I've been working on marketing my aerial imagery company. I'm worried that I will scare off clients with the wrong pricing. It seems like all the unlicensed guys with Phantoms are getting the glory in my area. As far as pricing is concerned, I realize all parts of the world are probably different but I might get a better idea with any advice I can get from the Yuneec fliers.
Any advice on prices to charge for aerial drone sevices
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Interesting topic. I don't do work for pay but have always been curious as to how people charge for their service. Flat Fee, By the Hour, Extra for Editing the Video. Let's hear it. 
PatR
Premium Pilot
Glory?; It's all work
As painful as it may sound, you're probably selling yourself too cheap as it is. Most do so don't take offense. Review your structure again to see if you should be increasing the price instead of reducing it.
Until people start getting caught and experience heavy fines being imposed for operating illegally, and that includes those hiring them, there's not much you can do except "tough it out", advertise aggressively, and build a relationship with news organizations and public political figures that can help get your name out there. If you are going to do anything on the cheap, make sure those are dedicated to those that will be actively promoting your business either directly or indirectly. An example is a newspaper where you might give free images for their publications but only if you do so under a commercial creative commons agreement where you receive public attribution in the media with each image used.
Hopefully you have a second means of generating revenue in the meantime. When we break down the number of hours that go into putting together even a simple shoot we see that someone shooting stills or making pretty much any length video puts significant time into selling the job, getting to and from the job, insurance if they are doing it right, processing, reviewing the product with the customer, performing final edits, and final reviews with the customer. Time IS money. Then you have the cost of your aerial equipment, business license, cost of transportation, processing programs and computers, taxes, telephone and internet, and other general overhead. It's real easy to think you're making a little bit of money when in fact you're paying out of your pocket to do a job for a customer. Using a flat fee of, say, $250.00 to provide 8 still photos of a property, which at first might sound like a fair and reasonable price, when you break it all down you would have lost money for doing the work. Flat fees are a great way to start living under bridge unless the rate fees are really large. The only way you could have made money was if the photos provided came out of a "stock footage" folder that had been sitting around somewhere. In that case you would have only recovered some of your earlier expenses. Bear in mind that "consultants" in many fields charge upwards of $150.00/hour just to talk about work.
What we are experiencing with amateurs and the uneducated undercutting the market is precisely why the larger professional organizations don't want anything to do with the "low hanging fruit" of real estate and similar work. It happens in pretty much any endeavor that permits participation of the unskilled masses. You don't want to get into a race to the bottom.
For those that want to learn how to run a business or develop a rate structure, the above provides plenty of information to establish a starting point. If you don't know what your actual costs are you cannot run a profitable business. Profit is not labor or wages. They are completely different things.
As painful as it may sound, you're probably selling yourself too cheap as it is. Most do so don't take offense. Review your structure again to see if you should be increasing the price instead of reducing it.
Until people start getting caught and experience heavy fines being imposed for operating illegally, and that includes those hiring them, there's not much you can do except "tough it out", advertise aggressively, and build a relationship with news organizations and public political figures that can help get your name out there. If you are going to do anything on the cheap, make sure those are dedicated to those that will be actively promoting your business either directly or indirectly. An example is a newspaper where you might give free images for their publications but only if you do so under a commercial creative commons agreement where you receive public attribution in the media with each image used.
Hopefully you have a second means of generating revenue in the meantime. When we break down the number of hours that go into putting together even a simple shoot we see that someone shooting stills or making pretty much any length video puts significant time into selling the job, getting to and from the job, insurance if they are doing it right, processing, reviewing the product with the customer, performing final edits, and final reviews with the customer. Time IS money. Then you have the cost of your aerial equipment, business license, cost of transportation, processing programs and computers, taxes, telephone and internet, and other general overhead. It's real easy to think you're making a little bit of money when in fact you're paying out of your pocket to do a job for a customer. Using a flat fee of, say, $250.00 to provide 8 still photos of a property, which at first might sound like a fair and reasonable price, when you break it all down you would have lost money for doing the work. Flat fees are a great way to start living under bridge unless the rate fees are really large. The only way you could have made money was if the photos provided came out of a "stock footage" folder that had been sitting around somewhere. In that case you would have only recovered some of your earlier expenses. Bear in mind that "consultants" in many fields charge upwards of $150.00/hour just to talk about work.
What we are experiencing with amateurs and the uneducated undercutting the market is precisely why the larger professional organizations don't want anything to do with the "low hanging fruit" of real estate and similar work. It happens in pretty much any endeavor that permits participation of the unskilled masses. You don't want to get into a race to the bottom.
For those that want to learn how to run a business or develop a rate structure, the above provides plenty of information to establish a starting point. If you don't know what your actual costs are you cannot run a profitable business. Profit is not labor or wages. They are completely different things.
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I do the usual- photos, real estate photos, video but I like doing commercial videos for advertising, complete edited videos. Most of what I've done so far was for friends, just so people could see what I could do. Kind of a portfolio I guess. But I am hoping to get paid for my services.
Good advice. I haven't quit my day job and may never be able to, but I can dream I guess. I'm funding my marketing with my overtime for now. I have also set up booths at some local events and have made several excellent contacts for future work. I have also been asked to fly the York County Emergency Response Team drone. It's volunteer work but it will help to get my name out there I hope. As far as unlicensed fliers go, I guess I get a little jealous when they get the spotlight but at least I can feel good knowing I am doing my best to do it right and safely. I like the idea of using local news papers in exchange for advertising. I never thought of that. This forum has never failed me yet. ThanksGlory?; It's all work
As painful as it may sound, you're probably selling yourself too cheap as it is. Most do so don't take offense. Review your structure again to see if you should be increasing the price instead of reducing it.
Until people start getting caught and experience heavy fines being imposed for operating illegally, and that includes those hiring them, there's not much you can do except "tough it out", advertise aggressively, and build a relationship with news organizations and public political figures that can help get your name out there. If you are going to do anything on the cheap, make sure those are dedicated to those that will be actively promoting your business either directly or indirectly. An example is a newspaper where you might give free images for their publications but only if you do so under a commercial creative commons agreement where you receive public attribution in the media with each image used.
Hopefully you have a second means of generating revenue in the meantime. When we break down the number of hours that go into putting together even a simple shoot we see that someone shooting stills or making pretty much any length video puts significant time into selling the job, getting to and from the job, insurance if they are doing it right, processing, reviewing the product with the customer, performing final edits, and final reviews with the customer. Time IS money. Then you have the cost of your aerial equipment, business license, cost of transportation, processing programs and computers, taxes, telephone and internet, and other general overhead. It's real easy to think you're making a little bit of money when in fact you're paying out of your pocket to do a job for a customer. Using a flat fee of, say, $250.00 to provide 8 still photos of a property, which at first might sound like a fair and reasonable price, when you break it all down you would have lost money for doing the work. Flat fees are a great way to start living under bridge unless the rate fees are really large. The only way you could have made money was if the photos provided came out of a "stock footage" folder that had been sitting around somewhere. In that case you would have only recovered some of your earlier expenses. Bear in mind that "consultants" in many fields charge upwards of $150.00/hour just to talk about work.
What we are experiencing with amateurs and the uneducated undercutting the market is precisely why the larger professional organizations don't want anything to do with the "low hanging fruit" of real estate and similar work. It happens in pretty much any endeavor that permits participation of the unskilled masses. You don't want to get into a race to the bottom.
For those that want to learn how to run a business or develop a rate structure, the above provides plenty of information to establish a starting point. If you don't know what your actual costs are you cannot run a profitable business. Profit is not labor or wages. They are completely different things.
Capitalize on the fact you are FAA licensed, you have insurance. You need to present yourself as a professional.
Make up a 2-3 page book with what you can do, drop it off at some realators like a business card.
Just saying.
Make up a 2-3 page book with what you can do, drop it off at some realators like a business card.
Just saying.
PatR
Premium Pilot
Unless a new business is selling something everyone absolutely cannot do without they will struggle for some period of time while they build a customer base. It's quite normal for a new business to operate at a loss for several years before they generate enough revenue through the business to carry its weight. If a new business is not capitalized well enough to operate at a negative for at least 2 years the probability of failure is high. If the business owners lack the creativity necessary to create and implement different forms of targeted advertising they will likely fail. If a business owner does not know or understand their costs when developing their fee structures they failed before they even got started. They will operate in a state of financial decay.
With all the previous info some might be thinking that many businesses will fail and only a few be profitable enough to survive. They would be right. It's not easy, it's not something to be done for "fun". It's all about hard work, work that either gets paid for with enough left over to pay the bills and invest in more equipment and personnel, or not and end up selling off the equipment at a pawn shop or something. The option is to run a "hobby" business, and take some serious hits with your taxes and the length of time federal tax agencies will permit them to operate. Another option is to run an unfunded charitable organization. If taking that route hopefully those doing so have unlimited funds to give away.
With all the previous info some might be thinking that many businesses will fail and only a few be profitable enough to survive. They would be right. It's not easy, it's not something to be done for "fun". It's all about hard work, work that either gets paid for with enough left over to pay the bills and invest in more equipment and personnel, or not and end up selling off the equipment at a pawn shop or something. The option is to run a "hobby" business, and take some serious hits with your taxes and the length of time federal tax agencies will permit them to operate. Another option is to run an unfunded charitable organization. If taking that route hopefully those doing so have unlimited funds to give away.
PatR
Premium Pilot
Bob,
Cheaper to build an inexpensive website. Making direct contact with potential clients provides them a face and personality to associate with the website. Printed media is expensive and "blind" advertising has a very low rate of return. We're lucky to see a 1/2%-1% rate of return for contact from widely distributed printed media. Direct mailers for example. Out of that 1% we have to handle follow up with contacts and turn them into customers, which cuts that initial 1% waaay down. And that's only if our printed media is effective in generating some level of excitement with those receiving it. There are lots of different ways to reach out to potential customers so we need to be as creative and resourceful as possible.
Cheaper to build an inexpensive website. Making direct contact with potential clients provides them a face and personality to associate with the website. Printed media is expensive and "blind" advertising has a very low rate of return. We're lucky to see a 1/2%-1% rate of return for contact from widely distributed printed media. Direct mailers for example. Out of that 1% we have to handle follow up with contacts and turn them into customers, which cuts that initial 1% waaay down. And that's only if our printed media is effective in generating some level of excitement with those receiving it. There are lots of different ways to reach out to potential customers so we need to be as creative and resourceful as possible.
Rates are based upon experience with several things taken into account.
How long have you been a photographer and or videographer, and what are your underlying costs.
The base rate I currently use for drone work...
$150/hr for one drone, one operator and one ST16.
Second ST16 + operator is $75/hr. The operator gets $50/hr.
Each additional person I require is $50/hr and paid at a rate of $30/hr.
I charge out extra for anything else needed.
Image editing....
$20/image to a max of 5 images ( editing an image should take no longer than 5 minutes ).
Video editing....
$100/hr for SD, $150/hr for HD, and $200/hr for 4K
Product design....
$75/hr for case and disc design.
This is a tough one as you will need to work with the customer on what they want, but remember, all of your time must be billed.
Conversations with them during the editing and package design are creative consultation and need to be charged according to which part of the design process you are working on.
If they are involved with the editing process of the video, that is tracked as part of the video editing pricing @ $100, $150, or $200, so the longer they talk, the more it will cost them as it is using up your time. Make sure to advise them of that. It tends to keep their lack of experience out of the final product and turning your hard work into garbage that you don't want your name on.
Your prices should always be based upon experience in each area, and as experience dictates price, you can charge more as you become better over time.
My pricing is based upon many years of photography and videography. I also have a background in marketing and product design.
So at the end of the day always remember this....
Your time has value as does your experience. You should not be afraid to charge for that, as long as it is proportional.
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
I charge by the job, not by a hourly rate. The price would depend on it's complexity rather than quantity. For example, if doing some photographs allot of the work involved (risk assessment, pr-flight site visit, paperwork, etc) would be the same whether I took 5 pictures during the flight or 10). I have a standard price that I work from and either increase it or decrease it depending on the overall work I have to do. For example, if I have to erect a cordon to keep public at bay, or I have to get a permission to take off from someone's land that doesn't belong to the client, say, then the price goes up. Likewise, if the job involves the use of more than two batteries, then that's extra.Interesting topic. I don't do work for pay but have always been curious as to how people charge for their service. Flat Fee, By the Hour, Extra for Editing the Video. Let's hear it.
Roughly speaking (as a rule of thumb) Video editing doubles the price but that can go up or down too depending on how much work is involved.
Murray, your post shows that you have put considerable effort and time into your pricing structure. The fact that you are willing to share it here gratis shows self-confidence and a sincere desire to help others.
My hat is off to you...
My hat is off to you...
PatR
Premium Pilot
Thank you Ray
I know it's hard to charge what you feel you are worth as most are afraid of losing jobs, but those are the jobs that you don't want anyway. With DSLR's and any form of digital media, it has produced a swamp of people that felt just by purchasing equipment and not paying their dues, they are now a professional.
I struggled with pricing for the first few years as a photographer and videographer. I was always afraid I was charging too much and would negotiate prices, and then I was known as the guy that could do it for cheap. It was a hard pill to swallow. When I finally realized I was being taken advantage of I knew things needed to change.
I feel that if we all take the time to collaborate we will be able to make this a good industry world wide. In that way it shouldn't matter where we go as our pricing would be fair and honest for a good quality product.
What people forget is that we are not only business people, we are artists first.
As someone already alluded to I also charge by the job and client size and perhaps most importantly what is the end use. ( this goes for stock sales as well) Are they doing a national or international ad campaign or something with just local or regional exposure? I'm not charging because I own a drown, I'm charging contingent upon a "creative fee" and my ability to give the client something which is unique predicated on my experience as a visual communicator. If you have fears you're charging too much after exploring what your market will bear then you should probably either improve your skill set or consider what you're doing as a hobby. My clients are more concerned with quality than price, bottom feeders who charge very little in the end only hurt themselves and others who are relatively inexperienced but trying to actually make this a business. What helps me is that I'm an established photographer with 45 years of international and national experience. I also do some jobs pro bono if I like the cause and they are a non-profit business. If you are offered a job which could lead to much more work or other revenue streams then price accordingly. If you're offered a job which would considerably enhance your sample reel you should consider giving them a price break but if you're shooting something shaggy with no legs make it worth your while as compensation will be the only thing your going to benefit from. An important aspect to consider for charging by the job and not a flat hourly rate is how difficult the job will be and what sort of risk is involved. Will you be flying in an urban environment with people nearby or flying in a rural setting getting glory shots? What sort of wear and tear will your drone be exposed to on the assignment? There are many factors which go into pricing properly. I often get calls for my hourly rate but I only bid on the job after the specifics of it have been laid out and the potential client scrutinised.
I agree and that is why I use all of my base prices when pricing a job. Some work is strictly hourly, but all work takes into consideration your hourly rates when figuring out your quote.
I do work for Universities, Police, Gov't, Municipalities, local film makers & photographers, farmers, Realtor's, local businesses and anyone with money in their bank account. When you first start out you are pounding the pavement a lot as a face to face is better than a flyer...personal contact.
Always carry with you several demo reels to give away so they can see what you are capable of doing. And as to what kind of business you can expect to get?.....create a need for it and they will eventually want it.
If a business is small, do shorter videos for them that they can afford. Images are not something that time will shorten.
Always carry with you several demo reels to give away so they can see what you are capable of doing. And as to what kind of business you can expect to get?.....create a need for it and they will eventually want it.
If a business is small, do shorter videos for them that they can afford. Images are not something that time will shorten.
One thing to always remember to do is this....GET A DEPOSIT!!! I require 50% non refundable. 25% upon completion of days work, then the balance upon delivery of the final product. Any add-ons are treated as a new contract and should be written up as such before the new add-ons start with same pricing structure and deposits required.
The info everyone has shared thus far is great. It should help a lot. I understand experience is a big factor. I see that in my day job as an auto tech with 33 years of experience. I could make a lot more money sticking to nights and weekends fixing cars, but at the end of a work day, I don't want to even look at an automobile. I can still out work 20 year olds but that can't last forever. At the end of the day I sure can't move like a twenty year old anymore. Back on subject here- May I ask what kind of clients are hiring you? Meaning, is it small business or big business, film or T.V. ? My area is mostly small business and residential. There doesn't seem to be that many drone fliers doing it right. By that I mean they aren't getting licensed and insured and they don't seem to get permission to fly to get the footage they want. There are some doing it right but not as many as there are drones. Too much negative attention. I seem to get positive response when people see that I am going about it professionally. I am assuming the ones not serious about aerial videography and photography won't last. If I am not as competent as I hope I am, I won't last either. But I am going to give it my best shot. Any info helps.
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