Budgets are tight, so any conversation about copywriting will eventually turn to the subject of cost.

Potential clients often ask for my day rate, perhaps because it seems like an easy, objective way of comparing copywriters. Unfortunately, that’s only half the equation. After all:

cost = day rate x time

As the client, you have a major influence on the second part of that equation and hence what the project will cost you.

So what determines the time a job takes?

Clarity

The clearer you are about what you want, the more efficient (and cheaper) the copywriting process will be. If you can scope out your project, write a brief, get any buy-in you need from senior management and generally avoid surprises, you’ll save yourself a bundle.

If you don’t know exactly what you want, that’s okay too. I’ll help you to work out your messages or whatever else is concerning you. It’s likely I’ve done similar work for other clients, so you’ll get the benefit of their experience. But that extra work will add to the cost.

Length

It’s obvious that the longer your document or the bigger your website, the more time it will to take to write. But brevity takes time too. That 200-word piece you’re after might take twice as long as 500 words because compressing material without losing the meaning is tough.

Information gathering

Interviews are a great way of gathering information and phone calls are the quickest and cheapest. Face-to-face meetings involve travelling time, so try not to spread them out over several days. Every journey you save is a chunk off your bill.

Most jobs also involve background reading. Keep the information you send to your copywriter as relevant and concise as possible. That 50-page PDF might contain ‘one or two useful nuggets’ but it’s better – and cheaper – if you tell me where they are.

You can still send me everything you’ve got if that’s best for you, but it does affect the fee.

Existing material

If I can reuse bits of your web copy, annual report, corporate brochure or whatever else, that’s great. Recycling material – even if it needs editing – is almost always quicker than writing from scratch.

You can also kick start the process by writing an outline, bullet points or even the first draft. That can work well if your budget is really tight and you can produce something usable.

Revisions

Some clients like to email their comments. Some like a phone call. Some like to get everyone round a table. Some gather every reviewer’s comments and mark up one document. Some send every reviewer’s comments separately.

All these approaches can work. But the simpler and quicker you make it, the less it will cost.

The clarity of purpose I mentioned earlier also has a big influence here. The price I quote covers three drafts. If you’ve agreed your aims and messages up front, there’s much less chance of extra costly revisions.

Experience

It helps if you have a few projects under your belt but it helps even more if your copywriter has. Use someone who’s done it before and knows what you’re trying to achieve. Even if their day rate’s a bit higher, it will probably save you money overall. And you’ll get a better result and an easier, less stressful process.

Want to read more?

Read my other posts on using a copywriter:

• Getting the most from your copywriter (part 1)
• Getting the most from your copywriter (part 2)
• How a copywriter will improve your project

Go to my Facebook page for more observations about business copywriting.

Get in touch

If you have a project you’d like a quote for, give me a call.