as you would anyone because “if you can’t make money off your friends, you sure can’t off your enemies.”

    Just assure him that your pricing will defiantly be less than the benefits he will receive. Then give him your best. After he is happy get a referral to another prospect.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidlieder
    It is really not about what you charge, it is about what his budget is. Think of it this way, even if you decide on a price, if he does not have that much money, then you will not be able to do the deal. So here is what I do: ask him what his budget is. Then come up with a proposal for that and it will be a win/win deal.

    Its also much easier to close a deal if you match your proposal to his budget.
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    You wanna get paid? Charge him big for your services. You gotta eat too my dude! Start off with $5000, and if he declines, negotiate slowly to a still higher price. How would you feel with getting paid $3000 - $4000 for your services?
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