Services

Copywriting Services & Estimated Fees

These fees are guidelines only.  Each project is different and will usually be quoted within these ranges, dependent on the time required to finish the project and the complexities involved. Please contact me for a detailed quote.

NOTE**All of these processes and strategies involve a lot of time and work to produce good results.  Most people can’t sit down and knock out good sales copy and ads that work.

I will spend the time to do the necessary research on your prospects, your product or service, and then spend the time needed to write great copy for you.

Print Ad     $300-$900
There are endless places to put moneymaking lead generating ads to work for you- Yellow Pages, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, online banner ads, classified ads, small ads, full page ads, TV ads, and everything in between!

When most people create their own ads, they tend to use a “business card” philosophy; That is, the ads will look pretty much like a business card, with your company name, address, hours, etc.  Just look in the Yellow Pages, pick a section and look at the ads.

Chances are they all look alike, promising the same old things.  Your ads need to be different from everyone else’s and give prospects a real reason to contact you!

Printed Sales Letter 1-10 pages  $500-$2,000
You sell one or many different products or services.  You may sell information products or subscriptions to magazines.  Whatever you want to sell, I can write a powerful sales letter that will increase response rates quickly!

If you decide you want to promote a new product line, you can target certain lists, either your own customers or other rented mailing lists.  You may want to target new businesses with your particular service that you provide.  Or you may just want to touch base with clients you have not heard from recently.

Whatever the reason you want to communicate with any of these people, be assured that my letters will get a good response.  The length of the letter can vary widely, depending on what the purpose is, and what the product or service is.

Postcard     $400-$600
One of the many useful ways to “touch” existing, inactive or new prospects through the mail. It costs quite a bit less than a standard sales letter campaign.

Insert / Handout / Flyer   $400-$600
Usually one page, you can use these as inserts in local papers, magazines, and even some organizations (Chamber of Commerce) monthly newsletters.  Flyers can also be included in a marketing campaign along with the sales letter. Also, you can hand these out to prospects in your business or at trade shows, or even put them on windshields at the mall.

Brochure     $500-700
Most companies spend way too much on developing boring, glossy, multi-color brochures that again act as a stepped up business card that doesn’t give the reader any reason to even read it, let alone keep it.

You do want them to get attention, get read, prompt action, and of course, look good. They do need to give the reader a reason to read it and act, though.  I know of several companies that paid over $3000 to get their brochures printed. Instead, they could have printed them in-house on laser printers with colored paper, they would have looked good, with better content, and got exceptional results…

Remember… image DOES NOT pay the bills… Convincing people to take action does!

Self-Mailer     $750
This is usually a single page, with content on both sides that is folded into thirds and mailed out without an envelope.  One of the advantages of this is your content is already showing, much like a postcard.  This way, you don’t have to worry about whether the prospect will even open the envelope.

Donation/Fund-raising Letter   $500-$2,000
Non Profit organizations…  Not to worry!  When you need to raise money for your favorite cause, need to round up volunteers for an important upcoming event, or you want to raise awareness in the community about a particular event or issue, a persuasive letter to businesses or people will do the trick.

Press Release 1-2 pages   $500
It could be a press release to your local paper informing the public about your new company’s startup information, or other company news. National papers and business magazines are also a good place to put them.  There are even internet press release sites that you can submit to.

Newsletter     $300/page
Printed monthly newsletters mailed to your clients are a GREAT way to stay in touch with them.  Marketing studies have repeatedly shown that 7-15 “touches” per year to your client list is necessary to prevent the average 10% customer attrition rate.

If done with the customer in mind, a newsletter will generally pay for itself many times over. You can even send them out to prospects who ask for more information about your company.

White Paper     $1,000-$3,000
These are documents that describe a specific product or technology.  Engineers are usually the writers of these very technical, boring documents.  Those engineers are of course brilliant, but not necessarily able to translate the technical information (which, by the way, does need to be included) into benefits the reader can understand.

Then, and only then, will the reader be further inclined to get more information or order the product.

E-mail Sales/Autoresponder Message $200-$300/message
If you do any email marketing, you know that the cost per email sent is almost zero and can certainly be an advantage.  However, you still need a compelling subject line and sales message to get your prospect to respond to your message.

Most of the same copywriting principles apply to email copy and offline copy. Autoresponder messages can be created ahead of time and put into a queue, and you can create a timed mailing sequence, based on your specific goals.  An electronic newsletter is also a perfect use for this service.

Short Articles   $400-$600
Articles are a great way to showcase your expertise, and allows you to be perceived as the “go to” guy in your particular field

Ad or Sales Copy Critique   $125/hour
Sometimes, you already have some decent sales material written, and it just needs to be tweaked some, it is more cost effective to change it instead of writing new material from scratch.

Website Critique-Small Site, 1-5 pages $400
Just like a sales copy critique, a website may just need to be modified to supercharge some of the copy or layout. I check the copy, headlines, design, layout, readability, links, how fast the pages load, keywords and title tags.  Then you will get a detailed critique from me describing my recommendations.

Making these changes will give your site more visibility, better SEO performance, and improve overall profitability by getting more traffic, getting more leads, and converting more leads to sales.  This does not include actual changes, only my observations and recommendations.

Website Critique-Larger Site, 5+ pages $600, then $125/hour
(Same as above)

Website and SEO Content, $400-$1000 per page
If you don’t have a website yet, I can help you.  First, we determine what your website’s primary purpose will be.  Then, I will help you layout and design your site and write the content for all of the pages.

If you already have a designer and programmer, that’s ok, because I will work with them to set it up. If not, I have website programmers and designers at my disposal, which will make it easier for you.  Now you only have to deal with one person, instead of 3, and I will take care of the rest for you.

Complete Direct Mail Pkg-Lead Generation $1,500-$3,000
This includes research and writing of a 1-3 page lead generation letter, bait piece (such as a free report or article), creation of a reply form, 2 sequenced follow-up letters, and optional envelope teaser copy.

Complete Direct Mail Project-Mail Order $3,000-$4,000
This is pretty much the same as above with the big difference in the actual letters.  These are primarily to generate a direct sale from the letter, instead of only generating leads.

Subscription/Product Renewal Letter  $700-$1,000/letter
If you sell magazine or newsletter subscriptions, nutritional supplements, credit card services, or any product that generates recurring revenue, you need a good renewal letter to get them to spend more money with you.

Consulting Fees    $125/hour
These fees include any assistance or services that I provide, that are not included in any of the descriptions above.  Helping you with better marketing strategies, methods, my research, advice, and recommendations are billed at this rate.

Consulting Retainer    $700/month
I will provide you with up to 10 hours per month of copywriting, consulting, advice, or help with whatever marketing issues you have.  This is payable in advance on a monthly basis with a 2 month minimum.

Terms: A signed agreement is required for all projects.  For new projects, 50% of the quoted fee is required with the agreement, with the balance to be paid when the project is complete. For critiques, the full amount is payable in full before work begins.

All revisions must be requested within 30 days of your receipt of copy.  If necessary, up to two rewrites will be made free of charge, unless there is a change in the actual assignment after my copy is submitted.

 

Merrill Clark – Copywriter & Consultant
Crestview Marketing Services LLC
PO Box 376
Stratham, NH 03885
Phone: 603-686-5140