Template vs Custom 1111 Responses

Last post: 1 year, 5 months ago | Thread started: Dec 7, 11, 2:53 a.m.

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• scruffics

  hello comrades,

  Basically I have been asked to come up with a quote for newsletter template design for a client. I have done templates for them before and every time I was still the person to "populate" those templates for every new issue. This time, however, they want to be able to update those on their own (simply swap image URLS and titles) and, thus, eliminate me from that process completely.

  My question is, what is a good amount to charge (in relation to doing it manually myself)?

  Dec 7, 11, 2:53 a.m. – Permalink

• orrinward2

  Maybe whatever you charge for a bespoke one and multiply it by 5?

  This is typically what I charge for giving them a rod rather than just the fish. not sure how that fares compared to others, but it's less work for you, and depending on how often they come to you to do the newsletter, less money for them long term.

  • x5 is exactly what i was thinking– scruffics

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 3:07 a.m. – Permalink

• maikel

  work is work.
  so, you can charge by how long it takes you
  or you can charge by how much you want to make

  if you go crazy in charging your client to much he/she will say 'fuck it, I didn't even like that templates for a starter' and will go to someone else.

  the industry is a whore you know...

  • i do have quite a relationship with them and my rates are by no means steep. still i know what you mean! thanks– scruffics

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 3:13 a.m. – Permalink

• Stugoo

  Custom Template,
  initlal set up cost for a bespoke email template that is reusable via something like campaign monitor.
  then small retainer if adequate support is required
  Time and material changes or specials.

  I would say 1-day design for email template, plus 1 day build then an hourly rate support.

  • and by specials I mean like a competition or seasonal email
    – Stugoo

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 3:42 a.m. – Permalink

• vaxorcist

  I'd have a support contract in place in some way, as the work itself may pale in hours compared to the phone calls later when they paste stuff in directly from powerpoint and "suddenly the formatting's all off and shit"

  • thanks vax! the only thing they are going to change is the links to the images on their site. and they know the basic HTML– scruffics

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 4:01 a.m. – Permalink

• Nathan_Adams

  Set them up on Campaign Monitor. Charge a once off fee for the design and build of the newsletter template, and setup the accounts so you get a markup on every mailout.

  • afraid they already have a mail-shoot engine and monitoring figured out and there is no way i can see the results. unless i ask them– scruffics1/2

    ask them. in which case they probably won't even give me the real stats.– scruffics2/2

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 4:04 a.m. – Permalink

• Stugoo

  Campain Montior or Mail Chimp sounds like your best bet tbh

  • thanks Stooge :) they already have these things sorted. i have been doing these newsletters for them for over 2yrs now– scruffics1/2

    2 years now– scruffics2/2

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 4:16 a.m. – Permalink

• honest

  Mark up! Mark up! Mark up!

  • < (to an extend)– scruffics

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 5:01 a.m. – Permalink

• scruffics

  thanks help guys!

  it is worth adding that i have been doing newsletter designs for them for a long time. and to my knowledge they are one of their main sources of traffic/revenue. i, therefore, feel like i can ask for more pay than just the hours it takes me to design the template.

  i think i will quote them x5 regular price plus maybe a bit more for the hours it takes me to design the damn thing

  • yes - thanks help, guys!– scruffics

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 6:18 a.m. – Permalink

• fadein11

  hours x rate = amount

  • rarely
    – doesnotexist1/2

    then add on some– fadein112/2

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 6:39 a.m. – Permalink

• vaxorcist

  If you've been doing newsletter designs for them for a while, are you likely to want to form a business partnership around A/B testing or somthing similar?

  idea: you do 2 designs, split the list in half.. so every odd number in the list gets first design, every even number in the email list gets second design, and then you check the click-through rate,etc....

  If you can prove your design ideas and such cause more clicks, you're worth more than an hourly rate, and possibly a percentage of sales... etc...

  you can google "a/b testing email lists,etc..."

  you may already know of this, and/or they may already do this if this is one of their main sources of revenue and you've been doing it for a while, but I think this might step up the game for both of you if you're not already doing it...

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 7:32 a.m. – Permalink

• scruffics

  thanks again, vax. i am afraid they only have the budget to do the thing once. it will most likely take some convincing before I can get them to pay the "template" fee, still i am not about ready to take work away from myself...

  either way they are saving money

  • Always help your clients save money, it means they'll be more successful and have more work for you for other projects. Yes.– mikotondria31/3

    yes, i know. honestly i have gone out of my way so many times to help them out and still they want more.– scruffics2/3

    they are the ultimate "give-em-an-inch-the... guys– scruffics3/3

  

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  Dog-earDec 7, 11, 9:10 a.m. – Permalink