Hourly? or Set Prices for projects/programs? What are the best practices for creative agencies pricing models?

For me personally, no. However, what you really need is a larger data set. Gumroad just did a post on prices ending in "9": http://blog.gumroad.com/post/64417917582/a-penny-saved-psychological-pricing 37signals started with prices that ended in 9: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1287-ask-37signals-how-did-you-come-up-with-pricing-for-your-products ... but they later did research and found it didn't matter (for them). The answer for YOU will likely be to test these things for yourself on your SaaS app.

As someone who has worked in pricing for almost 30 years, I know that one of the biggest myths of pricing is that you should only offer one pricing model. Offer two - both subscription & transactional. Customers will self-select &/or the market will segment, and you will quickly find out what is their preferred pricing model. As an aside, another pricing myth is that you can low-ball your pricing and raise prices later. Its successful in ~10% of attempts. By default, the choice of pricing models also states the obvious. Its not about what you want. Its about what the customer wants. And yes, you should have three choices. One choice gives you a 50:50 chance of closing the sale. Two choices forces the customer to make a price-based decision. Three choices, and the customer says "which one do I buy?" not "do I buy from this outfit?" and secondly they are forced to make a value-based decision. Also think about creating a decoy product, and on the pricing page on your website, lay the packages out dearest on the left, cheapest on the right. Happy to chat further about any of the above...or more!

I'm glad you described your market a bit. I have not seen a retainer model work in this space, but that's not saying you can't succeed with it. YOU are the expert, so I would not leave it to clients to choose what they want. If you do, you'll get clients who say, "Yeah, I hired them to make me a page; it looked nice but didn't work"--and who is responsible for that? I have seen both arguments when it comes to the question of displaying pricing. I think you should show it. That's a qualifier for visitors, and you do not want to waste your time and energy on people who cannot afford your help. So my recommendation is to list your services with pricing, but make sure you have a lead capture system to pre-qualify. Then talk live to fully qualify and give your expert recommendations. I kind of like #4, but there is so little opportunity cost in you being able to offer all the other kinds of content...I would only take this approach if you are committed, really want to specialize, and get known for these kinds of pages.

I've worked in digital marketing since 1997, led business operations at two digital marketing agencies, and advise digital agency owners on improving the business side of their agencies. Agencies tend to use some version of the standard consulting phases: Discovery, Analysis, Recommendations, and Implementation. Some agencies like to give them cutesy, proprietary-sounding names. In my experience, I'm not sure that really fools anyone. You also want to convey that you understand their problem. When I evaluate proposals by agencies, the biggest problem is talking about the agency and not the client. Focus on how they'll benefit (including likely metrics and potential results), not what you'll do. Milestones and deliverables will depend on the nature of the project. If it's implementation work, you might list typical deliverables (e.g., landing pages, nurture campaigns, or eBooks). If it's strategy work, your deliverables will be the research, analysis, and meetings you do to make recommendations. Beware of getting too specific about granular deliverables -- you don't want to prescribe a solution before you [get paid to] diagnose the problem. Which leads to your second point -- don't give them the plan/strategy you have in mind until they pay for your help. Don't treat your strategy advice like the free coathangers at the drycleaner (so value-less that they're thrown in with your cleaned shirt). Many prospects won't like this. I think you should refuse to do business with them. When agencies deliver spec work (a la 1960s ad agency pitches from "Mad Men"), they're making it harder for everyone else (and themselves), by showing prospects and clients that strategy has so little value, you're willing to give it away. What can you do instead? Position yourself as an expert as solving their problems in their industry niche. (If you call yourself a "full service agency," you're already doing it wrong.) People hire specialists. If you need heart surgery, would you hire the surgeon who does general heart surgery or who's done your specific procedure 500 times? I know I'd pick the specialist-specialist! Instead of sharing specific recommendations, use case studies of how you've solved similar problems for similar clients before. And if you don't have similar clients yet, use the closest analogy you can. You've got to start somewhere. And it's a reminder about doing the same type of work over and over again, rather than jumping around to a million types of projects. Ultimately, don't over-invest in the proposal process. Once it becomes clear someone isn't a good match, gracefully bow out and invest your energies in working with clients who value your expertise by paying for it. Good luck on your proposals! I'm glad to do a call to answer any followup questions.

The first thing you need to do is believe you can get those kinds of rates. You question is littered with reasons why you can't - but the first question you need to ask is "Is there anyone doing development living in Brazil getting paid $100+/hour for their work" - the answer is YES. So, the better question to ask is "What are they doing different then me to get those rates?" I know I've paid for remote developers + designers at the $100/hour range, and the thing that justified it was. 1) I had a budget and have paid that kind of rate in the past 2) They're past work, portfolio, online profile, and all interactions with them world spectacular 3) They had passion for their work, almost like craftman. 4) I felt I could trust that they could over deliver on my expectations 5) They were focused on doing one thing great (ex: Mobile Design, iOS Dev, Ruby Dev) - they didn't do it all. 6) Someone I trusted vouched for them. You don't need all of them, maybe 2-3, but those are some of the things that come to mind.