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Hey Susan,

I hope you are having a wonderful week. My name is Derek and I am getting ready to launch my freelance copywriting business. More specifically, I want to use my passion for health and fitness to help dietary supplement companies grow, while also making a steady income from it.

I wanted to shoot you an email and ask how much you typically charge clients (your price list or rate card will do) as well as exactly what services you offer. Any information you can provide that would shorten my learning curve such as a sample contract, sample invoice, templates, etc. and make me profitable sooner would be a big help.

Many thanks,

Derek

Hi Derek,

It’s nice to meet you. Congratulations on your decision to do freelance copywriting. It is an exciting career choice.

Just for fun, can we switch places for a minute? 

Pretend that you’re an established copywriter. You’ve spent 25+ years building your copywriting business. You have an abundance of experience, gathered from working with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of clients. And you know the pitfalls of being a copywriter because you’ve probably been-there-done-that many times.

Among the subjects you write on are health and fitness, including supplement companies. It’s a competitive industry, but through trial and error you’ve figured out how to do well with it over the years and hope to continue working with clients in that field. 

One day you get an email from me, a conscientious beginner, asking how much you charge and exactly what copywriting services you provide because I too want to write for supplement companies. How do you respond?

Do you tell me, a soon-to-be competitor, how to position my business? Do you give me your copywriting rate card, realizing that I then have the ability to undercut you? Do you list your services so that I can be sure to offer the same ones or more? Do you tell me how to avoid all the mistakes you made in those early years so you can help me avoid those same pitfalls? And do you send all this information and advice for free, as requested?

Finally, in considering my request, do you read through my email thinking: “What’s in it for me?” Do you see any benefit in helping me, other than simply being a nice guy?

Derek, I’m sending this note to you tongue-in-cheek (if there were a tongue-in-cheek smiley, that’s what would go here), but I’m still interested in your honest response.

Susan

Hey Susan,

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to respond. I really like how you analyzed the conversation and flipped it back on me. I’m not gonna lie, it caught me off guard, but it really made me think about the situation.

I knew going in that emailing people about these things is bold and most will go without response, but I am eager enough to at least try. The business world is cutthroat and the copywriting industry is no exception. Giving valuable information about your services would seem stupid because it could mean you lose clients. You are right, that there is no benefit for you besides the feeling of just being nice. 

So I have a proposal. I am eager to learn more about this industry. I am willing to work for you for free with the promise that I will stay out of your niche(s). You get the benefit of free work and more time. I get the benefit of learning about the industry. Let me know if this is something you would be interested in. Once again, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to contact me.

Derek

Hey Derek,

Thanks for playing along in my silly game and understanding my position. I appreciate your response. In return, I can offer you some information to help you launch your copywriting career. There’s nothing in it for me other than I’m a “nice guy.”

Check out my blog, https://www.susangreenecopywriter.com/articles.html. I offer tons of FREE information about copywriting and about becoming a copywriter. Scroll towards the bottom to find a section titled, “Advice for Aspiring Copywriters,” and you should find plenty of useful posts.

Because there is only a downside to my telling you my services and associated prices, I’m not willing to share that information. The same goes for samples of my contracts, invoices or other templates I’ve developed. Sorry. I hope you now understand why.

As for your proposal to work for free, I’m not interested in providing coaching, even though I’m certain you would be a terrific “copy cub.” A quick Google search will help you find professional copywriting coaches. There are quite a few good ones. But know that they charge for their services rather than offering free advice.

I wish you well.

Susan

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