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What to Charge

by Carynn Jackson
12 replies
Hi all,

I am new to the freelancing world. I need on advice on what to charge a new client for writing copy for her website. I don't have many details yet but I am thinking of a pay per project structure. I am just not sure how to set my rate. What is a standard fee for freelance copywriting? Any advice you could provide would be so appreciated. Thank you!
#charge
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  • Profile picture of the author simon leach
    Its all over the place. Go and check Upwork, Freelancer, etc to get an idea of where your services might fit. Hell you may even decide its a better deal for you to outsource the project yourself and just put finishing touches.
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  • Profile picture of the author olilynch
    There is no standard fee.

    One piece of advice I saw someone else post was to work out what you expect your annual income to be then divide that by 52 (weeks) and then by the amount of days per week you expect to work. This should then be your ball park day rate (variable of course).

    I normally see work out what the customer wants and work out how many hours that will take and try and charge by the job. I'm UK based so I normally start at GB£200 for a day rate but will go as low as GB£125-150 for the right client (if I find it interesting etc).

    However if you live somewhere where the rent/bills are less than London then you've got an advantage over me as you can charge less and still pay the rent!

    As a word of warning, someone will always undercut you on the sites mentioned below (Upwork/Freelancer) as you are often competing with people in the developing world who are happy to do any work for very low prices. Be careful of setting yourself up against them and perhaps find your own USP.

    Good luck with your client!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jessica Amboos
    Hi Carynn! Your pay rate should be based on what that type of job normally charges in your country but you can always demand more. You wouldn't want to be undercharged. The rate for services like that differ for every nation. You can check the rates from your fellow workers or you can make your own research. Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
    Ask Google.

    I jus' typed in "copywriting fees" & the Googster delivered lists from all over -- rn Men With Pens is hit #1, then you got Pro Copywriters, American Writer's & Artists Inc ... an' plenty more.

    Mebbe from the 1st 10 hits here, you could compile a master list -- articles, landin' page, email, funnel massage etc -- an' for each one, generate a rangea options.

    So -- landin' page might giveya $x min, $xxx tops ... $xx average.

    For each project intrestsya, go generate the numbers.

    Look in also on any info factors in experience.

    Gotta figure mosta the lists in Google's top 10 gonna be expert stuff, so you mebbe gotta divide all the numbersya generate by sum %age.

    Main thing is, whateverya baseline rates, they gotta be tested & time will kinda iron stuff out.
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  • Profile picture of the author technicky
    It depends on the work and maybe try to do research on this kind of matter. It may have no standard fee but at least you should know how much the client should pay you with your work.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Many, many beginning freelancers tend to be very timid setting fees, and therefore shortchange themselves. I heard Dan Kennedy tell a story of his early days in business.

    He said that the one piece of advice that turned his business around was to take the fee that first came to mind and quadruple it. Then practice quoting it in front of a mirror until he could could do it without flinching.

    Dan said he was stunned when he quoted this 'outrageous' figure, and the prospect simply said "okay, when can you start?"

    Another school of thought says that whoever names a number first loses. So you might want to answer the "how much" question with a question of your own - "what's the budget for this part of the project?"
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Another school of thought says that whoever names a number first loses. So you might want to answer the "how much" question with a question of your own - "what's the budget for this part of the project?"
      In retrospect, I'd like to modify this part of my answer.

      Directly asking for the budget can be counterproductive. Say that your typical fee for a project is $1,000 - $1,500. You ask, and the prospect says their budget is $500 (or $50, (if they've discovered Fiverr and its cousins). Where do you go from there?

      > You can bite your tongue and take the project at half your usual rate or less.
      > You can turn it down as too cheap, and likely lose any chance at further chances with this prospect.
      > You can try to negotiate something in the middle.

      Better to tell the prospect something like "my usual fee is between $1k and $1.5k for a project like this, depending on the actual details - is that in the ballpark?"

      You can always adjust the scope of the project and your fee in negotiating.

      One thing you should not do is immediately discount your work. If you gave the ballpark mentioned above and the prospect asks if you'll do it for half, don't agree on the basis that something is better than nothing. That client will expect you to do the same thing for any future projects.

      Better to adjust the scope of the project.

      Say that the original project was 5 1,000 word blog posts per week. At half your normal range, I might counter with doing 2-3 posts per week. You've lowered the cost to the client by adjusting the amount of work you will provide.

      I just saw a presentation that put it nicely. The presenter showed three levels of service providers, shaped as a pyramid.

      At the top, you have the rock stars. These are the guys getting $50k + royalties for a single sales letter.

      The middle tier, he called the working professionals. These are the folks working, you guessed it, the middle fee ranges.

      The bottom, and by far the largest, tier he called the bottom feeders. These are the folks running the race to the bottom at places like Fiverr, Upwork, and the content mills.

      You should strive to stay in the middle tier, or you'll end up working much too hard for much too little, for people who tend to be the hardest to satisfy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Copydog
    Another way to look at it is this...

    How much money will your copywriting
    make for your client?

    Why charge $200 when your client may
    reap $20,000 from your work?

    All the best in your new venture.
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  • Profile picture of the author Evaldas321
    Hello,
    I think that you must be happy with what you earn. Look up for standart rates and take what satisfies you enough to be happy to work as a freelancer!
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    • Profile picture of the author Pedro Campos
      Ask the clients if they were charged before for that kind of service. If not, you can set any price you want and start from there.
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  • Profile picture of the author hdantle
    I actually keep a basic idea of my hourly rates - NEVER to tell a client, of course, but for my own personal data. Over time, you get a good idea of what your time investment will be, so you can put those two together and come up with a flat rate for your client. You never ask for more money; if you didn't accurately estimate your time, it's on you.

    But truthfully? Take the amount you WANT to charge, double it, and ask for that. IF YOUR CLIENT ACCEPTS IT without any negotiation, bump it up higher next time. The WORST thing a client can say when you present them with pricing is, "That looks good." That means you could've charged at least 25% more and you just left money on the table.
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  • Profile picture of the author Enfusia
    Fee setting goes mostly based upon reputation.

    How many million dollar letters have you written?

    How much money have you made for others or yourself from your copy?

    People pay for results.

    once you have a few clients testimonies saying they have made X number of millions more from your work over the course of a year than they were previously doing, then you're going to have an easier sell.

    So, let's just say that at a minimum you're time is worth $500 per day, $1,000 per day or whatever you deem as your minimum.

    Never bid your time for less than that. Then charge what your worth based upon your results.

    Just my 2 cents.
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