Too Much? Too Little? How to Price Your Projects

by Donna Doyle

One of the top questions my coaching students ask me is how to price their work. My answer? It depends.

First, determine how much someone of your experience level would get in a staff job. One way to do this is to visit a site such as salary.com (http://www.salary.com) and plug in "copywriter" and your zip code. Salaries for various levels will come up, from entry level to senior. For example, I live in the New York Metro area. An entry-level copywriter earns anywhere from $36,000 -
$47,500 per year. Now, plan your income accordingly.

When you price a job, you have to take into account:
>> Your experience level
>> Hourly rate
>> Estimated time it will take for you to complete the job

Experience level: Have you been working as a copywriter for one year or less? Five years? Ten or more? Naturally, a new writer will have to charge less for a project than a senior writer with a
track record.

Hourly Rate: when figuring out your hourly rate, you can't just decide you're going to charge $30 and that's that. You also need to take into account such things as your telephone expenses,
internet access expense, health insurance, office space (yes, the space you use for your home office counts, too), taxes (remember, self-employed people pay more!).

Crunch the numbers and you'll soon discover that you have to charge at least $50 per hour to make the $47,500 or more a copywriter of your experience level needs to earn.

Time Estimate: This can be a toughie. With any new project there's going to be a learning curve. If you've never done a landing page before, it's going to take you longer than if you've
done 5.

Because there are so many parameters involved, clients usually pay on a per-project basis. And you're best to quote a range when estimating a price.

The Easiest Way to Determine Pricing

What are the going rates for typical projects? One of the best sources is Chris Marlow's Freelance Fee and Compensation Survey . I have a lot of respect for Chris and her marketing
philosophy. It's a terrific resource and she updates it yearly. Another way to get the going rate is to visit copywriter message boards and post a question. One of the best sites I know of is
Copywritersboard.com.

You can also ask your client what their budget is. If they give you a number to start with, its a lot easier to negotiate from there.

Here are Some Typical Rates

>> Direct response magalog: $10,000 - $18,000
>> Direct response component Package: $6,000 - $13,000
>> 4 page sales letter with lift note and envelope: $2,000 - $3,500
>> Space ads: $400 - $1,200
>> Email Blasts: $300 - $500 per page

Yes, these are all very wide ranges, but so much of quoting a project depends on the specs. A space ad with a headline and bullet points will cost less than one with several paragraphs of
copy. A component package with 5 pieces will cost more than a simple sales letter and order card. Be sure to get as much information regarding the project and the components involved as you can.

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Reprinted by permission from Donna Lynn Doyle. Direct Response copywriter Donna Doyle has created results-driven copy for some of the largest direct marketing companies and publishers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Named "2006 Copywriter of the Year" by the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), she is also a Partner of 3Chix, (http://www.3chix.com) , a seminar and information publishing company targeted to the career success of freelance
writers. Donna is also a sought-after copywriting coach. Sign up for her Free ezine, The Inside Track, at http://www.copybydoyle.com.