Ever wonder why there’s always a .99 at the end of price tags? The answer is science.
Pricing a service or product is not just about numbers. The right price can make something seem irresistible, and the wrong one can make something seem overpriced and not worth it.
Whether you’re a freelance writer, coach, designer or content creator, understanding a few basic psychological pricing principles can help land you more clients (without lowering your value).
Here are three powerful pricing psychology techniques you can use to attract more clients:
1. Charm Pricing (The .99 Effect)
This is one of the oldest — and most effective — tricks in the book.
But for good reason. There is strong evidence that consumers perceive just-below prices (“oddball prices”, like 19.99 instead of $20) as lower than they actually are. This means prices like $1.99 are actually associated with $1 instead of $2. This effect works thanks to something called left-digit bias, which is where our brains process numbers from left to right and thus give disproportionate weight to the first digit we see.
So, when we see $99.99, our brains think “ninety-nine something”, even though it’s only a penny away from $100. But that one cent difference can create a powerful shift in how the price feels to the consumer.
How to use this as a freelancer:
If you are charging flat rates for your services like $150, try prices like $147–149. This doesn’t mean you have to price every service like this, but it might be worth testing for entry-level packages or one off projects.
2. Price Anchoring
Anchoring is the psychological bias towards relying on the first piece of information we see when making decisions. The initial price we see becomes the “anchor” against which someone compares everything else.
This can be easily imagined by picturing yourself walking into a store. You see one bag first with a price tag of $800, then you find a second bag worth $350. Suddenly, that second one feels like an absolute steal. Not because it’s cheaper, but because it’s so much lower than the original anchor.
This works because clients and consumers often don’t know how much something is “should” cost. The first number ends up shaping their expectations, making mid-tier offers seem a lot more reasonable.
How to use this as a freelancer:
Create tiered pricing packages, including a basic, standard and premium. If you lead with the higher priced premium package, clients will see the cheaper standard package and think it’s a better deal.
3. Bundling Your Services To Increase Perceived Value
Bundling, to put it simply, is when you group together multiple services into one package, ideally for a discounted price. This is where the magic of perceived value comes into play.
A client may be on the fence about buying a blog post service for $150. But including keyword research and a few repurposed social media captions for $195, and suddenly the client might feel like they’re getting more bang for their buck. The client might save money, but you still earn a solid income and possible upselling opportunities for bigger projects.
You can even use bundles to ease clients into bigger projects more organically. For example, try offering a monthly content bundle, with 30 days of content for one solid price.
Pro Tip: Make the value of your bundle clear. List the regular price of each service included, then show the total price and how much your client will save. Visuals like tables and charts could work well here.
Bonus Tip: Display Your Prices With Confidence
Even the best pricing tactics won’t work if you undermine the value of your product. Avoid apologizing for rates or even just softening them with phrases like “starts at $50” or “just $75”. These can make it sound like you’re unsure of the worth of your service or that you’re even up to negotiating. These can ultimately lead to your client devaluing your time and effort.
Confidence is highly contagious. When you believe in your own prices, clients are more likely to trust in your value and pay what you’re worth.
Pricing your product or services right can be an effective strategy to attracting more clients who appreciate and value you and your work. This isn’t because of some kind of manipulation, but rather because you understand how the human brain naturally thinks about buying.
Try experimenting with these techniques. Even small tweaks in your pricing can lead to big wins in the long run.
This article was written by Haley Marie Salgado
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