Determining how much to charge for setting up a LinkedIn business page can be tricky. As the business owner, you’ll need to consider several factors like your expertise, the time required, and what the market will bear. In this article, we’ll walk through the key considerations and provide guidance on pricing your LinkedIn setup services.
How Much Time Does It Take?
The first thing to consider is how long it takes you to set up a complete, optimized LinkedIn business page. This will vary based on the amount of content that needs to be created, your familiarity with LinkedIn’s tools and options, and how readily available the client’s branding assets are.
For an experienced LinkedIn marketer setting up a page for the first time, it could take 3-5 hours to:
- Set up the basic company page
- Customize the design with logos, colors, and banner images
- Write an optimized company description
- Add key products and services
- Set up the Careers and Life tabs
- Claim and optimize the custom URL
- Install Insight analytics
- Integrate company updates
- Add showcase and follower pages
For simpler pages with fewer customizations, the setup time could be 1-3 hours. Complex pages with extensive content may take 6-10 hours.
As you take on more LinkedIn projects, you’ll likely improve your process and decrease the average setup time. But when starting out, plan for 3-5 hours per page as a baseline.
Factor In Your Overhead Costs
Your hourly rate needs to cover more than just your hands-on time. As a freelancer, you’ll also incur general operating expenses that should be accounted for:
- Tools & software subscriptions
- Office supplies & equipment
- Professional development & continuing education
- Legal, accounting & insurance fees
- Website hosting, domain registration, etc.
- Marketing expenses
- Unpaid sales & prospecting time
These overhead costs could add up to 30% or more on top of your project time. So if your target hourly rate is $50, bump it to $65/hour to cover overhead.
Some freelancers make the mistake of pricing only based on hands-on time without accounting for overhead. This leads to razor thin margins. Make sure to build in overhead costs.
Research Competitor Rates
Before settling on an hourly rate, research what other freelancers charge for LinkedIn page setups in your geographic area. Search profiles on sites like Upwork, Fiverr, and LinkedIn to find competitors.
Here are typical hourly rates based on skill and experience level:
Experience Level | Hourly Rate Range |
---|---|
Beginner / Entry-level | $15 – $50 |
Intermediate / 2-3 years | $50 – $70 |
Expert / 5+ years | $70 – $150+ |
The low end of these ranges represents freelancers based in regions with lower costs of living. The high end represents specialists in major metro areas working with premium brands.
If your rate is wildly different than competitors, you may need to adjust. But don’t sacrifice quality just to be the cheapest.
Factor In Client Budget
When working with small business clients, keep their budget limitations in mind. A rate of $100/hour may be entirely justified for your expertise, but out of reach for a small shop without much marketing spend.
Ask prospects about their expectations upfront to get a sense of their budget. Try framing your rate in terms of the business value delivered rather than just time spent. Most owners care more about ROI than hourly rates.
Offer bundled packages at fixed prices as an option. For example, you could offer:
- Starter Setup: $500
- Professional Setup: $1,000
- Comprehensive Setup: $1,500
Tiered packages make it easier for clients to choose and let you deliver high value even on fixed budgets.
Factor In Complexity
Not all LinkedIn business pages are created equal when it comes to complexity. Here are some variables that can increase the setup time and justify a higher rate:
- Amount of customized branding work needed
- Size of company and number of products/services
- Number of locations
- Translation into multiple languages
- Integrating with CRM, analytics, ads
- Migrating an existing page vs starting from scratch
- Adding Showcase, Career, and Life pages
- Managing company followers and sponsored updates
Evaluate each project individually and charge more for those requiring additional strategy, content, design, and technical work.
How Much Value Will You Deliver?
Ultimately you should price your services based on the value you provide, not just time spent. Your goal is to improve the business’ brand, credibility, engagement, leads, and revenue.
A well-optimized LinkedIn presence can:
- Enhance online visibility and authority
- Attract, engage and convert the right audience
- Generate more qualified leads
- Reduce customer acquisition costs
- Increase revenue and profit margins
These business impacts are worth far more than just the setup costs. Price accordingly.
Some experts charge monthly retainers to manage, optimize and expand a company’s LinkedIn presence, not just the initial setup. This premium ongoing service is priced from $1,000-$2,500/month based on factors like company size, industry, and needs.
The monthly value is easier to quantify when you deliver and report on KPIs like lead quality, conversions, content engagement, employee followers, etc. Set expectations upfront by explaining the concrete outcomes clients can expect.
Conclusion
When pricing your LinkedIn business page setup services, consider these best practices:
- Account for your total hours spent, including prep and admin tasks
- Build overhead costs like software and marketing into your rate
- Research competitor rates but don’t sacrifice quality just to be cheapest
- Offer bundled packages at fixed rates to accommodate smaller budgets
- Charge more for sophisticated pages requiring advanced strategy and configuration
- Focus on the value delivered to the business, beyond just setup time
- Consider offering ongoing optimization and management retainer plans
Striking the right balance requires understanding your own costs, the competitive landscape, and client expectations. With the right positioning and pricing, LinkedIn setup can be a lucrative service to offer other businesses while helping grow their presence.