Would you pay $50/page for a report?

I would if all the market research was already done and I was convinced I would see a 100% ROI on the expenditure.

Dani

way too much.

My reports are usually 40-60 pages so you'd be charging me $2500 for something I'm giving away.

It does seem like quite a bit to be honest. I mean, I can find someone to do it cheaper and with proper research to prepare for me a 10-20 page report for a give-away. $500-$1000 for such a report is quite steep.

I can't be sure but I suspect top
marketers would readily pay $50
per page for a report.

BUT every report would have
to be superb in every way.

Rich Schefren's 'Internet
Marketing Manifesto' easily
measures up, even today.

Many of Ken Evoy's SiteSell
manuals also were worth this
kind of money in their day.

The real question is can you
identify a speciality where you
excel and make a name for
yourself within it.

For example, I have just
stated a series of very
short articles for a client
for which I'm receiving more
than you're asking.

The client came to me
because I have some specialist
knowledge outside of writing.

Stephen

Hi Warriors,

Thanks for the great response. I was of the opinion that $50/page was too expensive unless it was for a 5-10 page report that contained some explosive information. However, you don´t know for sure unless you take a look into it.

Personally, if I wanted a report written well that was more than 50 pages, I would write it myself unless I was completely confident in the writer´s ability, and as Dani said, if the ROI was near enough guaranteed. I can agree with all of you that a 50+ page report at $50/page would be too expensive.

I will try to remain at my current $25/page rate and reorganise my team of researchers to make the job less time consuming. My service is what pays the bills and keeps me comfortable while I eventually build up a large enough repertoire of products to write for myself full time.

On a side note, my main speciality is travel writing which my top clients pay around $40/page.

Thanks once again for the insight.
Antony.

Getting opinions is great, but you will never truly know until you try. I don't think you will ruin your reputation by trying. You already know your top clients pay $40 per page in the travel niche. If you were able to increase the size of your market and or go after bigger clients it might work at $50 per page. Good Luck!

If I can convince myself that $50 a page is worth it, I'd buy it. So maybe focus on getting in your client's head and ask, "how can I get them to put energy on convincing themselves that this is worth it"

Hey Anthony

Before you get discouraged, remember it's all in the marketing and target market.

Would the Wall Street Journal publish a $3 spun article, written by someone in Malaysia that struggles with English?

Of course not.

Yet some Internet Marketers are happy to put that kind of article on their site.

Totally difference target market.

And with marketing, whatever you price you set, you have to SELL it's value.

A $500 report might sound expensive to some Warriors... but, for example, if that report skillfully presold its readers in a subtle manner, such a report could be VERY valuable.

You have to show your target audience WHY it would be worth them paying $50/page, and WHY they should hire you instead of someone at $10 or $20/page.

Writing is NOT a commodity, but a lot of people think it is. Look at all the $1 article writers on Elance.

You won't see them writing for the Wall Street Journal any time soon.

And it's not just about spelling and grammar. Those are just the technical aspects of writing.

It's about what your writing communicates (both directly, and under the surface). It's about demonstrating your knowledge and expertise to your clients. It's about preselling, so they read the report and think, "Wow... I need to find out more."

Make it clear to your prospects why your writing is NOT a commodity, and they won't treat it as a commodity.

This is very true. Nothing is ever clearcut and so I will have to have a good think about it and try different things. I suppose its also a question of whether I want to try and make it work at $25 with many clients or work with fewer clients at $40-50.

Paul, your post was spot on, thanks for that.

Antony.

Hi Antony,

It's like asking, "Would you pay $50 for a hamburger?"

The answers vary depending on the audience, their needs and their expectations. Ask around at Burger King, and the patrons will laugh at you. Ask at Le Jules Verne (the fancy Eiffel Tower restaurant) and you'll get more positive responses.

Of course virtually no one (unless they were starving) would pay $50 for a Burger King burger. So, as Bill said, it's all about positioning, finding the right target market, and giving them value. Find the right market, and folks will think that $50 is a steal.

Cheers,
Becky

P.S. You may also consider studying copywriting, which is a higher-paying specialty (if you're good).

I think I am going to have to rethink my prices, lol. I am far too cheap !! But personally what I think is that you are probably worth the $50 per page that you want to charge - if your clients are happy with it, and they love the products you create for them then stick to your guns and show new clients why you are worth the money. I think that is the key.

I don't write for people who tell me "oh, I could get this cheaper somewhere else" - I know they can but to me the question is about value for money. I am English born, with a degree in Journalism - writing is my life and I do provide quality products. I stick to writing ebooks and reports because they are what I enjoy doing. I do all of my own research and I work from home so my overheads are low - I charge what I feel the product is worth in terms of time to me and I don't do this on a flat rate per page.

I have written more than 100 ebooks so far and so there are a lot of topics i already have resources for - if I don't have to do a lot of research to complete a project then the flat rate per ebook is going to be cheaper than if I have to do a lot of research on new topics. I do charge by the ebook/report because I think that is fairer on the client because they are not going to be hit with any extra charges if the page count goes over the required amount . I know what I am getting for the work I am putting in - I think that is a fair system but it is only my opinion and only what works for me.

Stick to your guns - you obviously have the skills and your clients will appreciate the products you create for them. And to any other writers out there - charge what you think you are worth; and then set about proving that worth to your clients.

Have a great day
Lisa

Hey Antony, as others have said it's really niche dependent. Personally I think your best best is to look into becoming a professional at writing white papers. The buyer and seller market for professionally written white papers has a much higher ceiling.

Hope this helps.

Hey Antony.

Personally, I would not mind paying you $50 a page if you were a damn
good writer.

I'm pretty sure there are MORE than a few people out there that would.

Your problem is finding them.

I know many top marketers who do spend A LOT of money getting
good writers (I'm talking 2k+) to write a simple free report...

And why?

Because they 1) HAVE the money

2) Realize that it's worth the investment

I've paid writers $50 a page before, and I will if I know it will make me money
in the long run.

Josiah

If you think if your work worth $50/page go for it and market your self as an expert. If you have a biz website, make it look like you are charging $100/page.....We buy for perception, and if i see your website "not too professional" i would think..."How this guy charge so much with a site like this...?"

I hope you get the idea, and brand your self, like if you were the Donald Trump of writers...

AL

I think you can charge $50 especially if it's well-written, highly researched than the usual, and with a great amount of details. But I agree with them that you have to find large companies or business owners who can pay that amount for your high quality material. You must market them in a way where they'll see it as the best investment useful for a long time.

Hi Antony,

Bottom line it would depend whether your report generated me a net profit in the long-term. I would also factor in the cost/time involved of correspondence, production, implementation, etc. And of course, naturally the amount that could be generated would depend on the quality of the work.

So if I was able to generated at least $51 for every $50 paid, after factoring in the above costs, it was scalable, and factoring in of course the opportunity cost (assuming this was the better opportunity at the time), then yes, of course I would.

I've personally been paid more than $50/page for writing a report for businesses.

So it really depends. Depends on the quality. Depends on being able to find people who want a quality report and can afford $50+/page, etc, etc.

John

Hi,

I have been trying to build my reputaton and believe the best way to do this is through consistency. As for my brand, I think thats something that comes naturally, however I do make an effort to make people understand that I can write well, rather than believe...

Lisa, thanks for the kind words. I had a look at your "Warriors for Hire" page and your rates are very reasonable. Im sure you could get away with charging a few bob more whilst still maintaining your current clients.

As for my rates, I think I should keep it varied depending on the project but will certainely stick to my guns in deciding what my time is worth to me and what value I can provide the client.

John, you make a very good point about each page bringing in at least a dollar than what it was paid for, and in the end it does come down to that. One thing I try to concentrate on is making the reports timeless so that they can pick up emails a few years down the line. I always try to provide really useful / well written information and in that respect, once I hand the report over and everyones happy; I believe all that is left is for the client to leverage the kind of profits that they want to achieve.

Daniel, I class a white paper as a type of report so it really depends on who wants what. Thanks for the input though, definately something I can look more into.

Thanks Warriors.
Antony.

As Paul rightly points out, it depends on the target market and context.

I personally wouldn't pay that much, but I could imagine plently of companies paying more than 4 figures for a fairly good sized report (100 pages? At $50/page that's 'only' $5k, whilst I could imagine a company would pay more?).

I wont pay $50 a page for report I am giving away for free. i could easily get a PLR ebook for $2 and polish it up and give away.

Having said that, if I am sure that the report you produce is great and can be sold easily, I would get that and do an upsell.

'Give Away' reports should be low cost but high perceive value.

Antony,
Ultimately, the market is king.

You may very well be able to persuade the market to pay you $50 per page -- as long as you prove that each page is worth MORE to them than the $50 they will part with to get it -- and you can deliver.

For example, I'd pay you $50 per letter, if you persuaded me that you could write out the specific details for the location of some long lost pirate treasure...



So, there are two critical elements here:

1. Your ability to persuade your market that your work is worth more than $50 per page

2. Your ability to deliver content to your market that is worth more than $50 per page



You have to consistently meet both requirements. You can't have one without the other and stay in business very long. (at this price point)

However, meet both requirements, and there is no reason to settle for a penny less.

Hope this helps,
Jack Duncan