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$80,000/yr
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40 hrs
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$80/mo
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Typical project work, moderate complexity.

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Your Rate

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Day Rate

$450

Project Est.

$2,200

Retainer

$8,350/mo

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Specialization

How Much Should You Charge for Short-Form Copywriting?

Short-form copy — ads, taglines, social posts, subject lines, CTAs — typically runs $50–$500 per deliverable. Ad copy packages and batch projects are usually priced at $300–$2,000 depending on quantity and complexity.

Floor

$50

per hour

Typical

$300

per hour

Premium

$1,000

per hour

Price Drivers

What changes the price

  • Type of short-form asset (ad, tagline, subject line, bio)
  • Number of variations requested
  • Strategic thinking required vs. execution only
  • Platform-specific knowledge needed
  • Testing framework included
  • Urgency and turnaround time
Worked Examples

Real quote breakdowns

Facebook Ad Copy Set

A DTC brand needing 10 Facebook ad copy variations (headline + primary text) for a product launch.

$800

Breakdown

10 ad variations with strategic angle diversity, 2 headline options per variation, testing rationale document.

Tagline Development

A startup needing a company tagline with 10 options and a recommended direction with rationale.

$750

Breakdown

Discovery call, brand positioning review, 10 tagline options organized by angle, 1-page rationale and recommendation.

Email Subject Line Testing Package

An e-commerce brand needing 50 subject line options for A/B testing their monthly promotional emails.

$500

Breakdown

50 subject lines across 10 strategic angles, preview text pairs, organized in a testing spreadsheet with angle notes.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do I avoid short-form copy projects becoming time sinks?

Set minimum project fees ($200–$300) and define deliverables precisely. Tagline projects are notoriously scope-creepy — cap the number of concepts, define revision rounds, and charge for strategy separately if needed.

Should ad copywriters charge per ad or per campaign?

Per-campaign or per-batch pricing is cleaner. A 'starter pack' of 10 ad variations with a defined scope and a single revision round prevents the endless tweaking that hourly billing tends to enable.

Is short-form copy worth specializing in?

High-performing ad copy and email subject lines have measurable, direct impact on revenue. Conversion-focused short-form copy specialists who can show performance data can charge premium rates despite the brevity of the deliverables.

What's a fair rate for UX microcopy (buttons, tooltips, error messages)?

UX microcopy is undervalued but high-impact. Rates range from $500 for a small audit and rewrite to $3,000+ for a full product copy audit. Position it as UX investment, not copywriting, to justify the fee.

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