I quoted a prospect for copywriting
See the photograph above? I imagine this was the reaction a recent prospect had when they received my quote for writing their website.
The face of shock and disbelief.
Gobsmacked and bewildered.
When they’d managed to compose themself, they replied to me saying the quote was extremely overpriced. And did I know they could get a fully designed and optimised website for the same price?
Yes. Yes, I did know that.
The quote shouldn’t have been a shock
To give some context here, the prospect had read parts of my website so thoroughly, they repeated parts back to me, almost verbatim. Just not the parts that mentioned my pricing.
We’d had a video call where we’d gone through everything they’d wanted and everything else they needed — which they’d accepted without question.
They’d also received two emails from me, reiterating my process and the value of my service.
Would they be getting that same level of service from their fully designed and optimised website?
No. No, they wouldn’t.
Most people have no idea how much copywriting costs
I say this from experience. And from having to deal with an awful lot of price shoppers when I first started out.
Some prospects would demand a ballpark price from me on the phone, on the spot, and without giving me any useful information. One of them also wanted a website without a homepage. I’m guessing he didn’t get that either.
I’m transparent about my pricing and processes
My pricing is all on my website, for anyone to see, because I want people to see it before they contact me.
And I have content explaining my pricing and processes, because I want people to understand the value they’ll be getting when they invest in my services.
But value can be subjective
Ultimately, the way you see the value of something is always down to your own interpretation of it.
If you see words merely as something to fill the spaces on your website, you probably don’t value them as much as you should.
Likewise if you think the fewer the words required, the cheaper the price should be. I’d imagine the people behind Nike’s ‘Just do it’ slogan — which has made the company some serious wonga — might disagree with you on that.
Maybe you think all a copywriter has to do is sit down and start typing. That the right words magically form in their brains and travel down through their fingertips. If only that were true.
It’s not just about the words on the page
When you work with a copywriter, all you get to see is the words on the page.
What you don’t get to see is how they got there.
The preparation and note-taking. The hours of research to create a strong foundation. The idea generation and development. The time spent drafting and editing to whip the words into shape. Then distilling and refining to to create a perfectly concise message that says everything it needs to say and is no longer than it needs to be.
We need to talk about the word ‘expensive’
If you’re thinking your copywriter is expensive, it’s because you’re seeing their service as a cost.
A cost is money you spend and never expect to see again.
But that’s not what copywriting is.
Most copywriting projects generate returns. They sell products and services. They convert website visitors into paying customers.
It’s not just about taking your money, it’s about making you money.
It’s an investment in your business — not a throwaway cost.
Why freelance copywriters are so expensive
Now let’s look at what you’re actually paying for.
Freelance copywriters have costs to cover
A freelancer is a business owner.
Before we make any profit, we have to cover the costs of running our businesses, like:
- Holidays and sick pay
- Time for admin and marketing
- Website hosting and maintenance
- Computer equipment and broadband
- Subscription services for applications we use
- Training and courses to keep our skills up to date
- Professional services, like accountants and virtual assistants.
Because we take care of all these costs ourselves — and because you only hire us as and when you need us — we’re usually cheaper than employing an in-house copywriter.
Good copy needs a lot of research
When you hire a copywriter, you’re not just paying for words on a page — your paying for the research that inspires them.
Your copywriter will never just sit down and start writing. That’s not how this works.
Before we write a single word, we need to understand all these elements and how we need to bring them together.
Your ideal customers
These are the people your copy needs to speak to.
We need to understand who they are and how to talk to them. What challenges and pain points they’re having. What they value most, what motivates them and what makes them happy. Why they might choose not to buy from you and what objections they might have.
To do this, we’ll spend lots of time hanging out on forums, reading their conversations, questions and concerns. Then we’ll move onto mining review sites for golden nuggets and soundbites we can use.
Your industry
Yes, you can tell us about your industry, but that’s never enough. We need to understand it from your ideal customer’s perspective. And this means doing more research.
We’ll look at customer attitudes to your industry. What they like about what you do and what their frustrations are. Then we can address and negate their concerns with copy that speaks their language.
Your competitors
We’ll research your competition — both online and offline. What they’re doing well and where they’re falling down. What their websites are ranking for and how you might compete.
Your market
We need to understand your market and where you fit into it. How you’re different from the other brands in your space and how we can capitalise on that.
Your SEO search terms
If we’re writing web copy or blog content, we need to understand how your ideal customers will find it. What search phrases they’ll use and what kind of language.
We’ll then need to find suitable terms we can use to shape your copy and bring those ideal customers to you.
Only when we have all this information can we start writing the copy that will speak to your ideal customers and make your brand the obvious choice for them.
Good copy comes from experience
It’s not just the hours we’re spending on your project — it’s the years we’ve spent building and developing our skills. The courses we’ve taken and the books we’ve read.
It’s the time we spend reading and attending training to keep those skills up to date, so we can always give you the best and most current advice.
The time we spend testing and experimenting. Making sure our strategies and processes work.
Good copy comes from good ideas
It’s not just the words on the page — it’s ideas behind them.
That’s right, good copy comes from good ideas. Try telling that to an AI writer.
We need thinking time to develop the right strategy for your project.
We have to figure out how to attract your ideal customers, how to talk to them and how to persuade them that yours is the best solution for them.
Sometimes the ideas come easily. But sometimes there are more tricky problems to solve.
Good copy has a distinctive ‘voice’
It’s not just the words on the page — it’s how they sound.
Your copywriter will develop a brand voice that brings together your brand’s personality, the tone you want to create, the language you’re using and the rhythm of your words.
If you already have a brand voice, we’ll take that, learn it and apply it to your copy.
Having a unique voice that will help you stand out from your competitors and soulless AI. Making your copy more human, engaging and compelling.
Good copy needs good planning
Every copywriter has a slightly different process, but most will spend some time planning out your project.
Before I start writing, I go through my research and ideas files. I pull out everything I want to say and put it all into a skeleton outline.
This is a great way to avoid writer’s block because the prompts are all there to guide me.
The first draft is always… problematic
The first draft I write is always rough.
It’s clumsy and wordy and awful.
And, in the words of Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that.
Good copy needs editing and refining
When the inevitably awful first draft is finished, I step away from it. I need to leave it for a day or two so I can come back to it with fresh eyes and read it objectively.
Before I send it to you, I’ll probably do 5-10 rounds of edits on it to:
- Improve the flow
- Make it make sense
- Cut the wordiness
- Distill the message.
I love this part because it takes the copy from rough to refined.
Good copy leads to good results
The copy you receive will be underpinned by research, ideas, planning and refining. All to give you the best possible results for your business.
That means:
- On-brand copy that reflects your values and builds customer trust
- Effective SEO copy that brings your ideal customers to your website
- Captivating copy that keeps your customers engaged
- Persuasive sales copy that sells and drives conversions.
Good copy will pay for itself many times over.
It’s never just an expense.
Want to invest in my services?
If you want copy that works for your business, you need an expert copywriter with an established process.
That’s me. And that’s why I charge what I charge for my services.
I’m Jenny Lucas, a freelance copywriter based in Leicester, UK
For the last 16 years, I’ve been writing effective SEO copy for websites and business blogs. To help you attract your ideal customers to your website and sell to them.
To find out more about me and what I do:
See some samples of my work >>
Check out the other articles on my blog >>
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