What are your tech hosting skills worth?

Let's talk pricing!

Today I woke up to an email from a tech host who was curious about pricing their services.


And I wanted to share the advice I gave them with you.

Caveat...

Due to antitrust laws, I can’t outright recommend pricing because it can be seen as fixed or predatory. When we discuss pricing at Tech Host Academy, I share what I have charged historically, the services I offer, and factors that have contributed to changes in pricing over the years, etc. 



Every circumstance is different, but what I do recommend is that tech hosts offer VALUE pricing to help set a sustainable standard in our industry.



To give you a range, historically for calligraphy guilds and teachers offering live classes, I have charged between $25-125 an hour of live time. For corporations and large events, I have charged between $75-250 an hour for live session time. This does not include prep, even though that usually takes 1-3 times of prep to every hour of live time.



Pre and Post Services...

Depending on the needs of the client/guild, some services as a tech host may include:

• discovery calls (with client, presenter)
• tech checks (with presenter, participants, and delivery team)
• boilerplate communication emails
• facilitation/flow guides
• formatted chat
• post-production on the recording
• Padlet or other 3rd party collaboration tools

You may have other services you can include depending on your strengths and skills.

With guilds that offer workshops open to the public, I have charged a base price for all of these services and negotiated an additional percentage for over 20-30 participants in exchange for helping them market their workshops. This increases their exposure, can help them strengthen their membership and they and the presenter can make more money while I am compensated for my efforts. I also offer guidance in registration workflows and meet with the presenter.



So as you can see…
There is much more to our roles than just tech hosting during the live session. At Tech Host Academy, I train participants to be trusted advisors, and session designers, with business acumen and Appreciative Inquiry at the core.



As a participant, I sit in on monthly presentations and workshops held by guilds, companies that offer workshops, and teachers/trainers/presenters running their offerings. The level of tech hosting expertise is still all over the place. In some cases, abysmal even at bigger organizations that have been online since the Pandemic. Even with all the technological advancements available, I am finding many are not meeting their participant’s and presenters’ needs. And with great tech hosting, we have learned that it can be a talent magnet—attracting professional presenters and engaged, loyal audiences. 



Your turn…

Whichever tech hosting services you choose to offer, I suggest you get the roles and responsibilities in writing. I offer an SOW (statement of work) to serve as a contract. In the module where I discuss managing the client relationship, I offer example SOWs that you can customize. 

When presenting yourself to your potential client, be transparent and service-minded, with an educational intent. It seems there are still potential clients out there trying to figure this out and can use some help and hand-holding. Other organizations are quite tuned in and are shopping around for price and they know what kind of support they need from a tech host. 

Remember, there is so much more to tech hosting than just the tech so show them your chops! The discovery meeting is a great place to model this.

Want to discuss value pricing further?

Feel free to join us in our monthly sandboxing session. 
Here’s the direct link to sign up.

Meanwhile, keep increasing your tech hosting APTitude, so that you can increase your value to clients, and charge a fair price.



The 3 Pillars of tech hosting that I dive deep into at Tech Host Academy are:



A = Approach Design


P = Presence


T = Tech Mastery



Let me know what questions you have. I love to talk about the business side of tech hosting!