As a developer, one could host a webapp and charge for a retainer (with hardly any ongoing work). As a designer, I'm wondering if there's something (besides a retainer for ongoing work...) that I could charge clients for without me having to do extra work.
Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
1–10 of 21 posts
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#2Are you talking about a royalty?
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#3What’s in it for your clients?
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#4There’s the opportunity for retainer for the possibility of additional work. (If they need you, you have taken that money in order to have availability for them.)
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#5A client of mine had a designer on a retainer. They're a mail order business and would sometimes get very last minute offers on ad space just as magazines were going to press - and the designer had to be available to crank out a print ad with their very latest offers at very short notice. Unfortunately they stopped print advertising in the end and he was let go.
They do send a lot of marketing emails but employ someone in-house to design those nowadays (who also handles the limited print ads that they still run).
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#6[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#7I'm unclear what you are after - are you asking us to help justify charging them for nothing, just because you did work for them in the past? Like, a license fee for continuing to use your designs? Or are you asking what services could be provided on a monthly basis that don't require actual work?
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#8A client of mine had a designer on a retainer. They're a mail order business and would sometimes get very last minute offers on ad space just as magazines were going to press - and the designer had to be available to crank out a print ad with their very latest offers at very short notice. Unfortunately they stopped print advertising in the end and he was let go. They do send a lot of marketing emails but employ someo…
Do this. Look for clients that regularly run banner ads or similar (or offer services / run ads yourself based on that offering). Offer X amount of time, or up to X ads per month - whatever is fair for your price. Some clients will use it all, some clients are just happy to have a designer on hand who can whip up what's needed (so money for very little).
Similarly, just offer clients retainer work. X amount per month, but you'll jump for them when needed. Example: we just had to get a designer to put something together for a really quick project. They were literally on call, turned it round in about 6 hours. Some months that's how it goes - a lot of work for not much. But other months they may not get a call.
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#9We don’t charge a retainer, but do bill in advance. This can solve a lot of cash flow issues, and even out your billings. I’ve written about this approach here: http://www.erickarjaluoto.com/blog/how-we-fixed-our-studios-...
Re: Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer
#10The key to getting a retainer irrespective of being a programmer, designer, or gardener is client selection. For a designer, one obvious route to passive income is licensing fees. But again, finding clients that will be happy to pay such fees is the bigger problem in a world where many people will assume they own the designer's design by virtue of commissioning the work.
Good luck.