Why I’ve put my prices up for 2021

By the end of this year, I’ll have built 24 author websites, which kind of blows my mind. It’s been amazing, and I have genuinely enjoyed every moment of it. I still feel so lucky to have found a job that I enjoy that also means I get to work with other writers.

I know I go on and on about this but it’s true – it’s an absolute dream job for me. I love the geeky technical side of it, I love the creativity and ideas each author brings to their project, I learn new tricks with each site I build, and I love getting to know authors and discovering more about their books and careers.

I also really love teaching authors that tech isn’t something they need to be frightened of – so many of my past clients are now masters of their websites! They’re all really chuffed to no longer be afraid of updating them, and that makes me really happy too.

However, I’ve realised that my work is not really sustainable at this year’s level - especially not if I want to write another book too (which I do!).

“Every website project is a huge creative endeavour – I care passionately about each and every one of the websites I build, and I want to make sure that the authors I work with are delighted with the end result.”

By the end of the summer, when I’d built five big sites in a row with no break in between any of them, I was absolutely mentally exhausted.

In August, I took a break and thought about how I could do things differently next year, so that I can continue to offer the same level of service without running myself into the ground.

So, I decided that I would take on half the number of projects in 2021, but also, to reflect the value of my work and to remain, well, profitable (girl’s gotta eat!), I’ve put my prices up too.

It’s always scary doing this but I’ve had such amazing feedback from my clients that I feel it’s justified.

(If you’ll allow me to blow my own trumpet here - you can see what they’ve been saying on my portfolio page).

“I did some research into my industry and I realised that I was undercutting my competitors by quite a significant margin.”

That felt OK when I first started, as I was still growing in experience, but now I feel my sites are on a par with theirs, and it makes no sense to be trying to undercut them (on another note, I feel strongly that undercutting things is a horrible way to operate in any industry – and if we all do that, it just becomes a race to the bottom and no-one wins).

And you know, us women have a tendency to undercharge anyway… 😉

Of course, I am aware that my new pricing is expensive. And that there are many other web designers out there that can offer to build you a site for a lot less money.

And that’s fine! It’s the same with any business really: there are different options available for different budgets, and different business models work well for different people.

But I have to choose what will work best for me and my business.

Personally, I would prefer to work on a select number of sites and do an absolutely stellar job creating something from scratch that’s completely bespoke, rather than churn out lots of sites for less money and run myself into the ground, or use identikit templates and just swap out the content on each site, creating something functional but perhaps not particularly unique.

 However…

🌟 I’ve decided to introduce a discount for debut authors 🌟

I want my pricing to be fair.

Debut author websites usually have far less content, making them quicker for me to work on, so I decided it was only right to reflect this in my pricing.

So, all 2021 debut authors will now get 10% off my design packages.

Please do share this offer with any debut authors you may know who are looking for a website! I absolutely love working with debuts too – it’s so exciting to get to work with an author at the very beginning of their career.

Phew. Sorry for that rambling overshare. I just wanted to explain my reasoning a bit, if you’ve been following me for a while and have noticed the increase.

“I’d also like to say that if you’d like to work with me but can’t afford for me to build you a site from scratch, I do offer lots of website support services – from site audits to Squarespace training sessions, to teach you how to build your site yourself.”

So please do check these out if they might be of interest!

Last but not least, I am now officially open for booking 2021 design dates, and they are going fast. At the time of writing I only have two slots left before summer – eek!

So if you’d like me to build you a website next year, please get in touch using the contact form. I would love to hear from you!

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