You say tomato. I say tomato. You say why are copywriters so expensive. I say, why are copywriters good value for money.
The truth is, price is relative because one person’s bargain is another person’s, “I’m gonna need a loan.”
Hand on heart, copywriting is expensive, but you get what you pay for.
Why people think copywriting is dirt cheap.
One of the biggest problems copywriters face is content mills.
The absolute shit houses of freelancing.
Places like Fiverr, Upwork and People Per Hour pay terribly. They’re not created to favour freelancers, they’re there to exploit them and you shouldn’t play any part in feeding them.
However, because they exist, when you get a quote from a copywriter that’s a few hundred or a few thousand pounds, it can scare the shit out of you when someone on Upwork will do it for fifteen quid.
So, why are copywriters so expensive?
Every copywriter is different, so you’ll never find one universal industry price across the board. I also can’t speak for other writers out there, but here is my view on why copywriters are worth investing in:
One. Copywriting is a skill
Everyone can write, so anyone can be a copywriter, right?
Wrong.
Copywriters don’t just write the first thing that comes to mind. We hone the copy after hours of research, writing, editing and rewriting. And we do it in a way that will appeal to the most important people: your customers.
A copywriter can write in a compelling way that connects with your audience while hitting all your SEO targets.
It’s not just words. It’s the right words in the right order.
You’re paying for somebodies years of knowledge, training and experience.
Retiling a roof is valued as a skill, yet copywriting isn’t.
Why?
Because everyone can write, whereas not everyone can retile a roof.
Copywriting is a skill that deserves respect.
Two. It takes time
Every minute of every day is billable. You wouldn’t work for free, right?
To make this section easier to break down, I’m going to split it into sections:
A. Time on your project
Copywriting takes time, so when working out a price, a lot of things are considered, like the email or call we just had with you. The time it takes to create a contract, a personalised brief and a deposit invoice.
Once your project brief is returned, we’ll need to work through your content and make notes on what we need to do to turn it into something that’s pretty shit hot, then research your competitors and keywords — and we haven’t even started writing yet!
When we’re ready, we then need time to:
- Write
- Edit
- Proofread
- Rewrite
Then we return it and make any amendments you need before getting sign off and requesting final payment.
B. Time it’s taken to hone our craft.
We’re not on day one of our writing careers. It’s taken us time to hone our craft.
Copywriters are often told how long they should take writing something. Your copywriter should be the one who is in charge of this time. If it takes four days, so be it. If it takes four hours, it doesn’t cost any less.
Why?
Because we’re now so good at what we do after years of experience, we know how to condense what used to take us four days into those four hours – so you’re paying for that experience and skill.
If the writer can turn a project around quickly and nail it, it’s because of that experience. The writer, not the client, should dictate a short turnaround. Your writer cares about your business, so you need to care enough to give them the time they tell you it’ll take – even if it’s 9-days longer than you’d planned.
Also, short copy (like 250-word product descriptions, slogans and business names) can take much longer than writing a web page or 1000-word article, which is why short copy can cost a lot more, not less.
Time is the key to great copy, and if there’s one answer as to why copywriters are expensive, then it’s time.
Time we’ve spent honing our craft to return it quickly. And time to take as long as we need to nail the project.
We’re the experts in our field, so value that experience.
Three. We’re more than just writers.
We’re SEO experts, editors, spellcheckers and marketing wizards.
Half the time, what we write dictates how your website will be built (if you don’t have a ready-made template already). So, you could call us designers too (in a very loose sense).
We also know how to write social media posts, newsletters, and emails that entice people to read what you’re sending out into the world.
Four. You’re investing in someone who’s invested in themselves
We’re serious about our business, which means we’re serious about yours.
Getting noticed as a copywriter doesn’t happen overnight. It takes months and years of investing in our business to catch your attention.
We’ll constantly strive to be better copywriters by attending copywriting conferences, reading writing and marketing books, and working nonstop on writing projects.
Why wouldn’t you want someone who cares about their profession and business on your team?
Five. We sometimes know what you need better than you
It sounds harsh, but it’s true.
Most copywriters spend a lot of time working with clients who either don’t know their audience, how they want to sound or what they want to say. And even if they do know, they find it difficult to express it in a way that connects with their customers.
We don’t expect you to know everything.
That’s how a copywriter shows their worth.
We know what you need and how to say it to appeal to your audience.
Six. We pay for the stuff you don’t
Working with a freelance copywriter saves you money.
Hiring an in-house copywriter will cost you anywhere between 25k – 60k per year. You have to pay them every single minute of every single day (even when you’ve not got much for them to do). You’ll also have to:
- Purchase all the equipment they need
- Splash out on training courses
- Fork out for them to attend conferences
- Pay them when they’re off sick
Not so with a freelance copywriter.
You only pay for the projects they’re writing. And you also have the flexibility to change copywriter or have your writer outsource work to another if they’re on holiday or sick (because we’re a tight community and we help each other out).
Why should you invest in a copywriter?
Using a content mill will lead to crap work ninety-nine times out of one hundred. And then you’ll need to hire a copywriter to fix it – resulting in you spending more than you’d planned.
Cheap might seem the logical way to go, but more often than not, you’ll get stung.
Professional copywriters don’t want you wasting money — and you shouldn’t want that either.
Ready to invest in copywriting?
I might be biased, but I’m a firm believer in what I said in the very first line of this article. The question shouldn’t be:
- Why are copywriters so expensive?
It should be:
- Why are copywriters good value for money?
Every copywriter charges a different price. I’m not the cheapest, but I’m not the most expensive either. My daily rate is £400, slightly cheaper than the national average of £433 (as per the ProCopywriters 2023 Survey).
And that figure is born out of my years of writing experience.
So, if you think working with a copywriter is for you, and your audience would really connect with a chatty tone of voice, then why not work with me?
Most of my work is done on a per-project basis, but there’s a rough pricing guideline on my Services page. And my How It Works gives you an idea of what’s involved.
Rather use another writer?
That’s okay, just pick one suitable for your business – I promise you won’t regret the investment.
Until next time,
Matt
PS. If you want to know more about hiring a copywriter, check out my article, 15 amazing tips for working with a copywriter.
PPS. For more stuff about pricing, check out, Should you put prices on your website?
