If you’ve ever stopped short of working with a freelance copywriter because you thought it was too expensive, well, today’s article is for you.

It’s written by Alan Weiss of Summit Consulting Group Inc. in Rhode Island. If you’re not reading his Contrarian Consulting blog, you are missing out on one of the sharpest business minds I know.

Alan hits the nail on the head when it comes to the one and only thing that matters: the amount of value your copywriter delivers to your and your business.

I’ve asked him for permission to republish his article for your benefit. And he kindly agreed.

Take it away Alan…

A Penny for Your Thoughts, A Million for Your Results

Someone explain this to me:

If a client is best served by a problem being remediated quickly, or an innovation being implemented rapidly, or an improvement being installed momentarily, then why isn’t the consultant charging for the velocity of the work rather than for the duration?

In other words, hourly billing is inherently unethical. The client’s best interests are served by a quick resolution but the consultant’s best interests are served by a lengthy encampment. That isn’t what I’d call a “partnership.”

If a therapist can make me mentally healthy in one hour, isn’t that a lot better than waiting for a year, during which time I might commit mayhem? Shouldn’t the therapist charge me for that value, instead of insisting I visit for a year until the meter is full? My chiropractor urged a $250 program of ten visits, when, in reality, the first two visits wondrously took care of everything and I gladly would have paid $1,000 just for them! (Unlike most authors, I advise professional service providers not to read my books!)

When I moved to Rhode Island I interviewed a bookkeeper who couldn’t use a computer and charged by the hour. The bizarre dynamic of me paying more for her ineptitude completely escaped her.

The wedding planner for our daughter’s wedding (you can see photos at the bottom of my home page: http://www.summitconsulting.com) for which no expense was spared, gave me the option of $150 an hour or a flat fee of $3,500 with $1500 up front with eight months to go until the ceremony! I couldn’t write out the $1500 check fast enough, and she didn’t want the final installment until the event!

Would ten percent of a six figure wedding really be unreasonable to ensure the quality of the evening and the sanity of the parents? Cheap at twice the price.

Our time isn’t valuable. Our results are valuable. Input is irrelevant. Output is relevant. Tasks can be done for a price. Outcomes are priceless.

I don’t want film or digital images; I want memories. I don’t want a great room: I want a romantic experience. I don’t want a 16-position airplane seat; I want to arrive refreshed and ready to do business in London. I don’t want steel-belted radials and high torque; I want people to stare and point as I glide by.

And when they stare and point, they remark, “There’s that guy who only charges based on value.”

© 2008 Alan Weiss and Summit Consulting Group Inc. Reprinted with permission from Contrarian Consulting.

The bottom line is, hiring a freelance copywriter is about value. Value delivered to your business. Nothing else.

To find out more about Alan Weiss, his writings and his ideas, you can contact him using the information below:

Summit Consulting Inc.
Contrarian Consulting

Some copywriters will get your project done in a week. Other copywriters will take 3-4 weeks or more to write your promotion.

But how long does it really take to write a couple pages of copy?

Well, the simple answer is: not long. At least not for most copywriters. But it’s not so much the writing that’s the problem. It’s what comes before the writing that can take a while.

There’s a lot of work that you don’t see when it comes to writing copy. And much of that work involves creativity.

I’m not talking about the “coming up with a cute tagline or slogan” type of creativity, but the creativity that allows a copywriter to take a huge amount of information and turn it into a unique sales message that will get your market to take action.

And every copywriter has their own way to do that. Some take pages and pages of notes as they study your market and your product. Then they turn to those notes to come up with ideas to make the promotion a success.

Others just ingest a bunch of information and let their creative subconscious take charge. They walk around for a few days “mulling it over.” They’re just waiting for their subconscious to drop the perfect “hook” to put into your promotion. The hook is that one big idea that will turn readers into buyers.

For me, I know that once I’ve done the research… once I know exactly who my market is… and once I’ve given my mind some time to churn… the actual writing process is fast.

If I’m writing a 10 page salesletter for a product, it can be done in a few hours once all the preliminary work has been done.

For me, it just flows at that point.

So how long should it take to get your copy? A week? A month?

The answer is that it just depends on who you’re working with. And that’s really a blessing in disguise. Because what you’re really paying for when you hire a copywriter is the copywriter’s unique take on how to sell your product. And that uniqueness means that there is no hard or fast rule about how long it should take.

But here’s something to consider:

For me, the longer I work with a client, the quicker the whole process goes. The more I understand my client’s product and the deeper I understand the market, the quicker I can create results for everyone. And the better those results tend to be.

My hunch is that this is true for a lot of copywriters. And it’s a good reason why once you find the right copywriter, you should consider sticking with her. A long term relationship can be a whole lot more profitable for everyone involved.