What is a standard rate for freelance copywriting?

So I was offered to do some freelance copywriting stuff for a trucking company. Problem is, I have no idea what to charge. They simply said "name a price."

It looks to be about 2,500 words, it's essentially a company newsletter with a bunch of different sections, blurbs about happenings in the company. I'm really out of my element here.

If I said $300 would that be silly? I've been freelancing high school sports for years for about $75 a game for 650 words, I just have no clue if this is the same animal or not. Sorry if this is not the right section.

 

Is this a big company?

They would pay a lot more than that. Depending on your sense of shame -- personally I have none, which helps in this regard -- you could go as high as saying your "standard rate" is $1,000. They might say no, which is all they can say really, and then you can settle on a price.

Or if you want to skip all that, double your initial thought and say $600. I bet they say yes.

 

I did some freelance work for this a web company. Basically you edited short items for $5 each.

When I did $5 worth of editing they got mad (some mistakes got through).

When I did more than $5 worth of editing they got mad (I added some flavor to the writing)

So I won't work for $5 anymore.

 

Charge a quarter a word and see what they say.

A 2,500 word piece comes out at $625 that way.

 

How long will it take you to produce this work? Decide what you can live with on an hourly basis and pick a figure from there.

Don't want to do it that way? That's fine. If that's the case, I'll say that $1 a word is not unreasonable to expect from a corporate client, especially if you're a seasoned writer. This is particularly true if you're writing just one document, like a white paper or a press release.

But if you're producing content for a newsletter, consider it a bigger project and go with the hourly concept. That's what I would do ... and I've been doing that (among other things) for the last 10 years or so.

 

How long will it take you to write it?

Research, phone calls, layout, typing, emailing it off...

How long?

 

Except if you tighten a 2,500-word piece down to 2,250, you've cost yourself $56.25. And a good copy editor often tightens. I guess the way around it is charge per word you received no matter how much you tighten it up.

 

Tell them you don't even crack your knuckles for less than a grand. If they object, tell them they can bite your hairy freelance ass.

Negotiating. It's an art.

 

If you are good, don't be ashamed to charge $50 an hour for your work. Most consultants charge well more than that.

If it takes you 10 hours to do this, start to finish, charge $500. I would cap it, though, at $750. Look at it through their eyes, they probably have a number in their heads as to how much this will cost, and I'm guessing that number is between $500 and $750.

 

That's not an unreasonable figure if you're dabbling in the consulting game or getting into it for the first time. I charge clients roughly three times that figure -- sometimes more if it's our first time working together, sometimes a little less if it's a longstanding relationship.

After the cost of taxes, insurance, IRA contributions and a salary -- not to mention covering any down time when I'm not working on something -- that's not an unreasonable figure. I also tell them they can hire me full time at half the rate. Once they do the math, they quickly realize the hourly rate is a bargain.

 

50 bucks an hour is very low.