VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Moe Egan

Just got an email from an old employer - someone I did PR for a while back, asking if I'd be interested in picking up some freelance copy writing.

My question to this esteemed body is this:
What is the going rate for making words these days?

Thank you in advance for your time attention and insights Kiss

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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
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todd ellis · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:19 pm Post subject:

wait a minute - you type here all the time ... for FREE!!!
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ccpetersen · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:39 pm Post subject:

Todd,

Depends on what it's for. I'm assuming it's for ad copy?

c
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Moe Egan · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:04 pm Post subject:

Geese Louise.
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

mcm · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:02 pm Post subject:

I have no experience, but found this:

http://www.sustainable-media.com/copy%20rates.htm

Moe Egan · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject:

Cool beans. Thanks Mar!
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

ccpetersen · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:48 pm Post subject:

Moe, I get that question a lot as a writer, and my answer is always "it depends on what it is"... because it truly does. I don't say that lightly, as writing has been my profession for many years and I'm darned good at it.

It's really no different from asking a VO "what do you charge" for a VO, and having them ask you "an Ad? a long form?" etc. (unless they're a union VO, in which case, the fees are published on the union sites).

Anyway, writing fees depend on the length of the project, how much research, etc. time the writer has to put into it, whether the client is buying all rights, what the delivery time is... a lot of things to know before you can set a rate.

Anyway... here are a couple of sites to check out:

www.writedirection.com/fees.htm

and a link to a file that gets posted each year on Writer's Market (and updated) -- download the Hobo Laughing

F version. It's probably a bit on the low side for rates, but should give you an idea of what various lengths and bits of copy you write are worth in relation to others:

2007/10/how_much_should_i_charge.pdf
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ccpetersen · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:53 pm Post subject:

P.s. Writer's Market online is worth the price of admission!
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Moe Egan · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:21 am Post subject:

Thanks CC! It's a full service marketing/advertising/PR firm so I don't even know what the writing would be ...nice to know what different things go for.
thanks!
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

Deirdre · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:43 am Post subject:

I hate writing copy so much, I quote it at $100 per hour.

Sometimes, I get it.

Good lord.
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Edo · Guest

To boldly go where Geardre had gone before...

My late voicecoach always used to say to me:

"Even now there are businesses interested in hiring me for writing their advertising lyrics or doing other silly stuff. I hate that so much that I over-over-over-overquote them for rates up to five times what I or anyone else would charge as a voice. And they are still stupid enough to hire me for that outrageous amount of cash too! In my mind I always even made double the amount I overquoted for if they are stupid enough to NOT TAKE THE HINT AND BUZZ OFF... I deliberately spent only HALF of the requested time for their projects! They were happy just the same..."

I loved this master and his numerous life lessons... he was a dear friend of my father's and sort of taugh me everything before I reached the age of 10. I entered the broadcasting/advertising world at eleven because of his efforts. I was lucky enough to have him around for over 25 years. He passed away in early 1999 at the age of 80. This legendary newscaster did a stunning 54 years of legendary Dutch voice-overs between WWII and his time of departure. He even made the Guinness Book of Records as the longest sitting newscaster in film newsbulletin history. How cool is that...

Sorry to hit you with my fond memories... but that institute of a voice has been of invaluable importance to me. I owe him every single day of my VO-career, for he dug up that rough diamond and instantly knew the right way to go and cut it. Again... excuse me for going slightly off-topic.

The board mistress can now safely delete my profile Wink

ccpetersen · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:31 am Post subject:

Moe Egan · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:42 am Post subject:

ccpetersen · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:33 am Post subject:

Moe,

My first boss (at a fast-food joint) used to say, "IF there's time to lean, there's time to clean."

I've never forgotten that.

Wink

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