Discovery call questions a freelance writer should ask -

There are boring, generic, and obvious discovery call questions:

What are your content goals?
Have you worked with freelancers before?
What’s your content strategy?
What’s your target audience?
How many articles do you need?

And then there are questions that really matter in determining how much you should charge.

For instance, if a SaaS company is launching a new product feature expected to generate $100,000 in the first quarter, they’d easily see value in a $5,000 eBook that supports this launch. But you’ll only know this if you ask the right questions.

What questions to ask?

Here are questions that help understand content value:

“What’s the expected business impact of this content?”
“What revenue or growth could this content help unlock?”
“Are there any product launches or campaigns tied to this content?”
“Do you have historical data on how previous content affected business outcomes?”
“How does this content fit into your larger marketing initiatives?”
“What’s the market size you’re targeting with this content?”
“Beyond just traffic and leads, what other business outcomes are you hoping this content will influence?”
“How much do you currently spend acquiring customers through other channels?”
“What would success look like for this content in 6 months?”
“What specific business goals are you trying to achieve with your content in the next 6-12 months?”
“How does this content project align with your larger business objectives?”
“What kind of budget have you historically allocated for similar content projects?”
“What metrics will you use to determine if this content investment was successful?”
“What’s the ideal timeline for seeing results from this content investment?”

You don’t need to ask all of these questions. Pick ones that align with your pricing approach and the specific project.

Why Ask These Questions?

Two reasons:

They help you understand the true value of the content you’ll create, letting you price accordingly if you use value-based pricing.

They also help clients see content as an investment, not an expense. If they understand a $2,000 article can generate $50,000 in revenue, the price becomes trivial.