David Fiske A subtle blend of affiliate marketing and web development

I understand the value of my time. I understand that if I am not doing ABC because I'm doing XYZ, I'm running behind.

This week has been a crazy week of messages from networks, potential merchants, affiliates and clients. However, all seem to have a common theme - they all don't understand how much my time is worth.
 
I charge a flat hourly fee for everything. It's a fair value I have always charged and has always been paid by clients. I use this figure to create quotes for work, prices for templates, and as the basis for developing project costs.

First I should mention that I do have business and personal costs that need to be covered by these fees. I am not a charity and I am not a profit monster - I simply know what my time is worth. I get outraged when people laugh / cry at a quote claiming it's too high. I live in Britain where food costs are getting higher, energy bills are rising by 35% and the credit crunch may soon be called a recession. The pound is very strong against other currencies too which means to overseas clients, prices may seem artificially higher as I work in GBP.

Networks

If I need to change something on my site, please tell me exactly what needs changed. Don't make me play the guessing game as it's a waste of both our time. For example, I was advised that my copy was incorrect yesterday for a specific program - no mention of what the problem was or which of my 40 active sites was the problem. I spent half an hour tracking it down only to find there was one incredibly minor point that was wrong with it. But the upshot is that I've wasted half an hour and I've emailed the network to make sure they are satisfied and to find out if there are any more mistakes.

A simple email saying "can you change ABC to XYZ on the 123 website please?" would have been a 2 minute job for them and for me. I would have been happy.

Consultancy

Several people have asked for my to offer a consultancy. I'm not a super affiliate by any means but I've got a level head and experience of affiliate life. Nevertheless, they are surprised when it comes to pay demands. I refer back to the point that I am not a charity. My costs reflect the fact that I will have to drop some work or delay it and catch up with it in my own time.

So long as you understand this and can afford my fair rate (around half the hourly rate for standard projects), we're all happy. After all, if you go to a professional consultancy company and you'll be crying more than with me when they quote you.

Affiliates

I am very happy to help anyone out that would like some sort of assistance. Please remember that if this is free support, the advice may be basic and may take a while to be replied to.

Scripting Work

Scripting work is charged at the hourly rate. I don't live in China or India so my costs aren't cheap. My quality is high and my customer service is impeccable. This is all included in the rate.

So when you say you want some coding work done and I tell you how much it will be, don't be surprised when it seems high. Expect it to be high.

Summary

Overall, please just bear in mind that I have costs too, both physical and time. I'm more than happy to help anyone so long as they appreciate and understand the value of this. My rates are extremely reasonable compared to similar UK based enterprises although I know (and deep down you do too) that it is impossible to compete with outsourced services in India or China.

If you are after cheap labour, I'm not your man. If you are after a dedicated individual who can devote 100% to you and your needs at a (reasonable and fair) cost, get in touch.