What is the best strategy for content writing services

Are all these options possible...

[contentmaster]

Hi all

Wanted to know what is the best approach for charging for content writing services

1) Website with 10 pages : charges on per page basis : X amt / page

2) website with 10 pages : charge on a project basis : total x amount

3) website of 10 pages : charge on the basis of no of words / page

Also, if there is research work involved should that be charged on an hourly basis?

Thanks

Orchid

[jerseygirl]

All of scenarios you described have their benefits and drawbacks.

Many times, prospects will ask for a per the page price. This enables them to compare your prices to your competitor.

Once a prospect aks for an estimate for a specific job, the situation often changes. We find that most clients prefer projects at a fixed costs. It helps them manage their budget.

With regards to research, wo do not charge separatly for thsoe services. Research time is included in our fees.

[contentmaster]

In the case where the client provides you only with a sitemap of link on a subject and you are expected to come up with the entire subject matter after comprehensive research, how then do you calculate the research effort in terms of time and total cost to you......

[rogerd]

CM, per-page pricing is useful for open-ended projects where additional pages may be assigned later. In general, buyers prefer fixed or per-project pricing; open-ended, per-hour arrangements require a lot of confidence in the contractor.

If you'll need to do research, build that time into your price. You can also tell the client that your price includes time for research, and that if he provides the raw material you can quote a lower project price.

[robotsdobetter]

Go with per page pricing, they think they are getting a better deal, sometimes anyway. Before you start make sure they pay you first and don't get screwed like I did a week ago.

[contentmaster]

If you'll need to do research, build that time into your price. You can also tell the client that your price includes time for research, and that if he provides the raw material you can quote a lower project price.

Yes that sounds like a good idea! Thanks

HEy robotsdobetter, I agree , its essential to charge a certain amount in advance to begin the work specially if you are not based in the same towns....How important is it to have a personal meeting if the client is in the same town as you....In case of situations where you 2 are in different cities or countries, what proportion of the total agreed amount should you charge before starting work?

[steve40]

As someone who looks for content suppliers I would want the following after I had defined strict Terms of reference

1 Total Cost of project including number of pages and minimum word count per page
2 Between 10 - 20 % deposit depending if I had dealt with supplier before
3 Timescale for project delivery
4 Full Ownership of content including sole rights of publishing
5 As a precaution against copy all content in PDF and html format ( not foolproof but some form of protection )

steve

[wordmuse]

When faced with this kind of project, I do a few things:

1 - I break out distinct aspects of the project.
Research, writing, web design, etc. Sometimes one element is open-ended while the others are not. For example, research is frequently open-ended, requires lots of iteration with the client, etc. (It's up to the client to say, not enough, enough or overkill.).

2 - If the client wants a price per project, if I have a good relationship with the client, we talk about the open-ended aspects and look for an amicable way of handling them. If the client is adamant about getting a single project price, a number of factors go into my evaluation:

* my best estimate of how long it's going to take.
* applying a multiplier to this time estimate because often enough I miss time consuming drivers.
* anticipating my competition and knowing how "hungry" I am at the moment (i.e., how much do I really want THIS job?).

If the client will let me, and this has happened, we break the project into the research component, on which I get paid for my time, and then on the writing component, which if fixed-price.

3 - In all cases - and you MUST BE VERY CAREFUL about this - if there are open-ended aspects, and your client doesn't have any better idea about how long it should take, DO NOT sign any contract that includes penalty clauses. Especially, if the penalty clause includes a "per hour" rate for them to complete the project.

I had one client, after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, whose boilerplate contract had that kind of penalty clause. I told him that I had no way of knowing whether the job he had for me could be completed in the time frame he wanted it, and the penalty was completely unacceptable. I proposed that he could review my work every week, determine if the progress I was making was good, and if so, sign off on me continuing. We both limited our risks that way.

Also, in the event that I didn't complete the work "on time," he was unable to tell me how long HE THOUGHT it might take for him to complete it. That could very easily work out to ME OWING HIM MONEY for work that I did. Uh uh. My dad didn't raise no fools. (oooh - double negatives...)

As it turned out, I was able to complete the project in the
designated time. But it was good to know that I had not put
myself, my business, nor my reputation at risk.

Regards,
Bal Simon

[edited by: engine at 6:30 pm (utc) on April 17, 2004]
[edit reason] formatting [/edit]