Tips for Setting Your Copywriting Rates

A copywriting job can mean brisk business, especially for writers who have the skills and experience. However, that is only if the writer knows how to strategically price his copywriting services, something that can be very tricky, especially for beginners. Setting a rate for copywriting can be confusing, particularly because you don't want to overcharge and turn away prospects or undercharge and not be paid what you deserve. Here are some of the most important things that you should consider when setting your copywriting rates:

Different copywriters charge different rates

This is due mainly to the type of skills you have, your writing expertise and experience. Beginner copywriters, for example, cannot charge the same rates as more experienced ones.

The key here is to prove that you can deliver. Even if you have the skills but don't have the experience, it can take a while before you can charge a rate as high as those charged by a copywriter with more experience than you do. This, even if you will be writing on the same topic. A Web article, for example, may cost only $75 for a beginner copywriter while a more experienced copywriter may charge at least $120.

The type of writing and topic

The type of writing project and its topic will also affect copywriting rates. An article written on a general topic, for example, may be charged at a lower rate than a write-up about a project with a specialized topic. Article writing, newsletters, brochures, ads, ghostwriting a book, news stories, press releases, etc.; require different types of research and styles of writing.

The type of research that has to go into writing will also influence the rates, the more difficult, intricate and technical the writing needs to be, the higher its rate. Extras that add value to a copywriting service such as search engine optimization or writing using HTML can also allow a writer to charge more.

To give you an idea how much copywriters charge for their services, here are some ballpark figures you might find useful:

For articles that will appear on a website, copywriters charge anywhere from $100 to $400 per write-up. If you choose to charge by the hour, the range can be anywhere from a low of $50 to around $85. For Web content that will fill 10 pages, you might want to charge for about $1,000 to $1,500, depending on the type of content.

For press releases, copywriters often charge from $300 to around $600 while others may charge lower, starting at around $100 or $150.

For sales letters, freelance copywriters usually charge a whopping $1,000 to around $2,000 per letter. Some, such as those still building their portfolio, can charge from a low of $200 to around $500.

The number of words

Many copywriters charge per word while others prefer a set number of minimum words per write-up. These become the basis of their copywriting rates. For example, a copywriter may charge a lower rate for a 300-word write-up than he would for a 500-word article.

The frequency of the writing project

There are different copywriting rates set for one-time writing projects and for continuous assignments. Copywriters will generally charge a slightly lower copywriting rate for continuous projects than for one-time only articles.

After service
As part of their copywriting services, copywriters often allow one revision per article which is included in the set rate. Further revisions and additions are sometimes billed extra or based on a per hour rate. Copywriters may charge from about $30 to $70 an hour to make their revisions.

Self-marketing

Believe it or not, how much you can charge for your copywriting rates will also depend on how well you can sell your writing skills. If you're unsure of what to charge and less confident about your writing, you're likely to charge a rate that is less than what's reasonable for your level of skills and experience. Know your skills and be confident so you will never have to charge an unreasonable rate.