Pricing is a business strategy

bongiwe53
Jul 17
4 min read

For many freelance journalists, media entrepreneurs and creative business owners, one of the hardest questions is also one of the most important: "What should I charge?"

It was a challenge repeatedly raised by participants in the fraymedia Foundation's Mentorship Booster Programme. In response, the Foundation hosted a practical skills development workshop on Pricing & Rate Card Strategies, facilitated by media business strategist TinaShe Makwande, to help entrepreneurs move beyond guesswork and build sustainable businesses.

Rather than focusing simply on increasing prices, the two-hour workshop encouraged participants to think differently about the relationship between pricing, value and long-term sustainability.

The session was designed to help media entrepreneurs confidently price their work, develop professional rate cards and create more predictable revenue streams.

Introducing the workshop, fraymedia Foundation COO, Bongiwe Tutu said participant feedback had consistently highlighted pricing as a major obstacle.

"We realised that there is still a need for support in terms of pricing and rate card strategies to enable our participants to build more sustainability within their media organisations," she said.

The goal, she explained, was to help participants "develop tailored professional rate cards" while exploring "strategies for creating sustainable revenue streams" aligned with their expertise, business models and market value.

Know what you're selling before you price it

One of Makwande's strongest messages was that pricing begins long before a figure appears on an invoice.

"In order to have the quality and value conversation, we need to understand not only our audience, but also our product," he told participants.

"We need to know exactly where our capacity is. We also need to know exactly where our value is."

That means understanding precisely what differentiates a business. Is its strength investigative reporting? Community trust? Multimedia storytelling? Event management? Social media engagement? Exclusive access to audiences? Without clearly identifying those strengths, she argued, businesses struggle to explain — or defend — their prices.

Build pricing on evidence

Many freelancers rely on industry norms or simply charge what competitors charge. Makwande encouraged participants to take a more structured approach.

"You'll be able to build your pricing from cost, market evidence, as well as value," he said.

The workshop guided participants through calculating the real cost of delivering products and services before considering market comparisons and the additional value their businesses bring. This, he explained, creates pricing that is both sustainable and easier to justify to clients.

Negotiating discounts can be one of the most uncomfortable parts of running a business. Makwande urged participants not to enter those conversations unprepared:

"You need to know what is your absolute, absolute floor without having to go back... so that you can close the conversation right there in front of them."

Knowing the minimum acceptable price before negotiations start allows business owners to negotiate confidently instead of making decisions under pressure. It also prevents pricing decisions that undermine profitability.

Defend value not just price

One of the workshop's central lessons was that clients rarely buy numbers alone. They buy outcomes, trust and relevance. When clients question pricing, Makwande said entrepreneurs should shift the conversation away from cost and towards value.

"As far as being able to defend it is concerned," he explained, "you're focusing on any one of these things."

That could include demonstrating that a brand is more trusted, that its content is more relevant, that it has access to larger audiences, or that it offers a stronger strategic fit than competitors. Other factors, including exclusivity, timing and scarcity, can also strengthen pricing conversations.

Rather than apologising for prices, entrepreneurs should be able to explain why they charge what they do.

Another practical exercise encouraged participants to research publicly available rate cards from media organisations. Studying competitors can provide valuable market insight, Makwande noted, but businesses should resist copying prices without understanding the economics behind them.

Every organisation has different costs, audiences, products and strategic positioning. A price that works for one business may be unsustainable for another.

Pricing as part of business sustainability

Throughout the session, pricing was framed not as an administrative exercise but as a leadership skill. A well-designed rate card reflects how a business understands its costs, communicates its value and plans for growth.

For freelancers and small media organisations operating in an increasingly competitive environment, those decisions can determine whether a business merely survives or becomes financially sustainable.

The workshop formed part of the fraymedia Foundation's ongoing efforts to strengthen women-led media enterprises through practical business support, mentorship and entrepreneurship training.

For participants, the biggest takeaway was perhaps the simplest: confidence in pricing comes from preparation.

When entrepreneurs understand their costs, know their value and can explain both clearly, pricing becomes less about defending a number and more about demonstrating the worth of their business.

The full Pricing & Rate Card Strategies Workshop Presentation by TinaShe Makwande is available here.

RESOURCES: Build your own Business Rate Card

The reusable workbook from the Pricing & Rate Card Strategies Workshop is available here.

Kindly note, the workbook is a view only - to protect adding your details from a public document. You can rename your own copy of the workbook in order to begin working on your rate card. The first sheet of the workbook is presented with full instructions to assist publishers on how to start, the remaining sheets guide publishers on selecting products and developing prices through to producing their own client-ready Rate Card.