How much should I charge?

I wish it were easy to determine how much to charge. My personal approach to this would be:

1. Determine how much your time is worth. What is the lowest fee you would charge to make it worthwhile doing and what is the absolute highest fee you would want?

2. What are your expenses? Figure out how what kind of costs you need to cover in order to do this job. If you don't have to cover anything, then factor this in as profit.

3. What would another writer charge for a similar job? I know you had difficulty finding a 'standard rate' (because there really is no such thing) but look at freelancer web sites and see what kind of fees other writers are charging for similar jobs. You can even ask a freelancer how much they would charge for this project (describe it to them).

4. Use a simple approach -- make up an arbitrary fee and see if they'll pay for it. Though this is less 'scientific' and exacting, it helps to get started somewhere. You can adjust the fee up or down depending on what they want.

Pricing a project is one of the most difficult things to do but if you use a consultative approach and present your client with options (regardless of the scope of the project, whether it's a high school newsletter or copywriting for a major ad campaign) then you'll be able to work out a fee that meets both of your requirements.


JP

@arf - Take these into consideration

a. Time taken for you to research
b. Time taken you for to get the job done
c. Deadline
d. Add a rush hour fee if its urgent
e. If you want to make a safe bet, use a regular and a premium rate - safeguards the deal.