The Professional Copywriters’ Network has just released its second annual survey of copywriters. The 2017 survey was completed by 538 copywriters, whose average age was 41.
Some findings of the PCN’s 2017 survey of copywriters
- Average day rate for copywriting: £339 (£392 in London)
- Average annual earnings for freelance copywriters: £36,012
- Most used pricing model: flat project fees (72% of respondents)
- Least used pricing model: per-word fees (7% of respondents)
- Gender pay gap in copywriting: women were paid 29% less than men
Copywriting pricing models
The 2017 survey showed that per-word pricing was again the least popular pricing model for copywriters. I’ve argued for some time that per-word pricing turns words into commodities – but words are NOT commodities.
Copywriters’ preferences for charging models were split between flat project fees and daily or hourly charges:
- 58% preferred a flat project fee
- 41% preferred a daily or hourly rate
- 1% preferred a per-word rate
Only 1% of copywriters prefer per-word rates.Tweet this
The gender pay gap in copywriting
When it comes to average full-time copywriting earnings, men are still being paid significantly more than women: in 2017, the gender pay gap was 29%.
When looking only at freelance copywriters’ earnings, the gender pay gap was 28%:
View and download the survey
Thanks to the Professional Copywriters’ Network for putting together such a well-presented survey. You can view and download the full report here:
Over to you
What do you make of the results? Were there any big surprises? Do you think copywriters are overpaid?
