Good reasons to charge more not less for your copywriting expertise

I'm the first to hold up my hand...

...and tell you, in my copywriting business, I've made lots of mistakes. Mistakes which in the past have cost me, and more importantly, my clients dearly.

A freelance experienced copywriter encompasses much more than simply supplying sales copy. All of the experienced copywriters on this forum are extremely adept marketers in their own right. Adept at changing their business reflexively to changes in the market place - we all have an insatiable curiosity for more knowledge which can help our clients achieve the results they want and demand from their business.

Whether it be positioning, branding, uncovering your unique USP, discovering the hidden hook or storyline in your business and effectively communicating your unique benefits to your target market not to mention sharing killer traffic generation techniques and delivering strategies for highly targeted leads to your business - copywriters like us are in very high demand.

When I first started out copywriting (and some way in I might add) I like many others felt that potential clients might be attracted to my offer on price alone and I considered this to be of paramount importance. Especially so when trying to help out the smaller independent Internet marketing individual with their business. A fatal mistake.

An expensive mistake which, yes admittedly, has cost me dearly in more ways than one.

To be really and I mean to be really committed to each client you need to spend plenty of time with this individual to fully understand their business model inside out. Perhaps better than the business owner themselves. In other words, I want to understand every little sinew of their business and marketing plan and charging cheap prices, simply doesn't give you this opportunity.

When you charge too little for each copywriting project you take on, it simply becomes a numbers game, knocking out as much sales copy as you can to keep yourself afloat and ahead of your bills. This is no way to serve your clients needs effectively.

By charging just a few hundred dollars, no way on this earth can you dedicate to each client the attention to detail they deserve.

Look at it this way, which would you rather have?...

Charge let's say $300 to each client you take on and how many sales letters do you need to write to make decent moolah at the end of the month?

You want to make $6,000 at the end of the month, why you'd have to write 20 sales letters to achieve your goal of $6k at month end.

20 sales letters! That's 20 individual leads you have to first find and convert from goodness knows how many inquiries which need to be generated first. There's half your month gone already. Not to mention the research time needed for each individual client plus of course writing the copy itself, editing it ruthlessly etc.

You want to run yourself ragged into the ground? This is a recipe for disaster!

Instead...

Focus in like a laser on your unique skills.

Concentrate all of your energy on what you can do best.

Don't look at the broad horizon. Narrow your focus, define your market and portray yourself in the best light possible for the skills which will add explosive growth not just to your business but in the interests of each client you take on.

Not only will you see much more satisfying results in your own business but you rest easier knowing your looking after each client with the full attention they deserve when you start truly valuing your own sense of self worth.

For example, a web hosting company just contacted me asking me to write 'some copy' for their web pages. I quoted them $15,000. Ouch! But then $15k stops me from watching the clock constantly. For $15k, I can afford to give this client my full undivided attention for a whole month. A whole four weeks, 30 days or so, every waking hour, every minute completely dedicated to their business and nothing else.

And the return on investment?

Gone is the risk factor just knocking any old copy out, doing the best I can in a few short hours by charging much less. By charging more, you are in fact increasing exponentially the chance that your client will have a runaway success story on their hands.

Anyone willing to invest this much in their business, you can be guaranteed is totally and completely immersed in making their business a storming success! Just the kind of client you want.

Someone who is hungry for success, highly motivated, doesn't mind spending time with you and is prepared to pull out all the stops, will listen to your advice knowing full well their investment in you is worth every last cent.

When you simply bang out copy for the sake of it, it's a very hit and miss affair. And what you want are massive hits! Massive hits, runaway success stories which aid your reputation, increase your credibility, provide you with peer respect and recommendations from other top copywriters for the niche you're working in.

Question is... what do you consider your self worth to be valued at?

Please feel welcome to discuss...

Warmest regards,


Mark Andrews