The rates you charge when you first get started as a copywriter will not—and should not—stay the same throughout your career.
Remember that copywriting is a merit-based career. Regardless of your background, your age, your gender, your race, any demographic difference, if you can write great copy, people will hire you.
And since it’s a merit-based career, that means your compensation is also merit-based. Basically, the better you get at writing copy, the more you can charge.
But rates aren’t quite that cut and dry. You can also charge more if the demand for your services is high. You can charge more if the client wants an especially fast turnaround. And you can charge more if the company is a giant corporation and, frankly, has a bigger budget.
So, there are a lot of factors that come into play, but here we keep the scope narrow: when you should increase your copywriting rates and how you should do it.
When You Should Raise Your Copywriting Rates
So, when do you know that it’s time to increase your rates? Well, to start off, if you’re getting signals from clients that your rates are low, you need to think about increasing them now. And not just one or two clients since some people’s perceptions are skewed—but if the vast majority of your clients are bowled over by how little you charge, it’s time to up that rate.
Beyond that, though, we recommend a yearly check-in and self-evaluation.
Kate, our Head Coach, shared these questions that she asks herself:
- What have I learned this year that allows me to deliver more value to my clients?
- What have I already delivered this past year to my clients that goes above and beyond my rates?
- Am I being extra flexible for a client or offering additional services?
“One ongoing client gave me a company email address,” she explains. “So, naturally, I had to manage that inbox in addition to my regular business email. That ate up additional time and I was delivering a level of convenience for them by using their email, fielding more emails than on a normal project, and delivering emails with a ton of strategy-related questions they hadn’t thought through. Extra convenience equals higher fees.”
So, each year, evaluate how you’ve grown and developed as a copywriter.
How to Raise Copywriting Project Rates
Though I say “hourly,” know that we’re not just talking about by-the-hour projects. You’ll use your hourly rate to estimate the time it will take you to complete a project, so your hourly rate also affects your project rates. (As you know, project rates are the best way to charge for copywriting projects.)
But you don’t need to announce an increase in your rates if you work with clients on a project basis since your rates are baked into your project prices and they never actually KNOW what your hourly rates are.
Here’s what I mean: You may have done a project for a client and priced it out with a $50/hour rate, but what they saw was a quote for $700. They don’t KNOW that your rate was $50. So when you price out projects in the future with a $55 or $60 an hour rate, they won’t know that there’s a difference since each project is unique anyway.
How to Increase Hourly Rate
Bear in mind that you’re only going to need to increase a price announcement if you’re working with a client on a regular basis and you are billing hourly. These are clients who are used to paying you a certain amount and now you’re going to increase that amount.
Most copywriters tend to overthink this, but it can be a simple email. See the template below.
Get Your Mindset Right
Before you hit send on the email, you need to get in the right mindset. Too many copywriters build this moment up to the point they’re ready to adjust their rate increase so it doesn’t “seem” so high or, worse, back down from increasing rates all together.
Stick With Your Rate
You’re raising rates for a reason. Often, copywriters aren’t accounting for all the time they’re spending and they wonder why they’re not hitting six figures. If that sounds like you, know you need to move forward with the increase. It’s not serving you to work for less than your value.
Plus, you have no idea how your client will react. We build up worst case scenarios, when all too often clients say, “OK!” We’ve then spent days or even weeks worrying about a rate increase for nothing. Remember: if you’re providing great copy and they like working with you, they do not want to go through the trouble of finding someone new!
Negotiate or Walk Away
Very occasionally, a client may say something like, “We just can’t make that work with our budget.” At this point you have a choice.
One of the business rules you need to create for yourself—if you haven’t already—is your “no lower than rate. This allows you to walk away from clients who simply can’t meet your “no lower than rate.” Now, you may decide that you don’t want to go lower than your rate ever—that’s totally fine! Time to find a new client!
But sometimes, you may love a client, or really want a piece for your portfolio, or really want to crack into an industry. In these cases, you want to have flexibility, but you also want to maintain a boundary. Set your no lower than rate and see if your client is willing to meet you there. If not, walk away.
Set those boundaries now so they’re ready to go when the time comes. (Otherwise, you’ll find yourself saying “yes” to rates that are way too low.)
Make Room for Clients Who Can Pay Your Rate
There are so many more opportunities than you realize. Remember that there are clients willing to pay your rate. And if you take on clients who can’t pay your full rate, you’re not giving yourself the time and space to find clients who will pay your full rate.
A Note on Justifying Your Rates
When it comes to raising your rates with regular clients, here’s something I want you to remember: You NEVER have to justify raising your rates. Your rates are your rates and you have the right to charge whatever you want to charge. You don’t have to justify (to them) that now you have more experience, or you’ve been taking more classes, or whatever. It doesn’t matter. If YOU feel that it’s time for a rate increase, it’s time.
Before you send an email to let your clients know that you’re raising your rates, check any contracts you’ve signed. If you’re in the middle of contract work with a client and the rate is in that contract, you’re going to have to wait until that contract is over. But if you’re doing more ad hoc work with a client, you can just send a simple email.
Email Template for Raising Hourly Copywriting Rates
SUBJECT LINE
A quick update about rates
BODY
Hi, [NAME],
I just wanted to send you a note to let you know that my rate will be increasing to $XX/hour as of [DATE]. Please let me know if you have any questions.
I’ve really enjoyed working together and I look forward to our future projects.
Thanks!
[YOUR NAME]
Easy, right? And the only thing to keep in mind is that your client also needs to email you back and acknowledge this rate increase; you can’t just email them and increase it.
How Much Do You Increase Copywriting Rates?
A few more things to bear in mind: When increasing your rates, you’re most likely not going to want to think in terms of huge jumps ($50 to $100 an hour) but more along the lines of increasing $5 or maybe $10 per hour. (If that sounds little, remember that $10 an hour over the course of a year is $20K+.)
You also don’t NEED to raise your rates every year, we just recommend a yearly check-in. You won’t be able to raise your rates indefinitely. Three hundred dollars an hour may put stars in your eyes, but clients are going to balk if they ask you to write a simple welcome email and you quote them $700 for that email.
As we’ve said before (and will continue to say a million times after this) pricing and rates aren’t an exact science. But if you take a look at the work you’ve done and the amount you’ve learned and improved your skill, and it’s not reflected in what you’re charging your clients…it’s definitely time to think about increasing your rates.
Watch More
On episode 109 of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate discuss the right way to raise your copywriting rates, including making sure you’re valuing your time and knowing when it’s time to raise your rates.
Want More Career Advice?
If you’re looking for more advice for a successful copywriter career, we’ve got it! Here’s how to get a promotion, when to make a change, and other tips.
Your Turn
When will you plan to evaluate and raise your copywriting rates? Have you raised your rates recently and, if so, what happened? Let us know in the comments below!
Last Updated on April 23, 2024
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