The short answer
- You mostly pay for thinking, not for words. Research into your customer, your market and your offer decides whether a text sells.
- The biggest price factors: depth of research, complexity and price of your offer, length, the number of variants and hooks, and how much testing and updating is included.
- Making the video is usually separate. A VSL script and producing the video are two different things.
- There's no public pricing standard for VSLs or sales pages. So don't just compare amounts; compare what is and isn't included.
Why prices vary so widely
A sales page for a few hundred and one for several thousand can be the same length. The difference is in what comes before. A cheap text is often written from a brief. A more expensive one is built on research: who buys, why, with what doubts and in what words. That research decides whether the text sounds like your customer, or like an ad.
On top of that, a VSL or sales page is often the most important sales asset in a funnel. A text that converts slightly better can earn far more over a year than the difference in price. That's why experienced writers usually charge per project or based on value, not per word.
The factors that set the price
1. Research
Customer conversations, analysing reviews, questions and objections, looking at competitors, choosing the right angle. This is the work that makes the difference, and it takes the most time.
2. Complexity and price of your offer
A simple product costing a few dozen needs a different approach from a programme costing a few thousand or a business service. The bigger the decision for your buyer, the more trust, explanation and proof the text needs.
3. Length and format
A short VSL for cold traffic is different from a long VSL for a high-ticket offer, and a short landing page different from a full sales page. Not sure which format fits? Read our article on VSL vs sales page vs webinar.
4. Variants and hooks
Do you get one version, or several openings and headlines to test? More variants cost more, but make it possible to learn what works.
5. Revisions and what happens after the first version
How many feedback rounds are included? And more importantly: is the text improved after launch based on the numbers, or does it stop at delivery?
6. What comes with it
Cutdowns for ads, emails that lead to the page, production notes for the video, or advice on page structure: all things that may or may not be included in a price.
Common pricing models
- Hourly: transparent, but you don't know the exact total upfront.
- Per project: a fixed price for an agreed result. Clear for both sides, as long as what's included is well defined.
- Ongoing (retainer): a fixed monthly fee for new variants, hooks and improvements. Suits brands that test continuously.
- With a performance component: part of the fee depends on results. Can make sense, but only if measurement is reliable and both sides trust the same numbers.
What to look for in a quote
- Is research included? If not, someone is writing on assumptions.
- Is it clear what you get? Number of versions, number of revisions, what is and isn't included, and the timeline.
- Is it measured and improved? A text that's never touched again after launch is probably leaving money on the table.
- Be wary of conversion guarantees. Nobody can promise a conversion rate: it also depends on your offer, traffic, price and page.
- Pricing per word is a red flag for sales copy. It rewards long texts, not texts that sell.
A typical example (for illustration)
A composite example, not a specific client case.
A business owner compares two quotes for a sales page. The cheap one promises "a persuasive text within a week". The more expensive one includes customer interviews, three headlines to test, two revision rounds and an improvement round a month after launch. On paper there's a big difference. In practice, the second pays for itself if it converts even slightly better, and after a month the owner knows which headline works.
How we do it
At SASDAMX we work with a fixed project price or an ongoing engagement, with what you get agreed in writing upfront: research, variants, revisions and how we measure. No surprises afterwards. We work with a limited number of clients; through the waitlist you hear first when a spot opens.