How Do I Know How Much I’m Worth?
When talking about freelance writing rates, knowing what you’re worth is important.
How can you determine your worth?
There are many factors. For this discussion, ‘worth’ relates to setting freelance writing rates, not what you might be worth in the corporate sector. Additionally, ‘worth’ can be subjective.
Factors that might affect worth include experience, expertise, skill, subject knowledge, and education (to a degree, and only for some projects). Additionally, a basic (or advanced) understanding of keyword usage, Internet marketing, organic search, the structure of various types of content (i.e., website copy vs. articles) is worth more overall to the customer. Customers, especially higher quality customers, want a writer who ‘gets it’. Additional skills bring value.
Value increases worth. Your rates go up. Simple, right?
Herein lies the rub. A freelance writer with an MBA, or even an English degree, might be ‘worth’ more in terms of education, expertise, etc. Depending on the customer’s needs, this person may be able to charge more. Of course, we know an MBA alone doesn’t make a great copywriter…but perception is reality for some customers.
Most of us don’t have MBAs. Most of us turned to freelance writing for myriad reasons, learning the craft over the years. So…that brings us back to the original question.
Fortunately, the typical customer doesn’t care about degrees. They want results. As Dan Kennedy once said, “It’s all about results. Not opinions. The only votes that count are accompanied by money.”
A common way to set rates is to research other copywriters’ rates and figure an average. It’s not a perfect science, but it’s a starting point.
I can tell you, for example, that the typical freelance writer gets paid $8 to $15 for a 500 word article. (Refer to previous post for reasons why.)
Ask yourself how badly you need or want the work. $8 an article is not great. But if you’re fairly new and need the experience, a new client, and some samples for your portfolio, it’s not a bad gig. If you can write an article in 30 minutes, (you better learn how very quickly) you’re making $16 an hour…from home.
To improve your rates over time, you’ll need experience and expertise. This means you can’t give up! Additionally, you may want to specialize in one area. You’ll also want to educate yourself. The more you know about how to write in such a way that the client gets results, the more you’ll be worth.
15 Responses to “How Do I Know How Much I’m Worth?”
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Great article, Victoria. You’re just churning these out! Keep ‘em coming. One point to note is that it takes a good deal of confidence–also something you can’t measure quantitatively, to determine what you’re worth. Confidence is something that, in this type of business, you have to continually work on, because there’s always the temptation to compare yourself to others. In other words, my work might be worth X dollars on paper, but if I don’t think so, I’m not going to command that for my work (because the buyer won’t be convinced it’s worth that amount). So, maybe an idea for a follow-up blog…any suggestions on books/resources to inspire writers and other creative types on the journey?
Hi Victoria,
Glad to see you’ve brought value into the equation because, IMO, that is what “worth” should be based on. I recently added a similar post to my blog under “What Auto Mechanics Taught Me About Copywriting” exploring this issue. In retrospect the title is a bit off but oh well…
Here’s the post in case you’re interested: http://copytactics.com/blog/what-auto-mechanics-taught-me-about-copywriting/
There’s a couple of realities we may do well to consider:
First: there is little true relationship between price and value. Really. Think about it. It has to be this way because in our business value is best determined by results and results cannot be determined until the product is completed.
Thus price needs to be set before any value can be determined. Is there any way around this? Well… yes.
Positioning is part of it. Because I offer a wide range of knowledge and experience in addition to copywriting – I consider my actual copy to be a small part of the value I offer. My true “worth” is my experience and perspective when it comes to the sales process. And this is a much greater value because each link in the process is part of an important whole.
Not only that but even the most skillfully written sales letter can fail miserably if it’s simply presented to the wrong person or at the wrong time. There is great inherent value in simply knowing to look for these factors.
The other reality is similar – the fact is we all drop bombs. Whatever the reasons – our fault or not – clients or potential clients do not like to spend good money on copy that does not produce results. We all like to tout our successes but tend to hide when it comes to our failures. Let me tell you – I’ve worked as hard or harder on copy that just doesn’t work as I have on copy that swamps the client with cash. Bluntly put, I still have a hard time dealing with this even though I know the client received much more value than one item that didn’t produce as desired.
One thing about your example, Victoria… I do take a bit of issue with your numbers because there are other things that need to be brought into the picture.
Writing an $8 article in 30 minutes may produce $16 an hour at first glance but that $16 is NOT equal to a $16 an hour job. One should factor in the additional costs of self employment like paying the employer’s share of Medicaid and Social Security taxes as well as a reasonable portion for benefits one would likely receive like health insurance. As a rule of thumb, I oversimplify and double whatever hourly wage so in order to equal a $16 an hour job, one must charge $32. It’s not perfect but at least it’s in the ballpark.
Second, one should consider time spent marketing. I know I don’t write copy 40 hours a week. Much of my time is spent chasing business. More now because I’m re-entering the copywriting field and thus need to get the marketing machine in motion again. But even after I’m back in full swing, there is a lot to deal with that don’t count as “billable hours”.
On the value side, we can justify the higher rate by pointing out the client only pays for what they get and never need be concerned with the expense of an employee for an occasional need.
In any case both sides – writers and clients – would do well to keep these things in mind when considering and investment in marketing materials.
Regards,
Andy
Andy, fantastic insights! I certainly agree with you and appreciate the detail on the pricing. Of course, I was generalizing — since so many writers seem to balk at writing an article for $6 or $8 I wanted to point out that it’s not as bad it it seems for someone just getting started. Your points are very well taken. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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Thanks, Nichole! Very important point! The books I recommend aren’t the usual, although almost everybody agrees The Copywriter’s Handbook by Bob Bly is a must-read. The books I mention on this blog are ones I find most inspiring. New Path to Riches, by Nick Usborne; The Promise Doctrine, by Craig and Jason Womack; Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk; and one I didn’t write about yet, The 168-Hour Workweek by Kevin Hogan. Another one I love, because it addresses my belief about serving customers as an advisor, not just a writer, is Clients For Life, by Jagdish Seth and Andrew Sobel. It’s a bit outdated but still very good info. Nichole, there are so many great ones; it’s hard to list them all!
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Victoria,
Nice post! That circle of money is pretty cool too. Thanks to you and Doug! You both have contributed to my success at getting a new copywriting client yesterday!
Many freelance writers struggle to set their rates. They’re often told to charge what they feel they are worth. Ok, that will be $5,000+ per article!
Freelance writers must assess the value they bring to an organization. What sets you apart from other writers? How can your work and life experiences help you to position yourself within the market? Of course, choosing a niche can help you better position yourself.
Victoria, I left a long and detailed comment on your Linkedin post. I offered a calculation method based on ad agency (or in-house creative department) worth as a starting point, since in my experience, few freelancers have a successful career without having first worked for an organization before going out on their own. And I think it’s necessary to begin with a hard dollar amount as a starting point.
Hi Victoria,
Thank you for your kind words. After I posted my comment I checked out some of your recent posts. You’ve done a marvelous job with these topics. I’d urge anyone reading this to go through your other posts – it’s well worth the time.
Regards,
Andy
Don’t forget that the first indicator of your value as a copywriter is what you charge. If you’re the most expensive copywriter in town, you’ll be perceived as one of the best, I don’t care what your education is.
http://conversionscientist.com/wordpress/audio-available/zero-steps-to-copy-that-will-make-visitors-stick/
The problem is that your clients don’t think they need that kind of writing. They don’t know that great writing generates more revenue and better brand perception.
Writers need to know their metrics. Writers should be able to say, “When I write an article, I generate x letters and y comments and z online visits.” The should be able to say, “When I socialize my articles with my network, I generate x new visits to your magazine’s Web site.” The should be able to say, “My copy generates z times more inquiries.” They should be able to say, “I was read by x thousand people last year.”
These are the results customers expect. They don’t care so much about your degree. They want the most expensive writer, but they don’t know why. Do you know your metrics?
Brian, I agree metrics are important for some projects, like a sales letter perhaps, where one can measure sales directly due to “Buy Me” clicks tied to the letter itself. But it seems to me it would virtually impossible to obtain metrics on every article as you describe. For example, my team just created a large number of articles for a client who doesn’t share stats. I’ll never know how the articles helped his business specifically in terms of x, y, and z. He’s posting the articles on various ezine directories, his website, and in some social media circles. When a piece of work is passed around like that, how do you suggest copywriters go about measuring results? Especially with a rather uncommunicative client?
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Thanks so much, Andy! I do believe I bring a unique perspective to the business, and I’ll certainly keep going, fueled by warm, supportive comments like yours!
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Rebecca, you gave me a good morning belly laugh! Yeah, I want to write $5000 articles too! But you’re so correct that, while value is somewhat subjective, a new writer can’t begin to grasp the nuances that allow a more experienced writer to charge healthy rates. A niche is great too. Starting out, I suggest writers generalize to get a feel for where their talents lie, but certainly, specializing as soon as possible brings faster recognition and a more focused marketing plan.
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You’re welcome, Kennon! I am thrilled to hear that…send me a note on The Copywriters Business Network and tell me more!
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Hi Victoria
To be honest, it depends on the client for me here in the UK. Some clients require a few pages, but are just so time-intensive that I build these extra hours into the project cost.
I’m honest about my hourly rate, which is £40-50 depending on whether it’s a simple editing job, or if it’s researching and writing, etc.
Some clients just can’t afford my hourly rate, but if I’m really passionate about the work (or it’s a charity) I’ll write for a lower fee.
I guess at the end of the day, you need to be flexible, make sure you are covering your costs and keep some money aside for a rainy day (or year). Then hopefully honesty and trust will bring you more work, which equals more experience and bigger clients, which equals more money.
That’s my humble opinion anyway!
Thanks
Tin
Tineke, it sounds like you’ve got a great plan for building your business. In today’s market, it’s all about transparency and authenticity. People are suspicious of anything that smells even remotely like a “scam” or a “rip off.” When you are open and honest with clients, it builds loyalty. This doesn’t mean they need to know all your business. But certainly, being consistent in what you say and do, and providing your clients with great work at a fair price will have them coming back for more. It’s a win/win!
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