Pricing blogging products and services often feels as awkward as playing Twister with an octopus.
Why?
Bloggers generally cling to a plethora of money fears. Said fears manifest as all types of pricing mistakes. Pricing mistakes manifest as all sorts of blogging troubles.
Follow these 2 tips to price your products and services effectively.
Be Generous with Yourself
Be as generous with yourself as possible when pricing your products and services.
I see bloggers bend over backwards to render sensational, free blogging advice through blog posts, videos, podcasts and guest posts. Then, these generous people self-publish awesome eBooks and courses. Some offer valued, beneficial services. But bizarrely enough, some of these folks charge peanuts when it comes time to price their products and services, horribly low-balling themselves. Why? Lack of clarity in receiving money is one culprit but general low self-worth and a lack of deserving almost always precedes this form of self-sabotage.
I have been super generous with readers over the years so I am super generous with myself when it comes to charging for my products and services. Never, ever low ball yourself. Simply receive ample money for service rendered to free yourself from any financial constraints. Guaranteed, profiting through blogging gets easier if you generate more cash per sale. I recall the bad old days of charging 99 cents for an eBook, running through hoops and working like an animal, just to make a pittance. Blogging and profiting became easier when I charged 7 to 20 bucks per read because being generous with myself allowed me to make more money per sale, boosting my overall blogging profits.
I also got real with myself; if I am blogging with integrity, anybody who cannot find 7 to 20 bucks to buy an eBook will never become a pro blogger, anyway, so my advice is worthless to them. If you cower to the fear of losing 20 bucks, you are 20 billion light years away from being the more fearless, daring, generous blogger who actually does the things to go pro. These folks need to make some changes and face some fears before being aligned readers, customers and clients of the Blogging From Paradise brand.
Be Reasonable with Readers
As noted, I charge $6.99 to $20 for my eBooks. Reasonable, for eBooks spanning 6,000 to 15,000 words. Why? From all information I ever gleaned about eBooks, bloggers charge from $0.99 to $30 for PDFs. Perhaps a few more ducats, in some cases. I share tips to help you circle the globe through blogging. Being reasonable, 7 to 20 smackers seems like a fair trade for that knowledge.
Anyway, being reasonable in terms of expected prices offered through reader eyes helps you find the pricing bullseye. I am confident in my message, voice and writing ability, but would never charge $50 for an eBook because 50 clams is outside a reasonable range, based on research, expectations and the fact that it is an eBook. BUT….please be careful to filter reason through abundant, generous with self, detached eyes. Some feel 99 cents is a reasonable price to charge for an eBook but you instantly ignore rule #1 – be generous with yourself – the split second you charge under 1 dollar, in most cases, at least.
Is your knowledge, experience and brand worth 99 cents? Is any eBook worth 99 cents? Please think these ideas through before answering. If you feel good and clear about handing over all of your knowledge and experience in that title-niche, crammed into an eBook, for under 1 dollar, feel free to do it. You can make some coin with that approach if you feel clear.
I personally had my wake up call when a customer posted a 1 star review and said my 99 cent eBook “was not worth the money.” Eureka Moment; if you attract readers who fear spending 99 cents, it is time to raise your prices. Attract abundant, prospering readers who appreciate your work and worth. Make more money, too. Win-win.
