Blog, Working with designers, 6 min read

What clients quietly pay more for, from a studio that also freelanced

Not better design. Six things that move a freelancer from competing on price to being chosen.

We started as one person on a marketplace and now run a studio, so we have seen both sides of this. The freelancers who charge more are usually not the best designers in the pool. They are the easiest to buy from.

A number and a date, in writing, fast

Most buyers are comparing three people. The one who replies within a few hours with a clear price, a clear scope and a delivery date usually wins, even at a higher number, because the others have made the buyer do work.

A scope that says what is not included

Listing what you will do is normal. Listing what you will not do is what stops the job growing quietly. Two revision rounds, source files at the end, extra rounds at this rate. Buyers do not read that as defensive, they read it as someone who has done this before.

Showing the thinking, not just the picture

A portfolio of finished images makes you interchangeable with everyone else who has finished images. One line about what the problem was, and what you decided, makes you a person who solves problems. That is a different purchase.

Answering on the day, even when there is nothing to report

"Still on track, sending Thursday" is a message that takes eight seconds and removes a whole category of client anxiety. Silence is the single most common complaint about freelancers, and it costs nothing to fix.

Handing over everything without being asked

Source files, fonts used, a short note on how the file is set up. Buyers remember it because so few people do it, and it removes the fear that they are trapped with you.

Saying no to the wrong job

Turning down work you are not right for gets you referred more than taking it and doing it badly. It also makes your yes worth more.

The uncomfortable one

Raise your price on the next enquiry, not on the current client. Most freelancers wait for permission that never comes. The market tells you quickly, and the worst case is you go back.