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Profitable Web Designer with Shannon Mattern

Shannon Mattern

Profitable Web Designer is the top podcast for women web designers who started their web design business for freedom and fulfillment—but somehow ended up overworked, underpaid, and wondering what went wrong.

If you're a woman web designer who's tired of saying yes to underpaid web design projects, doubting your prices, or bending over backward to keep clients happy, you're not alone.

Host Shannon Mattern shares the pricing strategies, mindset shifts and behind-the-scenes stories web designers like you need to stop overdelivering, raise your prices, and finally create the freedom and income you started your web design business for in the first place.

This podcast is your backstage pass to the coaching, strategies, and transformations happening inside the Web Designer Academy—Shannon’s mentorship program that helps women web designers book higher-paying web design projects without overworking.

👉🏻 Find out the 5 Subtle Proposal Mistakes Even Experienced Web Designers Make That Cost Them Thousands at webdesigneracademy.com/proposal

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  • 20 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 33 min
  • English
  • S1 · E218
    Yesterday · 48 min

    Part 2 - How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload EP 218

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Part 2: How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload In Part 2 of this 3-part series, I'm picking back up in the private training I hosted back in 2022 to break down how we help the women in the Web Designer Academy implement the 5P Framework from Part 1, why all five pieces have to work together, and the secret sixth piece you need to make it all work: an authentic marketing strategy you're actually sold on, because if you're not sold on it, you're not going to do it. I walk through the 3 places web designers get stuck, answer whether you can promise your clients ROI, show you what $10K months with one client at a time look like, and share the one mindset shift I want you to walk away with: the value has everything to do with your client and what's possible for them. In This Episode: Why missing even one piece of the 5P Framework is like a stool with only two legs Why you don't need social media, ads or blogging to get web design clients Why you can't promise your clients ROI, and what to do instead The 3 places web designers get stuck: the people pleaser, the self-taught undercharger and the five-figure hustler What $10K months with one $10,000 client look like, and why you need to stop doing the hourly math Why you can't reverse engineer another web designer's business from the outside Resources Mentioned: Web Designer Academy Waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program Episode 217: How To 5x Your Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload, Part 1: https://webdesigneracademy.com/217 Related Episodes: Episode 210: Market Your Web Design Business Without Social Media with Jana Osofsky: https://webdesigneracademy.com/210 Episode 204: Why Your Discovery Calls Aren't Converting (And What to Do Instead): https://webdesigneracademy.com/204 Episode 195: From $5,000 to $15,000: How Web Designer Academy Student Aprile Blair Tripled Her Prices: https://webdesigneracademy.com/195 Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • S1 · E217
    October 21 · 50 min

    Part 1 - How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload EP 217

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Part 1: How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload In Part 1 of this 3-part series, I'm sharing a replay of a private training I hosted back in 2022 for accepted applicants, where I break down the 5P Framework I've been teaching inside the Web Designer Academy for the past 6 years to help women web designers go from undercharging, overdelivering and burnt out to profitable, sustainable and thriving. We do the math on how many projects you'd need to sell at your current prices to hit your income goal, why the lower your prices are the more people you have to get in front of and convert, and why you can't just go change the price on your website and expect clients to say yes. Then I walk through all five pieces you need in place to charge more without working more: packaging, positioning, pricing, pre-framing and premium client experience. In This Episode: Why getting more clients when you're undercharging and overdelivering is a recipe for disaster How to package your web design services as a revenue-generating asset instead of a list of deliverables How giving clients choices helps you test your pricing, prevent scope creep and become your own competition Why it takes the same amount of time to build a $2,000 website as a $10,000 website, and why you don't need to add more deliverables to charge more How to pre-frame the value of your work from the first interaction so clients skip the sticker shock How win-win boundaries keep you out of scope creep and zombie projects that never die Resources Mentioned: Web Designer Academy Waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program Package Matrix™ Method: https://shannonmattern.com/package-matrix-method/ Related Episodes: Episode 205: Why More Web Design Clients Won't Fix Your Money Problems with Pam Jordan: https://webdesigneracademy.com/205 Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern: https://webdesigneracademy.com/189 Episode 186: The Web Designer's Guide to Dealing With Difficult Clients: https://webdesigneracademy.com/186 Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • S1 · E216
    October 14 · 1 hr 1 min

    Web Designer Pricing Workshop EP 216

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Web Designer Pricing Workshop: How To Set Profitable, Sustainable Prices This week I'm sharing a replay of a pricing workshop I hosted a few years ago where I walk you through how to set profitable, sustainable prices for your web design services and how to sell yourself on those prices. Because it doesn't matter what number you land on if you don't believe in the value you bring to the table. We find your minimum baseline, talk about why charging by the hour doesn't work, use the Rule of 10 to get you sold on your own value, bust the three pricing beliefs that keep web designers undercharging and wrap up with live Q&A on consultations, standing out from cheaper web designers, new solopreneur clients and finding agencies to work with. In This Episode: How to find your minimum baseline using your income needs, business expenses, taxes and available hours Why a $75/hour rate falls apart once you account for marketing, admin and scope creep How to price by the project and by the long-term value of the website for your client The Rule of 10: could your client make 10x what they paid you, and make it back in 3 to 6 months? Busting "I need more experience first," "I'm self-taught" and "my clients can't afford it" The 3 business breakdowns that leak money out of your web design business Resources Mentioned: Web Designer Academy waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program Shannon's Monthly Income Reports: https://webdesigneracademy.com/category/income-reports/ Aisha Crumbine (the Rule of 10): https://crumbineed.com IRS Estimated Taxes: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes Related Episodes: Episode 212: Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark: https://webdesigneracademy.com/ditching-hourly-a-web-designers-guide-to-value-based-pricing-with-jonathan-stark/ Episode 205: Why More Web Design Clients Won't Fix Your Money Problems with Pam Jordan: https://webdesigneracademy.com/why-more-web-design-clients-wont-fix-your-money-problems-with-pam-jordan-of-pivot-to-profit/ Episode 190: What Every Web Designer Needs to Know About Taxes with Hannah Cole: https://webdesigneracademy.com/what-every-web-designer-needs-to-know-about-taxes-with-hannah-cole/ Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • S1 · E215
    October 7 · 56 min

    How To Stop Undercharging For Web Design EP 215

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income: https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse How To Stop Undercharging for Web Design AI tools are making web design faster and easier than ever, and so many web designers believe that because it's so fast and so easy, it's not worth that much. Today I’m going to help you make over your mindset for good so you stop undercharging. In This Episode: Why working faster with AI and page builders doesn't mean you should charge less Why you have to be sold on you before anyone else will be sold on your pricing The undercharging self-evaluation: pricing language, scope creep, quick fixes, unpaid invoices, maintenance pricing and VIP days The two words, just and only, that keep web designers undercharging The 8 reasons web designers undercharge, including fear of responsibility 9 ways to stop undercharging, from staying out of your clients' wallets to knowing your own numbers Resources Mentioned: Web Designer Academy Waitlist: webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist Web Designer Academy: webdesigneracademy.com/web-designer-academy-program-reg Anchor High™ Certification: shannonmattern.com/anchor-high-certification Related Episodes: Episode 212: Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark Episode 199: The Sneaky Word Sabotaging Your Web Design Business with Aiza Cheung Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • S1 · E214
    September 30 · 57 min

    August 2026 Income Report EP 214

    Grab our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse August 2026 Income Report: Why We (Temporarily) Closed the Doors on Web Designer Academy This month Erica Nash and I get into the real numbers behind August... $25,640 in revenue, $15,318 in outflow, and the big decision we finally tested after ten years of keeping Web Designer Academy open all the time. We walk through exactly where the money came from, why we closed the doors and moved to a six-month cohort model, and what happened in the first two weeks that made this experiment feel like a success before it had even officially started. In This Episode: The full August 2026 revenue and expense breakdown, and where the money actually came from Why we closed Web Designer Academy's doors after a decade of being open all the time What changed inside the program to make a six-month cohort work (and why the price stayed the same value, just split differently) Early wins from our first six-month cohort, including a student who sold a high-ticket package before the program even started Why Shannon stopped setting arbitrary success metrics for business experiments The mindset shift around time and capacity that's opening up space for what's next Resources Mentioned: Web Designer Academy — waitlist now open for the next six-month cohort, opening February 2027 Next Level Mastermind Package Matrix™ Method 90-Day Shift Private Coaching Related Episodes: Episode 212: Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark Episode 209: July 2026 Income Report Episode 191: How To Choose the Right Web Design Business Model Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. • For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com • For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com • Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • S1 · E213
    September 23 · 54 min

    Web Design Templates, Courses or Clients? Why You Don't Have To Choose with Olga Dorovskykh from Applet Studio EP 213

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income. Web Design Templates, Courses or Clients? Why You Don't Have To Choose with Olga Dorovskykh from Applet Studio Olga Kolgusheva, known professionally as Olga Dorovskykh, is the founder of Applet Studio, a Squarespace template shop and design studio she runs with her husband Roman. In this episode, Olga breaks down how she juggles templates, courses, and custom client work all at once, the real numbers behind growing a profitable template shop, and what she's seeing right now as AI reshapes SEO, affiliate marketing, and how web designers get found online. In This Episode: Why Olga refuses to pick just one business model, and how templates, courses, and client work support each other The real numbers behind growing a template shop, including her 100 blog post breaking point How her templates became a direct source of custom client leads What happened when AI started eating her blog traffic and affiliate income in 2025 Why commercial landing pages are outperforming blog posts for AI visibility How EAT signals across other platforms are changing web designer visibility Why service-based web design isn't going anywhere, even as AI gets better Resources Mentioned: Applet Studio Free Digital Strategy Workshop Web Designer Academy Package Matrix™ Method Related Episodes: Episode 191: How To Choose the Right Web Design Business Model Episode 114: How to Sell Squarespace Templates with Kate Scott Episode 184: Answer Engine Optimization: Your Next Revenue Stream As a Web Designer Olga Kolgusheva (Olga Dorovskykh) is a former journalist turned Squarespace designer and the founder of Applet Studio. Website: applet.studio. Instagram: @applet.studio. Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of the Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • September 18 · 3 min

    Profitable Web Designer Tip: Ditching Hourly

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value Pricing with Jonathan Stark Jonathan Stark, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy, joins Shannon Mattern to explain why hourly billing punishes you for getting good at your job, and how he builds every proposal around three value-based pricing options instead of a single hourly quote. In This Episode: Why hourly billing creates a mismatched incentive between you and your client The Why Conversation: the three questions Jonathan asks before he'll ever discuss price How to respond when a client's desired outcome is outside of what you can control Why every proposal should include exactly three pricing options (Goldilocks pricing) How Jonathan built his business through writing and podcasting instead of social media Why AI makes positioning more important, not less Resources Mentioned: Value Pricing Calculator Hourly Billing Is Nuts Ditching Hourly Podcast Jonathan's Daily Newsletter The Package Matrix™ Method Related Episodes: Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern Episode 90: Profitable Proposals and Processes with Cass and Amanda of Foxtrot Branding Episode 164: The State of Web Designer Pricing in 2025 Jonathan Stark is a former software developer turned pricing consultant, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy for his mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He's the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts and the host of the Ditching Hourly podcast. https://jonathanstark.com Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of the Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy, where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout, and break through to their next level of income and freedom. Websites: webdesigneracademy.com | shannonmattern.com IG: @profitablewebdesigner | YouTube: @profitablewebdesigner | LinkedIn: shannonmattern

  • S1 · E212
    September 16 · 54 min

    Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark EP 212

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value Pricing with Jonathan Stark Jonathan Stark, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy, joins Shannon Mattern to explain why hourly billing punishes you for getting good at your job, and how he builds every proposal around three value-based pricing options instead of a single hourly quote. In This Episode: Why hourly billing creates a mismatched incentive between you and your client The Why Conversation: the three questions Jonathan asks before he'll ever discuss price How to respond when a client's desired outcome is outside of what you can control Why every proposal should include exactly three pricing options (Goldilocks pricing) How Jonathan built his business through writing and podcasting instead of social media Why AI makes positioning more important, not less Resources Mentioned: Value Pricing Calculator Hourly Billing Is Nuts Ditching Hourly Podcast Jonathan's Daily Newsletter The Package Matrix™ Method Related Episodes: Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern Episode 90: Profitable Proposals and Processes with Cass and Amanda of Foxtrot Branding Episode 164: The State of Web Designer Pricing in 2025 Jonathan Stark is a former software developer turned pricing consultant, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy for his mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He's the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts and the host of the Ditching Hourly podcast. https://jonathanstark.com Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of the Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy, where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout, and break through to their next level of income and freedom. Websites: webdesigneracademy.com | shannonmattern.com IG: @profitablewebdesigner | YouTube: @profitablewebdesigner | LinkedIn: shannonmattern

  • September 11 · 5 min

    Profitable Web Designer Tip: Why Your Web Design Business Systems Aren’t Working

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Systems architect Diana Wei Fang, founder of The Finer Points, joins Shannon to explain why buying another tool never fixes a business problem, how to standardize your systems without losing what makes you different, and why she believes small businesses built to last are the key to real systemic change. In This Episode: Why so many creatives struggle with invoicing and follow-up, and why it has nothing to do with talent The real reason tool-hopping between platforms like Honeybook, Dubsado, and Notion never solves the underlying problem How to standardize your systems without losing what makes your business yours Why the average small business lifespan dropped from 91 years in 1919 to just 14 years today What AI can (and can't) do for your business systems How Diana built The Finer Points from scratch for under $500 Resources Mentioned: The Finer Points: https://thefinerpoints.co HoneyBook: https://www.honeybook.com Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/web-designer-academy-program-reg/ Related Episodes: Episode 185: How To Scale a Web Design Business with Sarah Noked of OBM School: https://webdesigneracademy.com/how-to-scale-a-web-design-business-with-sarah-noked-of-obm-school/ Episode 177: Why Doing It All Yourself Is Slowing Down Your Web Design Business with Bailey Collins: https://webdesigneracademy.com/why-doing-it-all-yourself-is-slowing-down-your-web-design-business/ Episode 98: Finding Your Biz Besties with Katie Lynn + Laura Grace of Mushaboom Studio: https://webdesigneracademy.com/finding-your-biz-besties-with-katie-lynn-laura-grace-of-mushaboom-studio/ Diana Wei Fang is the founder of The Finer Points, a systems and process architecture studio helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs build businesses that last. Website: https://thefinerpoints.co | Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefinerpoints | LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/thefinerpoints Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • S1 · E211
    September 9 · 48 min

    Why Your Web Design Business Systems Aren’t Working with Diana Wei Fang EP 211

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Episode 211: Why Your Web Design Business Systems Keep Failing with Diana Wei Fang Systems architect Diana Wei Fang, founder of The Finer Points, joins Shannon to explain why buying another tool never fixes a business problem, how to standardize your systems without losing what makes you different, and why she believes small businesses built to last are the key to real systemic change. In This Episode: Why so many creatives struggle with invoicing and follow-up, and why it has nothing to do with talent The real reason tool-hopping between platforms like Honeybook, Dubsado, and Notion never solves the underlying problem How to standardize your systems without losing what makes your business yours Why the average small business lifespan dropped from 91 years in 1919 to just 14 years today What AI can (and can't) do for your business systems How Diana built The Finer Points from scratch for under $500 Resources Mentioned: The Finer Points: https://thefinerpoints.co HoneyBook: https://www.honeybook.com Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/web-designer-academy-program-reg/ Related Episodes: Episode 185: How To Scale a Web Design Business with Sarah Noked of OBM School: https://webdesigneracademy.com/how-to-scale-a-web-design-business-with-sarah-noked-of-obm-school/ Episode 177: Why Doing It All Yourself Is Slowing Down Your Web Design Business with Bailey Collins: https://webdesigneracademy.com/why-doing-it-all-yourself-is-slowing-down-your-web-design-business/ Episode 98: Finding Your Biz Besties with Katie Lynn + Laura Grace of Mushaboom Studio: https://webdesigneracademy.com/finding-your-biz-besties-with-katie-lynn-laura-grace-of-mushaboom-studio/ Diana Wei Fang is the founder of The Finer Points, a systems and process architecture studio helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs build businesses that last. Website: https://thefinerpoints.co | Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefinerpoints | LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/thefinerpoints Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • September 4 · 4 min

    Profitable Web Designer Tip: Market Your Web Design Business

    Grab our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income: https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Market Your Web Design Business Without Social Media with Jana Osofsky This week I'm joined by Jana Osofsky, a content strategist and Pinterest educator for coaches and service providers, and the creator of High Leverage Content. Jana built her entire marketing system around a capsule blog, a focused library of 12 to 20 blog posts that cover everything her audience needs to know before they're ready to buy, and used it to get her marketing down to one day a month while raising her prices from $600 to $4,000 a project. In This Episode: How Jana built a capsule blog library of 12 to 20 posts and used it to get booked out Why raising her prices every time she booked three projects took her from $600 to $4,000 a project What the specificity spectrum is and how to get specific in your content without a narrow niche Why AI-sounding content is costing service providers trust with clients right now The three-prong visibility strategy for becoming social media optional Why Shannon is expanding the Package Matrix™ Method beyond web designers Resources Mentioned: Jana's free training: The 6 Secrets to Signing Clients with a High-Converting Capsule Blog Jana’s Website: Jana O. Media. Related Episodes: Episode 150: Podcast Guesting for Web Designers with Jenn Zellers Episode 137: Trust Over Traffic with Meg Casebolt Episode 183: Pricing Strategy Inside The Package Matrix™ Framework. Jana Osofsky is a marketing expert, content strategist, and Pinterest educator for coaches and service providers, and the creator of High Leverage Content. Find her at janaomedia.com or on Threads @janaomedia. Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • S1 · E210
    September 2 · 51 min

    Market Your Web Design Business Without Social Media with Jana Osofsky EP 210

    Grab our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income: https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse Market Your Web Design Business Without Social Media with Jana Osofsky This week I'm joined by Jana Osofsky, a content strategist and Pinterest educator for coaches and service providers, and the creator of High Leverage Content. Jana built her entire marketing system around a capsule blog, a focused library of 12 to 20 blog posts that cover everything her audience needs to know before they're ready to buy, and used it to get her marketing down to one day a month while raising her prices from $600 to $4,000 a project. In This Episode: How Jana built a capsule blog library of 12 to 20 posts and used it to get booked out Why raising her prices every time she booked three projects took her from $600 to $4,000 a project What the specificity spectrum is and how to get specific in your content without a narrow niche Why AI-sounding content is costing service providers trust with clients right now The three-prong visibility strategy for becoming social media optional Why Shannon is expanding the Package Matrix™ Method beyond web designers Resources Mentioned: Jana's free training: The 6 Secrets to Signing Clients with a High-Converting Capsule Blog Jana’s Website: Jana O. Media. Related Episodes: Episode 150: Podcast Guesting for Web Designers with Jenn Zellers Episode 137: Trust Over Traffic with Meg Casebolt Episode 183: Pricing Strategy Inside The Package Matrix™ Framework. Jana Osofsky is a marketing expert, content strategist, and Pinterest educator for coaches and service providers, and the creator of High Leverage Content. Find her at janaomedia.com or on Threads @janaomedia. Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • August 28 · 3 min

    Profitable Web Designer Tip: July 2026 Income Report

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at ⁠https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse⁠⁠ July 2026 Income Report This month I break down our July 2026 income report going over how much the business made, spent and all the lessons learned along the way. In This Episode: The full July 2026 revenue and expense breakdown (and why not all of the inflow is spendable) Why we are testing a six-month cohort model for the Web Designer Academy. What closing the business for a week plus taking another vacation did for the numbers and the mindset How the Package Matrix™ Method beta cohort is shaping a new certification The mastermind moment that helped Shannon fully own being a pricing expert A mid-year financial check-in and where Next Level Mastermind enrollment landed Resources Mentioned: ⁠Web Designer Academy⁠ ⁠Next Level Mastermind⁠ ⁠Package Matrix™ Method⁠ ⁠90 Day Shift Private Coaching⁠ ⁠Anchor High™ Certification⁠ Related Episodes: Episode 206: ⁠June 2026 Income Report⁠ Episode 183: ⁠Pricing Strategy: Inside The Package Matrix™ Framework⁠ Episode 164: ⁠The State of Web Designer Pricing in 2025⁠ Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: ⁠https://webdesigneracademy.com⁠ For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: ⁠https://shannonmattern.com⁠ Instagram: ⁠@profitablewebdesigner⁠ | ⁠@shannonlmattern⁠

  • S1 · E209
    August 26 · 51 min

    July 2026 Income Report EP 209

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse⁠ July 2026 Income Report This month I break down our July 2026 income report going over how much the business made, spent and all the lessons learned along the way. In This Episode: The full July 2026 revenue and expense breakdown (and why not all of the inflow is spendable) Why we are testing a six-month cohort model for the Web Designer Academy. What closing the business for a week plus taking another vacation did for the numbers and the mindset How the Package Matrix™ Method beta cohort is shaping a new certification The mastermind moment that helped Shannon fully own being a pricing expert A mid-year financial check-in and where Next Level Mastermind enrollment landed Resources Mentioned: Web Designer Academy Next Level Mastermind Package Matrix™ Method 90 Day Shift Private Coaching Anchor High™ Certification Related Episodes: Episode 206: June 2026 Income Report Episode 183: Pricing Strategy: Inside The Package Matrix™ Framework Episode 164: The State of Web Designer Pricing in 2025 Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern

  • August 21 · 4 min

    Profitable Web Design Tip: How Cathy Olson Built a Multi-Million Dollar Business

    Grab our High-Converting Web Design Proposal Template and start confidently charging a lot more for custom web design projects, without hustling, overworking, or losing all your clients: https://webdesigneracademy.com/proposal #208 - Why Web Designers Need to Think Like Conversion Strategists, Not Just Designers, with Cathy Olson I sat down with Cathy Olson, co-founder of Funnel Gorgeous and FG Funnels, to talk about the thing that actually separates a web designer charging a thousand dollars from one charging fifty thousand dollars for the same skill set, and it comes down to understanding the psychology behind why design sells and being able to explain it. Cathy spent years running a high end web design studio before she discovered sales funnels and completely shifted how she thought about her work. In this episode we get into why explaining the "why" behind your design decisions builds trust and lets you charge more, what a sales page can teach you about conversion psychology even if you never build a funnel, why she thinks AI is actually good news for designers willing to level up, and what it took for her to walk away from a business community that turned on her when she made a decision that was right for her company. What you'll learn... Why explaining your design decisions is the difference between a $1,000 website and a $50,000 one How to study a sales page like a masterclass in conversion psychology Why testimonials work as trust buffers and what an offer stack is really doing for a buyer How Cathy uses AI inside her own business without losing what makes her work valuable Why the courage to walk away from what isn't working almost always opens up something better Resources mentioned... FG Society, Cathy's membership community for marketers and designers, starting at $67 a month Cathy's new solo Instagram account for conversion design tips: @cathyfunnels Funnel Gorgeous on Instagram Related episodes... Episode 180: The Truth About Pricing with Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business Podcast, https://webdesigneracademy.com/180 Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern, https://webdesigneracademy.com/189 Episode 202: Is AI Ruining Web Design? (Or Making It Better?) with Diane Whiddon, https://webdesigneracademy.com/202 About Cathy Olson: Cathy is the co-founder of Funnel Gorgeous and FG Funnels, where she and her business partner Julie Chenell help online business owners build profitable, ethical marketing funnels. Website: funnelgorgeous.com | Instagram: @cathyfunnels About Shannon Mattern: Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • S1 · E208
    August 19 · 55 min

    How Cathy Olson Built a Multi-Million Dollar Business as a Web Designer EP 208

    Grab our High-Converting Web Design Proposal Template and start confidently charging a lot more for custom web design projects, without hustling, overworking, or losing all your clients: https://webdesigneracademy.com/proposal #208 - Why Web Designers Need to Think Like Conversion Strategists, Not Just Designers, with Cathy Olson I sat down with Cathy Olson, co-founder of Funnel Gorgeous and FG Funnels, to talk about the thing that actually separates a web designer charging a thousand dollars from one charging fifty thousand dollars for the same skill set, and it comes down to understanding the psychology behind why design sells and being able to explain it. Cathy spent years running a high end web design studio before she discovered sales funnels and completely shifted how she thought about her work. In this episode we get into why explaining the "why" behind your design decisions builds trust and lets you charge more, what a sales page can teach you about conversion psychology even if you never build a funnel, why she thinks AI is actually good news for designers willing to level up, and what it took for her to walk away from a business community that turned on her when she made a decision that was right for her company. What you'll learn... Why explaining your design decisions is the difference between a $1,000 website and a $50,000 one How to study a sales page like a masterclass in conversion psychology Why testimonials work as trust buffers and what an offer stack is really doing for a buyer How Cathy uses AI inside her own business without losing what makes her work valuable Why the courage to walk away from what isn't working almost always opens up something better Resources mentioned... FG Society, Cathy's membership community for marketers and designers, starting at $67 a month Cathy's new solo Instagram account for conversion design tips: @cathyfunnels Funnel Gorgeous on Instagram Related episodes... Episode 180: The Truth About Pricing with Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business Podcast, https://webdesigneracademy.com/180 Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern, https://webdesigneracademy.com/189 Episode 202: Is AI Ruining Web Design? (Or Making It Better?) with Diane Whiddon, https://webdesigneracademy.com/202 About Cathy Olson: Cathy is the co-founder of Funnel Gorgeous and FG Funnels, where she and her business partner Julie Chenell help online business owners build profitable, ethical marketing funnels. Website: funnelgorgeous.com | Instagram: @cathyfunnels About Shannon Mattern: Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • August 14 · 5 min

    📣 Special Web Designer Academy Announcement

    I've got some big news dropping today that I think you're gonna love if: 1️⃣ You're a woman web designer in that mid-stage of your web design business journey where you're beyond the beginner basics, but you're not where you want to be yet in terms of income and time freedom. 2️⃣ You want to finally: Build a real client pipeline (that doesn't use content marketing or social media) so that you stop having to try to compete for attention in a saturated market Clean up zombie projects and fix time, money and sanity-draining client situations Take control of your time and to-do list so that everything stops feeling so overwhelming and like it's piling up Stay out of your clients' wallets for good, and Get your prices to where they really could and should be (without losing all your current clients or never getting another one) 3️⃣ Working together has been on your "someday" list... 📣 I'm opening up a 6-MONTH COHORT of the Web Designer Academy that'll run from September 2026 through February 2027 🤩🎉🤩🎉 Apply here: ⁠https://webdesigneracademy.com/apply⁠ Up until now, the Web Designer Academy has been a 12-month program with a 12-month commitment (and a 12-month price tag). The 6-month cohort is your opportunity to get my expert feedback and guidance as you implement our advanced strategies for moving from feast-and-famine to profitable-and-consistent (with a 6-month price tag) 🎉🎉🎉 By the end of our 6 months together you'll always know how to find your next client (so you stop undercharging and saying yes to difficult clients because you're worried about where your next client is coming from), charge 2-3x more without working harder, and have made some real, solid progress toward your ideal monthly income. Together, we'll work on: 📈 Building your client pipeline: Take small, doable weekly marketing actions that compound over time to fill your pipeline 30, 60, 90 days out and beyond. 💵 Resetting your revenue: Audit your current numbers and capacity, set a realistic 1-year goal, and learn our Anchor High™ Sales Process to sell your current services at higher prices on your very next consultation. 🙌 Quick wins: Take action on your quickest wins - whether that's billing for all you're doing, converting hourly clients to retainers, wrapping stalled projects, or letting go of difficult clients - to make room for what's next. 💼 Strategic planning and implementation: Plan ahead to take real, restorative time off during the holiday season, and review your first 3 months of data and map out a clear strategic plan for 2027. 🫠 Stopping overdelivering and overworking for good: Step out of overwhelm, ditch people-pleasing, and carve out dedicated time for revenue-generating activities (and your personal life) so you can get booked out without burning out. 🧠 Making over your pricing mindset for good: Transform your money mindset, stay out of your clients' wallets, and say five-figure prices out loud as easily as saying "the sky is blue". Enrollment in the 6-month cohort is by application only so I can make sure your goals are a match for our program and that your business is at the right stage to successfully apply our strategies. After doing this for a decade, I can tell pretty quickly if your business is too young or too advanced to benefit from our strategies. There's zero obligation to enroll if your application is accepted, so if you're thinking about it even a little bit, go ahead and apply below! If your application is accepted, you’ll be invited to attend a live, private masterclass at 12PM Eastern on Friday, August 21st only for accepted applicants where I’ll walk you through: The 6 most common places web design businesses leak time and money, how to fix them - and more importantly how NOT to fix them. How the 6-month cohort works, what you’ll be doing, how support and feedback works, when live calls will be, how replays work, and what’s included. What the 6-month investment is, plus details on payment plan options. How our 30-Day Trial and ROI Guarantee work After the private masterclass, you'll have until Monday, August 31st to enroll in the cohort. We'll onboard everyone starting September 1st, and we'll officially start on Tuesday, September 8th. If you're still reading this... your next step is to fill out the application 👇 https://webdesigneracademy.com/apply The more detail you give me, the better I can assess whether or not this 6-month cohort experience is the right fit for you and your goals. I only invite people to work with me who I'm confident have the foundation needed to create a return on their investment (and more) during their time in the cohort - and who will actually learn something new and benefit from being there. And It's in neither of our best interest for you to enroll in our program and either not get an ROI in a reasonable timeframe because you're too new - or be like "Yeah, I already know all of this, I just wasted my money..." Again, there’s no obligation to enroll if your application is accepted... ...but this is the last time you'll have the opportunity to join the Web Designer Academy until who knows when 🤷‍♀️ Because after this cohort starts in September, the doors to the Web Designer Academy are officially closing so we can focus on serving this cohort deeply for the next 6 months (instead of splitting our focus between sales and delivery). So if the Web Designer Academy has been on your "someday" list, and you want the opportunity to be part of this cohort and have my expert guidance, support and feedback on growing your web design business... Then fill out the application below before your chance goes away on Thursday, August 20th 👇 ⁠https://webdesigneracademy.com/apply⁠

  • August 14 · 4 min

    Profitable Web Designer Tip: How Web Designers Can Charge More

    Grab our High-Converting Proposal Template and learn what to include (and what to leave out) to turn more of your proposals into higher-paying clients: https://webdesigneracademy.com/proposal Episode 207: Why Web Designers Are Already Doing Brand Strategy (Just Not Charging For It) with Sarah Robb Sarah Robb of Brand Strategy Academy has spent over twenty years building brand strategies for companies like Pfizer, EY, PepsiCo, and Oracle, and in this episode she and Shannon break down why brand strategy has almost nothing to do with fonts and logos and everything to do with four simple questions every strong brand can answer. Sarah makes the case that most web designers are already doing this work with clients, they just haven't named it, structured it, or charged for it, and she and Shannon talk through exactly what it looks like to shift from being seen as the person who executes a client's vision to the person who leads them through a real strategic process. What you'll learn in this episode: The four questions behind every brand strategy, and why they matter more than any logo or color palette Why the "discovery phase" you're already running with clients is brand strategy work you're underpricing How to shift from executor to advisor without becoming a different person, just a more structured one Why AI can speed up research but still can't replace human judgment in strategy work Why small and medium sized businesses need strategic help more than ever, and what that means for who you target next What's actually inside Brand Strategy Academy Resources mentioned: Brand Strategy Academy Rebrand Right by Sarah Robb and Rachel Fairley Related episodes: Episode 154: Strategic Branding That Pays Off Episode 143: Building a Brand with Jacob Cass of Just Creative Episode 111: The True Value of Branding with Mike Brevik of BrandRetro & Cyberdogz About Sarah Robb: Sarah is a brand strategist with over twenty years of experience, the co-author of the Amazon bestseller Rebrand Right, and the founder of Brand Strategy Academy, which has helped over four hundred designers become confident brand strategists. Website: brandstrategysarah.com | Instagram: @brandstrategysarah About Shannon Mattern: Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy, where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout, and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • S1 · E207
    August 12 · 44 min

    How Web Designers Can Charge More By Adding Brand Strategy with Sarah Robb EP 207

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse⁠ Episode 207: Why Web Designers Are Already Doing Brand Strategy (Just Not Charging For It) with Sarah Robb Sarah Robb of Brand Strategy Academy has spent over twenty years building brand strategies for companies like Pfizer, EY, PepsiCo, and Oracle, and in this episode she and Shannon break down why brand strategy has almost nothing to do with fonts and logos and everything to do with four simple questions every strong brand can answer. Sarah makes the case that most web designers are already doing this work with clients, they just haven't named it, structured it, or charged for it, and she and Shannon talk through exactly what it looks like to shift from being seen as the person who executes a client's vision to the person who leads them through a real strategic process. What you'll learn in this episode: The four questions behind every brand strategy, and why they matter more than any logo or color palette Why the "discovery phase" you're already running with clients is brand strategy work you're underpricing How to shift from executor to advisor without becoming a different person, just a more structured one Why AI can speed up research but still can't replace human judgment in strategy work Why small and medium sized businesses need strategic help more than ever, and what that means for who you target next What's actually inside Brand Strategy Academy Resources mentioned: Brand Strategy Academy Rebrand Right by Sarah Robb and Rachel Fairley Related episodes: Episode 154: Strategic Branding That Pays Off Episode 143: Building a Brand with Jacob Cass of Just Creative Episode 111: The True Value of Branding with Mike Brevik of BrandRetro & Cyberdogz About Sarah Robb: Sarah is a brand strategist with over twenty years of experience, the co-author of the Amazon bestseller Rebrand Right, and the founder of Brand Strategy Academy, which has helped over four hundred designers become confident brand strategists. Website: brandstrategysarah.com | Instagram: @brandstrategysarah About Shannon Mattern: Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy, where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout, and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

  • S1 · E206
    August 7 · 4 min

    Profitable Web Designer Tip: June 2026 Income Report

    Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse⁠ June 2026 Income Report Welcome to my June 2026 Income Report where I share how much we made, how much we spent and all of the lessons I learned along the way. In This Episode: How I finally let go of the belief that I’m bad at sales. How I sold out my private coaching offers. How to untie your pricing from your time Why 10 people joining a brand new program beat out my goal of 25 The biggest myths about the Next Level Mastermind, debunked Resources mentioned: 90-Day Shift Private Coaching Next Level Mastermind ShannonMattern.com for the Package Matrix Method High-Converting Proposal Template Related episodes: Episode 200: May 2026 Income Report Episode 196: April 2026 Income Report Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern About Shannon Mattern: Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom. For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner

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