When potential clients approach me as a result of seeing my profile at Upwork or Thumbtack or as a result of seeing my craiglist ad, they almost always want to find ways to negotiate my rates downward.

 

That’s because I’m one of the few Top-Rated providers who actually charge what I’m worth (or, actually, less than I’m worth).

 

They interact and vet other providers–my competition–and then settle on me “if I can afford you. Are your rates negotiable?”

 

So…

 

• They’ve done the vetting
• They’ve decided on me
• But they want to pay me what the people they like less are charging

 

 

That’s how the ball usually comes into my court.

 

So, then it’s time for me to sell not my writing services (they’re already sold on the quality of my work after seeing examples and my client reviews), but myself.

 

Can I be cajoled into lowering my prices to fit into the (usually anemic) budgets they’ve established for hiring a copywriter?

 

Or, as one potential client recently put it, “I need Ford-level writing, not Ferrari-level writing.”

 

What he means, I think, is that he’s looking for an intermediate-level, just-okay copywriter. He’ll be happy with intermediate, just-okay level copy writing.

 

And yet, he’s selling top-quality high-end products that run upward of $700 per unit!

 

He’s willing to shoot himself in the foot and convert fewer prospects into buyers to save a buck on the copy writing end!

 

I just shake my head…

 

If he wants Ford-level copy, he should reach out to Ford-level copywriters, not Ferrari-level pros. Because Ferrari-level pros don’t write Ford-level copy; we write the best we can, every time!

 

But he reached out to me.

 

He wants me… for a lot less than I charge.

 

 

This isn’t unusual. In fact, it’s pretty much par for the course.

 

Oh, I know why it happens:

 

• A bunch of hobbyists, wannabes and charlatans have hung their shingles as copywriters and have listed prices that won’t keep a roof over their heads or food on their tables unless they live in a  third-world country
• Freelance portals advertise “Get the best for less here” (but most don’t test or vet the people who register as providers)
• They figure if something takes two hours (or even just 30 minutes) to write, how can it be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars? (They don’t ask why a vehicle that takes 45 minutes to build on an assembly line costs upward of $35K, but they quibble if a piece of sales writing that took 45 minutes to write costs more than a hundred bucks, even though it will make them tens of thousands of dollars over the course of time, just as driving their vehicle will: it gets them (to) work, allows them to take vacations instead of always selling one-on-one, and it serves them 24/7/365. (Vehicles sit idle a lot of the time. Sales copy never does.)
• They’re afraid they’re hiring a copywriter whose copy won’t convert, so they want to “try them out” at a lower rate. When the copy does convert beyond their expectations, they don’t let on how well it converts (because the copywriter might raise rates or ask for a piece of the action going forward) and they want to pay the same low rate to continue with them

 

There are lots of reason why prospective clients want what they want.

 

But the reason really good copywriters want what we want (and insist on getting what we want) is that we do this kind of work because we love it and we’re good at it, because we truly want to help people succeed (or we’d be content and feature writers more often than we are sales writers), and because we need to keep a roof over our heads and our mortgages paid, just like everyone else.

 

I’ve posted  a notice on the bulletin board outside my writing room: I AM AN ARTIST, A WORDSMITH. THIS DOES NOT MEAN I WILL WORK FOR LESS. I HAVE BILLS TO PAY, JUST LIKE YOU. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING.

 

The bottom line here is that if you find a copywriter, or a content writer, or a features writer who floats your boat and seems to be exactly what you’ve been looking for style-wise, don’t grouse about their rates. Don’t try to talk them out of that they’re worth. (We know what our hard-earned skills are worth.)

 

Snap ’em up before they raise their rates again and they’ll probably serve you for a very long time before they raise them on you.

 

Existing happy clients are always easier to work for than new ones. Total trust  has been established, the products or services you offer are well understood, and the copy or content can usually be produced at a faster clip each time.

 

Don’t quibble. Don’t ask for a “free” or “lower-paid” test.

 

Pay the prospective writer what they’re asking from the get-go.

 

If you like what they do, hold onto them.

 

They’ll be worth their weight in gold for as long as you need them.