How much is that doggie in the window?
We hear from folks in our online community all the time. A lot of folks ask about the conference, which is only a month and a half away [OH MY!], some of them want introductions to each other, and a lot of them ask what to charge for 'stuff' they do.
Let's look at how to 'think' about pricing programs like Twitter pawties. Or, as we call ours, #BlogPawties.
Let's say I'm Brand Fantastic and I love Twitter Pawties. I've attended a few on the down low (just listening and watching) and the chatter, the excitement, the overall fun has convinced me to talk to you about this opportunity. Here's what I need to know up front (other brands may ask more as each brand has its own focus):
- How many people will attend?
- How many people will participate?
- How many prizes do I need to have?
- Will I need to be there?
- Will you provide me with a report afterwards?
- Will you send out notices ahead of time and can I craft the message for that?
- Do I need to pay in advance or can I pay after it's over?
Now… let's look at those bullets – presumably you can guarantee a lot of attendees. I don't know how many that means…each brand has a different number in their heads. But, they'll want a hundred or more.
How many people will participate – totally different than how many people will attend. Participate includes any "staff" you have and all of the folks who 'show up' at the last minute. This number is likely to be bigger than the attend number, but…it could also be smaller. The brand will want to know.
Prizes – is easy. You will need at least one for every 15 minutes, yes? So, four if you're doing an hour pawty, more if it's longer.
Will they need to be there… is a pretty important one. Do you require the brand to attend? If so, you must give them direction.
Will you provide a report afterwards? In other words, the brand will need to have the numbers to show their managers or bosses – they have to justify these things. If the numbers aren't there – they won't come back. And, you need to be using standard, recognizable tools, like Tweet Reach (the paid version).
For the notices ahead of time, the brand will expect you to guide them on this. It can be time consuming. Be prepared to have them change their minds, repeatedly, often pushing the date of the event further and further out.
Do I need to pay in advance… <clears throat loudly> "YES." No other answer works. YES, the brand must pay in advance.
Now… let's think about how much to 'charge' for all of this. Is $100 enough? No. All of that work, the fact that you'll be tapping into your network, and providing follow-up support is worth far more than $100. Isn't it?
Maybe… $500. How about that?
Seriously? Is your time – are the many hours you'll be putting into this, and…your network connections… only worth $500? I hope not! Imagine how much a brand pays for an ad in a network online – in the thousands. A magazine ad costs thousands. A TV spot – millions, depending on when it airs. So, while you may not be able to claim to be in the hundreds of thousands of pageviews or connections, if you're in the thousands, think of it as at least a dollar an eyeball. Is that worth negotiating for? You can always charge less than advertised on your site, but you can never charge more.
You must come up with the number that shows your talent, your expertise, the value of your network, and your time. I believe it should be more than $500. Just saying.
OR… you could become part of BlogPaws' network via the community and work with us. We do the heavy lifting, we do the reports, all you do is tweet. And, we pay you for your time. Never for your opinion, only for your time.
We'll cover other ways to think about your blog programs in future posts. What burning questions do you have for us to answer today?
