“I have no idea how to price my calligraphy!”
I hear this from SO MANY beginning calligraphy business owners. And I get it… PRICING IS FRIGGIN’ HARD!!
When I first started selling custom calligraphy pieces in early 2016, I charged $15 for an 8x10” piece up to 10 words long. $15!!! That barely even covers the paper and ink.
But, I was scared to charge more. I had only been doing calligraphy for a few months and I didn’t feel like I was worth very much.
Fast forward to 2019, when I charged $350 for a custom piece
And in this post, I’m going to break down WHY I quoted that much, how the client responded, and how much I actually earned per hour.
CUSTOM CALLIGRAPHY PRICING CASE STUDY
The Client Request & My Initial Quote
The client request: a 99-word poem written on vellum paper and a 2-word quote written on decorative paper. Both would be pieces in a shadowbox she was having made to honor her beloved dog who had recently passed away.
What I quoted: $350 (plus tax)
Why I charged that much: A few reasons…
TIME: Honestly, I got the sense that there might be a lot of coordination and communication to get this piece exactly the way the client wanted.
EFFORT: And a 99-word poem is no piece of cake. Mess up one letter and you have to start ALL over again.
EXPERIENCE: But more importantly, I wanted to challenge myself to ask for what I was worth. When I do live calligraphy, I charge $150-200/hr. So why would I settle for WAY less when doing a custom piece?
Still, I felt a little anxious when I sent my pricing to her. I thought she might change her mind and find a more affordable calligrapher. So I was a little shocked when she quickly agreed to the price… because she loved MY calligraphy. And she felt that it was worth it.
The Time the Project Actually Took
You know what? We’re TERRIBLE at estimating how long it takes to do something. So I kept track of everything on this project. All the emails, all the unpackaging and set-up and extra communication.
And here’s how long it ended up taking:
20 min - Draft email asking questions about details and quoting an initial price
10 min - Email confirming formatting and materials
10 min - Create, double-check and send invoice
5 min - Email confirming shipping times and address
10 min - Correspond with third party (framing store) to answer question about dimensions
10 min - Create quick sample to see minimum size needed
15 min - Create quick sample to show calligraphy style
5 min - Email responding to client request for a more “casual” style
5 min - Email verifying layout with client and asking which paper she wants me to use (she sent me 9 different kinds)
5 min - Email sending photo of final to client with options for final paper
20 min - Calculate spacing, layout and sketching
30 min - Do the actual calligraphy
35 min - Do the calligraphy again ‘cause I wasn’t happy with the first draft
15 min - Create small add-on piece that client requested
30 min - Package everything up securely and drop off at UPS
10 min - Emails about how the 2-word piece was cut too small due to a miscommunication
20 min - Decide what to charge to re-do the 2-word piece. Send invoice for an additional $25 set-up fee.
10 min - Communicate with client on new paper to be mailed to me and exact dimensions for the piece
15 min - Re-do piece
20 min - Package and drop off at UPS
FINALLY DONE!
Total estimated time spent: 5 hours
Total charged to client: $375
Amount made per hour: $75/hr
Considerations for your Hourly Rate
Now, $75/hr sounds like a pretty sweet rate.
But, not all of that money goes into my wallet.
About 40% of it goes to taxes, business expenses, transaction fees, etc.
And.. you’re never spending ALL of your hours in a business on paid client work
So even though $375 sounds like a SHITTON of money to charge a client for a custom piece… it’s actually a fairly reasonable rate when all things are considered.
Recommendations for Pricing Fairly
Really THINK about what goes into your pricing.
Time yourself doing an actual calligraphy project - everything from the client communication, to invoice preparation, to the packaging and mailing.
Then think about what percentage of that money you’ll actually get to go spend at the grocery store.
Even if you worked on projects all day….are your prices bringing in enough for you to live on?
Pricing is SCARY AF, but knowing all of this data will give you the strength to charge more… because you’re probably worth more than you’re charging right now.
“PRICING YOUR CALLIGRAPHY” ONLINE WORKSHOP
If you want more concrete help with pricing, I put together a pretty bomb-ass online workshop to help you.
The workshop is called “Pricing Your Calligraphy (Mindset, Strategies & Numbers for Empowered Pricing)” and it helps you
calculate what YOU need to make,
get over the mental blocks we all have around asking for money, &
price so that you actually ENJOY your work (instead of feeling resentful about it).
It also comes with an interactive workbook full of ACTUAL MINIMUM PRICES you should be setting for all kinds of lettering jobs - like wedding signs and logos and envelopes.
I’m proud of this workshop because I know it can save you mental anguish AND make you more money.
So click on the link to check it out👉 Pricing Your Calligraphy Workshop
Hope this blog post was helpful… Now get out there and MAKE SOME MONEY!
Love,
Hey I’m Shinah!
Harvard lawyer turned sassy calligrapher and multi-million-dollar business owner.
I make calligraphy & biz more DOABLE, so you can go after your dreams!
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Practical advice from a former lawyer on the legal & financial steps to officially setup your calligraphy business. Everything you need to get your lettering and calligraphy side hustle off the ground. There's never a better time to start and soon you'll be calling yourself a professional calligrapher!