Over the holidays, I read a delightful book about how to write better. The title is Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content.
Top marketing veteran Ann Handley wrote this remarkable guide. She’s the Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs.
By the end of our weeklong vacation in Indiana, I’d read over half of this 275-page, informative volume. I’ll share some of the insights in future posts. However, this is the cool part… I’m revisiting my copywriting fees because of what I read.
Not just how much I charge — but why that much as well.
It will also significantly affect the way I present those fees, too.
And, here’s the kicker. Ann didn’t say anything in the book about fees. Not one single word. Everything pointed the way to better writing, no matter the venue or format.
For example, in the chapter titled “Everybody Writes,” Ann explained that most of us write every day, though somewhat unconsciously at times.
Remember that comment or update you made on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? That counts… so, make it count!
But, it was in Part III that Ann really spoke to me and made me reconsider my pricing. The section, “Story Rules,” talked about how to write a good story, and what was involved.
On pages 126 and 127, Ann listed 10 questions to ask yourself as a starting point to create your story, or your client’s story. Among them were:
- What is unique about our business?
- What problem is our company trying to solve?
- And, how will our company change the world?
Other chapters explain what you should and shouldn’t say in your content or copy. For example, Ann expresses that we shouldn’t use sentences that begin with words we’d hear from a pulpit, our parents, or college professors.
In other words, limit moralizing in your content. While there are exceptions, you shouldn’t tell people what to do as much as explain the why.
You’re probably asking what all this has to do with fee schedules, right?
Well, I have a fee schedule that I’m comfortable with… or so I thought. But, after reading Everybody Writes, I became more than a little uneasy with it.
Not because of what I was charging. But, why I was charging it to begin with.
It all came to a head when I got an email inquiry about my writing services…
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