Copywriter fees: what’s our time worth, anyway?

Now I know that unlike other avenues of potential clients, people looking on Gumtree usually have a lower budget. With this in mind, I dropped my copywriter fees a little as I reasoned it would be regular, consistent work for a couple of months. I clicked send.

Her response made me chuckle, but it was not unexpected. She informed me that my price was high and that her current writer charges just $20 per blog. $20? This basically means they work for less than the minimum hourly wage for a job that would take at least a couple of hours (if done well) to complete.

In addition, she went on to ask what made me so different that I could charge so much. After choking on my tea, I sent her a polite response detailing my 12 years plus experience, clients I’d worked with, and average copywriter fees paid to qualified copywriters for blogs of that length. I’m still waiting for her response.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of freelance writing today. Because the internet has made it possible for anyone to become a published online writer, people start to assume that anyone can write. This in itself works against us copywriters who are now expected to provide our services for a less than fair price despite credentials and years of experience.

In addition, outsourcing sites like Fiverr, UpWork and Freelancer, far from opening up opportunities, have devalued our work and made many people looking for freelance services think $5, $10 or $20 is a fair price to pay someone for what could, in reality, be many hours of work.

While these sites may be great news for clients on a budget – if they don’t mind taking a lucky dip on quality – and good for new writers looking to fill their portfolio – on the whole, they suck for us professional copywriters trying to make a decent living.

My personal bugbear with these sites is, not only do they pay poorly and send the true value of a copywriter’s work (or any other freelancer for that matter) plummeting, but when you use them, you also typically have to pitch for the jobs in the first place.

For each job, this means sending a detailed run-down of why you’re suitable for the job and how you’ll tackle the copy. In reality, the time and effort taken to do this in itself can be worth more than you’ll end up getting paid, and you’re not even guaranteed the work. Sometimes you’ll find a client willing to pay what you’re worth, but on the whole, most are looking for a bargain.

A few years back, when I was starting out as a freelancer, I signed up and got on the books of a site that specialises in freelance copywriting – I won’t name names. This one checked past work and credentials, not all do. I pitched and won several jobs but quickly realised my time was way more valuable than the dollars offered. In addition, they don’t even put your name to the work as your words become the intellectual property of the buyer, so, in theory, at least, you can’t even add it to your portfolio.

Next, it’s time to take yourself out of cheesy sales pitch mode. Today’s web audiences aren’t silly, and they don’t like to be marketed to. Instead, they’re looking to buy from businesses they can trust, and ones that offer them real value.

Because of this, the best way to approach your homepage copy is to write as if you’re explaining your business to a friend. Keep it honest, conversational, and avoid false claims or overusing meaningless adjectives. Plus, don’t be afraid to add a little personality– as long as it’s on-brand.