Pricing Factors

Factors that determine pricing of buzz4biz marketing and communication services

If you haven’t outsourced this kind of work before, you may be thinking, I can’t afford this. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised when you receive an estimate from us.

Are your in-house resources stretched to the limit?

When you need an article written, a success story told, a media prepared you have to decide who is going to do it? Do you have time? Is your staff skilled in this way? How much does it cost you to have your staff spend their valuable time on this type of work? It makes sense for you to put the skills and training of your staff to work on jobs they are good at. You are not going to ask an equipment assembly worker from the shop floor to manage your HR department. Similarly you need to seek a trained writer and business-to-business communications specialist to provide you with the best marketing material possible. Spend your resources wisely.

Art or science of estimating

Preparing an estimate for our services is more of an art than a science. Let’s discuss some of the factors that you have control over.

Information gathering

We do need some information so we ask lots of questions. Be prepared.

Will there be a concept or brainstorming session?
Will it be face to face or on the phone?If we can do it on the phone, you eliminate travel time in your estimate. We often defer the travel time for a first meeting, just so we can meet face to face.
How much up front material and information, can you provide? The value lies in the amount of research required to flush out the story. We will do research in any case, but when you can provide us with a few pieces of the puzzle you can save hours of billing time.
How accessible are your subject matter sources?
Will we have to play telephone tag with your subject matter experts or will they commit time for scheduled interviews?
Will the information be collected from phone interviews or from in-person interviews.
What other material is available to fill in the background?

A picture has value – a thousand words, maybe

Is there photography required? You increase your chances of getting the story picked up if you have a great photos. We can arrange for photography through our network of skilled professionals.

Revisons – a horse, a camel or a donkey?

How many revisions do you want to make? Our estimates include two rounds of revisions from one set of eyes. If several approval levels are required, it usually means more revisions and a higher cost for you. We recommend that you delegate one person to have the final approval. When a committee has approval power, you get a wide variety of revisions that will likely distort the message. You may get a camel or a donkey when you really wanted a horse!

Deadlines – yesterday, today or next Monday?

When do you need the job completed?

We make every effort to accommodate reasonable deadlines but rush jobs are charged at a premium rate. Let us know what your timeframe is.

Sometimes a client asks for a project to be on their desk by Friday afternoon. I ask them what they are going to do with the piece on the weekend? What difference would it make if you received it on Monday by noon? If Monday is acceptable it gives buzz4biz extra time to fine tune the project over the weekend and to juggle other projects in between. (We don’t make a practice of working on the weekend, but it does happen.)

Going for the long haul

Is this a one-time effort? Can we build on this foundation of information for future projects, white papers, etc?

We provide preferred rates for customers with whom we have a long standing relationship where we can draw on our library of previous collateral material and experience.

All projects are priced individually and based on an hourly rate. Extra rush jobs can be accommodated at a price premium.

We ask for a 50% deposit on all work before we commence. Deposits can be made on line using Paypal.

Timing

The best time to evaluate a writer is before the need appears — not when the panic of a project deadline takes hold. You want to feel you can collaborate with a writer and provide background information. When a project comes up, you know who to call. You’ll like having a published writer and talented editor as a resource – someone you can rely on.

Whether you have an immediate project, a future need, or are just curious, get in touch.

Call to set up a free one hour consultation.

There’s no obligation.

Let’s talk about how we can work together.