Out of school I was told to charge $50\/hour. sometimes i charge less than that, it really depends on the project, and who it’s for. i’ve designed stuff for pizza before (for buds). Depends on the project whether I personally charge hourly or per project, sometimes with hourly it’s tricky because (some) clients don’t know necessarily how long things take, so a total cost is a bit more digestible for them."<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/p>\n\n\n\n
One other graphic design freelancer in the same forum discussion explains how they differentiate themselves in order to charge a higher rate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThere are thousands of freelancers offering photoshop, graphic design, writing, etc. Many of them charge so little that you cannot effectively compete using price as a differentiator.<\/p>\n
The key to being successful at freelancing is to be skilled at customer service and marketing. Don’t wait for someone to hire you to do what you enjoy. Instead, create content (whether text, images, or both) that you would like to be paid to create for others. Then, put that content in a portfolio.<\/p>\n
Let prospective customers see what you can do and judge for themselves whether it is good enough.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
And what about what skills you need as a graphic designer? This freelancer explains:<\/p>\n
\nHaving photoshop and illustrator aren’t, or at least shouldn’t be, what it takes to be a graphic designer. Are you actually skilled in graphic design? Otherwise it can take quiet a while to be good enough to be selling your skills to a business with guarantee that they will achieve good design results.<\/p>\n
Also don’t focus on what others are doing, except when there is something to learn from them. Otherwise looking at everyone that is better than you can just bring you down. If you can use your skills to sell a service at all then does it matter if other people are doing it to, maybe better than you are? Work to figure out the differences between you and someone else who is selling similar services. What do you bring to the table that some other person may not? Use that to your advantage and let it influence how you sell your service.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Should you charge for freelance graphic design by the hour?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIdeally, you shouldn\u2019t charge for freelance graphic design by the hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every project you take on should be value-based, where the clients pays in terms of value generated and ROI of the activity you do, not the time spent designing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graphic design freelancers provide a lot of added benefits for not being another full-time member of staff for their clients, which means you should be able to increase your rate to a decent day rate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Fast worker and implementation time as you are a graphic design expert<\/li>
- Industry knowledge of what works and what doesn\u2019t as you keep up to date on graphic design trends and best practice<\/li>
- Image gathering and creation for graphic design content<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Your job is to show clients that keeping costs low, rather than producing brilliant results, is not the right approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They should be glad to pay your requested day rate as a freelance graphic designer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>How can you increase your day rates as a graphic designer?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn order to sell your services as a graphic design freelancer, you need to ask your clients what their objectives are for their business and the marketing activity they run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should also ask what their current challenges are with graphic design and their business in general, and what their strategy<\/em> is to meet their goals and overcome those struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBy setting a strategy, not just doing graphic design activity, you\u2019ll be proving the value you bring to your client\u2019s business.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>What day rate do you charge as a freelance graphic designer?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019d love to hear your experiences of being a freelance graphic designer and what day rate you charge. Please leave your comments below or join the discussion in our community:<\/p>\n