There’s numerous dialogue on-line about writing charges. What’s one of the best ways to bid a venture? By the phrase? By the hour? By the venture?
All of them have their makes use of, particularly since some publications and companies are type of within the behavior of utilizing one or the opposite of those strategies for deciding what they’ll pay.
Which writing price is one of the best ways to cost jobs?
To my thoughts, it’s by the hour.
Time is your most treasured useful resource. You solely have so many work hours within the 12 months, so it’s worthwhile to make as a lot per hour as you may. Which leads me to my one essential rule of pricing jobs:
Regardless of the way you value the job, observe your hours and determine your hourly price
As a result of when you don’t know your hourly price, how are you going to work on elevating it? How are you going to examine shoppers and know which to maintain and which to drop?
Now, when you’re working for an ongoing copywriting shopper, I personally consider bidding by the venture is finest. Your shopper is blissful as a result of they know precisely what they’re going to pay, and you may finances for the quantity you’ll earn.
The trick to picking the very best writing price is making a flat price for that venture that gives you what you need
You possibly can solely do this by getting some expertise with how lengthy it takes you to do issues. Clearly, this setup rewards effectivity. Should you’re unusually quick, you may bid on a par with different writers, however find yourself with a greater hourly price, and earn extra over the course of the 12 months.
Earlier than the downturn, I assumed excessive per-article charges have been the reply to maximizing earnings. However I’ve discovered that’s not at all times true. After I was scrambling round for just a few new shoppers in late 2008/early 2009, I obtained a proposal from an previous editor buddy to write down some fast articles for $100 apiece, simply based mostly on my information of enterprise subjects, supplemented with somewhat on-line analysis. (Hey, it’s above my $50 an task restrict, individuals!)
At first I used to be appalled. Previous to this time interval, concerning the very lowest article price I took was $300. Then I assumed what the heck, and gave them a attempt.
I discovered I might write them in an hour to 90 minutes. A bit of fast math and hmmm…that’s $70-$100 an hour. Not too shabby. I’ve saved this work pretty much as good occasional filler initiatives . A fast scan of my payments confirmed I picked up $1,700 this manner in 2010 in possibly 20 to 22 hours. So the lesson is: Any work that earns a excessive hourly price is sweet writing work.
After all, getting a shopper the place they’ll allow you to merely invoice for nonetheless many hours you’re spending on their initiatives every month is the best. Then you recognize you’re getting paid for each hour you’re employed. I had a shopper like that at $95 an hour for greater than a 12 months, sending me work each month. I believe proper now, these jobs are tougher to return by.
However billing hourly protects you towards the evil that’s scope creep: the scenario the place you bid a flat venture price, however then the parameters of the venture continue to grow, as does your time spent. Been plenty of dialogue of methods to deal with this sticky drawback on LinkedIn.
Most publications are likely to assign a value per phrase or give a flat article value. Wherein case, you could must work in your effectivity to ensure your price stays pretty much as good as attainable.
However you may at all times ask for extra money. I’ve gotten corporations so as to add $50-$200 to an article task or extra in the event that they ended up wanting sidebars, or an extended size, or I knew they have been a gradual payer.
What do you favor? Billing by the venture, the hour or the phrase?
Photograph by way of Flickr consumer zoutedrop