Copywriter Coach Chris Marlow Takes Guesswork, Agony Out of Professional Fee Setting With Newly-Released Survey of 358 Fulltime Copywriters

PALM DESERT, CA, February 15, 2007 – Copywriter coach Chris Marlow can answer the three biggest questions full-time copywriters ask – but none of their questions have anything to do with how to write better copy. They’re all about money.

Marlow reveals this information and more in her newly-released 68-page statistical survey report, the Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey™ Volume II, one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of freelance copywriter economics in the world.

The copywriter coach – a three-time winner of the ECHO award, the copywriting “Oscar” of the direct marketing industry – says more than 80% of copywriters feel they undercharge. She says even some of the most experienced copywriters she surveyed privately confess they are constantly asking themselves:

o What are my competitors charging?
o Am I leaving money on the table?
o Can I get by with charging higher fees?

“The question of what to charge clients is a huge issue that nags at copywriters at every level of experience,” says Marlow. “No copywriter wants to lose a job because he overbid. And, no copywriter wants to experience that sick feeling that comes over you when you realize you’ve underpriced a job.”

In late 2006, Marlow surveyed 358 fulltime copywriters, gathering detailed information on gross incomes, job fees and geographical pay differences. "What I found,” she says, “is that there’s a lot of pain associated with the purchase of ad copy for both the copywriter and the client, and pricing errors are rampant.”

"That’s why I came out with Volume I of the Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey in 2005,” says Marlow. “Since then, I’ve been in contact with many of the copywriters who purchased the first volume and they’ve told me they have saved literally thousands of dollars on pricing mistakes.”

The 2007 Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey provides pricing benchmarks for 40 common copywriting jobs in print media, audio/video media, and electronic media. The report also gives marketing and time-management practices collected from the hundreds of copywriters who participated.


Some highlights:
* 80.8% of copywriters use referral marketing as a first-year marketing strategy

* 39.4% of copywriters relied on their Websites for clients in their first year but in their “current” year, that figure jumped to 61.6%

* First year gross earnings of full-time freelance copywriters were strongest at between $25,001 and $50,000, coming in at 29.1%

* Most copywriters (60.1%) think region affects pricing levels for copywriting jobs, and many share their reasons why

* Technology won as “the most lucrative niche market to work in,” coming in at 36.8%


The Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey™ Volume II, along with Bonus Report Marketing and Time Management for Copywriters, is available at an introductory price of $125.00 USD at www.freelancers
businessstore.com.



About Chris Marlow, the Copywriter Coach
Chris Marlow, the copywriter coach, is one of the nation’s top copywriters for the software industry. She is an award-winning 22-year copywriting veteran. As a copywriter coach, Marlow teaches corporate and freelance copywriters how to improve their copywriting and business skills. She is also the editor and publisher of the monthly online newsletter Get Great Clients (www.GetGreatClients.com/signup). Contact Chris Marlow at (760) 340-2045, www.chrismarlow.com (where there is also a “Press Area” at www.chrismarlow.com/chris-marlow-press.html), or via www.TheCopywritersCoach.com.



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