There are a number of factors on both sides which could affect the price. Consequently, we feel this is an important conversation that should be held between us and you, our client.
That’s not to say it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, you may be pleasantly surprised how affordable McCCs services are when you shop around for quotes.
We do of course have a ‘generic’ Rate Card for small copywriting projects (eg, writing Blog Posts or one-pagers), so if that is what you want, click the box below.
We know how frustrating it can be if you just want to figure out if you are in the ballpark, so I can provide you with the following basic information.
Senior Copywriter rates range from $100 – $180 per hour. They are broken down as follows:
Simple projects will be $100-$140 – may include words to support a design project or words that are not required to persuade/motivate/educate/engage an audience in a lead generation/conversion context. Little research required/ mainstream industry
Average/Complex will be $140-$180 – may include small or ad-hoc projects which are required to persuade/motivate/educate/engage (SEO/Metadata etc). Extensive research required/niche/specialist industry.
Large-scale projects which may run over many days or weeks will be charged out at a project price or a retainer rate which will work out more cost effective than the above-quoted rates. the longer the project, the greater the discount. Packages are available and will be published shortly.
As you do your research, you will find many copywriters charge a minimum starting budget to take into account all the research and preparation that goes on in the background. This is fair and reasonable. Remember a writer has to know the ins and outs of your business/goals/objectives/competition/ place in the market/get a feel for your brand and TOV and your business’s personality before they even begin to draft. A writer that does not do this preparation for your project is not going to use your budget effectively.
I prefer to charge out on the time spent on research rather than a fixed cost/minimum engagement rate to accommodate companies that provide good background information at briefing stage. The more you give me, the less I have to try and find out myself, consequently the less time I have to spend trawling through data.
Pricing for Bid Management and Tender Writing
Again, it’s tricky to give an accurate price without understanding the full scope of the project but a rough ballpark could look something like this.
Small Tender: Approx 10 – 15 pages with basic information requested, including company profile and experience
$1000 – $3,000
Medium Sized Tender: Approx 10 – 20 pages with some basic graphics.
$3,000 – $5,000
Large Tender: Typically Government or Private companies. These can vary enormously in complexity and size.
$5,000 – $30,000 +
These prices will vary according to how much big management/project management you require. Many bid writers will negotiate a commission in the event of a win which they are within their rights to do, however, here at McCC we put the effort in regardless of commission. Hourly rates are available but we prefer to quote on a Project Price since this provides a more cost effective solution for our clients.
The factors involved in coming up with a fair price for your business
Having said all that, we do prefer you understand a little bit about how project prices are structured before we get into the nitty-gritty of budget and costs.
Pricing is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix – it is also the most difficult to get right. Product, Place and Promotion are the variable costs and Price must support these. When considering Pricing for a product/service a number of factors should be taken into account such as fixed and variable costs, the competition, long term/ company objectives, proposed positioning strategies and at a basic level – supply and demand. Our business is no different.
When it comes to setting rates for McRae Communications Consultancy there are similar considerations and for the sake of transparency, we have outlined the process involved and how we reach the prices for your project.
No.1: The Brief
We do not provide quotes without first scoping out the full extent of the brief. Hopefully, the reason for this is obvious – those first conversations about a project can be fairly vague. Sometimes it takes time for an idea to crystallise clearly. So first thing’s first. The Scoping phase of the project where many questions are asked and the brief is born. Clarity upfront will save time further down the track so be prepared to answer a whole range of questions right from the start from the budget to messaging. Knowing as much as we can about the true extent of a project is crucial to getting that quote right. We would also discuss something known as ‘Project Creep’ – when a project starts off small and then grows and grows. This is usually unintentional from the client side, but safeguards have to be put in place to ensure there is a line between a small project that is now actually a medium sized project.
No. 2: Timings
There are two things to consider here. Your timings as the client, and our timings. For instance, if you need something translated and distributed to Hong Kong by a week on Thursday – it’s not going to happen. Hypothetically translation agencies may take up to 12 weeks to turn a project around, and distribution may take 3 weeks. For a more basic copywriting project, you would expect allowance to be made for research time, meetings and up to three drafts. Time would also be incorporated into the Quality Assurance end (editing, proofreading and sign off). Hopefully, your timings and our timings/considerations will match up, Naturally ‘rush’ jobs will attract a higher rate (assuming they are possible in the first place).
No.3 The Cost
As outlined in the introduction, pricing has to take a range of factors into account. To set our price we look at industry standards and recommendations, we look at the competition, we look at the level of expertise required to complete the project and, of course, our overheads as a business. We also factor in what the tax man requires from us and all the other expenses you would expect a business to pay. All of this gives us our baseline – the amount it costs us just to open up every day for business.
In addition to all of the above – we factor in you, our client. There is a big difference between a new venture starting out and a global brand. With this in mind, we are committed to an open and flexible discussion around budget and price with our clients.
We then assess the scope of the project. The quote can be submitted as a Project Price which is often a better deal for the client, or the quote can be based on an Hourly Rate or Daily Rate. Naturally, it depends on the skills required, the scale and timing of the project.
Per Word
We do not provide quotes based on Word Count as we believe this affects the quality of the output. Generally, it’s not relevant for the type of projects we work on. However, we appreciate magazines and newspapers pay contributing journalists per word and if editorial is required we can discuss this during the scoping process.
Per Hour
Our business provides a range of services and each of these attract a rate based on all of the above. As a rough outline the Industry Standard Hourly Rates for a copywriter goes something like this:
- Junior Copywriter: $50 – $70 per hour
- Mid-weight Copywriter: $70 – $100 per hour
- Senior/Lead Copywriter: $100 – $180 per hour
Per Day
The Daily Rate for the above could potentially be multiplied by 8 hours (though a slightly reduced rate may apply in certain circumstances)
Project Rate
For larger, more complex requirements a Project Rate will be proposed. Price will depend on a number of factors which may include project management, various drafts, editing, proofing, Q&A management, photography research, page layout sign off, stakeholder meetings, how much research is required (or provided) just as an example. Generally, a Project Price will provide a cost-effective solution for the client rather than pay an hourly rate for a marketing professional or senior copywriter.
Retainer Rate
When a client wishes to retain our services for a set period of time (i.e. 2 days per week for a 6 month period), we prefer to agree on a Retainer Rate. This rate means we are paid for 2 days work every week for 6 months. The benefit for the client is they have an extra pair of hands/service which can be used as they wish – for 2 days. In this instance, McRae Communications Consultancy would provide a timesheet and report on activities carried out. It’s a great way for a client to test resource requirements without the commitment of taking on a full-time member of staff until they’re sure there is enough work to pay a staff member full time or part time. It’s also a way to ensure McCC always keep those 2 days a week just for you!
Deposit
Once a rate has been agreed and we’re all happy, a 30% deposit is generally required, though this does vary from project to project. New clients will be required to pay 50% in advance for their first project.
Invoicing
Once McRae Communications Consultancy provides the final copy, clients are invoiced. If the copywriting is part of a larger project, we do not wait until the client has completed on the larger project, as this would mean waiting up to 6 months at a time in some cases for larger global campaigns. The main reason for invoicing at the end of the copywriting phase is to ensure there is no ‘project creep’. A copywriting project will encompass 2 drafts and one editing/fine-tuning phase before final copy. If the brief changes this will be scoped out as a new project. If minimal edits are required after invoicing this will be provided at no extra cost (within reason).
LATE PAYMENT FEES
Finally, the bane of any small business’s life is late payment. McRae Communications Consultancy has strict payment terms of 30 Days. We understand oversights happen and we are flexible in those cases. However, If there has been no prior agreement, overdue accounts will be charged 30% of the full project price from 45 days of Invoice date.
If, after reading through our Pricing Approach, you would like to see our generic Rate Card, please email info@eviemcrae.com. Better still, why not give us a call on +61 466718266 to set up a meeting so we can scope out your requirements properly and provide you with a tailored quote.
OK! Let’s get this project started.
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