How long is a piece of string? The price for a piece of content depends on size, timing, subject, tone, language and quality.

Size is easy – the more you need, the cheaper it will be. Most copywriters will have a minimum rate, and here at Lunad, that’s 1000 dirhams (just under US $300). That will get you around 200 words, provided other factors (as mentioned above) are pretty standard.

Timing is also fairly easy to get your head around. If we are given work with a reasonable lead time (e.g. 4 days for 400 words), then we stick to the basic rate. If you want to squeeze something in at the last moment and we have to pay overtime to get it done, we are going to charge you a surcharge of 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate.

Subjects for content range with whatever someone has to sell. Here at Lunad, we specialise in food, travel and leisure. If you want us to talk about astrophysics or medieval literature however, that’s going to take more research. That means you will also be charged an hourly rate for us to get our geek on, unless you provide us with all the background information necessary to complete the piece.

Tone refers to the personality of the writing. This piece is simple and casual, and that kind of writing is inexpensive, as is a simple formal tone. If you want something philosophical, legal or Shakespearian, then we might have to source another writer.

At Lunad, we offer content in many languages. English is our first, and the least expensive. We also have an in-house Arabic team, and so this is the next up the pricing ladder. We can source creative content in many other languages, but use contractors for many, and to this will push the price up further.

Quality is the greatest factor in setting the price for copy. As with many arts, writing quality can be seen as subjective, but copywriting is both more and less than prose. Experience, wit, marketing nous, niche skill and current knowledge all come into play, and that’s what you pay for. Prices for copy can go as low as AED 1 or 2 per word, but we would warn against putting all your eggs in a cheap basket, just in case you end up with it splitting at the seams in front of a wide audience.

If you need a little more information on our pricing here at Lunad, for both content copywriting and proofreading (which we will post about later), then please email us