Your first copywriting cost

[Christie Love]

I am helping a friend figure out the price to add to her first sales page that promotes her copywriting services.

What price point did you use for your copywriting services when you first started out?

[Cherilyn Woodhouse]

I wrote an email for $20 as a WSO.

Then again, it's easier to drop your prices than increase them, so don't sell yourself short. Ask her how much she's willing to work right now, how many salesletters she can finish in that time, and how much she needs to pay the bills plus a couple hundred dollars in business and marketing expenses. Divide her required income by the number of pieces she's willing to produce in a month, and you have your number.

Avoid working for peanuts, it's a hard trap to get out of...

- Cherilyn

[Cherilyn Woodhouse]

And as a side note, make sure to differentiate yourself. Don't just say "I write copy, so hire me because I'll make you money". Everybody says that, so if you jump on the bandwagon you'll end up competing on price. Figure out what makes her unique as a copywriter, and use that to her advantage.



- Cherilyn

[Loren Woirhaye]

The going rate in the corporate/offline business world
is $50-125 per hour for all sorts of copy. A little
less for non-profits maybe.

If you get into doing direct-response strategizing
and consulting you might find yourself charging
more - but you'll be adding more value too.

Clients who are experienced marketers might not
need your strategic advice and just want competent
copy - and they need to outsource because the
to-do lists pile up.

There are a lot of writers online who will work for
eating-dog-food money - so if you want to actually
make a decent living you'll have too position your
services differently from those providers.

Peter Bowerman covers this stuff in his books, as
do Steve Slaunwhite and Robert Bly. Marcia Yudkin
is also a good resource - though I don't think she's
written a book about freelancing there's good stuff on
her site - http://www.yudkin.com - I called her on
the phone once and she was really down-to-earth.

[ndcole78]

The key is to look at your strengths and what are the weaknesses of other copywriters and then look at what the market wants. If your strength is what the market wants and it's the weakness of your competition, then there's your concept.

For example..my strength is that since I'm a former newspaper reporter, I'm trained to write a lot faster than the average writer and the market wants their copy done fast--and for not an arm and a leg, so that's how I came up with several business ideas that bring in over 6 figures each (I humbly state).

If you can charge thousands for a letter, then do that, anyone who can write copy well deserves to get paid well--just make sure that your concept stands out from the rest though.

Here's a concept I came up with to help marketers deal with the economic crisis--and they love it. Again, I played to my strength: No Limit Copy Membership-Home

The price appears to be as another warrior mentioned--working for dog meat--but just 500 members at $197.00--that's over $1.2 million in revenue. I'll eat that kind of dog meat any day.

I can't tell your friend what to charge, that's for her to decide, but there's room for all copywriters to be successful--after all, you can't do anything without copy.

I also suggest that your friend start reading the Wall Street Journal or at least study what successful corporations are doing right as far as concepts, ideas, meeting the market demands and applying the same stuff to her business--that is if she wants to eventually become more than a 1-man operation.

feel free to contact me if you want.

[Christie Love]

This is great advice. Thank you all for your help. I, too am expanding my writing services to include copywriting, so this information will be beneficial for the both of us.