Question

Topic: Social Media

How Much To Charge For Social Media And Outreach

Posted by dsc225 on 5/3/2011 at 12:10 PM ET 1225 Points
I've had some success with social media and outreach for independent films (and also grass roots marketing to raise money for the films). Not only did I get people to rally together to raise money for their films through kickstarter using social media, but also got others to offer services for free such as additional fundraising, sponsorship (where the sponsor agreed to pay $100,000 towards completion of the film), but also got famous celebs behing the cause (through twitter and facebook), and even got reviews in top papers, blogs, etc. In this case I don't think I've charged nearly enough because the benefits of the communities I've created for these films have been astronomical and I've only charged a percentage of the funds "raised" via kickstarter (so that means that sponsor who offered money? I received nada, etc). I did want to make sure that independent films did not have to take on the burden of paying me until I proved myself, which is why I charged a put up or shut up so to speak fee of a percentage of money raised. That does not include other hours for other types of outreach as I did not know what to charge for that but I digress.


Leads me to my question.. I've been referred to do the same for someone who has a book this time (not to raise money but to go into forums, facebook, twitter) and generate "buzz" for her upcoming book (this is a well known author). Later she wants to turn that book into a documentary and have me do the same for her.
So this time I can't charge a percentage.

She wants me to generate buzz for several months before the book launches through social media(so that's the first part). I assume I will enter forums, direct them to her website, use youtube as she has some downloadable information (also funnel people from forums to youtube), and also use twitter, facebook, etc in the same way (as I do for films) and also submit for reviews in media.

My question is 1) What would I charge for something like this? I've asked her to come up with a price she's willing to pay. But then I need to decide how many hours to devote giving the amount she is able to pay. So my question is. What should I think of hourly for this? We're talking time intensive work posting in forums, going to twitter, going to facebook, also submitting to blogs, interacting on youtube, etc.

As for the other....the documentary I already have an idea as I'll charge the usual for that. Thanks so much.


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  • Posted by mgoodman on 5/3/2011 at 3:43 PM Accepted
    This sounds like a classic consulting dilemma: How much to charge for professional services?

    First, there is no standard or inherently fair hourly rate. It simply doesn't exist. You're offering know-how that only you have, and you're delivering a result that has value for the client but that's hard to measure in hard dollars-and-cents terms.

    Your challenge should NOT be to figure out how many hours it will take or how much you should charge per hour, but rather what the result is worth to the client and whether you'd be willing to do whatever it takes to deliver that result.

    It's more difficult to do this right than it is to invent some hourly rate and multiply, but it's ultimately going to result in a relationship that is fair in both directions and has a chance of working without each of you feeling like you've come out on the short end of the stick.

    And there's nothing wrong with discussing this openly with the client. If the price at which you're willing to do the work is greater than the value to the client, you're not going to get the job regardless. And if the value is greater than what you would charge, then there's room for each of you to feel good about the fee and the relationship.

    My experience has been that client relationships based on an hourly or per-diem billing rate always deteriorate -- often very quickly. And relationships based on an up-front discussion about value and deliverables usually morphs from a single project into a long-term relationship built on trust and mutual respect. (Most of my client relationships last for years, not weeks or months. Several have extended for a decade or more.)
  • Posted by dsc225 on 5/3/2011 at 6:11 PM Author
    I understand. I had a conversation with her today and she said she has no idea and wants me to give her an "idea". She doesn''t necessarily want an hourly rate. More like a monthly rate.

    From our talk she wants me to generate traffic to her website, help her develop the website through my imput: for instance I decided it needed to have a link to a forum for discussions in reference to the book as it brings about a ton of consumer issues and debates, etc(and will pay consulting fees for that in addition to the traffic fees), and then I suggested a way to capture that audience information so that we can email them when the book comes out.

    In the past I batted 100 percent. IN other words for the kickstarters I did the impossible (the average kickstarter 3 out of five fail to make money...and only $10,000 if they do. Mine all made money and triple that. In addition I was able to find outside sponsors to pay for 1/2 of the film, and also create a support system of media interested in the outcome of the film, and organizations that would work to promote the film..). So applying the film world to the book world, I''d still go into forums, facebook,twitter communities of interest and also get them to go to her website in a similar way, and also get them engaged and interested for the launch. In addition I would get her as many blog reviews as possible, and also help to consult her with upcoming conferences in reference to the book as well.

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/4/2011 at 9:09 AM Member
    Can you quantify how much is a new website visitor worth to her? If so, can you negotiate to get paid based on "performance" for traffic beyond her current baseline?
  • Posted by dsc225 on 5/4/2011 at 3:44 PM Author
    The problem is that she''s more of a writer then a "website" person. She and her team will create a website, but at the same time she just wants to build the potential for more "customers" and build buzz for her book. So to her a set monthly rate is her proposal....if I can just come up with it.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 5/4/2011 at 6:01 PM Accepted
    My approach to this would be to first ask yourself how much of your time, effort and emotional energy are you prepared to put into this. You know what you'll have to do, so how badly do you want this?

    Then ask yourself, "What's the least I'd take to make this kind of commitment?"

    When you have those answers, put yourself in your client's shoes. What are her alternatives? How badly does she want what you can do for her? What's the most she'd pay to get it? If she's not doing a careful ROI calculation (even in her head), then perhaps you can do it for her. What SHOULD she be willing to pay? How much does she make on a book, and how many books does she want to sell?

    Armed with those pieces of information you should be able to come up with a number that you both can live with ... or decide that you would only be willing to do it for a price that's more than she should be willing to pay. If it's the latter, give her the option to overpay or not.

    Don't price it low to get the business and then kick yourself for months because of how little you're making for the amount of effort you're putting in. (Not fun! And not fair.)
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