This next step is like planning your budget and travel expenses for a trip. Travelers can choose package deals from a travel agency or pay for transportation, food, and accommodations separately. They might debate the benefits and drawbacks of purchasing a package versus paying as they go.

When you’re building your freelance business, you may have similar questions. And one of the biggest questions is “What should you charge?” How should you package and present your services to clients?

In this chapter, we’ll share some strategies to help you gain confidence in pricing and packaging your services.

Three Components to Building a Powerful Service

1. Package Your Services

As we mentioned above, there are benefits and drawbacks to packages. On one hand, packages are an effective way to organize and present your services. They demonstrate credibility and enable you to make more income in less time (over the long term). They also allow you to scale your business and take on more clients.

On the other hand, packages are more rigid and don’t allow for customization. They’re not as flexible and make it easier to fall into the trap of “scope creep,” where you’re doing more work for less pay.

Here are three common service package formats that you can consider:

Hourly (“Punch Card Package”)

• Client purchases a set amount of hours
• 5-10% discount for larger packages
• Time period set on when hours must be used (1-month, 3-month, or 6-month interval)
• Some examples are administrative assistance tasks, content management/editing, customer support, research, and document preparation.

Project (“A La Carte Package”)

• Involves specialized services that can include one-off projects or ongoing monthly services
• Prepayment or partial prepayment is common
• Some examples are webinar set-up and production, copywriting, graphic design, WordPress design, shopping cart set-up, audio/video production, and blog writing.

Retainer (“Loyalty Package”)

• Special monthly rate you offer clients that covers specific tasks or a set number of hours
• Long-term relationship
• Hours do NOT roll over to the next month. (Use ‘em or lose ‘em.)
• Some examples are social media management, blog/website management, bookkeeping, product launch management, and email list management and marketing.

Three Categories of Service Packages

You can also choose to categorize your service packages in one of three ways:

1. Position packages typically focus on a particular role or set of responsibilities you will take on for a client:

• Online Business Manager
• Customer Service Rep
• Product Launch Manager
• Content Manager
• Video Production Manager
• Online Event Manager

2. Specialty packages focus on a specific skill-based service that could be project-based or an ongoing service:

• Infusionsoft set-up and support
• ConvertKit set-up
• WordPress design
• Landing page design
• Sales Page Copy
• Webinar set-up and moderation
• Shopify ecommerce set-up and support

3. Industry packages focus on general and specialized tasks for a specific industry and client group:

• Real Estate Marketing Support
• Author / Book Marketing
• Virtual Legal Assistant
• Local Business Marketing

Static vs. Progressive Packages

Another thing you’ll want to think about is the difference between static and progressive packages. A static package provides one level of service (e.g. WordPress development). In contrast, a progressive package provides multiple levels of service depending on what a client needs. For example, you may have Gold, Silver, or Bronze packages. These types of packages help you reach different audiences that need more or fewer services. For instance, as a Social Media Manager, you could provide packages that include one, two, or three social media platforms.

Create Your Service Package

Now let’s go through eight steps that can help you build an effective package for your business:

Step One: Choose your niche freelance service (e.g. book marketing).

Step Two: Select your target audience (e.g. authors).

Step Three: Map out all possible tasks that you will do within your service or package.

Here are some examples you could do as a book marketer:

• Set up new social media profiles in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
• Design headers, graphics, and images for social networks.
• Set up a social media editorial calendar to manage posting ideas.
• Set up a social media scheduling tool.
• Set up and moderate social groups in LinkedIn and Facebook.
• Research new posts to share with your client.
• Schedule daily posts in relevant channels.
• Moderate and respond to comments in social networks and groups.
• Research and add new Twitter followers.
• Provide social media reports.

Step Four: Categorize tasks that fit well together and break them down into two categories.

Set-up / One-Time Tasks

• Set up new social media profiles in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
• Design headers, graphics, and images for social networks.
• Set up a social media editorial calendar to manage posting ideas.
• Set up a social media scheduling tool.
• Set up social groups.

Ongoing Tasks

• Research new posts to share with your client.
• Schedule daily posts in relevant channels.
• Moderate and respond to comments in social networks and groups.
• Research and add new Twitter followers.
• Provide monthly social media reports.
• Manage Facebook Ad campaigns.

Step Five: Determine package category and format.

For example, a book marketing niche is industry-based since it targets authors. Setting up a social media platform for authors could be a project package. And social media management for authors could be a retainer package.

Step Six: Brainstorm names for packages.

This is the fun part, where you can brainstorm options. Some examples could be the “Social Media Kickstart Package” (set-up) or the “Social Media Mastery Package” (management).

Step Seven: Draft your package descriptions.

For example, if you’re working with authors, your two package descriptions could look like this. Capture people’s attention with your copy and specifically lay out the deliverables the client will receive from your services.

Social Media Kickstart Package: IGNITE your Social Media presence, connections, and results with the Kickstart package.

This package includes:

• Set-up and design of three social networking profiles
• Setting up your Buffer scheduling tool and a Google Doc editorial calendar
• One month of expert coaching and planning

Social Media Mastery Package: GROW your Social Media presence and results to new heights with the SM Mastery Package.

This package includes:

• Daily scheduled posts in three social networks
• Daily moderation and responses to comments
• Research and sharing of new post ideas
• Set-up of special campaigns including a monthly contest or promotion

Step 8: Consider add-on services.

Once you build your packages, are there other things clients could purchase that would amplify your existing package? Some examples are:

• Landing Page Creation Services (e.g. creating a landing page people can opt in to)
• Email Marketing Services (e.g. autoresponder sequences, list management, etc.)
• Blog Management Services (e.g. search engine optimization, blog post publishing)
• Digital Marketing Related Services (e.g. setting up marketing funnels, affiliate marketing, Google Analytics)

2. Price Your Services

This is one of the most common questions from freelancers. Before we outline the strategy for pricing your services, consider this story about the great Henry Ford, creator of the first automobile.

Henry Ford hired a mechanic to fix one of his machines. The mechanic came in, replaced one of the nuts that had come free, and gave an invoice for $100. When Henry Ford got the bill he was furious. “How can one nut cost $100?” So the mechanic submitted a new invoice listing $1.00 for the nut, and $99 for “knowing where to put it.” Henry Ford paid the bill, or so the story goes.

This story illustrates how you’re not just paid for your service. You’re paid for your expertise in your area, things you can do that your client cannot do.

Three Steps to Charging What You’re Worth

This is tough because we don’t always realize how talented we are. To charge what you’re worth, remember these three steps:

1. Know your value (your skills, experience, clients who have been impacted by your work).
2. Specialize your skills (allowing you to charge more because you have skills that other people don’t have).
3. Package your services (increases your overall hourly income).

Two Pricing Considerations

Be sure to keep the following in mind as you price your services:

1. Your pricing or rates should take into account the following:

• Industry standards (what other people are charging in the industry)
• Your level of skill and experience (how long you’ve been offering your services)
• Your specialization (specialized skills involving higher expertise)
• Your level of responsibility (increasing level of responsibility corresponding with a higher rate)

2. Think of your rates similar to the trades: Apprentice to Journeyman.

For instance, when you’re starting off, your rates may not be as high. Then, as you become more experienced, you can move to a higher rate.

Hourly Rates to Packages

If you start out with hourly rates, you may want to eventually transition to packages. Here’s how you can do that smoothly:

• Walk through the first seven steps to setting up your package.
• Estimate how long it will take you to do each task (within the package).
• Add an additional 10-15% of time for client communication, research, and unexpected issues.
• Determine your hourly rate for this type of work.
• Multiply your hourly rates by the number of estimated work hours.

3. Position Your Services

Finally, it’s time to figure out how to present your services in a way that’s attractive to your target audience.

Tips for Positioning Your Service

• Keep the descriptions on your website clear, readable, concise, and engaging .
• Think of your client’s primary challenges and pain points and come up with the answer that your services are the solution to their problems.
• Don’t overload ONE page with too many descriptions. Use links to other unique pages that present your different services.
• Get creative and use images to present each of your packages. This increases the stature and credibility of the packages you offer.
• Include specific “call to action” buttons with each of your service descriptions (e.g. “Access this service now,” “Contact us for a specific quote,” or “Sign up for a free 30-minute consult”).

To Include Pricing or Not to Include Pricing?

It comes down to personal preference whether you want to include prices on your website. On one hand, including pricing can simplify things for your audience. On the other hand, not including pricing allows you to customize your prices to match services your prospective client needs.

You could also leave out the pricing and instead invite people to “Schedule a Free Consultation.” Or you could include the pricing AND invite them to schedule a consultation. The choice is up to you!

Now that we’ve covered a lot of business technology and procedures, let’s take care of you personally as a freelancer!