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graphic design pricing?

ok............... im a freelance graphic designer, and im new in this and a have no idea how to price and how to give an estimate for this kind of work i have posted an ad on craigslist http://sacramento.craigslist.org/crs/465107209.html i just put an hourly rate $20-$30 is it to low or to high for my work?

Public Comments

1. way too low...but depends on how much experience you have. This is a question you may not get an exact answer to. MOST professional designers do not like to discuss pricing. For all your help though in getting started, as it helped me greatly, visit this graphic design forum...GREAT people in there and there are a TON of FAQs on working in the industry freelancing. http://www.graphicdesignforum.com ALSO you NEED THIS BOOK, it will help w/ EVERYTHING! http://www.gag.org/pegs/index.php This is every designers bible! :) TONS of resources out there.... ALWAYS USE A CONTRACT! I suggest starting out NO LOWER than $50.00/hr but basically most designers price themselves BASED on their experience, quality of work, and what they feel they deserve to make! It is pretty subjective. Read that GAG book, and you will figure it all out. ALSO, if you email me, I will send you to where you can get help on creating and using a contract, proper use of a proposal, and using a creative brief! You should use a contract as a part of the proposal process - ALWAYS use a contract! Don't be afraid to turn down work from cheap pain in the ass clients either. Don't do work for free EVER! http://www.no-spec.com will explain all that. Good luck! Again, feel free to email me w/ any questions you may have....
2. First, there is a typo in your ad ... the word after 'business card' should be 'or' not of. That tiny mistake will tell people that you are not careful and they won't want to 'look further' into your services. Second, while your hourly rate is good for what you are doing, you'll still need a 'solid price' for each 'piece' of work you do, and it would be better to put 'average cost $20-30 per hour' and then put 'free estimates' because most people don't have a CLUE how long it takes a 'graphic designer' to actually do the work. You'll need to decide if you are going to be working from scratch, doing your own 'sketches' and getting them approved, or working from their sketches, and the difficulty of both would account for the $10 difference in your hourly rate. Charge ONLY for the 'final drawing' if you are working from scratch, but charge the full $30 per hour. Do not count time you spend 'thinking' or sketching, or meeting with the clients to be sure what you are doing is what they will want to pay for. As you get more and more clients, and if you are good at it and a good marketer, you will, then you should 'up' your prices as you get a better feel for the work you are doing. I hope that at the rates you are currently charging, you are working out of your home, and you can take part of the rent out of your taxes if you do ONLY the freelance graphic design in even just a 'corner' of a room. What you need to do is a good search things like 'small business accounting' and business licensing Sacramento, California ... You'll also need to put together a good portfolio of your work ... stuff you've done in school for assignments, stuff you've 'doodled' and then finished on your own, etc. Put your portfolio on a disk and also get it 'printed out' on good 30-40 lb white paper ... get AT LEAST 50 of the 'print outs' so you can leave them with prospective customers to 'look over' at their ease, or at places where they may find them and look at them ... then get some GOOD 'business clothes' to wear when you are doing the estimates, because the way YOU LOOK could be the difference between a 'sale' and a 'no sale' even though you are not actually a 'salesman.'