Setting Free Lance Rates

s a free lance writer, it is touchy to discuss viable rates to charge for writing advertising copy. It is difficult enough for most free lancer's to get their foot in the door with a client that many undercut their own pricing.

Some guidelines to follow when looking to hire a free lance writer to write advertising copy for you:

1. Ask for Clips. Clips are not free articles they posted to an online Ezine. Clips are paid articles, direct marketing copy, or print newspaper/magazine articles. If the free lancer does not have clips to provide to you (many don't as many advertising projects are written as ghost writer projects), ask for a speculative ad on your product or service. It will give you an idea of their writing style and turn around time.

2. Are they an expert in their field? If you are hiring a former Ad executive gone free lancer - expect the pricing to be equivalent with experience.

3. What rights are you paying for? If it is a ghost writing project, expect to pay higher rates. Remember if the project is ghost writing, the free lance writer does not get a clip, byline, or royalty payments for the project. Payment is up front. Pricing will vary with the rights that you are purchasing. Be sure to be clear what you are paying for.

4. What are you providing the free lancer with? How much research is necessary for the freelancer to do to create the advertising project for you?

5. Does the price include distribution, printing, mailing or drop off? All of these expenses will be taken into consideration when you are looking for a free lance rate.

There are many things that play into consideration when comparing free lance writing rates. As the saying goes, "you usually get what you pay for". Be sure to know what you are paying for. Don't assume. There are several websites that offer generic rates for free lance rates in various venues including advertising, technical, medical and ghost writing. Taking the time to do a quick search may pay off in the long run. There are also a number of online sites that you can hire a free lancer through. Some of these sites actually interview and test the providers for the buyers. It is always an option.