May I Quote You?

Yesterday, Jessica asked how I estimate a project price. Mine is not the only way to go about it – it’s the way that works for me. Here’s what I do:

First, I look at the project. Some projects are going to be much more involved than others. For example, copy for a tri-fold brochure will take less time than say a technical white paper of ten pages or more. I assume a typical tri-fold brochure will take four hours to write (I get that idea from looking at other tri-folds and noticing the amount of text). That includes going through any notes from client conversations, or emails. Now I assume at least three rewrites for little tweaks. My rule of thumb – the more people involved, the more tweaks I’ll need. Remember, a giraffe is just a horse designed by a committee. Also, if I’m working with a new business owner, I assume a fair amount of worry about image and content. That’s fine, but I price per hour or I use a contract that allows for only three edits at the current price.

Once I determine from the “typical” existing copy samples, I total my hours times my fee. Then I add 25 percent. Why? Because it’s rare that any project goes off without some hitch, and this also proves as a bit of a buffer should I underestimate the scope of the project.

So, to price your project, start with your hourly rate times the estimated number of hours you think it will take, and then add 25 percent more to the total. That should put you in the ballpark. Oh, and do yourself a favor – establish a minimum fee right up front. Mine is a 3-hour minimum charge. It keeps you from spinning your wheels on small projects, and helps to weed out the less serious clients.