Let’s talk about pricing strategies for social media managers. This is one of my favorite topics. (Be sure to keep reading too, because at the end of this post, I’m going to share with you something that’s going to give you a lot more value than you would even believe – it’s incredible.)
Now, people ask me all the time, “Rachel, how do I price my services? How do I bill?” So many questions about it. “Do I bill before the fact? Should I bill after? Do I discount my services?” These questions come up almost every single day and I want to give you just a little bit of guidance so you will feel confident and empowered in your pricing for your services.
So here are my three tips for pricing your social media management services.
Pricing Strategies: How To Price Your Social Media Marketing Services
#1- Don’t Use An Hourly Rate
Instead, you are going to focus on monthly retainers. Why monthly retainers? Here’s why: because as you work and become more proficient as a social media manager, you ultimately are going to get faster at your job, and you shouldn’t be penalized on that based on an hourly rate.
Instead, that monthly retainer guarantees that that’s the amount your client will pay month over month. Then, you won’t find yourself being nickeled and dimed every single month when it comes to invoicing time.
#2- Bill For Your Services Before You Begin
Once a client commits to working with me, they must pay the retainer. I don’t share strategy or start working – not even to set up phone calls with clients – before the retainer is paid and there’s a specific reason why. I see all too often social media managers and other creative professionals who are screwed over when the client doesn’t pay the bill, maybe for weeks or even months. This is detrimental for any business.
So bill for your services before the work is to begin. You are putting in the time and energy to focus on securing them an ROI, growth of their following. You can’t be chasing payment, it’s just not how we operate.
#3- Raise Your Prices
Number three, raise your prices. I’m serious, you probably aren’t charging enough.
Every single month, I bill my clients between $3500 and $7500 a month to work with me, and every single day, I have people begging to work with me.
But the answer is, charge more than you think you are worth because the skills that you have learned, and are continuing to learn, are worth a lot of money. You are enabling business owners to grow their business. That’s not something that many people can say.
So, no matter where your prices are at, take a look, talk to some other social media managers that you respect, and I’m gonna tell you, the chances are your prices aren’t high enough yet.
Let’s Recap
Number one, I want you to charge a monthly retainer instead of an hourly rate.
Number two, you need to require that your clients pay before you start working for them.
And number three, raise your rates because the skills that you have are worth a lot of money.
But wait, I’ve got something special for you.
And for that extra value…
I taught an entire pricing strategies masterclass inside of Social Media United, which is my university, the leading university, I might add, for social media managers.
And I want you there. I want you to have access to the full masterclass. I want you to be growing your business.
Membership in SMU is normally $49 per month, but for now, you can hop on in for just one dollar so that you can get access to everything inside of SMU, including that pricing strategies masterclass where I map out skill levels, expectations, what a client’s goals are, whether they want paid advertising or organic, and more. You can hop into that entire master class, learn everything that you need about pricing for just one dollar.
I would love to see you on the inside of Social Media United. I want you to have everything you need to grow a successful, profitable social media management business. Come join the #smucrew and I’ll see you on the inside!
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