Pricing Type 2: Research What Other People Charge

I'm writing a series of blog posts about how to charge as a creative. The first pricing type I wrote about was charging an hourly rate; you can read about it here. Another ‘rational’ way to set prices is to research what other people charge and follow them.

Charging what other people charge

The internet is bursting with pricing information about this. You can price a painting by the square inch, tempered by how long you’ve been painting and how much work you’ve sold. If you’re a musician people will tell you what they pay for a gig, and you can always talk to other musicians. If you self-publish books, you can easily research what books of your type cost on Amazon. Coaches, teachers and trainers can find lots of information on the internet about what other people and organizations charge for training.

But is there really a specific amount that the market will bear?

Although you can begin to figure out your prices by what’s already going on in the market be prepared for huge variations. Even prices for everyday items like toothpaste, apples, shoes…in fact, probably every product or service out there can vary by two-hundred, three-hundred, even 1,000 percent.

What's the next step, then?

To figure out how to charge as a creative, it will help to do some testing. And if you choose this pricing method, try selling your work/idea to someone. No matter what happens, get feedback. If they bought or if they didn’t, find out why. Your goal isn’t to get them to buy. It’s to begin talking to people who might be your People, who want and need what you make.