If you’re a new writer, it can be difficult to figure out what to charge.  What’s fair?  Who’s going to pay for it?  What if you work really fast, do you give a discount?  How do you collect payments?  All of these questions can spin through your head, and they’re made worse if you’re hit with a difficult bout of imposter syndrome.

Today, let’s talk about pricing as a writer.  I’ll give you some insights on how I’ve set my rates, and what you can do to ensure that you’re priced fairly, competitively, and not taking advantage of your clients.

You’re a Professional Writer Don’t Forget That

If you have a mechanic fix your vehicle, you do it because you’re not able to do the work yourself.  The mechanic sets his prices based on what he knows how to do.

To properly price your writing services, keep it in your mind that you’re a professional writer – even if you don’t think you’re that good, you’re a better writer than the people who are hiring you (otherwise they would do the work themselves).

Start with Market Research

Different kinds of writing will command different prices.  Different industries will do so as well.  If you want to price your writing services in a way that’s going to resonate, you have to do it with your target market in mind.

Check on Upwork and Fiverr.  Notice how everyone over there has a race to the bottom in pricing.  If you want to work for pennies, then certainly use those.  If you want to get some experience under your belt, they’ll be fine.  But you’re destined for bigger and better things.

Know Your Target Market

If your target market is personal injury lawyers, you’ll want to price your services differently than if your target market is mom and pop hardware stores.  Major medical centers have different budgets than your local insurance salesman.  Ultimately, some of pricing your writing services will be based on what the going rate is in those markets.

Keep in mind, too, that writing blogs for a business that sells backpacking gear isn’t going to be as technically involved as writing blogs for a business that sells high-end custom trailer locks.

Use Industry Benchmarks

All of that and I still haven’t given you a very clear idea on how to properly price your writing services.  And that’s ultimately because there’s such a huge range.  Those Fiverr ads claim they’ll write a landing page for five bucks… let them (it probably sucks).  Really, you can get a better feel on what to actually charge by checking out the AWAI Copywriting Pricing Guide.

Here’s a brief breakdown of what you’ll find.

Blogs: $150 to $500 (per 750 – 1,000 words).

3 Email Sequence: $250 to $1,500

Website Copy: $1,500 to $4,500

As you can see, it varies depending on the market and your skills.  If you’ve been writing for 17 years, you can command a higher price than the writer who has been writing for 17 minutes.

Remember the Hidden Costs

You can also break down your pricing based on how much time you think the project will take.  Suppose you want to make $45/hr and you think that writing a blog will take 2 hours.  You can quote your blog price at $90.

Of course, then you realize that when you’re working for someone else, $45/hr is actually a lot more than making $45/hr working for yourself.  There are taxes, software costs, bills, and all sorts of other hidden costs.

Often, what I tell people, is that to properly price your writing services, you need to take the dollar amount per hour that you’re looking to earn, and double it.

Check Your Gut

Finally, when you’re putting your pricing together, check your gut.  Are you feeling good about what you’re charging?

Suppose someone asks you to write a blog, and they say they’ll pay you $12.  Are you happy with that price?  You really shouldn’t be unless it’s the first paid writing gig you’ve ever landed.  If you don’t like the idea, and you don’t feel good about the idea, then don’t settle on that price point.

It goes the other way too.  Suppose you want to write a blog for a company, and they say, “What do you charge?”  And you answer, “$500 per piece.”  But you know you’re overcharging.  Even if they say yes, let’s do it, do you feel good about it?  If not, offer them a discount (you can frame this as a bundling discount.  For me, one-off blogs are kind of annoying and I’d rather have ongoing work.  I tell them that for one blog it’s $300, but if we set up a package deal, we can get that down to $150/blog.  It ends up being more money for me, but less money per post for them).

Need to Chat About It?

Are you a new writer?  Need to chat about how to set your pricing the right way?  Let’s talk about what you have going on.  A quick call is always free, so let’s schedule some time and support each other.