In over my head with an int'l brand and have no idea how much to charge. Any help would be appreciated!

notfitkid · 23 Mar 2021, 20:50

Hello all.

I am in a bit over my head (actually way in over my head) with an international brand and am humbly asking for any help regarding how to price for services that include the following client requests:

In particular, I have never been asked to come up with a quote for PR related activities, interviews, social media, etc.

I am so sorry if this is not the right way to go about asking for assistance. In fact, I was reluctant to post this here but I am a relatively new freelancer and have never encountered anything like this. If anyone could even point me in the right direction, I would be so grateful. Thank you

NessIllustration · 23 Mar 2021, 21:46

@notfitkid Wow, ok I have no experience whatsoever for this PR stuff either. I think it's fair to just be honest and candid with the client.
If I were you I'd just say "I have to admit I've never been asked to do PR events before as part of an art contract and I'm a little stumped as to how much to charge for it. Could you help me out and let me know your budget for this project? It would help me a lot to get this moving to the next stage! I could be here all month trying to come up with a quote otherwise haha.. Thank you!"

Although to be sure, this offer should be a boat load of money. It includes rights to usage forever (exclusive of no?), lots of promo and lots of your time. If they offer something like $2,000... F off!

notfitkid · 23 Mar 2021, 21:57

@NessIllustration That you so much for taking time to respond, Vanessa! I think you are right. I will just have to admit that I have no experience with this type of thing and that I would definitely defer to their judgment. As it is, I feel way under qualified and would truly just do the PR stuff for free. They offered me 35K for the artwork alone and I am just shocked that they would also want to interview me! Thanks again for all of the helpful advice you offer to everyone on this forum and for being so generous with your time

23 Mar 2021, 22:04

@notfitkid congratulations!!

notfitkid · 23 Mar 2021, 22:10

@giorgiofeltrucci Thank you!

NessIllustration · 24 Mar 2021, 00:31

@notfitkid Wow, that is awesome! Congrats, this is very well deserved! 35k for the artwork is great but this PR stuff seems rather involved too so don't go and do it for free And don't worry you'll crush this!!

carlianne · 24 Mar 2021, 04:01

@notfitkid are you able to give an hourly quote instead of a set price? Especially since you’ve never done this activity before it might be better to protect yourself that way so if something takes much longer than expected you’ll be covered.

I might not say that I have NO experience with what they are asking but inquiring on their budget there couldn’t hurt

Also it’s my understanding that brand and PR stuff have large budgets so don’t be afraid to give a high quote!

Very exciting and Good luck!!

notfitkid · 24 Mar 2021, 08:06

@carlianne thank you for offering your insights and for your encouraging words! I did consider quoting by the hour but quickly realized that they were looking for an overall estimate during our first zoom call. After asking them what their budget was, (35k), I sent them a proposal for about 31k but expected them to counter with something lower or move on to another illustrator. To my surprise, they told me to increase my proposed amount to the whole amount 35k and recently asked me if I wanted to revise my proposal again to reflect the PR requirements. I already feel so grateful for the amount and don't want to appear greedy or overly confident. In fact, I don't want to give them a reason to look elsewhere! I will definitely make an updated post if this all turns out for the good! I am So grateful for this community and for people like you who take time to encourage and inform others. I hope that I can do the same for others here as well

jimsz · 24 Mar 2021, 12:01

Spend the couple hundred dollars and speak with a visual arts attorney. It would be money well spent. Just because they are asking for you to submit specifics does not mean you can't make a counter suggestion.

carlianne · 24 Mar 2021, 16:22

@notfitkid that’s fantastic! They sound actually wonderful to work with. I’m excited to hear how it goes! ️

notfitkid · 24 Mar 2021, 16:42

@jimsz I never even knew what a visual arts attorney was until you mentioned it. I am very green under the collar, thanks for that helpful information! I will definitely look into it and see if the client will give me a little more time to respond to their counterproposal after Ive consulted with a VA Attorney. Much appreciated!