Pricing work on simple design
Feb 13, 2022
A client has three modules that will have about 25-30 slides each. The client is providing the slides, the audio files (voiceover), and closed captioning. All I have to do is put each one together (dropping the files in for each slide) make them somewhat interactive, and create files to post to their web. I gave them an hourly rate, but they are asking now for an estimate on how many hours I think it will take per module. I am not sure how to quote this. My thought is about 10 min per slide * 30 slides = estimated hours for design work, then an additional 2 hours for testing. But then after I have completed the initial phase, there will be edits. Am I on the right track?
2 Replies
It's really hard for me to do estimates until I've done a similar job once; usually I underbid. Could they give you one of the modules (even if incomplete) so you can see how it imports into Storyline, and what's involved by doing one or two pages on your own? Typically edits are easy in Storyline and I usually try to include as part of my initial bid...
Hey Amanda! Great question! This can be a tricky topic to figure out. There are a lot of things to consider outside of just designing the slides. And you're right, you definitely want to take into consideration the time it takes to make updates and how many rounds of edits.
I've seen a lot of course creators underestimate the amount of development time and then feel bad that they have to go back to the client and tell them it's going to take more time. It's not always a comfortable conversation. Sometimes giving a range between what you think you can do all the way up to the most time it could take might at least give them a general idea they're happy about. Back in my freelancing days, I sometimes only gave the higher hourly estimation just to be safe and when I was able to complete the project faster, the client was extremely happy. In my experience, I found it easier to estimate more time and get it done sooner than estimate not as much time and have to go back and ask for more budget.
In case you're interested, here is a resource on the topic.
I hope that helps!