To Share or not to Share

While I was creating my new website, I went back and forth so many times around deciding if I would share my prices online. Up until this point, I haven't.

It's a hot topic, with plenty of reasons why you should or shouldn’t. The best decision for you is going to depend on creating the best experience possible for your customer - and I can't tell you what to do, but I can share my own journey with pricing and why I decided to go public.

Should you Share your Prices Online? 10 Things to Consider

01

Sharing pricing may save you time and energy.

One of the main reasons I decided to add pricing to my website is because I wanted to cut down the time I spent on Discovery Calls - not to mention the awkward moment at the end where I share my pricing and it might not be in someone's budget. If your pricing is on your website, then a ‘sales call' becomes more of a friendly meeting and vibe-check, plus aligning on the logistical details like making sure you're both free to work on a project at the same time. I'd rather get a few inquiries a month from people who already know what I charge and love what I do, than many inquiries from people who might be mis-aligned at the moment. 

02

Sharing your prices may create a better experience for potential collaborators. 

When your pricing is right there on your website, it not only shows that you're confident in what you charge - but it also shows that you value transparency, making it easier for people to trust you. And let's be honest, people don't want to wait and dig to know how much you cost. I mean, have you ever been ready to buy something, and read tons of information about how great it is thinking to yourself “yes, yes, yes to all of this - but just give me the price already?!” - and then can't find the price, only to send an email or hop on a call just to find out it's too much? Not the best experience. Sharing your prices upfront shows that you honor your potential client’s time, and you’re going to make every part of the process of working with you easy for them. 

03

How developed is your business and website?

If your website showcases a lot of value and storytelling before getting to the prices, then when potential customers reach your prices, it will feel like you’re sharing from a place of professionalism. If you haven’t served your audience much value beforehand, and you don’t have much information on your website about your services in general, displaying prices too soon may feel a bit transactional. The more personality and substance you have on your website, the less transactional transparent pricing will feel because there are more reasons for people to want to work with you than just basing their decision on pricing.

04

Where do you live, and where is your community?

How close-knit is your community, and what is the likelihood that they’ll talk to each other about the amazing services you offer? In my case, I’m part of a physical community of women who gather every year, and I don’t want women to feel like they are paying more or less than others, leading to potential misunderstandings. If my pricing and packages are public, that kind of transparency feels better for the kind of community i’m in and for the physical place I’m at in my life. On the other hand, let’s say you live in the Bay Area where rent prices are sky high. It might make sense to keep your prices private, or in an investment guide, only because you might need to charge higher than the market average just to keep afloat. 

05

My thoughts on downloadable pricing guides.

Let's be honest, when I first started my business - I wasn't confident in my prices, and there's nothing wrong with that! Sometimes when you're just starting out, you have to experiment and put yourself out there which can be super intimidating. You may simply need time to experiment with sales calls, negotiations, market averages, and sussing out the competition. Or maybe you’re in the really early stages of building an email list, and you want to offer an interesting downloadable to attract new subscribers. In all of these cases, you may want to consider sharing your prices in the form of a downloadable investment guide until you’re ready to go full-public. 

06

Is your service standardized?

In the past, I custom quoted every single project, but then I learned about ‘productized services’, which are services that are offered within a fixed container (similar to a product). The container is a set length of time and has a set number of included deliverables, which limits scope-creep and opens up the opportunity to offer your service for a set price.

And on that note…

07

Your pricing can still be flexible, even once it’s online.

Are your services customized depending on each client’s needs and desires? Or perhaps you want room to negotiate higher prices, but still want people to know what you cost in general? For these examples, you can add the phrase ‘Starting at $XXX’ to your pricing. That way, people know that a range might be involved. And who knows - now that they know your price range, maybe they’ll save up in the meantime! On the flip side, do you want to be able to offer lower prices than what you've displayed? Go ahead and add a ‘FAQ’ below your pricing that details out your sliding scales, payment plans, and other ways you offer community support.

08

Sharing your prices limits your potential customer’s assumptions.

If people can’t see your price, they might assume you’re too expensive. It feels psychologically similar to the feeling of walking into a storefront, not seeing price tags on anything, breaking a quick sweat, and then walking out. I’m here to tell ya - if you choose to share your prices online and you’re out of someone’s budget, they may not have been the best fit at that time anyway. (And that’s not to say they’ll never be a good fit! You’re just mis-aligned at this now moment) The point is - you want to work for ideal clients who value and respect you, and who will pay or save up for what you feel you’re worth. Projects that are booked at your asking price often feel better energetically, from start to finish. 

09

Do you enjoy sales or marketing more?

If you don’t have enough inquiries or you really really really don’t want to miss out on higher paid opportunities, then you can leave your pricing off and instead master the art of sales and negotiation during Discovery Calls. If you want to have less sales calls and conversations, then share your prices online and focus on marketing your services more instead. By the way, great website copy can be especially helpful for ‘selling’ in lieu of conversations, because when your website is written well, it will showcase how you solve your customer’s problems and why the price they’ll pay is worth it.

10

My thoughts on value-based pricing.

There’s this concept in the design world called ‘value-based pricing’, and it’s the notion that if your client is wealthier, and their business is bigger, then it’s likely your design services will end up earning them more revenue - and therefore they should pay more for your design services than you charge others. Honestly, I do see why value-based pricing makes sense for the design industry (and we can get deeper into this in my DMs if you’d like), but I’ve personally decided that I won’t charge wealthy people more even if they make more from my services. I’ll charge higher prices to people only if they choose one of my larger packages with more 1:1 support. Or if my skills improve, I’ll just raise my rates in general. I like to think of my services as an appreciating asset - they’re worth what they’re worth, and the price will increase as I become more skilled and experienced over time. Straightforward and simple.

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