Offer Lab

I've been at $75/hour for two years. My skills have improved but I'm terrified to send the new rate to my long-term clients. Three of them account for 60% of my income. How do you actually communicate a price increase without them all leaving?

So I run a small online store. I started it in Etsy, branched out to eBay, tried Amazon, and now I have my own site. The issue is actually getting more traffic and sales. I am averaging maybe 20 sales a month which I know is great considering the size of the shop but I was making more sales on Etsy at one time. When it started to drop is when I opened my own shop. Anyways, I am wondering what I could do to improve sales, traffic, etc. and grow my small business. My goal is to earn enough to do this full time.

Aside from buying ads and having platforms like Facebook run them for you, what other avenues would you say work for promoting a website to sell products or services? I am trying to do a cost comparison and output guide in an attempt to help some of my readers on a blog I run.

For people that offer products or services, how often do you have sales in an attempt to get more people to spend their money? It seems like most companies run sales all the time now but they just pick and choose different items in which to put on sale. I seldom see an online store without sales or deals happening.

Without going into too much detail, I have a website where I will be offering services to businesses that deal with cloud storage. I am trying to figure out the best approach for finding fair pricing points for packages and services. It seems like they are all over the place. I don't want to charge too much but I also don't want to undersell my work either. I know if I don't charge enough, it can actually hinder people from working with me. The whole "too good to be true" pricing points. I want to avoid that.

In terms of content creation online, I know tons of people sell items and merch as well as do colabs. While most viewers don't spend any money, all these creators still seem to make good money selling merch because they have a loyal fan base that will reliably spend money on their items. How does someone go from 0 to that? Is it something that happens over time?

I noticed so many companies and businesses offering discounts, sales, and special edition items for the celebration. I am a bit late to even attempt to plan for this so I missed out. I am wondering if anyone here has done anything special for the event. Even if it is just discounts or sales.

Struggling with this lately. I know what I offer is good and clients are happy. Results are there but every time I have to put a number on it my brain freezes. I've tried hourly, tried project-based and tried value pricing but still second-guess myself every time. How do you guys figure out what to charge? Do you have a formula or just go with gut feel?

A client cancelled a project halfway through. No fault of mine. Just changed direction. I had turned down other work for this. Lost $4,000 in expected revenue. Do you include a kill fee for mid-project cancellations? How much is fair?

I have an active Amazon Associates account I will be running along side my online business. My website will have a blog and recommend products via blog posts to readers and clients as my business is one of virtual services. I am curious to see what others are using in terms of affiliate marketing in 2026. I want to see if there is anything else I can add just to boost revenue a bit.

I am finalizing my course terms and debating the refund policy. No refunds feels harsh. 30-day guarantees feel risky. What do you actually offer and have you ever been burned by it?

I bill hourly but I am starting to hate it. Every revision feels like a timer running. Clients hesitate to ask for changes because they see the meter spinning. Flat rate feels cleaner but what if I underestimate the scope? How do you price creative work?

I am new and every job posting wants experience I do not have. Friends say do free work to build portfolio. Others say it devalues the industry. I need samples but I also need to eat. Where is the line between strategic free work and exploitation?

I have a client who pays on time, has steady work, but every interaction drains me. Last-minute changes, vague feedback, weekend emails. The money is good but I dread seeing their name in my inbox. When is the income not worth the cost?

Client keeps adding "small" tasks outside our agreement. Individually nothing major. Collectively it is hours of unpaid work. I do not want to seem difficult but I also cannot keep working for free. How do you draw the line professionally?

Just had a prospect ask for a full brand strategy, website copy, and email sequence for $500. I froze and said I'd think about it. How do you respond when someone wants premium work at bargain prices without sounding arrogant or desperate?

I am a web designer and every prospect wants something different. I am exhausted from scoping custom projects. How do you create packages that feel personal but are actually standardized?

A prospect messaged me saying they just want to "pick my brain" for 20 minutes. No budget mentioned. No project scope. This happens twice a week now. How do you handle brain-picking requests without being rude or burning bridges?

I am a web designer and every prospect wants something different. I am exhausted from scoping custom projects. How do you create packages that feel personal but are actually standardized? I want to stop reinventing the wheel for every proposal.

Took me way too long to figure that my landing page listed everything my thing could do. Thought more features and more value. Then I rewrote everything around one simple question: what changes for the person who buys this? Cut the feature list in half, led with the result instead and conversions went up. Still catch myself slipping back into feature mode sometimes though some old habits. Who else have the "but what if they need to know it also does X" debate with themselves?

I am torn. Part of me wants to build the entire course before launching. Part of me thinks that is a waste of time if nobody buys. For those who have done it, did you sell or build first? What happened?

I am an introvert and every time I write sales copy I feel like I am being pushy. How do you write persuasive stuff without feeling like you need to shower afterwards? Asking for a friend who is me.

I run a small membership for freelancers. Growth is fine but I am losing people at month three like clockwork. What are you actually doing to keep members engaged past the honeymoon phase?

I have been at roughly the same revenue for six months. It is consistent but I can not grow without things falling apart. My delivery is shaky, my onboarding is messy, and I am saying yes to everything. What does scaling actually look like at this stage?

I have been at $75/hour for two years. My skills have improved but I am terrified to send the new rate to my long-term clients. Three of them account for 60% of my income. How do you actually communicate a price increase without them all leaving?