Copywriting proposal template

What's in the template.

Every section below exists to answer a question your client is silently asking. Use the example copy as a starting point and replace the specifics.

1. 1

   What's wrong with the current copy

   Open with two or three specific observations about their existing words. Specificity proves you did the reading and separates you from anyone sending a generic pitch.

   “Your homepage headline — 'Innovative solutions for modern business' — could describe any of your eleven competitors; I checked, and four of them say something nearly identical. Your pricing page leads with features before it says who the product is for, so a visitor has to work out whether it's meant for them. And the case study everyone links to buries the result in the last paragraph.”

2. 2

   Who we're writing to

   State the audience and the single action you want them to take. If the client disagrees here, you've saved yourself the whole project.

   “Primary reader: an operations manager at a 50–200 person manufacturer who has been told to cut waste and doesn't yet know software is the answer. One action: book a 20-minute walkthrough. Everything on the page serves that one click; anything that doesn't earn its place comes out.”

3. 3

   Deliverables, by page and word count

   Name every asset with its scope. Word counts turn an abstract purchase into something the client can see the size of — and stop the quiet addition of 'one more page'.

   “Homepage (approx. 600 words), product page (approx. 800), pricing page (approx. 400), three case studies (approx. 600 each), and a five-email onboarding sequence (approx. 200 each). Delivered in a shared doc with headline alternatives for the homepage and section-level notes explaining the reasoning.”

4. 4

   Research and process

   Show the work behind the words — this is what justifies your rate versus a cheap writer, so don't leave it invisible.

   “Week 1: three 30-minute calls with your sales team, a read of your last 20 closed-won and closed-lost notes, and a review of the five competitors your buyers actually mention. Week 2: message hierarchy for your approval before any page is written — we agree on the argument before we agree on the sentences. Weeks 3–4: drafting. Week 5: revisions.”

5. 5

   Revisions — stated as a number

   The section that protects your margin. Two rounds, consolidated feedback, and a named price for anything beyond.

   “Two revision rounds per asset, with feedback consolidated into one document per round from a single named reviewer. Further rounds, or a change of direction after the message hierarchy is approved, are billed at $150/hour with an estimate agreed first. Line-level preference edits — 'utilise' for 'use' — are yours to make freely in the doc.”

6. 6

   Investment

   Price the project, and offer a smaller option so a hesitant client has somewhere to say yes.

   “Full website copy and email sequence: $7,400, split 50% on signature and 50% on delivery. Smaller option: homepage and product page only, $2,600. Ongoing: two case studies a month at $1,100/month, three-month minimum.”

7. 7

   Next step + signature

   Make the first step small and immediate so signing feels like starting rather than committing.

   “Sign below and I'll send the three calendar invites for the sales calls and a two-question brief — the first draft of the message hierarchy is with you nine days later.”