Cheap Copywriting? Here’s Its Freakin’ Expensive Cost
If you typed ‘cheap copywriting’ because you were actually considering hiring a freelancer based on the lowest per-word rate, this blog post is your chance to NOT WASTE TIME AND MONEY.
Consider it a hint from your time-travelling future self, yeah?
Cheap copywriting is just… words on a page
I’m not saying that cheap copywriting can’t sound good.
You know what? You might even enjoy what you receive (although I’ve seen countless samples full of bad grammar and actual mistakes), especially since it was probably written to stroke your ego rather than with the needs of your target audience in mind.
But is cheap copywriting actively going to help your business?
Let’s face it: if anything, it’s probably going to damage it.
Writing for such little pay is unsustainable
Content mills like Fiverr and Upwork have done what fast fashion has caused to the clothing industry: getting people to think it’s absolutely fine to buy loads of stuff for £5 or £10 without questioning it.
But, much like fast fashion’s sweatshops and poor environmental practices, these platforms are also dreadfully unsustainable.
“Think about it! How could someone make a living if they’re being paid a tenner for something that should take hours to plan, research, and write?”
The answer is in the next point.
You’re probably dealing with an overworked freelancer rather than a professional business owner
If someone is happy to be paid so little for a project, they must be taking on dozens a week in order to make a living (and I’m talking about surviving rather than leading a decent life).
They haven’t got enough time to dedicate to your specific one.
After all, they have ten other deadlines over the next couple of days.
So, this means that they must churn out hundreds of words asap, worrying more about meeting these platforms’ unrealistic deadlines than taking the time to understand your audience, research the topic, edit the first draft properly, and so on.
I know this because... I used to be one of them, years ago. I didn’t last long on Fiver, though: as I said before, these platforms’ model is unsustainable.
When you collaborate with a professional copywriter and pay them accordingly, you don’t have to worry about any of that. You’re dealing with someone who has an entrepreneurial (rather than ‘struggling freelancer’) mentality.
You can expect professionalism, high-quality copywriting, and actual results.
Cheap copywriting is about speed rather than results
In my experience, the kinds of clients who look for cheap copywriting are also the ones who say ‘hilarious’ stuff like, “we need this yesterday LOL.”
Well, if you needed it yesterday, you should have asked me about it two weeks ago, Karen.
I can’t stress this enough: successful copywriting isn’t just pretty words on a page.
There should be a strategy behind them
The business should have taken the time to research and understand its target audience
The copywriter needs to have time to brainstorm, carry out more research, plan, write, and edit these words accordingly
You can’t expect all that if you ask for a new website page by the end of the day or tell your copywriter “just freshen up our current copy”.
Could I write a new website page in an hour? Technically, I could.
But do I do it?
Of course, not!
When you agree to work so fast or for such little pay, you can only focus on writing words asap.
With my professional copywriting services, I focus on crafting copy that brings you results based on your specific USP and target audience.
And, to do that, there’s no way I could be done in an hour.
Here’s how cheap copywriting will actually cost you more money
There are two main ways in which cheap copywriting will turn out to be more expensive than the few dozen pounds you paid to begin with:
You’ll miss out on conversions. Excellent copy does one main thing: it gets readers to follow through with an action, whether that’s to buy, subscribe to your newsletter, or something else. But, to do that, it needs a strategy and must be geared towards your specific target audience. If your cheap copywriter hasn’t even asked you anything about them, how are you going to grab their attention? How are they going to think “OMG, this is literally what I need in my life?”. So, cheap copywriting might look and sound nice. If it doesn’t convert into sales, though, you’re just wasting time and money
You’ll eventually have to invest in new copy when you realise that you’re not seeing results. And, if you keep looking for cheap copywriting, this will turn into a vicious cycle. Much like when people insist on buying a new £5 t-shirt per season instead of investing in an ethical £20 option made to last
Professional copywriting, on the other hand, is a long-term investment for your business
Copywriting is no different from your website development, tills, software, or anything that you had to purchase in order to get your business off the ground: you should think of it as an investment rather than something you buy as cheap as possible.
“Because, when you invest in the right thing, you’ll get a lot more for your money.”
A professional copywriter also invests in their own business & development
Remember when I talked about the difference between a struggling freelancer and a copywriter charging higher rates?
The latter has a business owner mentality, which means they’ll be constantly working on their skills and investing in self-improvement.
This involves courses, books, articles, keeping up with industry trends… as you can imagine, it takes time! And money, of course.
I most certainly wouldn’t be able to do all that if I relied on dozens of £10 gigs a week.
And the worst thing? It would totally show in the copy that you receive.
A lot goes into copywriting: not just words
I know that sometimes, when clients see a 300-word website page or a 600-word blog post, they think, “surely it only takes half an hour to write that!”
But the thing is, it freakin’ doesn’t.
For example, here’s what I do before I start typing away:
I ask you the right questions in my project planner and carefully review your answers
I take the time to understand your target audience: what makes them tick? How would your products or services improve their life?
I research the actual subject
In most cases, I perform keyword research to find the right terms to help you show up on Google and be found by your audience
I look at your competitors and/or the other top-ranking pages using the same keyword: how can I make yours the very best one out of all of them? Are there any gaps that need to be filled? Is there something that would be more effective if done differently?
Only then I start brainstorming and writing the first draft.
Once again, there’s no way I’d be able to do all that if I charged a few dozen pounds per project.
You’re basically paying for results
This is the main difference between cheap copywriting and professional services priced accordingly: you’re not paying for words, but rather for results.
And this is because a professional copywriter has spent time asking you questions, understanding your audience, and figuring out how to make you stand out against your competitors.
“It’s not just guesswork: it’s copy written by taking all these points into account.”
Plus, because this copywriter has been investing in their business and skills, they know exactly how to help move your leads down the funnel.
Whether to use a call to action or a call to value, what to include in your above-the-fold copy, whether to optimise for that keyword or this other one: these aren’t things you can expect when you’re just trying to save money.
Why I stopped marketing myself as an ‘affordable copywriter’ (even though I’m FAR from being the most expensive)
Be honest: would you expect a high-quality, tasty brew if you were only asked to pay £0.50 for a coffee?
I mean, if you only want a shot of caffeine and don’t mind it tasting burnt, go for it.
If you’re after a pleasurable sensorial experience, you can’t expect it for such little money. And, if you’d like to sit in an aesthetically pleasing cafe with knowledgeable staff members who get trained regularly, then expect to pay even more.
Same with clothes. Would you really compare a three-pound t-shirt made by exploited workers using toxic chemicals and a £20 organic-cotton model manufactured sustainably and made to last?
That’s the same with cheap copywriting!
As a writer for ambitious female entrepreneurs, I no longer market myself as an affordable copywriter because this would immediately get my leads to expect ridiculous £10 blog posts.
Not only that, but it would shift the focus from ‘results’ to ‘cheapness’ and ‘unsustainable speed’, and that’s not what my services are about. They’re about expertise and results.
To get a taste of what you can expect when you work with me, here’s a juicy case study:
how I helped this female-founded platform generate more organic traffic, attract relevant backlinks, and position themselves as experts in their field (through their blog and some strategic website copy).
If you want results, then forget about cheap copywriting: look for writers who are reassuringly expensive.
Like a cup of coffee from that artisan cafe.
How I can help your badass female-founded brand with my core services 🔥
Enough with yawn-inducing and corporate-sounding website copy!
Get some words that are actually geared towards your target audience, with a sprinkle of the right keywords to help you attract them through Google.
Put your blog on autopilot! Let me fill it with articles that highlight your expertise on the right industry-related topics for your audience.
From attracting them through the right keywords and giving them a reason to stick around, you’ll grow your audience, establish yourself as a trusted expert, and move them down the funnel.
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