
Ask HN: Retainer ideas for a designer - student_9
As a developer, one could host a webapp and charge for a retainer (with hardly any ongoing work). As a designer, I&#x27;m wondering if there&#x27;s something (besides a retainer for ongoing work...) that I could charge clients for without me having to do extra work.
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SmellyGeekBoy
A 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).

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iamben
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.

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mpfundstein
There was lastly some guy or girl at HN who talked about his or her company
which does precisely what you say as a service! Don’t know name anymore

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codingdave
I'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?

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karjaluoto
We 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-...](http://www.erickarjaluoto.com/blog/how-we-fixed-our-studios-cash-
flow-problem/)

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jakubwaw
\- "As a developer, one could host a webapp and charge for a retainer (with
hardly any ongoing work)"

This is not really true. Depending on the stack / type of project, there is a
number of things you do on regular basis to maintain a project. People are bad
at technology and a lot of it for me is usually fixing human error (especially
CMS driven projects).

Also, the one time something breaks and the developer has to spend time
rectifying the issue is spread out as a cost across a number of payments.

Not just a rant - there is an answer in what I've said - value is offered as
part of the retainer. Client receives the peace of mind they need and doesn't
have to worry about having to find someone to fight fires, when they do
eventually hit.

Find things that offer value, be it peace of mind or something else, and
upsell towards the end of your projects.

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dhimes
This. I use a service to keep two servers online. _They_ worry about updates,
security issues, and what-not. If I want to know if the latest
$OhChristWhatNow affects me, I don't have to deep-dive the forums. I email my
service- they're on it.

I deal with other servers, but leave these biggees to the full-time pros.

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lprubin
You could partner with a developer and create some themes and sell them in
theme marketplaces. That's one way designers can make scalable recurring
revenue. Most of the customer support will be on the developer's side to solve
bugs and installation problems.

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sokoloff
There’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.)

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SnowingXIV
This question is confusing. It sounds like you just want money without
providing value. I would worry less about that part. Figure out something you
can actually provide first without thinking about the free money, maybe a-lot
x hours a month for providing additional digital assets (you made their logo
but if they need it in different sizes, colors, svg, included with a picture,
facebook banner, google business, some advertisement, etc) that might have
value if they can't do that themselves or don't have the time. It's almost
always the later.

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brudgers
The 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.

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projektfu
A retainer is a liability on your books. When the relationship ends, you pay
it back. The purpose is to give you the money needed to do what's necessary,
basically prepaid work. Also, it should make it clear that the client's work
is priority over work not yet contracted.

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hluska
Anytime I've ever charged a retainer, it's been because there has been ongoing
work and they've needed me to be available at short notice. A retainer acts as
a little bonus to keep me from giving another gig higher priority.

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nedwin
I'd pay a designer for retainer. We have a designer we work with at the moment
who is great and I have ongoing needs. Woudl be easier to send bits and pieces
as we need them instead of batching.

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cimmanom
Create visual assets that can be reused (templates, logos, icons,
illustrations) and sell those on various marketplaces? Apply subscription
model licensing to the designs you create for clients?

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matt_the_bass
Are you talking about a royalty?

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babygoat
What’s in it for your clients?

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zakum1
Doing work rocks

