If you take nothing away from this article, remember this. You Get What You Pay for with copywriting services.
I’ve had clients say:
“I’m coming to you because multiple copywriters have burned me in the past.”
When I tell them how much I charge, they complain.
“You’re too expensive. I have copywriters who charge half that amount.”
Hold up. Weren’t you complaining that the freelance copywriters you worked with were not good enough?
Awesome copywriters cost money. And if you’re reading this article, you’re considering hiring a copywriter for your website project but you don’t know how much to pay.
First off, there’s no standard website copywriting rates. Each copywriter set prices commensurate to the value they place on their skill.
I’ve written this post as a guide for prospective clients. It will give you a ball-park range on how to budget for web copywriting services.
6 Factors That Determine the Cost of Web Copywriting
To help you determine what you should pay for website copywriting, here are six factors that influence the cost of copywriting.
1. Industry Knowledge
Some copywriters are generalists who cover a range of industries. But there’s a marked difference when working with a niche copywriter. Expect to pay more for subject matter experts who have more knowledge about your industry than a generalist.
2. Experience
There’s a famous saying in the copywriting world.
“You’re not paying for my time. You’re paying for the years it took me to acquire my skills.”
The experience reflects the quality of work produced. A financial copywriter with over a decade of experience writing about finance will charge more than a newbie with less than a year under their belt.
3. The Complexity of the Project
Some topics are more complex than others. It took me 5 hours to write a 750-word article on Clean Room Technology and 3 hours to replicate the same word count for the Home Improvement niche.
Depending on the niche, it could take more time to research the topic, understand industry terms, and write engaging content.
4. Size of the Project
The scope of the project affects the price. A project that takes two months to complete cost more than a project you’ll complete in five days.
For instance, a website copywriting project that includes six service pages, location pages, and a knowledge base will cost more than a one-page website.
5. Turnaround Time
Good copywriters are booked solid months ahead. If you want to work with them, you’ll need to book on time or pay a rush fee.
A rush fee is a payment for a copywriter to jump on your project or submit your work ahead of their usual deadline. It applies for urgent projects.
6. Additional Requirements
Do you require graphics, video, or other visual aids with your website content? The visual aid could be an infographic, a chart, professional images or some form of interactive content.
It takes time and skill to create graphics or cater to additional elements outside the original scope of work. The extra cost will be factored in the final price you pay.
Website Copywriter Rates for Different Project Types
There are different types of website copywriting, each distinguished by its purpose. Below is a range of prices you should expect to pay.
Remember, these are only base prices to guide you. Some copywriters may charge more or less than the prices below.
Website Copywriting Type | Description | Price Per Copy |
Sales copywriting | Written to persuade a visitor to take a specific action, usually to buy or demo a product | Newbie – $200-300
Intermediate – $500 – $1,000 Expert – Base price of $1500 |
SEO copywriting | SEO copywriting is written with a target keyword to drive organic traffic from search engines. | Newbie – $50 – $100
Intermediate – $150 – $500 Expert – Base price of $600 |
Product Description copywriting | Typically written for e-commerce websites or standalone products. | Newbie – $20-$50
Intermediate – $100- $300 Expert – Base price of $500 |
Web content | Website content such as homepage, about us and service pages | Newbie – $100 – $200
Intermediate – $300 – $600 Expert -Base price of $1,500 |
Landing Page Copywriting | Landing page content is the ultimate conversion content written to sell or promote an offer. | Newbie – $150 – $200
Intermediate – $500 – $1,000 Expert – Base price of $1,000. Some may negotiate royalties. |
Should You Pay Per Hour or Per Word for Website Copywriting?
When paying for copywriting, the traditional options are per word and hourly billing. There’s a third option which we’ll discuss later. But let’s cover the pros and cons of these options.
Charging Per Hour
The Pros
At first glance, this seems like a better deal. You’re paying for the time the writer spends on research, writing, proofreading, editing and making revisions.
For copywriting projects that take longer and run outside the scope of work, you’re certain of paying the copywriter for work done.
The cons
Research by Orbit Media shows that it takes 3 hours and 20 minutes on average to write a blog post. Some copywriters (like me) spend 4-5 hours on an SEO-optimized blog post.
What’s the real measurement of a writer’s worth? Charging per hour doesn’t account for the courses they took, the learning curves, or the time-tested process that took years to develop.
Also, accurate tracking of time spent on a project is not as easy as it sounds. How do you calculate the extra time spent on research, back and forth communications, and revisions?
Charging Per Word
The Pros
The more words the writer churns, the more they earn. If they charge $.20 per word and a client orders a 1,000-word blog, that’s $200 for a task that took 4-5 hours to complete. For some writers, it’s motivation to get more done each day.
The Cons
First, it commoditizes a professional service. Writing is a creative endeavor, just like painting, making music and cooking.
The focus is on quantity over quality. They’ll be tempted to pad your copy with fluff to increase the word count and earn more. There’s no thought to process, deeper research, or taking time to edit the copy properly.
For instance, when writing SEO copy, you have to do keyword research, understand search intent and create an SEO content outline before writing a word of text.
If you charge per word, you don’t earn money for the time spent on keyword research when writing blog posts or web content.
How Experienced Copywriters Set Website Copywriting Rates
Charging per project is the best way to pay for online copywriting services. The copywriter sets a fixed project fee for each unique copywriting project.
They’re not selling quantity or time. They’re providing value and expertise in exchange for money.
Charging per project provides certainty. You know exactly how much to pay before contacting a copywriter.
It’s better than per hour billing where you could spend more than you budgeted. And it’s certainly preferred to per word where you don’t enjoy quality services.
An Experienced Website Copywriter Considers the Following:
- Each Project Is Unique
No two copywriting projects are the same. I always tell clients that my flat rates are base prices. The more complex the project, the higher the project fee.
- What’s the ROI on the Copy?
Would you give Coca Cola and your local restaurant the same quote? A professional copywriter considers the ROI on your copy and charges accordingly.
It’s easier to calculate the ROI on website content like sales copy, product description, and landing pages. There’s a direct revenue from their work.
- Their years of Experience
A freelance writer with 5-10 years of experience won’t charge the same freelance copywriter rate as someone with 1-2 years of experience.
It’s more about the skill-set and less about the time taken to complete a task.
The Real Cost of Hiring a Professional Copywriter Worth Their Weight in Gold
Don’t set out to hire just any freelance copywriter. Hire a copywriter that achieves your content marketing goals.
The right copywriter IS THE DIFFERENCE between a marketing campaign that succeeds and one that tanks.
A professional copywriter has a conversion-focused system for creating a web content that delivers sales.
This revenue-generating copywriting system is what you’re really paying for when you hire a website copywriter.
Generally, it takes time to find the right copywriter for your brand. But any great relationship doesn’t happen overnight.
Remember, you get what you pay with website copywriting. The cost of hiring experts with a proven history of success is increasing daily.
But the results make them worth every penny. Do your research and vet writers properly before paying their website copywriting rates.
Skip the heartbreak of hiring a copywriter who doesn’t work out. We’ve built a fool-proof strategy to help you convert more customers without going over-budget. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more.
Thanks for this. It’s comprehensive enough for beginners to grab anything. Good work.
Your writing exudes passion, and it’s contagious to your readers.
great read
What exactly is flat rate, i need figures
Hi Ayomide,
A flat rate is a fixed fee you charge for your writing service. For example, you could have a flat rate of $200 for 1,000 word copy instead of $40 per hour.
I hope this helps
I am at a firm and we are trying to price our services and ran across your page. For clarification, what does “price per copy” mean, is this referring to the price per page? Or is a copy more of a full length article?
Hi Dawn,
Rather than setting a price per word, you set a price for a full-length article
For example
Home page copy – $X
Product page copy – $X
1500 word blog post – $X
I hope this helps
Great article!
This is a very good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere.
Brief but very accurate information.
Thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!
As a marketing analyst and wannabe blogger I found this piece to be extremely insightful
many times we don’t have time to write some article. Therefore we hire a content writer for us. But we don’t have an idea how much we pay to them. Sometimes we pay more than the amount they deserve. Here, we found very fruitful information regarding writing article rates which explained to the point what we required.
I’m glad you found it useful!
Your Blog is really informative particularly for newbies who are looking for some freelance work and unknowingly underprice their services. This blog is a great help keep sharing content like this!
The complexity of projects really matters here.
We need to do lots of research before creating the content if the project is highly complex or technical.
Agreed, the complexity of the project should factor into pricing
Hello Chima,
I’ve been copywriting for a while now, and I just realised I’ve been earning peanuts. Actually, most of my ghostwritten works aren’t from direct clients, but outsourced. I’m finding it hard to break out of this shell, but knowing my worth may be the first step. Thank you very much.
Hi Yvonne,
Glad you found this resource useful. I think it’s time to start building your own network of clients, yes? That way, you’re able to charge more for your work instead of taking what’s trickling down
Something new I found here, thanks for unknowing facts about writing budget. Nice Post
I’m glad you found it useful Aira