Copywriting Tips – Should You Ask Your Prospect Their Budget?

Somebody at the Warrior Forum asked in a thread if it bothered you when a copywriter asked you for your budget. Well, the answers came fast and furious. It appeared that the sides were really split on this one. Some people were totally against it, felt it was rude, and others just took it with a grain of salt. But the question is, from the perspective of the copywriter and potential client, should you do it? This is not an easy question to answer, but I’m going to do my best to give you my personal opinion of this issue.

I think we can all agree that the last thing a copywriter or a client wants to do is waste time. What’s the point of getting into a discussion about project details if the copywriter is in the $5,000 to $10,000 price range and the client is looking to spend 500 bucks? I mean it just doesn’t make any sense. So by asking the prospect what his copywriting budget is, it immediately qualifies the client as either somebody you will work with or won’t work with. Doesn’t that make sense?

Well, the counter argument is this. Why not just have your copywriting fees on your sales page? Well, there are several reasons why this doesn’t work.

At the top of the list, many copywriters do not charge just one fee. For example, they’ll charge one amount for a sales letter for a 50 page eBook and a completely different amount for a set of 10 DVDs. Few will charge the same amount for both projects. And the prices may be worlds apart.

Another reason this doesn’t always work is that many clients don’t find the copywriter through his sales page. Many will find him through forums like the Warrior Forum. If that’s the case, they’re going to have absolutely no idea what the fees are.

Taking the argument one step farther, those against asking for a budget claim that all the copywriter has to do is ask the prospect what they want and then quote their price based on what the specs are. The problem with that is many prospects don’t even know what they want or what info has to be given. And a copywriter doesn’t want to waste time with these people dragging out all these details only to find out that their price is out of their budget anyway.

Asking for a budget is a quick way to qualify your prospect…period. It saves both people a lot of time.

Whether or not you, as a copywriter, do it is up to you.

In my ‘s good business sense.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim