My Top Freelancer Pricing Strategies to Strike Gold

Helloooooo Freelancers of the World.

I'm back with another thread about improving the freelance lifestyle.

And as is so often the case, I'm here to talk about money. Specifically, I'm going to cover what strategies (read: psychological tricks) can you use to set prices that get you what you earn and leave your clients smiling (despite their lighter wallet).

Let's friggen go 👇

For some context:

I'm a recovering finance-phobe and frugal fanny. I hate spending money, but also love traveling and eating well and living where and how I want. It took me a long time and lots of practice to get over my finance-phobia. These pricing methods I'm about to share were a big help.

For more context:

I'm going to be talking about pricing strategies to charge for premium-level services. I have a different thread in this channel about how to build premium-level services. Go check that out when you can.

First off, here is what I don't do with pricing:

❌ I don't charge by hour (or day). I've tried it, but it ends up shortchanging me. As you grow as a freelancer, you get faster and more efficient. If you charge by hour, your price will stagnate as your value goes up. That's the opposite of what we want to happen.

❌ I don't list my prices on my website or anywhere. This is primarly because of what I offer. My services (SEO audits, content strategy, SEO writing) all vary in terms of the amount of work required. Therefore, I need to know the scope of a project before I can price it out.

✅ Instead, I have pricing templates I use that outline my services. I have multiple versions for my different services, which I can Frankenstein together once I've had an intro call (30 mins or so) with a lead.

👉 🔌 These pricing templates are part of the SEO Bridge Builders Kit I offer my coaching/training students. I'm launching the full version of this in a few weeks, so if you want in on what those look like, join my mailing list or come follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

I've framed these templates around a few different pricing techniques that I find work really well.

Here they are:

🧩 Breakdown your prices

Big numbers are hard to swallow. With many of my services, I provide the full cost at the top, and then an itemized list of things that go into that cost. For example, my content strategies can cost upwards of $10,000. That's a scary number, but when I break it down into thinks like Keyword Research: $2,000 | Audience Analysis : $3,000 it becomes a lot easier for the client to understand and cope with. They also will get excited seeing a detailed breakdown of everything that will happen, along with a "results" box where I set their expectations.

📅 Offer payment plans

This is a similar strategy, but one way to break down big numbers is by creating a timeline for payment. I like to give clients a few options, like this:

🥇 Offer different packages

This is an old psychological trick. Clients like to feel they have some agency when it comes to setting prices for the services they pay for. Offering multiple different packages at different price points allows them to have some choice, while still playing within your rules. I typically offer a bronze, silver, and gold option.

Here's how I set those prices:

🥈 I start by assuming they will go for silver (they almost always do). So silver becomes what I really want to happen.

🥉 Bronze is my "disappointed but still worth it" option - a discounted price I'm happy with, but with enough work cut down that I won't feel like I'm getting ripped off. I also take out enough work to make the silver option look much more appealing.

🥇 Gold is my "holy shit, I can't believe they went for that" option. It's a lot more work, at a much higher price point. It's the works. It's everything I can think of, and the most I can bring myself to charge. It's primary purpose is once again to make silver look like a great option, but I've had a number of clients go for gold. (And they reap the benefits, too.)

A few other tips, if you're struggling to set pricing.

⏳ I've mentioned this before becuase it's one of my top tips. But if you havnen't yet, you need to start tracking your time. I use Toggl to do this but there are many timers out there. Timers help you figure out how long it takes to do things. From there, you figure out an hourly rate, and suddenly you have the formula for setting prices.

🤑 Add taxes!

🗣 I always suggest a follow-up call once I send a quote. This allows me to answer any questions and guide clients to the results I want. If necessary, it's much easier to negotiate terms out loud than it is via email.

That's all for now. I'd love to hear about your pricing stragies! And any questions you have, please send 'em.

Last plug: If you like my articles on here, you can get lots more by joining my email list, or following me on LinkedIn or Twitter. See you there!