Freelance Copywriter Rates De-Mystified

Almost everybody in my profession starts out not knowing the basic freelance copywriter rates. I see a dozen copywriters a day either seriously undercharging or overcharging.

In addition, I see business owners stuck in negotiations all the time because they don't know what the current going rate for a copywriter is. Because of this, companies either get overcharged for a junior copywriter's work or they wind up with some wet-behind-the-ears hobbyist who couldn't write his or her way out of a paper bag.

Since you're reading my site, you have to read through the explanation first. However, the real rate schedule is below it, so please have patience and allow me my soapbox? Thank you.

Explanation of Copywriter Rates

Real copywriters do not charge ten dollars per billable hour.

A freelance copywriter pays office rent, equipment cost, utilities, full insurance premiums, education costs, and the ever popular self-employed tax.

We must also do our own marketing, customer service and sales. We don't get directly paid for those activities but they still eat time. Most copywriters can only squeeze 25 billable hours out of any given week.

25 billable hours a week at $50 per hour comes out to $1250 before overhead, insurance and taxes. Chop out at least 33% for taxes, 10% for insurance and maybe 5% for overhead. So, that's 48% right off the top if the copywriter is in excellent health (low health premium) and works from a home office (low overhead).

Comes out to $650 profit per week which equals a net wage of $16.25 per hour after taxes if calculating a forty hour work week. I know I work more than forty hours a week running my own business.

That is not a lot of money for advertising specialists.

The business who hires a freelancer does not manage these costs. We must factor them into our pricing like any other company.

The other reason for the high end prices is because good copywriters are hard to find. Actual high quality copywriting takes time, and lots of it. Most sane, quality copywriters do not want to take less than minimum wage.

If I have to spend two hours on an article, I will not take ten bucks for it. Now, do you really want the article I spent ten minutes on? I'd have to write a ten dollar article in ten minutes to make a billable hour wage of $50 per hour. Ten minute articles embarrass both the writer and the business who paid for it.

Common Copywriter Rates

This is a broad range of copywriting rates from the Copywriter Council of America. Keep in mind that these are not absolute. Many copywriters make up their own rates based on where in the world they live and how good they are.

Each one of these is a range, and any given price may fall within the range or somewhere near it.

Print Ad - Generally covers any one short ad in print.

$400-$15,000

Annual Report - The business report presented for approval at stockholders meetings and so forth.

$2000-$15,000

Feature Article - Anything going on the front page of anything.

$90-$3,000 depending on length, citations and market

Booklet - If it's multiple sheets of folded paper, it's a booklet.

$600-$3,000

Brochure - If it's one sheet that folds up, it's a brochure.

$200-$750 per page and higher

Business Plan - Used to get funding from banks, investors and to give a business a roadmap.

$1000-$15,000

Case History - Detailed history on a product's past performance.

$750-$2,500

Catalog - Anything involving individual product descriptions.

$40-$125 per item or $200-$750 per page

Direct Mail Lead Gen. Package - Mail you're sending out to get people to come in or call for further info.

$2000-$15,000

Direct Mail Package Direct Response - You want the order NOW, and it's going out by mail.

$3,000-$79,577 and up

Postcard or Double Postcard - Single piece of direct mail. Small promotional emails also fall into this category.

$550-$2000

Sales Letters - AKA Junk Mail. Promotional emails, website sales pages and faxes also count here.

$125-$1,000 per page

Audio/Visual Script - Infomercials, YouTube Scripts, and so on.

$50-$500 per minute

Telephone Scripts - For your sales and support phone systems.

$1,000-$3500

Newsletters - Covers physical and e-versions of newsletters and small company magazines

$150-$700 per page

Press Release 1 to 2 page kit - Tell the world about you or your new product release with a media release kit.

$250-$3,500

Data Sheet - Used in loan applications and sales presentations.

$500-$700 per page

Business Proposal - Joint venture proposals, loan applications and so on.

$75-$500 per hour

Radio/Television Commercial - Split by medium and size of job.

$300-$850/$2,500-$25,000

Websites or CD-ROM Presentations

$300-$1,000 per page or slide

20 Min. Speech - We break speeches into 20 minutes at a time for billing purposes.

$1,500-$5,000

Copy Analysis/Copy Editing - An occasionally cheaper alternative.

$200-$1,000 and up

General Hourly Rates- For anything not covered above.

$50-$500 per hour

You also may want to take a look at common contract terms for copywriters.

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Should you have any further questions about copywriting rates go ahead and ask. I'll answer you personally within one business day.

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