Freelance Graphic Design RatesFreelance graphic design rates vary widely. It's difficult to know how to set your rates. Here's some advice to help you ask for, and get, what your time and skills are worth.
How Much Should You Charge?This is the eternal question.The short answer is: whatever you want to charge. I know you think it's more complicated than that so I'll explain. Nobody knows how much to charge when they first start freelancing. In any business, you have to charge enough to pay your business expenses and your living expenses. Then you need enough extra to save. Freelance work is not steady like a regular job. There will be slow times. You have to make enough during the busy times to tide you over. You also need to save for your eventual retirement. It's worth spending the time to list all the above expenses--try not to leave anything out--to find out how much you need to make per month in order to be comfortable. Divide that figure by however many hours you plan to work each month to come up with an hourly rate. This may not be what every freelance designer in the world needs to charge, but it will be the freelance graphic design rates you need to charge to make a successful go of it. But what about my competitors? Won't they undercut me?
Those of us who live in developed nations have to get used to the fact that we are now competing in a global marketplace. Some of our competitors live in developing countries and enjoy much lower overhead than we do. They can work for a fraction of what we have to charge. There will always be American businesses that want to take advantage of the cost savings foreign designers provide. You have no shot at their business. Accept it. It doesn't matter because there are also plenty of U.S. based companies that want to work with a local designer, someone they know or who was referred to them by another local business. There are business people who want to work with someone in their time zone or who speaks excellent English. Add in the ones who have been disappointed by their previous attempts at outsourcing freelance design work overseas and you have a pretty big pool of prospective clients. If you lower your freelance graphic design rates to try to compete with overseas design companies, your biggest worry will be trying to pay your bills. You can't live in the U.S. on a third world income.
How To Bill For Freelance Design WorkGet at least 30% up front--50% if you can. Invoice them for the balance when the work is completed to their satisfaction.Invoice the client as soon as a freelance graphic design job is finished. It may take weeks to get a check out of them, depending on how they handle their payables. Getting paid is more of a problem if you work independently than if you work through one of the middle man freelance job sites. If you haven't received a check 30 days after invoicing them, send a gentle email reminder. Wait two weeks before sending a second reminder. If this gets no action, try a polite phone call. Some people are very lax about reading their email. This is why you want to get as much as you can before any work is done. If they just will not settle their bill or are very slow payers, don't do any more work for them. It won't get better. These kinds of people never change and they are not worth the aggravation they will invariably cause you. It may take you a little time to find another client to replace them, but you'll be much happier. You will always want to use a contract to protect both yourself and the client. The AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services can be found here. I hope this helps you set and get the freelance graphic design rates you deserve.
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