Rates - Sandstorm Media

How much will it cost?

Critical marketing documents – white papers, case studies, contributed content – aren’t cheap. Realistically, you’ll spend anywhere from $1,500 for a simple case study to $3,000 for a short white paper to $5,000+ for an in-depth white paper.

If it sounds like a lot, you’re probably not ready for high-value copy.

Many bootstrap companies simply can’t afford the cost to outsource their writing needs. There’s no shame in that. Come back when you’ve freed up some budget and are ready to push through to the next level – and check out our reports and our upcoming e-zine/blog for free help along the way.

If you have a senior-level executive who fancies him/herself a writer, chances are they turn out passable copy. Even more likely is that they don’t know the ins-and-out of high-quality, engaging copy. Even more certain is that your organization would be better served if they were concentrating their efforts elsewhere – on the business development and organizational management challenges that they were hired for.

If overall costs and ROI are tallied at the end of an in-house content project written by non-writers, most organizations find they don’t save any money – and often end up wasting money – by keeping their content creation in house.

Other companies will bargain hunt for a low-cost copywriter. Cheap copywriters are out there – lots of them. If that’s all you can afford, you have to do what you have to do. Again, no shame in that. We all had to start somewhere.

The problem is quality. Bargain copywriters are a bargain for a reason. You get what you pay for and it’ll take a lot of your own work to make their flabby copy pay off.

The bottom line: selling your story is a must

When you work with Sandstorm Media, our head writer and founder, Jeff Vance, will see your project through from start to finish. Having published stories in top technology publications, such as CIO, Network World, Datamation and CSO, Vance knows how to craft compelling stories that capture a reader’s attention. His articles are consistently ranked at the top of the most-read, most-emailed lists for the publications he writes for.

Vance has also written hundreds of marketing documents for such companies as GeoTrust/Verisign, Airespace/Cisco, eEye Digital Security, Code Green Networks, iPolicy and many others.

The bottom line is that if your content doesn’t engage your prospects and establish a strong relationship, it’s a failure.

Pricing and process

Without knowing what your goals are, what your existing messaging and branding looks like and how dedicated you are when it comes to achieving a successful campaign, it’s impossible to quote exact rates.

For a typical, short, straight-forward white paper (~5 pages) our rate is in the $2,600-$3,000 range. For long-copy white papers (8-12 pages) that address highly complex technologies and sales scenarios, we typically charge $4,000-$6,000.

Thought-leadership articles, short case studies and blog posts are less. In-depth campaigns involving gated content and list building are more.

Before starting a new project, we will send you an exact project quote before typing in the first word. So long as the project doesn’t change mid-course, we stick to the quote. The price on the quote is the price you pay.