Divine Write Copywriting Forum

I've just been approached by a web-design company to take on the role as their copywriter to replace the one who has just left their company. This role is writing all the copy for their clients and could amount to quite a lot of work, but not necessarily at a constant rate. They have asked if I could offer them a wholesale/contract rate and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the best way to approach this. Should I try to negotiate a retainer working on X amount of hours p/week charged at X amount of dollars p/hour, so even if the workload fluctuates I still have a steady income (obviously earning more p/hour in the quiet weeks and less p/hour in the busy weeks), or do I just offer a set discount of my standard rates and take it as it comes?

If there's going to be plenty of work coming in I don't mind giving them a reduction, but I want to make sure I'm still earning what I'm worth. Any advice would be most appreciated.

Sorry for my very delayed reply here. The forum stopped telling me about new posts!

If it's still of any use to you, in this situation, I usually present the prospect with a sliding scale. i.e. Vary your rate based on the number of pages / words / hours for which the client ACTUALLY engages you.

e.g. If I write 1-10 pages for you this month, it's $X per page. If I write 11-30 pages, it's $Y per page. If I write 31-100 pages for you this month, it's $Z per page.

That way, you're not working at a volume discount in the absence of volume, and the client still gets a volume discount when it's applicable.

Hi Glenn, thanks for your reply - it was very practical and certainly something I will keep in mind should I ever be in that situation again.The web company who offered me the job took so long getting back to me that I ended up accepting another full-time job with an accounting firm. I'm looking at moving into a marketing managment role in the coming months, which I'm quite excited about!

When I did finally hear back from the other company, however (who were quite disappointed to hear I had already taken on another job), I suggested she look to DivineWrite for some aspiring freelance talent.

Cheers.

Thanks Abbanabba. That's very nice of you!