Ed Gandia is freelance copywriter who got his start writing white papers for his employer. Now, he specializes in educational content for B2B software companies. He is an author and host of the High-Income Business Writing Podcast.
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Pricing for Freelance Copywriters
- What is the most important thing you can share about pricing?
- Most people price on the low side.
- Forrest Gump Principle – The less you know about a market, the easier it is to price higher.
- Ed started pricing too high because he was new to freelance writing.
- Most fears of pricing and having a money conversation are unfounded.
- What is the most common way writers are pricing their services?
- The most common way for freelance commercial writing is hourly billing.
- Check out: The History of the Billable Hour with Jon Lax
- One of the best business models is recurring work from long-term clients.
- The billable hour brings the work down to a “per drink” level (commodity).
- How do you approach a conversation with a customer to determine value?
- Most of the copy Ed writes cannot be tied directly to revenue generation.
- Ed starts with a project price and then factors in his experience and customer risk.
- How do you address the fear a customer may have in hiring a new writer?
- It starts with strategic positioning on your website, blog and other marketing.
- Ed’s goal is to have 75% of his customers pre-sold before he talks to them.
- Having a discovery conversation is part of the value you offer the customer.
The Value of Business Copy
- Is it possible, in your market, to link the copy you write to an increase in leads?
- There are two types of content in his market: lead generation and educational.
- It is hard to tie an increase in sales to educational copy.
- Ed anchors his price to a single sale of 6-figure or 7-figure software.
- Ed prefers to pursue customers who already understand the value he offers.
- What are some of the differences between pricing small vs. large businesses?
- Ed say his sweet spot is medium-size software companies (100M+).
- Medium-size companies do not have the bureaucracy of Fortune 500 companies.
- Do you have a list of questions you want to discuss with each customer?
- Lead the customer through a value conversation using a checklist.
- First, what is the need of the customer, problem to solve?
- Second, what is your decision making process?
- Third, what is your timeframe for completion?
- Fourth, what is the next step?
Podcast for Freelance Writers
- Where did you get the inspiration for the High-Income Business Writing Podcast?
- The common theme in the freelance writing community is barely getting by.
- Ed wants to help writers change the conversation with their customers to increase their income.
- What is one of the best things you have learned from a guest on your podcast?
- Ed learns the most from other practitioners who are experimenting with new things.
- What are a couple of your favorite episodes of your podcast?
- What is the best value you have ever created for a customer?
- Ed wrote a white paper that led to landing a Fortune 500 retail brand.
- The customer also uses the white paper internally to educate its team of why they exist.
About Ed Gandia
- Freelance copywriter for software companies
- Business coach for creative freelancers
- Co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer
- International Freelancers Academy
- High-Income Business Writing Podcast
- Twitter: @EdGandia
From start to finish, this is another great episode. It’s packed full of great advice, and I really enjoyed Ed’s story about the impact that one of his white papers had on his client.
Great job, Kirk!