Setting Your Packages and Pricing: A Roadmap For New Social Media Managers

I don’t know about you, but even harder than finding clients was creating my social media packages and pricing model. I was literally terrified to ask for too much money and be rejected or receive criticism from potential clients. If you read my last blog post, Becoming a Freelance Social Media Manager: 4 Beginning Steps To Get Out Of The 9-5 And Into The Freedom of Freelancing, you’ll already know my story of sending out my very first proposal for $400 CAD a month for a package I now charge over $1000 for… yikes! Thank goodness that person didn’t want to sign with me. It’s very difficult to find comparable pricing from other freelance social media managers because we aren’t very good at sharing and like to keep our prices private to avoid being undercut. So, how do you come up with reasonable packages and pricing without charging too much or too little? Let me save you some anxious, sleepless nights of overthinking this subject (like I did) and give you the same roadmap I used when developing my packages!

1.     Keep Your Target Market Top Of The Mind

First and foremost, really gain an understanding of what your target client needs out of your services and what they can afford. For example, I manage Instagram accounts for small to mid-size businesses, typically my clients work for themselves with no employees or very few employees, and they are in the growth phase of their business so they don’t have a lot of time or resources to contribute to their social media. My packages were developed keeping in mind that my target market wouldn’t have a huge marketing budget to allocate to social media, and they likely would desire full account management. Think about where your target market is in their stage of business, how much you feel they would be willing to pay for your services and how much of your help they would ask for. If you have any friends who own a business, ask them outright what they would pay for your services!

2.     Try to Find Comparable Pricing

Even though you may struggle to find comparables from other freelancers, you will likely be able to source comparables from agencies. These comparables are just as valuable because if you are working as a freelancer, you will likely be charging less than an agency would as you have no employees to pay and very little overhead. Finding agency packages can give you an idea of what services they offer, if you want to offer more or less, and how much they charge knowing they have more expenses to pay than you would. This is a great starting point for ironing out your deliverables and starting to think about pricing. Keep in mind one of the main reasons businesses hire freelancers is to save money.

3.     Your Time is Money – Don’t Undervalue It

When first beginning as a social media manager, I felt like I should be charging way less than an agency would because it was pretty much just me and my laptop every day. But the truth is, your creative brain is working full days and you will likely work a lot of weekends and holidays. Your time and intellect need to be accounted for. Just because you aren’t commuting to an office every day or paying employees doesn’t mean you aren’t exerting your time and energy into your client’s work. When first developing my packages, I was given some inspiring words of wisdom that went something like this: “When thinking about what you want to charge for your services, think about the dollar amount that would make you happy to do the work and not hate your life.” If you undervalue yourself, your time, your creative thinking, and your credentials, you will end up resenting the work.

4.     Consider Your Monthly Expenses

Even though you have no employees, you still have monthly expenses. I assume you live in a house somewhere and need to eat food to survive like me. You also probably have monthly subscriptions, and may need to invest in new equipment as you go and commute places. All of these are your monthly expenses that should be taken into consideration. In the beginning, I didn’t account much for these expenses because they were very low, but as my business has grown and I have needed more resources to be successful, my expenses have risen and they do eat into your gross income. I recommend having a spreadsheet where you can keep track of your recurring expenses and a separate one for your changing monthly expenses.

5.     Start By Offering Introductory Pricing

This is a really great way to gain clients but also leave yourself open to raising your prices once you have found your workflow and feel more confident in yourself and your skills. If you have a price in your head you want to charge, but are worried about rejection or unsure if it’s too much, lower it to a price you feel people will definitely sign on at for a limited period of time. This allows you to build trust with your new client, let your work speak for itself, and build up confidence in yourself. Once you have trust in place with your clients and they see your work paying off, they will have no problem signing on at a higher rate. I recommend leaving your introductory pricing in place for a minimum of 3 months to allow time for trust and credibility to build between you and your client, though you can offer an introductory price for as long as you would like.

6.     Leave Your Contracts Open For Amendment

I never sign a client longer than a 3-month term to allow myself the freedom to amend a contract if need be. For example, if you are anything like me, you will likely find in the beginning that you are charging too little for the work you are doing. If you sign a client for 6 months at that price, that is 6 months you must wait to raise your price. Or if you overpromise work and are now exhausting yourself ensuring your deliverables are done every month (yup, I have been there too!), you may not be able to change your deliverables until the term is up. 3-month terms have been the sweet spot for me, but once you're comfy in your workflow and client relationships, you can choose whatever term works for you and your business.

7.     Trust Your Gut And Believe In Yourself

I remember sending out my first package proposals and being so anxious about getting pushback about my prices. But guess what? Not once has someone pushed back on my package prices. Even when I raised them I was met with understanding and a contract renewal because I had proven myself, my skills, and my commitment to my client’s work that no one felt they were getting taken advantage of or wanted to seek a cheaper option. Setting your prices too low is just as dangerous as setting them too high, no one wants the cheapest option when it comes to their marketing efforts. I wanted to position myself in the middle, I felt that was comfortable for my skill set, what my target market would be willing and able to pay, and the deliverables I was promising each month. I was able to secure a full client base because thanks to me trusting in myself after researching some comparables and asking for constructive opinions.

Do some research and see what else you can find for pricing and package structures, and really think about how much you are willing to do the work for. Remember why you became a freelancer in the first place, to have freedom over your time, work schedule, finances, and your life! Go with what feels good for you, what you can assuredly ask for from your clients every month without feeling slimy about it or without feeling depressed when you look at your bank account. I am sure you will pivot a lot in your business, especially when you are first starting out. I promise once you secure that first client, it will be a weight off your shoulders and your confidence will immediately start to build. Everything just kind of falls into place after that first “YES!” I believe in you, now go believe in yourself and get creating!

*Cover photo taken at Matchstick Café In Vancouver, BC. where Studio Curative was developed. I was sitting in my favourite chair reading Soul Boom by Rainn Wilson.