invoicing your clients how to make money from copywriting€¦ · invoicing your clients – how to...

Module 7 Invoicing Your Clients – How To Make Money

From Copywriting

In this module, well cover:

How much to charge for your work

How to invoice

How to collect money from clients

How to work with graphic designers

2

How much should I charge?

Once you have your client, the first two questions they are going to ask you are:

1. How much do you charge?

2. How much will this job cost?

This area is covered in much more detail throughout this module, but as a

basic guide to start with, most copywriters who finish the course start

out charging around $50 per hour for their work.

Others who have already had some experience as writers charge up to $80

per hour.

Experienced copywriters charge anywhere from $120 and upwards.

Some new copywriters feel uncomfortable charging anything at all to start

with as they feel they need to get some experience first before they start

charging.

It is up to you how much you charge. There is no ‘right’ fee for your

services; it is simply what you feel comfortable charging.

Unlike doctors, hairdressers, plumbers etc., you will find that your rate

might change depending on the client and the job at hand, so it’s best not

to create a printed version of your charges as they will change from job to

job.

You need to be very comfortable with discussing money and rates with clients.

Copywriting is a business, and business is about making money, so you

cannot be backward in coming forward about your worth and value as a

writer.

Many writers don’t like talking about money, especially when it comes to

discussing their fees for creative work. The reasons for this are myriad but

the primary reason is lack of belief that their service has value.

This is the first limiting belief you need to dispel.

The second limiting belief you need to dispel is that you are not worth

your fee. You might already be thinking:

‘I’m just starting out. How can I justify $50-$80 per hour?’

3

Some novice copywriters feel fraudulent charging $50 per hour (or more)

for their first jobs.

They think, ‘Gee, that sounds like a lot! I don’t know if I’m able to justify

that. I don’t have any experience. I’m brand new! I feel like a fraud.’

Firstly, it’s entirely up to you to work out what fee you’re comfortable with.

But secondly, look at what other professionals are charging and see how

they compare to your rates:

Car mechanic: $70 per hour

Hairdresser: $45 per hour

Fridge mechanic: $80 per hour

Graphic Designer: $75 per hour

Window installer: $75 per hour

Handyman: $50 per hour

Electrician: $88 per hour

Accountant: $250 per hour

Cleaner: $35 per hour

You may be saying, ‘Yes, but an accountant or a mechanic has studied for a

number of years. They’re qualified.’

Let’s not forget that you too are qualified.

You’ve probably been writing for a long time – stories, novels, essays,

poems, songs, plays, reports, proposals. You have in fact, got a lifetime of

experience behind you; it’s just that it’s not recognized in the wider

community because you haven’t been given a degree in it. That doesn’t

negate the fact that you’ve been doing it for some time.

This is why it’s very important that you be confident and congruent when

you meet new clients because what they are buying is you, your skills, your

intelligence, your wisdom.

YOU are the package, so you need to present that package with absolute

conviction that you are a competent writer. If you don’t, you will lose the

job before you even get it. They will not hire the services of a copywriter

who they feel doesn’t believe in themselves.

4

You have to ‘act as if’ you’re successful before you actually are so that

people will give you the opportunity to work with them. Once you’ve got

the job, then you can find out whether you’re up to it or not. And nine

times out of ten, you will be up to it. But you have to believe in yourself first

or you’ll never get the chance to find out.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond

measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most

frightens us. We ask ourselves,

‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,

fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are

a child of God. Your playing small does not serve

the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as

children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within

us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light

shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As

we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates

others.”

Marianne Williamson, A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of

A Course in Miracles (1996).

It’s important to remember that many new writers already have a lot of

experience with writing, and that copywriting is just another form of writing

that can be learned.

So if a client ever says to you that your fee is excessive or asks you to justify

your rate, you can respond by saying:

“This copywriting work is the result of 6 years at university, 10

years in the workforce, 5 years as a mother, 2 years as a

backpacker and 42 years as an individual observing human

behaviour. This idea is a result of all my 42 years’

experience.”

5

If they still have an objection, you can say, ‘If it’s so easy, why don’t you try

it? If you come up with a better idea, I’ll pay you’. That’s a bit cheeky but if

a client continues to object, you only have one solution and that is to say

‘You do it!’ and then see what they say.

Sometimes the best (and only) weapon you have as a copywriter is the

power to walk away from a job. That’s the beauty of being a freelance

writer. If the relationship becomes so fractious that you simply cannot

convince the client of your worth, it’s best to sever the relationship

as amicably as possible and walk away. If you work in an advertising

agency, you don’t have that leeway unfortunately so you’ll have to

dance to the master’s tune in that situation.

The reality is that you may have only been copywriting for a month, but you

have brought maybe 20 years of experience, wisdom, intelligence and

know-how to the job. It’s this experience that enables you to choose exactly

the right word at the right time.

Here’s a great (true) story about knowing your value. Remember this story

whenever a client questions your fee or asks you to justify your rate.

Time spent on

coming up with

an idea is not the

way to measure a

good idea. A good

idea is a good idea,

irrespective of how

much time it took to

create.

6

A True Story.

When Federal Express launched their courier service in April 1973, with

just 14 small aircraft, their unique selling proposition was ‘Overnight

Guaranteed’.

No other courier company had ever made such a bold promise so it

was a risky and courageous premise on which to base a new

company.

The credibility of the company rested on this premise so they were

obviously very keen to deliver upon their promise.

In their first week of operation, the unthinkable happened. The

conveyor belt in the massive central warehouse that’s used to sorts and

distribute all the packages to their various destinations, stopped dead.

The factory manager, panicking slightly, checked every fuse and every

socket to see what had gone wrong. Alas, he could not find the fault.

Meanwhile, the planes were waiting, the clock was ticking and the staff

were idle as the conveyor belt lay motionless. Tensions were beginning

to rise.

What if the conveyor belt couldn’t be fixed?

What if the packages couldn’t be sorted and distributed to the planes?

What if it took longer to deliver the packages than promised?

The company would be dead in the water if they so much as missed one

deadline.

At this moment, the company’s future was in jeopardy. Their

competitors were already sharpening their knives, waiting for them to

fail. After all, how could any company possibly deliver every package, to

every city, overnight?

The factory manager, really panicking now, calls the conveyor belt

maintenance department to get an expert to come and fix it.

After a short delay, the repair man walks in and sees for himself what has

happened. The factory manager yells at him: “This conveyor belt has

stopped – if we don’t get this fixed within minutes, the whole

company is going to be ruined! It has to be fixed NOW!”

The repair man casually walks over to the fuse box.

He opens the box, takes out his screwdriver #3 and after a few

moments deliberation, turns screw #147 a few centimetres to the left.

Within seconds, the machine belches, grinds and moans and then,

slowly but surely starts to move again.

7

Cheers of joy and relief rise up through the warehouse. It works! The

packages can be delivered! Everything is back in order!

The factory manager thanks the repair man, congratulates him and tells

him he can’t thank him enough for what he’s done.

The repair man smiles and says, “That’s okay. I’ll send you the bill

tomorrow.”

The next day, as promised, the repair man sends the factory manager

his bill. The factory manager opens the bill and nearly faints. It’s for

$10,000!

He starts yelling to anyone who will listen: “$10,000! For one

service call! That lasted less than 10 minutes! There must be a

mistake. This can’t be right!”

He rings the repair man: “Look, I know you really stepped up to the plate

last night and got us out of a very desperate situation – but really,

$10,000 for a service call that lasted less than 10 minutes?! How can you

possibly justify that?”

The repair man says: “Well, y’see, it’s like this. The cost of the screwdriver

was $1.00. For knowing which screw to turn?

$9,999.00.”

The factory manager smiled and nodded. His question had been

answered.”

The moral of this story is this: it’s not how long you spend on your job,

it’s what you bring to the job that’s important.

In this case, it was the experience, knowledge and expertise that made

the repair man so valuable.

So be sure to remember this story should you or a client start to doubt

your credentials.

Never underestimate your value and past experience.

8

Overheads needed to be included in your hourly rate too.

Let’s not forget those pesky overhead costs that need to be

accommodated into your fee. These can really add up so it’s worthwhile

knowing exactly what they are:

As a copywriter, your business is time. That’s your currency. You don’t make

chairs, tables, glasses, clothes. You make ideas. But there are costs

associated with running any business, and these need to be accounted for.

Here are the overheads you need to incorporate into your hourly rate:

• Travel time to and from a client

• Briefing meetings with them

• Speaking on the phone to them and your suppliers

• Researching the product

Then there’s the actual writing time, plus revisions.

Most jobs require at least two rounds of revisions so you need to

incorporate that into your fee or charge extra for any changes. (We

recommend you include one or two sets of revisions into your hourly fee

and then charge for any revisions required after that.)

Then you need to physically present the work to the client. This takes

time, as does liaising with suppliers like graphic designers and printers.

Then there’s your actual overheads:

• petrol

• computer consumables

• internet rental

• stationery

• mortgage/office rental

• gas

• electricity

• trade journals

• book keeping costs

• phone etc.

The list is never ending and they all need to be taken into account.

This puts your $50 per hour rate into perspective very quickly and you

should not hesitate in telling your client (gently, of course) the same as well.

9

How do I establish my hourly rate?

As a copywriter, you can charge different fees for different clients. How can

this be so?

Large companies like banks and insurance companies expect to pay

premium rates for copywriting. They choose professionals who are good

at what they do and charge top dollar for that expertise. In fact, they would

probably question your credentials and credibility if you charged under the

going rate.

Conversely, if your client was a local hairdresser, sports club or

restaurant, you would have to take into account that they are not used

to being charged hefty hourly fees by suppliers, so you would scale your

rate down accordingly.

Every copywriting job is different and requires different amounts of

energy, time and knowledge.

For example, if your client was a mortgage broker, you would need to

be able to understand in great detail the nature of loans, interest

rates, the range of competitors, the terms and conditions for each

loan etc.

Compare that to writing a brochure for a Chinese restaurant. It’s not that

hard to understand what’s on offer at a Chinese restaurant and it’s

infinitely less complex than a mortgage product.

This means that you have to build a ‘complexity’ factor into your quote as well.

As a freelance writer, your experience will determine how much you can

charge. If you are looking for work in an advertising agency, skip ahead to

the section on “Junior/Mid Weight/Heavy Weight Copywriters.”

How do you measure experience?

As a way of bringing some objectivity to a very subjective area, let’s work to

the following system of measuring experience:

1. Starting out: ‘I have no direct experience with copywriting. I’ve written

essays, proposals, business letters, stories, songs etc. but have never met

with a copywriting client.’

2. Medium: ‘I have written some copy – brochures, newsletters, a few ads

here and there and feel confident that I could meet with clients, take a brief

and create copy that a client would approve.’

3. Experienced: ‘I have at least 10-20 pieces of published copy in my

portfolio. I have written for many different mediums and feel confident that

10

I can undertake and complete most copywriting jobs.’

Listed below is a guide as to what you could reasonably charge a client if

you were a freelancer.

Remember though, you can scale up or down according to how confident

you feel. In this industry, the common method for charging is by the hour.

Once you’ve set your hourly rate, you can extrapolate it out to calculate a

daily or weekly rate, if necessary.

Suggested hourly rates* (does not include gst**.)

1. Starting out: $35-$50 per hour

2. Medium: $50 – $100 per hour

3. Experienced: $100 – $200 per hour

*These fees include one or two sets of revisions

** Only include GST when you have registered with the Tax Office i.e. when

you expect to earn $50,000 per year or more from freelance income i.e. non

PAYE.

GST is not connected to ABN and is an entirely separate issue. You

must get an ABN number in order to do business (or provide a

document saying you a hobbyist) or else you will have 48.5% of the

total invoice amount withheld by your client.

How will I know many hours to charge?

When you have had some experience, you will know how long it takes you

to write copy.

Until then, you may like to adopt some of the strategies listed in this

chapter so that you don’t undersell yourself, or conversely, over-quote

and scare the client away.

Like any job, it will take you a while to understand how long things take.

You’ll make a few mistakes and think… ‘I really lost money on that job – I

should have charged 40 hours but I only charged 25!’

Unfortunately, you may have to pick up the tab for those 15 hours for

which you didn’t charge. You have to accept that at the time you didn’t

have the experience to know that you were going to be called into this

meeting and that meeting, so don’t be hard on yourself if you find that

you’re doing more work than you had originally quoted.

11

Don’t under-quote. You’ll regret it.

You’ll learn very quickly that it’s worth quoting a few hours above and

beyond what you think the job is worth; not because you want to ‘take the

client for a ride’ but because if the job does take longer than you think

(which is will), you are being recompensed for that effort which in turn will

inspire you to create a better quality piece of work.

It’s in your interest to make sure that you are paid for the work that you

do, or else you can start to resent that the job is taking longer than it

should. When this happens, our tendency is to take shortcuts, which

leads to inferior work, and that’s not good for the client or for your

reputation.

If on the off-chance the job takes less time than what you planned, you

can be upfront and let the client know and tell them you’ll resubmit your

invoice for a lesser amount. They may (or may not) appreciate your

honesty.

The alternative is to invoice them for the quoted amount and appease

your conscience by acknowledging that you were able to complete the job

in a shorter time frame because your skills are such that you can now write

more efficiently. (It may also make up for all those lost 15 hours here and

there).

Only you can decide which way to go.

And remember, when you quote, you are generally only quoting for the

copywriting i.e. the words. This may sound obvious, but some clients

may think you do the design as well so it’s good to clear this issue up

before the job begins.

All quotes are based on knowing 3 variables

1. Your hourly rate

2. The number of hours you think it will take to complete the job

3. The size of the ad/brochure/publication

If you know the answer to these 3 variables, you can quote on anything.

Different mediums require different approaches.

If you were creating a brochure, you would calculate your rate differently to

what you’d quote if you were writing a TV Commercial.

In fact, you would charge different amounts and use different calculations

to quote on writing for all the following mediums:

12

1. Brochures/Newsletters

2. Direct Mail letters

3. Press Ads (newspapers)/Print ads (magazines)

4. Radio

5. TV commercials

6. Media releases

Here are the different ways you can quote for each medium:

1. Brochures/Newsletters

When writing a brochure, the first thing you need to know is ‘what size

will it be?’

Most brochures are A4 size, and are then folded down to DL size, which

is the standard envelope size. If a client asks you what size their

brochure should be, recommend this size as it is the cheapest size to

print and mail.

If you were working on a large, prestigious client like Saab or

Clinique, the brochure could be any size because the budget would

be larger and they would want their brochure to stand out from the

crowd.

The size of the brochure is generally the prime indicator as to how long

it will take you to write it.

For all brochure work, we work with the standard letter size ie.

A4*. Most sizes of paper are based on an A4 sheet:

• DL: 1/3 of an A4

• A5: half an A4

• A3: A4 x 2 sheets

* See the Envelope and Paper Size Guide at the end of this module for

further reference.

No matter what size you end up with, you can base all your pricing on

an A4 size to start with.

All of the following pricing guides are based on a medium-experienced

writer doing the work:

There are a number of ways in which you can charge for brochures and

newsletters:

a) Charging by the hour: Example:

13

$100 per hour x 10 hours of work = $1,000 for the total job.

OR

b) Charging by the page size i.e. charge a flat fee per page: Example:

• 1 side of an A4 sheet = $500 for the job

• 2 sides of an A4 sheet = $1000 for the job

Here are some other ways to quote on brochure jobs:

Example:

8 page, A4 brochure

Options:

• By the pages: 8 pages @ $500 per page = $4,000

• By the hours: 40 hours @ $100 per hour = $4,000

• By the day: Daily rate of $1,000 for 4 days = $4,000

2. Direct Mail Letters

Example:

By the page:

• 1 page, A4 letter = $500 per page

• 2 pages, A4 = $800 total.

Direct Mail Letters are rarely quoted by the hour.

3. Press/Print: newspaper/mags

The cost to write these ads is normally quoted based on the size of the

ad, not on how many hours it takes.

Shown here are 3 different-sized samples of advertisements from The Age

newspaper.

Beside each ad is a guide as to how much you might charge for writing

an ad of that size.

A bit later on in the chapter, you’ll see a guide as to how these fees are

calculated.

If you’d like to skip ahead to read up on this, turn to the heading titled

‘How do I work out how big a print advertisement should be?’

14

Advertisement A = $400 (based on 4 hrs @ $100ph)

Advertisement B = $800

(based on 8 hours @ $100ph)

15

* For your own reference, it’s worth knowing how long the ad does

take for you to create so you can either amend your rates for future

work or become aware that you’re spending too much time on it

and you may need to work more quickly.

When it comes to writing print advertisements, you would not

necessarily tell the client how many hours it took you to write an ad.

You would simply tell them it costs $400 to write an ad of this size. (See

advertisement A).

Advertisement C = $1500 (based on 15 hours @ $100ph)

16

If you were pressed to reveal an hourly rate, you could do so simply

by dividing the total amount by your hourly rate.

The reason we don’t reveal the hourly rate is because the process by

which we come up with ‘conceptual’ ads is different to how we come

up with ‘long copy’ work like brochures and direct mail letters. You

would explain to your client that conceptual work can take a minute

or take a week. The creation of an idea can’t be timed so it’s pointless

to charge by the hour.

For example, how many hours would it take to come up with this ad?

17

The writer could have thought of it in seconds or it could have taken

weeks of blood, sweat and tears.

4. Radio*

A suggested guide is approximately $300 – $500 per 30-second

script. Don’t quote in hours for reasons listed already.

5. TV Commercials (TVCs)*

A suggested guide is $400 – $800 per 30-second script.

*These quotes are based on the commercials being for a small-medium

sized business e.g. not Coke, Nike etc.

Large advertising agencies quote for large-scale work based on

numerous other considerations. Some agencies provide free creative

work provided they get to buy the media from which they make their

commission.

6. Media Releases

• $300-$500 per release for up to 2 pages per release.

• You may charge more for project management

• faxing/emailing releases

• provision of names/contacts

• follow-up etc.

How do I work out how big a print advertisement should be?

For small businesses, the size of the ad will generally be determined by the

client’s budget. They’ll want it as big as possible for as little cost as

possible.

How big the ad is will be determined by how much it costs to buy the media space.

If you’ve agreed with your client that a newspaper or magazine ad is

required, they may ask you ‘how much will it cost to buy a ¼ page in The

Age newspaper?’

You need to know how to calculate these figures because they will be

looking to you for guidance on how big the ad should be and whether

18

they can afford to advertise in that publication. There’s no point you

recommending they advertise in The Australian newspaper without

knowing how much this will cost.

Never assume what a client can or can’t afford.

Your role is to suggest and recommend, not to judge whether they can

afford something. In fact, if the client likes an idea and a strategy, they will

often find the money for it, when moments earlier, there was no budget for

any advertising. Never assume anything – just let the client know what’s

possible and how much it will cost. They’ll make the decision as to whether

they can afford it or not.

If you can advise your client on how much it costs to book media space,

they will come to see you as an invaluable consultant which means they

will seek you out before giving away work to other copywriters.

This is how you start to generate a loyal client base so it’s in your interest to

be able to advise clients on all things related to copywriting, not just

copywriting.

Buying space in a newspaper or magazine.

It is very easy to work out how much it costs to buy the space in a

publication. There are 3 steps to working out the cost to buy any space in

any publication:

1. How high (in centimetres) is the ad?

2. How wide (in columns) is the ad?

3. What is the publication’s cost per column centimetre? (per ccm)

Once you know these 3 figures, you can work out how much it costs to

advertise in any publication.

Take this advertisement as an example:

•

•

19

Question Answer

1. How high (in centimetres) is the ad? 20 cm

2. How wide (in columns) is the ad? 2 columns*

3. What is the publication’s cost per

column centimetre (ccm)?

$70 per ccm**

* Every publication works on a ‘column’ basis. The Age has 8 columns. ** You get this figure by ringing the publication and asking

them for their ‘rate per column centimetre’.

20

In this clipping below from The Age, you can see the invisible, but distinct line

between columns.

21

There are two variables used when measuring space.

1. Columns

2. Centimetres

Take this ad for example [right]. You can see that the ad is 20

cm high and 2 columns wide.

To work out the total space of the ad, you multiply the

columns by the centimetres:

20cm x 2 columns = 40 column/centimetres (ccm).

Once you have this figure, you multiply it by the publication’s

rate per column centimetre (per cmm). In this case it’s $70 per

ccm.

40 ccm x $70 per ccm = $2800 2 columns

So, the cost to book this size ad in The Age would be $2800.

Every publication will have different rates.

The Age will be more expensive to advertise in than a niche magazine like

Needlecraft for Beginners because it has more readers.

And each section within The Age will have a different rate. For example, the

Car Section may charge a different rate to that of the Real Estate section.

As you can see, once you know how, it’s quite easy to work out the media

costs, and the more knowledgeable you can be about these costs, the

more confidence your client will have in you.

The client can’t move forward and act upon any of your recommendations

without knowing what the full costs are so make sure you know

approximately how much things cost before you recommend your client

buy them.

Can I personally book the space in a publication?

Yes. It’s really easy and you should embrace it because you’ll become

a more valuable resource for your client if you know how to book

media.

Many years ago, the only organisations who could book media were

advertising agencies. That has now changed and anyone can book media

space.

20 cm

22

It’s simple:

Step 1

Ring up the newspaper and ask to speak to a Sales Representative in the

section you want to advertise in.

Step 2

Be honest and tell them you’ve never bought media before and can they

step you through the process.

Step 3

They’ll tell you the options available to you – rates, colour vs black and

white, positioning on the page* etc.

The sales people are there to help you. They are generally very service-

oriented because you are a potential client to them. They can also help

educate you about this process. Ask them to send you their rate card so

that you have on file an accurate guide for their rates.

* Always ask for a discount off the media space costs. They will

generally only give it if you are planning to advertise on a regular basis,

but it can’t hurt to ask for 10% off the per ccm rate. If you don’t ask,

you don’t get.

How do I know what a client needs?

In general, most small business clients need a basic marketing ‘tool kit’

consisting of the following:

• a basic A4, 2-sided brochure

• a cover letter to accompany the brochure

• a website*

* All website issues will be covered in the module Writing for the Web.

If you don’t know what to recommend a client when first starting out,

recommend these three items as ‘must haves’ for their marketing tool kit.

Once they have these basic pieces, you can start to recommend other

items like newsletters, print ads, radio ads etc. but you need to give them

these basic items to help them get their marketing off the ground.

23

One of the best ways to work out what is required is to ask them what

promotional material they’ve already got.

You will need to see this material and need to know what each piece was

designed to do.

In many ways, the medium you use, whether it’s a newspaper ad, brochure,

letter or radio ad, is the last decision to be made.

The key question you need to ask is ‘what is your objective?’ or ‘what do

you want your advertising to achieve?’

Some clients are adamant they need a Yellow Pages ad, but upon

reflection and some detailed questioning by the copywriter, realize that

a well-crafted, 2-page direct mail letter sent to 100 carefully selected

targets will be much more effective than a tiny Yellow Pages ad.

This is where your questioning skills will become invaluable. You need to

ask lots of questions about your client’s objectives and their target

audience before you can specify what medium is required.

Some clients will say quite categorically “I need a Yellow Pages ad NOW”

and they cannot be swayed, even if you think they are misguided.

In those situations, it’s best to go with the flow and follow their instructions.

There is only so much advice clients will take and when they are insistent

on creating something specific, it’s sometimes best to do the job, take the

money and hope that it works.

If you strongly disagree with their strategy, it is worthwhile noting it in

your Contact Report so that it doesn’t come back to ‘bite you’ when the

client has forgotten he pressed hard for it and it hasn’t delivered the

result he was seeking.

When should I negotiate my rates and hours?

The best time to negotiate your time and rate is at the very beginning of

your relationship with the client.

This is what’s known as the ‘honeymoon period’.

They’re excited about getting some work created by a professional.

You’re excited about a new copywriting job. Everyone’s excited and

everyone wants the experience to be smooth and successful.

At this stage, everything is negotiable and the client will be amicable to

your terms and conditions because the job hasn’t started and everything is

24

fresh and new.

Be clear about what you want from the client.

Once the job’s begun, it’s really difficult, if not impossible, to re-negotiate

hours, or your hourly rate, or when you should be paid, or the deadline, so

it’s important that you ask for what you want at the beginning.

If you set the ‘frame’ or the ‘expectation’ for what you need to complete

the job, the client will generally accept that as part of your conditions.

If you come to her a few weeks later and say ‘Y’know, I made a mistake

– this is going to take much longer than I thought so I’m going to need to

charge an extra 8 hours and it will take me another week to deliver it –

is that okay?’ you can imagine what her reaction will be.

Ask for more than you’ll think you need.

It’s best to ask for too much time and money in the beginning so it leaves

you with room to move. The client won’t know any different and you’ll

deliver a great result because you can put the extra effort in, so everyone’s

happy.

New writers, on the whole, are reluctant to be assertive when asking for

what they want, especially when it comes to money. Disputes about

money and hours are the prime factor that cause client relationships to

sour so it’s best to deal with these issues up front and honestly and know

that the clearer you can be about what you want and need, the better the

relationship will be.

This is all academic until you have a real client. The best way to learn

about fees and hours is to get a client, even a non-paying client like a

relative or friend, and start working.

There really is no substitute for experience, so set yourself the goal of

getting some ‘runs on the board’. Then you can start quoting (even if it’s a

mock quote), start writing, start working out how long it takes to write

something.

Once you’ve had a few passes at it, you’ll become quite adept at working

out how long things take and what hours you should be quoting.

25

If you’re still stuck and don’t know how to estimate hours for a job,

use this as a guide.

Brochures are probably one of the most common pieces of work you will

be given when starting out, so it’s helpful to have a guide as to how long

this will take you to write.

As a very BROAD generalization, most A4, 2-sided brochures will take a

minimum of 10-15 hours to write. This is based on a medium-

experienced copywriter working on the job.

This is a helpful figure to know because it means you can start quoting

straight away with some degree of confidence that this number of hours

reflects market conditions and client expectations.

So for example, if you are new to copywriting, you might want to charge

$50 per hour x 10 hours for the brochure, (even if it takes you 30 hours in

real time).

If you are an experienced writer, you may charge $80 per hour x 10 hours

for the brochure.

Unless it’s a very, very simple brochure that uses mainly images and not

much copy, you can be pretty certain that it will take at least 10 hours to

create. These 10 hours take into account all the briefing meetings,

overheads and other factors we’ve mentioned earlier.

Now all you have to do is nominate an hourly rate for yourself and you’re

up and running.

How do you discuss rates and hours with clients?

Clients will ask you what your fees and charges are so it pays to have a

‘script’ that you can follow during these discussions.

When you feel more confident, you can create your own script, but in the

meantime, you may like to follow this as a guide:

This script assumes you have already discussed what pieces you are going

to create for your client.

26

* The inclusion of this clause in your quote ensures you have the right

to charge for any further revisions. When clients learn that revisions

can start to cost them a great deal, they tend to get their act together

very quickly and start getting serious about finalizing the copy.

** Always remember to state whether your rate includes or excludes

GST. Many a happy relationship has been spoilt at the time of

invoicing because the GST has not been discussed.

*** Jobs can mysteriously morph into larger jobs once they’ve started.

For example, what starts off as one page A4 flyer can easily turn into

an A3 brochure and if the client isn’t aware that this will impact upon

your quote, they may well expect you to deliver an A3 brochure for the

same price as a one page A4 flyer.

Clear communication is the key.

Being a successful copywriter is not just about writing great copy.

It’s about being a clear communicator and being upfront about everything

you need to complete the job.

When you’re starting out, you can’t possibly plan for every contingent

so if you adopt the strategies laid out in this manual, and stick to them,

you will be more successful more quickly. You’ll make more money

because you’ll accelerate your learning and not make so many

unnecessary errors.

“These are the conditions I like to work under. I find that when

these issues are discussed before the job begins, it leads to clearer

communication and less misunderstanding.

“To complete this 2-page, A4-sized brochure, I think it will take

around about 10-15 hours. That includes two sets of revisions. If

you require further revisions to the copy, they will be charged out at

“I can have the copy ready for you within 10 working days. To make

that happen, I would need you need to send me your reference

information within 3 days of this meeting. My hourly rate is $60 per

I will commit to completing this job at this rate and for this number

of hours. Should however, the brief change substantially once the

job begins, I’d like to reserve the right to re-quote this job***.”

27

Who does the graphics and layouts for the ad?

If you or the client don’t have a graphic designer on hand, the publication

you’re advertising in (or the printer) may have an in-house design service

that you can use. There are costs associated with this but it’s quick and

easy to use.

These designers will also know exactly what format the ad needs to be set

in e.g. What software should be used, what resolution etc. You don’t

need to know a lot about these technical specifications, but you will need

to communicate these specs to your designer if you don’t use the

publication’s in-house service.

What happens then?

Once you’ve written the copy and it has been approved by the client, you

will send it through to the publication’s designer. You need to give them

an idea of what you’re looking for, so help them out by sending through

some samples of other ads you’ve seen that you like. This gives them a

brief to work from (they need a brief from you, just like you need a brief

from a client).

They will then supply you with a finished ‘proof’ i.e. A copy of the ad.

It’s always best to get them to fax through the proof to you because if they

send it via email, important detail can be lost and sizing can be altered, so

it’s best to see it in it’s true form and faxing is the only method by which this

can happen.

The client then needs to see this final proof to approve it.

Tip: You must always get the client to ‘sign-off’ or ‘approve’ everything

that is going off to the printer or a publication. If you don’t, you could leave

yourself open to being sued if something is wrong with what gets

published. It is vital you get sign off before you send anything off for

publication. Buy a stamp with the word ‘Approved By ’ from your

local stationery store.

28

What if the client has their own graphic designer?

Then it’s even simpler.

You write the copy and the client will either brief the designer herself or

may ask you to be involved in the briefing. If you do get involved with the

briefing of the design, don’t forget to include these hours in your quote.

See ‘Basic Rules For Layouts’ at the end of this module.

Can I charge for briefing meetings?

Theoretically, no, you can’t charge for briefing time.

You have to put yourself in the client’s shoes and see how annoying it

would be to have to pay for every meeting you had with your writer. Your

briefing time should be incorporated into your hourly rate.

In fact, everything should be incorporated into your hourly rate.

Lawyers and accountants are renowned for charging exorbitant

fees for faxing and photocopying and it’s these little incidentals that

can make clients see red.

Why incur the wrath of your clients for a piddling amount when you can

slightly increase your hourly rate to take into account of these expenses.

Should I work on a retainer?

In a word, no.

If you were in PR, then a retainer would be an appropriate way to charge

for your work. Most copywriters charge by the hour, or by the job.

If you do have a retainer, make sure that you are very specific about what

you will do for that monthly fee. For example, you might charge a client

$4,000 per month, including GST, and for that amount you might provide:

• 2 x 2-page direct mail letters

• 1 x A4, double sided brochure

• 2 x A3 newsletters

• 3 briefing meetings lasting up to 1.5 hours each.

If you can be as specific as this, then a retainer can be an appropriate

way to charge but it is quite uncommon to charge this way if you are a

freelance writer.

Should I charge by the word?

No. Absolutely not.

Journalists and magazine writers are paid .50c – $1 per word. This is

certainly not the most lucrative way to make a living.

29

Feature writing and creative writing are not copywriting so it’s best not to

even float this payment system with a client.

Is there such a thing as ‘pay by results’?

Yes there is but it’s still a relatively new concept in Australia.

We would recommend you not offer this as a payment option, simply

because it’s too difficult to monitor:

• How do you know what the response rate to a mailout was?

• How do you know how many sales occurred as a result of your ad?

• How many letters were sent out?

• How many ads appeared in the newspaper?

• Did the sales rep follow up on all the leads that the ad generated?

There are so many factors involved in measuring the success of advertising,

you would not want your income to be assessed on such an inexact

science.

Some copywriters in the USA and UK make a hefty sum (over $100,000) for each direct mail letter they write because they are paid a royalty for every response it generates.

This is great work if you can get it but this style of payment is yet to hit

the Australian market in a big way so it’s best to keep it simple when

starting out and charge by the hour or by the job.

What do the terms junior, medium-weight and heavy-weight

copywriters mean?

If you are looking for a job as an advertising agency copywriter, you’ll start

to see these terms in the job ads. You might be wondering ‘what exactly do

they mean?’

Advertising is subjective and its labels for measuring experience are equally

subjective.

From the industry’s perspective, a junior copywriter is someone who’s had

one to five years’ experience in an advertising agency or in a business

where their key job was to write copy.

‘‘50% of advertising works. We’re just not sure which 50%’’

— David Ogilvy

30

A medium-weight copywriter would be expected to have five to ten

years’ experience in an advertising agency and a heavy-weight copywriter

would be expected to have ten or more years.

However, this can be confusing, because you can also be a heavy weight

copywriter and have only been in the industry for a few years. How?

By winning awards.

Winning awards equals higher salaries, and you can fast track your career

substantially if you aim to win awards.

In the advertising agency sector, your age is almost irrelevant when it

comes to dictating your salary. Experience, reputation and awards are the

yardsticks by which you will be judged.

There are young guns in the industry aged 22 years old earning over

$100,000 salaries because they have consistently created exceptional

advertising that won awards. (Whether those ads increased sales is

another matter!)

“Starting out, I could take up to 20-30 hours to write a simple little

brochure. Surely I can’t charge the client that amount for a brochure

— it would be ridiculous.”

Yes, it would. You can’t charge the client for the time and energy you spend

in educating yourself in how to become a copywriter.

At first, you will need to put in a lot more hours than you can actually charge

for. This will help you learn your craft, work out how long it takes for you to

write something and give you much needed experience in how to find

quicker ways to write.

Once you have reached a certain level of competency, you will be able to

charge for the actual hours that you write, no more, no less. Until then, you

have to accept that you are learning a new craft and you will need to invest

some time and energy for free before you can start getting paid what you’re

worth.

Here are some examples of Quote letters and Invoices that you can use in

your freelance copywriting business.

31

Katie Smith Copywriter

PO Box 123

Armadale VIC

3183

Mobile: 0412 555 555

Fax: (03) 9387 6678

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.kateskopy.com.au

ABN 89 107 286 700

QUOTE #54

To: Mark Sample Client:

Tupperware From: Katie

Smith Date: August 27,

2007

Job: Newsletter – 4 x A3 pages Title:

Autumn/Winter

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the opportunity to work on the Tupperware Autumn/Winter newsletter.

My fee for this is $3,000 ie. 30 hours @ $100 per hour including gst. This

includes:

• Briefings/meetings

• Research

• Liaison with graphic designer

• Copywriting

I’ve also included an allowance for one set of revisions. Proofreading and

major re‑writing are not included.

Mark, thanks again, and I’ll have the copy to you by Monday 12 September.

In order to meet this date, could you please send the source material to me via email by the

end of business August 29, 2007.

Kind regards

Katie Smith

Terms and Conditions:

• This quote includes one set of revisions. All revisions after that will be charged out at $75 per hour.

• This quote does not include proof reading.

• Please pay the full amount within 21 days of the final draft being approved.

• Should the job be cancelled for any reason, the full invoice amount will still need to be paid.

• Should you make any major changes to the brief, the writer reserves the right to re-quote on the job.

• All materials provided by the client are assumed to be legal and accurate.

• The writer takes no responsibility for the material and how it is used once the client has approved the copy.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.kateskopy.com.au/

32

Here’s another way to quote for the same job:


PO Box 123

Armadale

VIC 3183

Mobile: 0412 555 555

Fax: (03) 9387 6678



ABN 89 107 286 700

QUOTE #54



Smith Date: August 27,

2007


Autumn/Winter

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the opportunity to work on the Tupperware Autumn/Winter newsletter.

My fee for this is $3,000 ie. 4 pages @ $750 per page (includes gst). This

includes:

• Briefings/meetings

• Research

• Liaison with graphic designer

• Copywriting

Mark, thanks again, and I’ll have the copy to you by Monday 12 September.

In order to meet this date, could you please send the source material to me via email by the

end of business on August 29, 2007.

Kind regards

Katie Smith










33

Here’s what your invoice could look like:

* If you don’t charge GST, you don’t need to put the word ‘tax’ on your

invoice. It should just read ‘Invoice’ and you should make reference on

your invoice that ‘GST’ is not payable’.


PO Box 123

Armadale VIC

3183

Mobile: 0412 555 555

Fax: (03) 9387 6678



ABN 89 107 286 700

TAX INVOICE



Smith

Date: September 15, 2007


Autumn/Winter

Fee: $3,000 (includes gst of $300) as per quote #54 dated August 27, 2006

For: Copywriting

Payment: Please pay by direct deposit into: 234:456: A/c No: 12345678

Hi Mark,

It’s been a pleasure working with you. Please consider me should another job come up.

Kind regards

Katie Smith










34

What if the client doesn’t pay?

If you haven’t received your money within the time frame specified, you

might want to check that the invoice has been received (they can go

missing) or whether there’s another, more dubious reason for the invoice

not being paid.

You can either send a Statement, which is a reminder to pay, or you can

ring the client and ask (gently, of course) if they received the invoice. If they

have received it but haven’t paid it, you can let your client know that’s it’s

still outstanding and ask her to look into it for you.

Here’s what your Statement could look like:

35


PO Box 123

Armadale

VIC 3183

Mobile: 0412 555 555

Fax: (03) 9387 6678



ABN 89 107 286 700

STATEMENT



Smith

Date: September 15, 2006


Autumn/Winter

Fee: $3,000 (includes gst of $300) as per quote #54 dated August 27,

2006

For: Copywriting

Payment: Please pay by direct deposit into: 234:456: A/c No: 12345678

Hi Mark,

This account is overdue. If you have already paid it, please disregard this statement. Prompt

payment would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Katie Smith








• The writer takes no responsibility for the material and how it is used once the client has approved the copy.



36

Assignment for Module 7

TASK 1: Prepare 2 quotes for your client

Your client has asked you to do the following:

1) Prepare a written quote for writing an A4 brochure (folded to DL) for

her aromatherapy business.

She will supply all the photography and she already has a graphic designer

on board who will take care of the design of the ad.

2) She has also asked you to find out how much it will cost to insert an

advertisement in Cleo magazine.

The size of the ad will be a half page, full colour.

All she needs to know is the cost to buy the media for this size ad. You do

not have to submit your costs to write the ad.

invoicing your clients how to make money from copywriting€¦ · invoicing your clients – how to...

Documents