4 ms·

This is a good post, but as far as WordPress goes $100 an hour is almost unheard of.

trcollinson 10y ago
Sure it is, if you are a "Wordpress Engineer", you are absolutely right. However, if you are a "Web Based Marketing, Strategy, and E-Commerce Consultancy", suddenly you are making $250+ on Wordpress stuff. I can name off more high end sites built on Wordpress than I would care to where the companies pay huge amounts up front plus on going fees to keep them up and running smoothly.
- tptacek 10y ago
  This right here is critically important advice and you should listen to it carefully. Calling yourself a "Wordpress Engineer" will help you get work on freelancing sites, but for your bill rate, it's like a boat anchor tied to another boat anchor tied to a that big ass flying rock from Deep Impact. There is no easier way to position yourself away from the money and into cost-center accounting than to put the name of specific technologies into your title or branding. One thing almost every freelancer can do instantaneously to improve their business is to scour their branding, titles, and marketing copy for jargon and tech names. There's a place for that kind of stuff, but it's not the front page of your website, or on your consulting one-sheet. If you're a "Wordpress Engineer", one thing that's very likely is that you have a bunch of clients. They're not paying you, well, anything really, but you do have a bunch of them. So take a few hours some time this week and call a bunch of them and ask what they did with your work, why they commissioned it, what they were hoping to get out of it, and whether that worked out. Two things will happen: * You will probably generate at least one new paying contract. Any time you mass-call a bunch of clients, you will get new contracts. My partner Dave and I twice had to call large groups of our clients to report that we may or may not have accidentally and stupidly destroyed the Internet. Each time, we got new gigs from the exercise. * You will know a lot more about what you should be calling your service offerings, rather than "Wordpress Engineering".
  - fightfortheuser 10y ago
    Good point. It often comes down to labeling. For instance, if you call yourself a freelancer your clients might think "cheap, disposable, commodity", but if you call yourself a consultant and can show that you deliver, then you can charge a premium price.
fightfortheuser 10y ago
I've got a fellow freelancer who charges $125 to build Wordpress websites, and he doesn't even make the design. But is good with layouts, and knows how to price by value.

Sure it is, if you are a "Wordpress Engineer", you are absolutely right. However, if you are a "Web Based Marketing, Strategy, and E-Commerce Consultancy", suddenly you are making $250+ on Wordpress stuff. I can name off more high end sites built on Wordpress than I would care to where the companies pay huge amounts up front plus on going fees to keep them up and running smoothly.

tptacek 10y ago
This right here is critically important advice and you should listen to it carefully. Calling yourself a "Wordpress Engineer" will help you get work on freelancing sites, but for your bill rate, it's like a boat anchor tied to another boat anchor tied to a that big ass flying rock from Deep Impact. There is no easier way to position yourself away from the money and into cost-center accounting than to put the name of specific technologies into your title or branding. One thing almost every freelancer can do instantaneously to improve their business is to scour their branding, titles, and marketing copy for jargon and tech names. There's a place for that kind of stuff, but it's not the front page of your website, or on your consulting one-sheet. If you're a "Wordpress Engineer", one thing that's very likely is that you have a bunch of clients. They're not paying you, well, anything really, but you do have a bunch of them. So take a few hours some time this week and call a bunch of them and ask what they did with your work, why they commissioned it, what they were hoping to get out of it, and whether that worked out. Two things will happen: * You will probably generate at least one new paying contract. Any time you mass-call a bunch of clients, you will get new contracts. My partner Dave and I twice had to call large groups of our clients to report that we may or may not have accidentally and stupidly destroyed the Internet. Each time, we got new gigs from the exercise. * You will know a lot more about what you should be calling your service offerings, rather than "Wordpress Engineering".
- fightfortheuser 10y ago
  Good point. It often comes down to labeling. For instance, if you call yourself a freelancer your clients might think "cheap, disposable, commodity", but if you call yourself a consultant and can show that you deliver, then you can charge a premium price.

fightfortheuser 10y ago

I've got a fellow freelancer who charges $125 to build Wordpress websites, and he doesn't even make the design. But is good with layouts, and knows how to price by value.