We got a question recently during our weekly group coaching about how to know what to charge for your videos when you are a service provider. Lon and I have spent quite a bit of time discussing the Cheap vs. Fast vs. Good scenario when we roll out a new training product and it’s the same thing when it comes to pricing services.
In this 5 minute audio discussion below, Lon makes the case that you shouldn’t compete on price and that you should only be offering high quality products then persuade your client that your higher price is worth it. My thoughts lean more towards charging a cheap price initially to build up a portfolio then keeping it low until you are quite certain that your work is on par with the best providers. My take is that some clients will choose Fast and Cheap over Good and that there needs to be service providers at both ends of the spectrum.
Perhaps it’s really hard for most people to know where their videos fall in the continuum between poor and great unless they have looked at an awful lot of videos. And still, then, we tend to think our screencasts are better than they are because WE made them and they are like our little perfect creations.
Most of my early videos were pretty average. I was using a headset instead of a USB mic and hadn’t learned how to avoid pops and other noises. They weren’t crystal clear because I hadn’t learned the best way to record. I know my mouse movements weren’t smooth and often jumped around when I tried to edit out parts. But back then I thought my videos were perfectly fine and my customers weren’t complaining because most of them didn’t know any better either. And I was charging a pretty reasonable price and I was fast. In addition I building up my portfolio to get more work so I could keep improving my skills.
So, what about you? After listening to what Lon and I have said above, Do you think it’s better to start off cheap and put out “good enough” videos to build a portfolio or do you feel that it is better to be sure your videos are high quality worthy of a higher price before you start offering screencast services or courses to customers?
Michelle
PS.
Had I had a group of other screencasters to give me honest feedback on my videos I could have gotten better a lot faster and raised my rates faster too. If you think it would help you to bounce ideas off Lon and I and some screencast veterans you’ll want to take a look at our 40%-50% off sale on our monthly Screencast Video Group Coaching. The sale starts on Thanksgiving morning and runs through Cyber Monday at Midnight- so don’t miss it.