Stop Bargaining My Craft (RANT)
Hey There!So this is a rant that I started 7 months ago about the woes of people haggling designers, but at the end I share my current day thoughts. Read on if you want to learn what I was talking about and comment if you have experienced the same :)
7 months ago
Hope you had a great day! Mine kind of sucked. It wasn't the worst day ever, but wasn't my most productive either.Let's see I spent the first half of the day following up with leads. Nothing wrong with this step just wish my leads understood design services a little bit more.I think this is an ongoing phenomenon. People try to tell designers how much their services should be. They wouldn't try to bargain someone repairing their car, but they want to haggle with me.It doesn't help that people in other countries are selling logos and sites for nearly pennies. It doesn't help that people are giving away what seems like "99 Cent" clip art on Etsy and "Free.99" webinars.These people are masters at their craft. Stop trying to make non-designers into overnight designers. Stop trying to make non-marketers into overnight marketers.I'm not saying that everyone shouldn't be able to learn. All that I ask is that you stop giving out bargains and FREE FREE FREE info on subjects that take a lot of time and effort to master.I cringe every time I see a $50 logo. WTF. How in the fuck can a custom logo be $50? Oh yeah, that's not custom at all. They found some free clip art and some free font, stuck it together and called it custom. Actually I don't even think they put that much effort in. Especially not for those $5 logos. No way in hell that shit is custom. They just took someone else's logo changed the name in the font and handed it to you.Guess what? Those cheap ass, generic logos are going to be costly as hell to get trademarked. Oh what am I talking about. You have no intentions of paying $125 paperwork fees. You didn't even spend $50 dollars on your logo.To be completely honest the practice I hate more than that is the FREE logo with a purchase of a site.Why the hell are you throwing in a logo? A site and a logo require 2 completely different design processes. A site requires thorough planning and revisions. A logo requires a lot of brainstorming, research, sketching, and revisions for the revisions.
Current Day
The leads that I currently have don't really try to haggle prices. They either accept the price or they don't.A real estate client of mine did get a logo and a website in one package, but they were not designed together. The website design took a week. The logo took an additional 2 weeks. I was very blessed that this client let me have creative freedom with both concepts and did not micro-manage...at all.When my leads become clients they are happy and eager to purchase a la carte items in addition to the original design agreement. They even push me creatively by asking for things that either I haven't designed in while or have never designed before.I still cringe at the site of FREE logo designs, but have come to realize that is what works for that designer. If a client suggests that I do the same then I would probably explain why I don't offer my services that way. I might also suggest they use that person if that is what they are truly looking for.Over the last few months I've also realized that quite a few brand strategists and designers don't design at all. They probably have no idea what a clipping mask is or how to find layers in Adobe Photoshop, but have businesses selling those services. I'm not knocking there hustle I just respect real designers more.Whether a designer went to college for it or self-taught I respect them for putting the time in to learn the tools and really design. I respect them for creating great, unique things for their clients. I respect them for being as creative as they want to be. I respect them for not being afraid to learn new ways of doing things and adapting.In the near future I plan to post quick tutorials on YouTube, kind of like I would share social media tips on Periscope. My goal with my business YouTube channel is to show people simple things they can do, but not to create overnight designers. I want to help instead of stress.Thanks for hanging in there with me. If you have experienced clients telling you what to charge let me know in the comments below. Also was it for everything or just logos?Love ya,