How To Price and Sell Yourself, as a Freelance Copywriter. Part Four.

Incorporating valuable disciplines I learned from 25 years experience in mainstream advertising agencies, followed by 10 years as a Freelance Copywriter, this Four Part series of HubPages articles is a step-by-step Process Template primarily designed to help people who:- may have become a copywriter only recently; or some time ago; may even be expert ad copywriters, but, either for reasons of personal ambition, or because there are currently fewer straight advertising copywriter jobs, but commensurately more freelance copywriter jobs out there, have made the decision to pursue a Freelance Copywriting career, and are now keen to learn more about the business aspects, especially, how to win more work, and make more money.

It’s a smart move, too. While I enjoyed writing all forms of copy, for all media, and interacting with clients and industry specialists, these days there’s so much online work for website content copywriters, that you can, if you choose to, have a very successful freelance copywriting career, bidding, working, and billing, as an internet copywriter, without ever attending a client meeting. Being accountable only to yourself, is a wonderfully liberating feeling. And, making money at something you're good at, and love to do, is rewarding in more ways than one.

Note: If your interest in copywriting is just blossoming, if you’re still asking questions like “What is a copywriter?”, and “What does a copywriter do?”, this information is too advanced for you. But it’s timeless. Feel free to come back when you’re ready...

Before we start, if, like many online writers, you want to make money from writing whatever you like, and hoping someone will pay you for it, whether directly or indirectly, via AdSense etc, I’m sorry, there’s nothing here for you either. The Freelance Copywriter’s life doesn’t work that way. Although copy isn’t any good unless it’s creative, (and isn’t creative unless it sells), writing effective copy is a brief-based business skill, not free expression.

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Everybody clear? Good. If you feel there could be something here for you, I strongly recommend that you begin at the beginning.

Previously read Parts One, Two and Three?

Great, then you’ll remember we learned from Part One that, as a Freelance Copywriter,

- You MUST think of yourself as a business

- You’re selling a uniquely valuable skill; not a price-point commodity

- You need to recognise that Everybody’s looking for The Right Price

- You must know The Top Three Truths about Low Price

- You must Sell and Persuade as part of your pricing process

- You must shift your prospect’s focus away from Price, and onto Value, if you’re to earn serious money

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And from Part Two,

- You must detail the Specific Services you’ll be providing, and at what cost, because,...

- ....it’s a fundamental part of creating Value over Price

- How approval of your estimate can be influenced by People You’ll Never Meet

- How being Persuasive in your Pricing documentation can be your Most Rewarding Writing Challenge

- How to Format your estimates, including Style, and Content

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In Part Three, we worked through a detailed example of,

- How To Set Out Your Pricing Documentation, including tips on

- Linking the client's Business Objective directly to your Communication Objective, thus

- Ensuring your cost is seen as offering a Return on Investment, not just a spend

- The Underlying Benefits, to your Professional Reputation, and your Freelance Writing Business, of working this way.

- How A Vital Part of your Credibility comes from presenting yourself as an Established Professional.

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Now, let's wrap it up with Part Four.

If you've just arrived fresh from Part Three, that's good, because the information I gave you on the importance of linking your work directly to your client's business goals, and having your costs seen as offering a return on investment, will still be fresh in your mind.

But, if it's been a while since you read that, I suggest you pop back for a quick refresher, so that what follows will be in an easy to understand contextual flow.

See you back here soon..

So, what's the out-take of what we've learned so far?

In a sentence: Your success depends on recognising the difference between being a Freelance Copywriter, and running a Freelance Copywriting Business.

It may seem a little sad to say, but if you want to grow and prosper working for yourself as a Freelance Copywriter, you need to also recognise that it’s not all about the writing.

Of course the fundamental reality is that if you can’t deliver great copy, that delivers great results, you can’t expect to succeed at all.

But, the saddest thing is the idea that:

you could fail to shine, because

you failed to get the chance, because

you failed to get the job, because

you failed to sell yourself.

There’s a belief among some Freelance Copywriters that it’s not necessary to concern yourself with ‘boring’ stuff like prospecting for new business, and paying attention to pricing. That you’ll get rich and famous if you just write great copy, and “let the work speak for you.”

To an extent, that’s true. But to do great work, you’ve first got to win the right work.

To consistently win the right work, presenting your Pricing the right way, is the 'must-have companion' for your Copywriting talent

Why? Because you'll never get well-known, or rich, or famous as a Freelance Copywriter, unless your work is exposed to a wide audience.

That means working for organisations with Media, Promotional, and Communications budgets big enough to create impact, and sustain visibility. Of their brands - and by default, your work.

End game? These are the types of corporate players, as I've already pointed out, to whom the Processes of Budgeting, Pricing, assessing ROI (Return on Investment), and Calling for Formal Bids, matter every bit as much as the creative work.

Unless of course, you want to work pro-bono (for nothing). Where no available client budget means you can pretty much call the shots on creative ideas and execution. Big ad agencies do this all the time, to give their copywriters relief from the often rigid constraints imposed by very large clients. (But hey, you're still at the stage where you need the money, aren't you?)

Now, you may be thinking, "I don't care about being famous, I just want to get steady work, and make a good, sustainable income."

Here's my response. What if it turns out you're a good enough Freelance Copywriter to naturally gravitate upwards as you become known, (and pitch / SELL yourself) as someone who delivers great copy? Your initial client base won't be disadvantaged by your high level of Freelance Copywriting Business professionalism, but you'll develop ingrained disciplines that will see you Presenting your Pricing the Right Way, no matter how big any future prospect's business is, as a matter of course.

Sounds like a laydown misere to me.

In every proposal, the profit lies in the perception.

It’s important to understand that your ability to create the right professional impression, automatically increases your ability to pitch higher fees.

It all comes down to meeting individual client expectations. Remember, as a professional Freelance Copywriter, you’re paid to create profits for your clients, by leveraging the power of perception. Creating mind pictures that can cause potential customers to suspend rational thought, or alternatively, reinforce the positive perception they may already have about the product or service your client is offering; to turn prospects into customers, and make them happy to pay full price.

I'm reinforcing that here, because,

Using your copywriting skills to Win More Work, is half of the promise of this article.

Here's how to use them to Make (Even) More Money,

1. There’s a thing called ‘low price dissonance.’ You’ve probably experienced it yourself when making a purchase decision. Simply put, it’s that niggling question: “If you’re that good / professional, how come your price is so low?”

2. In contrast, there’s the ‘reassuringly expensive’ phenomenon. (You can't get to this position until you've built credibility, but you can make it happen if you're good enough).

Contrary to popular belief, ‘reassuringly expensive’ doesn’t always mean, “I'll buy the most expensive, that way I know I'm buying the best.” In business, it actually plays to the 'price dissonance' question posed above, and translates as your prospect thinking to him or herself (obviously they're not going to openly tell you), “Given your reputation for quality work, and high professional standards, I’m not surprised you’re not cheap. In fact, I’d have been somewhat confused if you were."

Whetever stage your Freelance Copywriting Business is at, always remember when pricing any project, that dissonance is the enemy of decisiveness. Don't put unnecessary roadblocks in the way of your prospect wanting to buy.

Here’s the underlying point: You can significantly increase your profitability, without necessarily doing more work, by developing a clear understanding of these perceptions, and putting them to use in your own Freelance Copywriting Business. Generate what the business gurus call Unearned Margin, by simply capitalising on the preconceptions we all share, about the relationship between Price and Value.

It’s not sleight of hand. It's certainly not underhand. It's standard business practice.

It's called charging what the market will bear.

Again, it’s all about meeting each individual client’s expectations. For example, a large organisation will expect to pay commercial (read ‘higher’) rates for any projects they commission - and will have the budgetary resources to do so. Whereas, the same project description may give you less return from a smaller client, who just has less to spend. In fact, many large Marketing Departments are virtually obliged to expend their annual budget; otherwise the Accounting Department will lower their available funds when dollars are allocated for a new financial year (i.e., “If you didn’t spend the money we budgeted for you this year, obviously you don’t need it allocated again next year.”)

I’m not suggesting you set the big budget levels as your standard rates, particularly in the early stages of your Freelance Copywriting Business, where you may find yourself dealing with smaller clients. What I am saying, is that while the actual cost to you, of completing a given project won’t necessarily change, you will profit enormously by recognising these different levels of affordability, and simply being in tune with the price expectations of your larger clients. Particularly as your business, and your reputation, grows.

Pitch the higher prices they’re expecting to see; deliver the same level of excellence you always do; and bank the Unearned Margin. That’s how you make your business work more effectively, not make yourself work harder.

That's it. Four Parts promised. Four Parts delivered.

As you develop your Freelance Copywriting Business, I hope you'll come to prove to yourself how the Writeronline Profitable Pricing Process can bring significant financial rewards, as well as building long-term credibility for your business acumen, and your overall communication skills. Give it a try,you’ve got nothing to lose, and a lifetime of profitable projects to gain.

I wish you all the luck in the world.

And remember,

Don’t Just Submit Your Price. Sell It!

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