Question

Topic: Copywriting

Typical Rates For Online Copy

Posted by Linda Whitehead on 4/14/2009 at 5:06 PM ET 250 Points
I am taking on an online project which involves revamping website copy and maintaining it monthly. I will also be setting up a blog for this company and will be doing ongoing blog posts for them, as well as posting on other complementary industry blogs on their behalf. Finally I will be creating a newsletter and writing articles for them.
What are the typical rates that you charge or are charged for the following, and how are you charged:
-website copy (per page? per hour? number of words?)
-blog posts (per post? per hour? number of words?)
-1000-1500 word articles involving research

Your help is greatly appreciated
Linda
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 4/14/2009 at 5:20 PM Member
    I suggest a retainer type of fee. This would be based on the number of hours you and they feel is appropriate for your work.

    There really are a couple of issues involved with doing it by the word. Revamps take amost as much time as original works... how do you charge for that?

    A retainer would be a running charge for say 10 hours of work. You could mutually decided if more time is required because of seasonal demands, etc.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/14/2009 at 5:25 PM Moderator
    I'm not sure there are any "typical rates." It kind of depends on the project, the industry, the value your client perceives, how desperate you are, and a number of other factors -- often summed up as "what the market will bear."

    Your best bet will be to figure out what you're willing to do the job for (estimated hours x hourly rate?) and bid it for that amount. If they accept your proposal, next time you can increase your hourly rate a little bit. If they don't you can always lower it -- if you're willing to work for less then.


  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/14/2009 at 5:30 PM Accepted
    P.S. I would NOT quote the client an hourly rate, or give them any indication of what you charge per hour. If you work faster than average you are entitled to a higher hourly rate. That shouldn't be their concern as long as you deliver the quality they need/want on time.

    Besides, hourly billing only leads to suspicion about how inefficient you are, why everything takes too long, etc. Don't go there.

    I would also not quote a rate by-the-word. It's harder to write good copy that's short. Why should shorter copy cost less?
  • Posted on 4/14/2009 at 5:53 PM Member
    There is a book called Who's Charging What where you can compare what others are charging. You can contact me if you want a link. Otherwise just google: "who's charging what for advertising services."

  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 4/15/2009 at 12:41 PM Accepted
    The answer, as usual, is: "It depends."

    And the "who charges what" reference, while interesting, may not prove overly useful as you will see there is a wide range.

    For what it's worth, we never charge by the hour or word. We quote everything on a fixed price. Sometimes you come out ahead, sometimes you make less per hour than you hoped, but it all tends to come out in the wash.

    For most copy, we are running about $250-$300 per page when written in Arial 11pt with 1" margins all around. This does not include royalties, which do not seem to apply here.

    For blog posts, it depends on how much research you have to do vs. just writing from what you're thinking. I'd say an "average" blog post, to the extent that such an animal exists, is worth about a hundred bucks, give or take.

    For articles (presumably on the Web), I'd guess you should charge about what you charge for copy. I suppose it depends on how much research you have to do for one over the other.

    I wrote some print articles for Inc. about 10 years ago, and back then they were paying me $1.25/word, which was pretty good back then (considering there are magazines that pay like $25/article!).

    You really just have to think about what makes sense to you and then see if your client will accept it. But I agree that it's a bad idea to charge by the hour or word.
  • Posted by Linda Whitehead on 4/15/2009 at 9:46 PM Author
    Thanks everyone for the great feedback.
    In particular, I found Inbox_Interactive had some practical suggestions that I could actually use.
    This is the first question I have posted and I thank you for your responses.
    I have to put together a proposal tomorrow so will do some with your insights in mind.
    Thanks again.
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