One of the keys to selling copywriting services—or selling anything, really—is to make it as easy as possible for a potential client to say yes. The more obvious you can make it that your solution is the best solution, the faster you’ll get them to hire you.
The tricky thing is that many would-be clients aren’t entirely sure of exactly what they need. Or they may think they know what they need, but they’re forgetting key elements. For example, they may think that they just need a sales page—but they’re forgetting that they’ll need a series of sales emails to prime people to make the purchase and drive them to visit that page.
For these reasons, packaging your services can make a lot of sense. Note that I’m not suggesting that you bundle your services. You’re not offering a bulk discount—and you shouldn’t, right? It will take you just as much time to do all the work. So, why would you discount just because you have more of it?
Why Discounting Is a Bad Idea
Quick aside: Discounting sends the message that your pricing is arbitrary instead of based on the time you think it will take you to do the work. And if clients think that your pricing is arbitrary, they’re going to try to bargain with you like crazy.
Okay, back to the point. You’re not bundling, you’re packaging. Instead of offering small projects, you can group projects together to better address a client’s needs. If you work with entrepreneurs who sell information products, for example, you could offer a “launch package” that includes nurture emails, sales emails, and a sales page. You could even offer a more extensive version of that package that includes a webinar.
When You SHOULD Package Your Services
If you work with a lot of new business owners, you could offer a “website in a box” package that includes home page copy, about us page copy, services/products page copy, and copy for an opt-in. Want to solve their problem even better? Come prepared with a website designer/developer to build it for them, too.
This makes sense right? Not so fast, though. There definitely are times when it doesn’t make sense to package your services.
When You Should NOT Package Your Services
When doesn’t it make sense to package your services? If you’re new and not 110% sure of the best packages to create. Or when you’re new to working with clients or even new to working with a certain type of client, you don’t know their businesses well enough to craft a package that’s going to be valuable to them.
Trying to create packages when you don’t know their businesses exceedingly well means you’re likely to include things that they don’t think are necessary/valuable and possibly forget things that are. Packages need to come from your expertise in an area and your in-depth understanding of what a client needs. They need to provide expert guidance to a client, making it immediately clear to a would-be client that you understand their needs and you’re the best person to answer those needs.
Packages that don’t resonate with client needs just confuse them and make them question whether or not you’re the right person for the job. And remember, you may not get the chance to address those concerns in person! If someone gets to your site and sees a package that doesn’t quite make sense to them, they may never reach out to you to begin with.
Packaging your services can be a great way to guide potential clients and guarantee yourself larger paychecks. BUT you need to be absolutely sure those packages are valuable and they’re what your future clients want. And the best way to be sure of that? Experience with those clients.
Read More: Should You Put Prices on Your Website?
We get this question a LOT! Should copywriters put prices on their website? After all, when you go to buy anything online, there’s a clear price. But it’s a little different with copywriting. Read our post here to learn more.
Watch More
In this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate explain why offering discounts is not a great way to start landing more clients. Listen in to find out how you can make yourself more marketable to potential clients without compromising on rates.
Your Turn
What kind of packages could you offer? Let me know in the comments below!
Last Updated on October 30, 2024
So the best approach is to not have generic packages permanently on your website (which seems like you’re cheap to me), but rather go through the consultation process with a client first to get a good understanding of their needs. And then customize a package (if it’s appropriate) to suit, right?
Hi Mike,
Not necessarily. Listing a few common packages on your site can help to get a potential client clear on what you offer and what you may need. It’s likely that you won’t *need* to customize a package with every client; if you structure a package well, it should be useful to many potential clients. The key is that you *really* need to know what clients truly need and what will benefit them before creating a package. In addition to those packages, you can also note that custom packages are available.
Thanks for commenting!
Nicki
Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for replying!
Thanks for asking! 🙂
Nicki