A Package Deal
By Rebecca Matter

When it comes to the value of your time, there are two variables you have the most control over:

The time you spend on any given project, and
The amount of money you charge for the project.

And if you can effectively decrease the first variable, while increasing the second, you’ve got a good chance at building real wealth from your web writing.

So today, I’m going to give you a business-building technique that will do just that.

In fact, it’s a technique you can use to increase your revenue starting with your very next project.

Simply offer a package.

Packages are valuable win-win options, for both you AND your clients.

You …

Make more money from each client.
Get to showcase your other web-writing services.
Obtain more experience and samples in a shorter amount of time.
Increase the value of your time exponentially.

Your client …

Saves time by having only one writer.
Gets more “bang for every marketing buck.”
Ensures all copy in the campaign flows together.

See what I mean? A true win-win.

Now, let’s take a look at three of the packages you can put together right away.

“Yes! I can do that for you, plus I can also … ”

Package 1: Write the Rest of the Copy

Here’s the scenario …

Your client asks you to write a sales landing page for a newsletter service they’re launching right before the holidays.

You review the scope of the project and determine your rate will be $2,000 for the page, plus a 2% royalty on any sales it delivers.

Knowing that you’ll be doing all the heavy lifting while writing the sales landing page, you realize you could easily write more components of this campaign, without spending too much additional time.

So, you ring your client up and suggest that in addition to the sale page you also write:

Two emails to drive the reader to the sales page. (Two hours)
An order device upselling their two complementary products. (30 minutes)
A thank you page upselling their high-end coaching service. (30 minutes)
A welcome letter upselling the coaching service. (30 minutes)
And three ads they can use in their eletter, to also drive people to your sales page. (30 minutes)

And while normally all of this copy would come to $4,300 if they ordered it à la carte, you’ll do it all for just $3,500.

See what I did there?

By offering this package, you’ll increase your bottom line by $1,500, while maybe adding four hours of work to the project. Plus — and this is big — you’ll potentially increase your royalties by writing emails and ads that will drive targeted visitors to your sales page.

Your client ultimately saves $800, plus the time of working with multiple copywriters. At the same time he has the potential to make even more money on the campaign too, because you’ve conveniently worked in upsells of his higher-priced offerings.

Win-win.

Let’s test it …

Package 2: Write a Second Version to Test.

As marketers, we are always testing. In fact, there’s a popular saying among marketers:

“If you’re not failing, you’re simply not testing.”

And as a web writer, you can (and should!) take advantage, by offering to write a SECOND sales landing page at half the price.

Consider this, with me as your customer …

You’ve already done all the legwork — the research, the brainstorming, the identifying of possible big ideas …

So coming up with a second sales page will take minimal time on your part, compared to the first.

Instead of just writing one, you’ll give me TWO sales landing pages that I can test against each other, for only $3,000 and 2% of sales.

That saves me $1,000, plus a heck of a lot of time, because now I don’t have to go out and hire another copywriter to write a sales page to test against yours.

AND, I can start testing right of the gate, which means my results will be more accurate.

For you, there’s also a less obvious benefit …

In addition to the extra $1,000 for very little additional work, you can better your chances of keeping that 2% royalty, by being the copywriter you’re testing against!

Good contacts can be a valuable commodity …

Package 3: Coordinate the Project

This final way to increase your revenue through packages requires the least amount of effort on your part, and works especially well with small businesses.

Simply offer to coordinate the entire web project.

First, partner up with a web designer as well as a programmer that you feel are good at what they do, and that you enjoy working with.

And then capitalize on those relationships …

Let’s say I ask you to write a homepage for a new mini-site I’m building.

It’s a pretty simple website, so you only plan to charge me $1,000 for the homepage copy and layout concept.

However, you respond by offering to take on the entire web project, and work with the designers and programmers on my behalf, so that I can focus on my next big project.

You’ll hire your designer and programmer to do the work, and then either mark-up their rates before charging me, or add on a project management fee to the final amount.

Now the mark-up rates can vary depending on their rates. But you’ll quickly learn through trial and error what you think your clients feel is a good deal, simply by playing with the margins.

You make extra money for basically being a coordinator.

And your client capitalizes on your connections and expertise, saving him valuable time and money in the long run.

Closing thoughts …

If you’re just starting out, offering packages will help you grow your web-writing business quickly, with a small number of clients, and get a lot of experience on various types of web copy.

Just get your foot in the door with some of the techniques we’ve discussed in recent issues of Wealthy Web Writer, and once inside, start upselling the client on one of these three packages.

If you’re already working as a web writer, use these packages to really ratchet up the revenue from your existing clients, and lessen the vulnerability you face from losing any one client.

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Published: October 14, 2009

4 Responses to “A Package Deal”

Good content, but you really need to have a warm body proof-read your copy! It hurts your credibility and looks unprofessional. There are many words that have multiple spellings/meanings in English and I found at least 1 mis-use of a word in this article!
For writers like myself, this is a big NO-NO!

KarenM – November 24, 2009 at 10:47 am
I couldn't agree more Karen! As a fellow writer, I know you can appreciate the difficulty of proofing your own work. So we always try to work in enough time to have a professional give it a good edit before it gets posted.

Rebecca Matter – December 1, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Hi Rebecca,
Your article is *gold* in the bank!
Well-written and packed with useful, actionable info.
When I read articles like this, I know why I subscribed to Wealthy Web Writer.
Thank you so much for sharing your valuable tip with us.
Keep 'em coming!
From a former (professional) copy editor and proofreader, who cares about one or two glitches in the format of the words? It's the info that counts.
And, in my opinion, you've presented it clearly and in an easy-to-remember format.
All the best.

Copyferret – April 1, 2010 at 5:07 am
Rebecca, Thank you for this article. I have worked with your outlined method for only a couple of days--applying it to articles I write for a website. It works beautifully and takes a lot of the pain away from my previous methods. Thank you!

Ginaann – February 4, 2011 at 11:48 pm