This is a bit of a follow up for my other thread. How much do you charge for your services, and could you explain how you came to this rate? The goal of this thread is to get some insight into how many of you are actually treating writing as a business, and who don't. Thanks in advance
Sorry , they vary incredibly. I look to earn a good living and I base my work on the amount of time I think I will spend time doing it. A lot depends on the amount of research needed. I need to be making $150 - $200 per day minimum really, so if I think that one article will take me eight hours, then that is what I will charge. Sometimes it means I don't get work, but as things stand I have three clients who want work from me on a continuous basis so I can leave everything else if I choose. On the flip side, if I see some work that is on the subject of something close to my heart that I know that I can write all day about it and fast, under these circumstances I might charge a very small fraction of that. I don't mind being paid ten dollars for something if I love writing about it.
Well right now it really depends on how I got the client. Here on DP I charge 4 cents per word. If the order comes from my sight, I charge per package. Other than that I make an offer to a client and if they feel inclined they can make me a counter offer. We go from there.
It depends on the project -- obviously I charge more for copywriting (i.e., sales letters, autoresponders, and such) than for SEO articles. Special reports vary, depending on expected complexity. It also depends on whether I'm trying to get new clients into my "funnel"... And generally, I don't really charge by the word, though maybe I should start... If I were to do that, it would probably start at around 3-5 cents a word for articles. I definitely won't do copywriting by the word!
Well as the other guys have said already, much depends on the type of writing being carried out. For me it also depends on the person I am writing for. I will never turn work away and if I feel the client has a genuine case of hardship, I will do what I can, or have one of my writers complete the work. If it is a job for a client I have dealt with in the past, rates are cheaper than standard. My standard rate for a 500 word article, unique, placement of keywords and written for LSI enhancement, is $7.50. It takes me about 15 minutes to complete a well written interesting article. If the articles are on the same subject matter, I can turn out 5 an hour. To establish my rate, I simply ran a few scenarios through and established an "average" hourly capacity. Then I selected what I thought my time was worth for that hour, and calculated accordingly. However for "technical" writing, sales letters, and other detailed writing, I charge up to $120 an hour.
I understand rates vary, my own do too. But that is not what I am trying to find out. The rate you charge, must be based on something? I mean, a lot of you stated in this thread that it depends on the time spent, so I assume you have somehow calculated a price per hour, and that price is based on something I assume? In the OP I referred to my other thread, where this one is a follow up for. In there you can read how my price is calculated(My minimum rate). I assume you all do something similar?
First, I'm not a content writer - I'm a fully fledged professional copywriter. Salesmanship in print. A content writer merely informs or provides useful information. A copywriter in the truest sense of the word - sells products and services through the power of the written word. Copywriting Fee's... Start at around $150 per email. (For example autoresponder emails) A copywriting video critique comes in at $250. And a fully fledged piece of sales copy starts at about $1,500 for a full sales letter or direct mail sales letter. To put this into perspective, a fully fledged sales letter will take upto 40 hours to complete. Best, Mark Andrews...
if you're a 'fully fledged professional copywriter', you should understand the difference between Copywriting Fee's... and Copywriting Fees...
Hey boss, you missed out on something. It is `full-fledged' and not `fully.' The hyphen is missing too.
Of course, my prices are worked out to hourly rates, which add up to weekly rates, which add up to monthly rates. I work this out on the basis that I want to earn more than when I gave up my full time linking job. It's as simple as that really. So, the hourly rate works out to what I need to earn by working a thirty hour week. This way I am covered if the work takes longer than I think it will, because I can work 40, 50 or even 60 hour week if I really want (or have) to. And it also gives me scope to earn more than my usual amount if I put in some extra hours. We all have costs and overheads and bills, and I know that if I do a htirty hour week at my rates then I can pay all of my bills and have enough left over to do the things I want to do.
J3, As a freelancer what do you do? I am assuming that writing is somewhere in there because you are here. But, assuming is never a great idea and we all know why. What I am trying to find out is do you offer linking as a service also? Or any other services in your business? Maybe I should put this in another thread but I figured that it all goes down to pricing. Here is what I offer Article Writing Article Submission Blog Set-up and Management Keyword Research Website Analysis There is so much involved with SEO and I am trying to cover all corners of the process. So, please do not think that I am targeting you.
I use fully fledged all the time. This is one of those things that depends on the culture you were raised in, and where in the world you live.
This thread is all about writers and content, so I am assuming this is what you do. I therefore ask, "do you spell check or proof read your posts?" This is not a smart ass question, just curious because your typos in this last post are quite numerous. Someone told me the other day (after finding a spelling mistake in my post) that I should always proof read my posts, as potential customers could be reading them.
allwinners. I think that those that complain about the typos in posts are just trying to boost their own egos. I could be wrong about this, well doubt it. Do you think that it is really that important. It was mentioned to me about the typos that I have made, by the same person who your referring to. To me it does not really matter because if I have received orders from DP after someone read a post that I made typos in. These typos are usually because when your posting in an open forum some tend not to pay as close attention to the spelling of the words. I know that when I read a controversial post I also tend to type faster and make more mistakes. Just thought I would mention this because there have been some pretty strong words exchanged between J3 and other posters here on DP