Stop Charging by the Word: A Smarter Way to Price Your Copywriting

When I started copywriting, one of the big questions was always: what do I charge?

It’s still one of the questions I’m asked most often by copywriters today.

I understand why.

Pricing copywriting can be tricky because there’s no neat little price list that tells you exactly what a homepage, sales page, brochure or email sequence should cost.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.

I’ve created a copywriting rate card that gives you a guide to what you can charge for different types of copywriting projects. It’s particularly useful when you’re starting out and have absolutely no idea whether something should cost $2,000, $20,000 or somewhere in between.

The irony, however, isthat our clients don’t know this rate card exists.

And that’s exactly how you should treat it too. Use it as a starting point, to get your bearings and build your confidence around pricing. But don’t treat it as gospel. Every job is different, and once you understand why, you’ll become much better at pricing your work.

When charging by the word does make sense

I should also say that I’m not completely against per-word pricing. I sometimes use it myself when I’m ghost-writing a large book of 70,000 words or more. At that scale, charging by the word makes sense because the scope is substantial, the word count is clearly defined and a per-word rate gives both parties a useful way of calculating the overall fee.

But for many everyday copywriting jobs, word count tells you very little about the amount of work involved.

For example, imagine two clients each ask you to write a 1,000-word website.

Client A gives you a detailed brief. They know their target market, their positioning and their key messages. They give you everything you need, answer your questions promptly and require one round of revisions.

Brilliant.

Client B has three stakeholders, a half-finished brief and no clear positioning. You need to research their competitors, interview the founder, work out what makes the business different and somehow translate the instruction to ‘make it sound better’ into something compelling.

Both involve the same number of words, but they’re completely different jobs and demand very different levels of effort and expertise.

You’re being paid to think, not just type

And therein lies the problem of charging by the word. It puts a price on the most visible part of the job – the words – whilst ignoring the vast amount of effort that goes into making those words worth reading. 

It’s all about the time it takes. Time is our currency and we need to make sure we are paid accordingly for it. Research takes time, interviews take time, thinking takes LOTS of time, and working out what a client should say can take considerably longer than actually saying it. 

So, before you quote, you need to understand what you’re really being asked to do. 

Some clients confuse writing a piece of copy with conducting a full SWOT analysis. Before you know it, you’re no longer the copywriter; you’re the marketing consultant being asked to map out their strategy for the next 12 months. That’s when the hours — and the scope of the job — can really start to blow out.

So, what should you charge?

There is no magic rate, and I’d be wary of anyone who tells you there is.

Start with my copywriting rate card if you need some guidance. That’s what I created it for.

But then do your own homework.

Look at current Australian job listings, freelance marketplaces and agency roles, and see what other copywriters working at a similar level are charging.

Creative Recruiters is a fantastic starting point for seeing what professional copywriters and creatives can earn through agency placements. Their rates are a useful benchmark, but remember, these are generally experienced professionals being placed with agencies, corporate teams and other organisations.

And believe it or not, you can often earn more by going directly to the client. Of course, that means you have to find the clients, pitch for the work and manage the relationship yourself — and not everybody wants to do that. That’s why recruiters can be such a valuable option: they find the opportunities, make the introductions and take much of the legwork out of finding freelance work.

By the way, you’re not trying to find someone else’s rate and copy it. You’re trying to understand what clients are actually paying for, and then look at the job in front of you.

Before you give a client a price, ask:

What exactly am I delivering?

Be specific. ‘Website copy’ or ‘social media content’ is far too vague. Define the actual deliverables:

• • word count
    • page count
    • number of social media posts
    • number and length of blogs
    • number of emails
    • number of website pages
    • number of concepts
    • whether SEO titles and meta descriptions are included
    • whether you’re uploading or formatting the copy, or simply supplying it in a Word document

For example, instead of quoting for ‘website copy’, spell it out:

• • five website pages of approximately 500 words each, comprising Home, About, Services, FAQs and Contact.

The same applies to blogs.

‘Four blogs’ doesn’t tell you nearly enough. Is it four x 500-word blogs based on detailed briefs supplied by the client, or four x 1,500-word thought-leadership articles that require interviews, research and original ideas?

The more specific you are at the beginning, the easier it is to quote accurately, and the harder it is for an innocent little 500-word job to quietly expand to become a full-blown eBook.

How much research will I need to do?

Research can easily become one of the most time-consuming parts of a copywriting job, so establish exactly what’s required before you quote. Consider:

• • competitor research
    • customer and target audience research
    • industry or market research
    • reviewing existing websites, brochures or marketing materials
    • reading reports, studies or technical information
    • researching keywords for SEO
    • fact-checking and sourcing statistics
    • familiarising yourself with an unfamiliar or complex industry

There’s a big difference between writing from a comprehensive brief with all the information supplied and being handed a blank page and a folder of random documents and told, ‘You’re the copywriter. You work it out.’  If you’re expected to do the digging, allow for it in your scope and your fee.

Am I simply writing the copy, or helping develop the messaging and positioning?

Be clear about where copywriting ends and marketing strategy begins. Consider:

• • whether the key messages and target audience are already defined
    • whether you need to develop the positioning or value proposition
    • how many stakeholders will provide feedback
    • who has final approval
    • whether feedback will be consolidated
    • how many rounds of revisions are included

Multiple stakeholders giving conflicting feedback can turn a straightforward job into a very different beast. Ideally, nominate one final decision-maker and ask for consolidated feedback.  If you’re helping determine what to say as well as how to say it, make sure that extra work is reflected in your scope and fee.

What happens if the scope changes?

Scope creep can turn a profitable job into an unprofitable one very quickly, so agree upfront what happens when the client asks for more. Consider including in your quote fees for:

• • additional pages, posts or emails
    • extra concepts or versions
    • additional rounds of revisions
    • substantial changes to an approved brief
    • new stakeholders joining the project
    • extra meetings, interviews or research

Make it clear in your proposal what’s included and what will be quoted separately. That way, when the client says, ‘While we’ve got you, could you just…’, you have a polite and professional way to say yes, and charge accordingly. It’s really hard to introduce new pricing guidelines and scope rules once you’re halfway through a job. These questions can save you a lot of grief later.

Give clients a choice

Another approach I like is offering three levels of service.

Let’s call them Essential, Expanded and Comprehensive.

Essential

This is the straightforward version of the job. A clearly defined piece of copy, based on a good client brief, with an agreed number of revisions.

Expanded

This might include more of the thinking that sits behind the copy: additional research, a planning session, messaging refinement, interviews or additional pages.

Comprehensive

This is where you might take responsibility for a broader outcome: deeper audience and competitor research, a larger suite of content, collaboration with designers or other specialists, a tone of voice guide, or helping the client make sure their messaging remains consistent across different channels.

If they can’t afford the comprehensive package, you don’t necessarily have to slash your fee. You can reduce the scope and do it with ease and elegance because the options have already been provided.

When you need to charge more

There’s nothing copywriters hate more than having to ask for more money halfway through a job, but sometimes it’s necessary. And it’s much easier if you’ve had the conversation before the job begins. Be clear about what the original fee covers, what’s included and what will incur an additional charge.

And remember, clients aren’t simply paying for the time it takes you to write something. They’re paying for everything you’ve learned that enables you to sit down and write it well.

Try this before your next quote

Choose one service you currently charge by the word or by the hour. Now create three versions:

Essential. Expanded. Comprehensive.

Under each one, write down exactly what the client receives, what you will need to do to deliver it and what isn’t included.

Then price the job accordingly.

And if you’re still staring at the page thinking, But what on earth do I actually charge?, use my copywriting rate card to give yourself a starting point.

Just remember: your client doesn’t have the rate card. You do, so use it as a guide, then use your judgement and then build in a little extra for contingencies. 

And one final point: don’t charge a fee you’ll later regret

Once you accept a job, unless exceptional circumstances are at play, it really pays to see it through to the end – for your own peace of mind and reputation, if nothing else.  If you’re unhappy with what you’re being paid at the start, resentment can creep in with every revision, every meeting and every word you write.

Charge enough to feel good about doing the work and giving it the attention it deserves, or consider whether the job is worth taking at all.

There is one exception. Early in your career, you may deliberately take lower-paid work because you want the experience. Think of it as practice, work experience or a paid apprenticeship. You’re building your portfolio, learning how to deal with clients and becoming a better copywriter. If you get paid along the way, fantastic.

Try not to let price get in the way of valuable experience, but as your skills, confidence and experience grow, make sure your fees grow with them. Only you can decide when that trade-off is worthwhile.

Because ultimately, you’re not selling a certain number of words. You’re selling your ability to know which words to write, and why.

Happy writing!