For many copywriters, correctly pricing their work is a constant
struggle. When it’s time to offer a price, a myriad of negative
influences — both internal and external — descends upon them.
Sometimes the result is disastrous.
I know this from personal experience. At the beginning of my
freelance career, some 20 years ago, I charged Stash Tea just
$18 per hour for my copywriting services. I got lots of work as
you might imagine!
My contact, Susan, eventually left, and just before leaving she
took me aside to tell me I’d been under-pricing by at least $30
per hour!
I never had the stomach to calculate my financial loss, but it’s
certainly been in the thousands, not just with this client but
with others too. The sum total of my foolish pricing decisions
could have funded a respectable CD earning hundreds of dollars
in interest over the years.
Why do copywriters under-price?
Here’s a short list of the primary reasons, and any or all may
play a part in the final pricing decision:
1. The copywriter is insecure. She reasons that she’s not highly
experienced or “famous,” and so should undercut her pricing.
2. No known benchmarks. The copywriter has not worked in an
agency environment, or “in-house” at a catalog company, or in
the advertising department of a sophisticated marketer, and has
no concept of fair pay for his services.
3. Financial stress. Pressure to meet financial needs and
obligations leads her to “come in low” in order to secure the
job.
4. Other motivators: He needs more samples on his Web page and
is willing to do the work for less in order to pad his
portfolio; the client is a small business and doesn’t have much
money for copywriting services; the client promises more work if
he’ll do the job “on the cheap” just this once (don’t believe
it); or… or… and the list goes on.
The fact is, many freelance copywriters talk themselves into
accepting less than they’re worth just to “stay in the game”…
but in doing so, they also ensure they’ll stay on the margins of
this highly lucrative career choice.
If you’re even the least bit weak-kneed when it comes to
pricing, you (and your family) will greatly benefit if you hone
your negotiation skills, and show the client that you demand
respect for your time.
To that end, here are some tools to help you price correctly on
every job:
1. Understand that you cannot price less than $50 USD per hour
and remain comfortably in business. You must charge for your
time, for your overhead, for your health insurance, for your
retirement fund, and for PROFIT, which is your right as an
entrepreneur. Generally, copywriters should charge at least $75
per hour to earn a livable income.
2. Charge more if you provide more. Are you an expert in a
particular field? Is your work impeccable, requiring little
revision work for the client? Do you offer creative direction?
Project management? Are you expected to attend on-site meetings?
When you price, price for everything you bring to the table…
not just the copy.
3. Avoid small businesses. They’re legendary for using too much
of a copywriter’s time, and paying too little for it as well.
4. Avoid working for individuals, small businesses, or other
entities that require education. If they don’t know what a
copywriter can do for them and you find yourself educating them
about copywriting or marketing, run as fast as you can in the
opposite direction. They’ll drain your energy and pay little for
it.
5. By the same token, if a business looks like it needs the help
of a copywriter (e.g., badly written Web site), don’t think
“Hey, they need me!” Rather, understand that they don’t need you
or their Web site would be well written in the first place.
Always work for people who understand and value copywriting.
They’re the ones who’ll be willing to pay your price.
6. Seek pricing benchmarks. Over the last 20 years I’ve
collected a file that is now 3 inches thick on copywriter
pricing. Like piecing a puzzle together, the “whole” of it
offers a better picture of what’s real — and what should be –
than the individual parts.
7. When you’re really stumped, try this simple but
stress-reducing technique (this works especially well for very
large jobs that are scary to price):
Simply sit down and devote an hour to actually doing some
writing on the project. (Don’t let the client know you’re doing
this or you’ll weaken your bargaining position.)
This one hour will help you grasp the true size of the project.
Often it’ll reveal that your original idea for pricing was way
off… in other words, way too low. Spending one hour on the
project will help you “chunk it down” so you can make a
realistic estimate of how much time you’ll spend.
Sometimes this hour is better spent thinking of all the things
you must do to complete the job, such as helping the client
write a Creative Brief, researching the competition, writing an
outline, etc. Then estimate time spent for each task, in
addition to writing the copy. Now you have something to work
with in pricing, rather than the amorphous thought, “this seems
like a big job.”
8. Write down everything you’ll do for the client and present it
to him with your pricing. In my Fee Agreement I’m very detailed
about what I’m providing (copy, testing concepts and rationale,
offer development, new testimonials, etc.), and will even detail
the size of the components of a package. When the client sees
all that copy representing what I’m going to do for him, he’s
less resistant about price.