Writing for one customer...for a national supplier

I'd just like to run something past you on this forum as I'm not sure in which direction to go..

I have been asked to write a promotional verse for a lady who does party plan for a well known national chain.

If I write a verse for this company - which in effect is what I have been asked to do, albeit for one person to use - if another person from the same party plan requests my help too,  I obviously can't use the same verse.

Am I shooting myself in the foot by writing this for one person?  I'm wondering whether I should charge my customer a reduced nominal rate with the proviso that if anyone else wishes to use it in her company then they can also pay the same nominal rate to use it too...

Any ideas anyone..?   Your input would be much appreciated...

cheers

Jan

This is a tricky one.  I don't think I would reduce the cost on the first version, it would certainly be difficult to control. Could you do a pricing structure similar to a software license models ie

1 user

2 - 5 users

6 - 15 users

where the cost divided per user reduces as the numbers increased.  Then perhaps your client would be willing to push the idea forward to other users but meanwhile your not taking the hit if it is not rolled out?

Not sure, good luck with this.

Jan,

you have another danger that she may pass it onto another franchisee and not tell you. (and you don't get the commission on the second sale).

I would make sure you have some information in the verse pertinent to your client only e.g name/phone number/town. That way if they do pass on an unauthorised copy they have to change it.

It also means yuo have some fee based work (lower price), if a second franchisee wants you to produce another.

It's a bit like photography, surely, or any other artistic copyright. That person should either pay a large sum for exclusive rights, or pay less with the knowledge someone else can pay to use it in the same way. Like Graham says though, monitoring this is sometimes really difficult... I'd give her the two options and if she goes for option 2, make sure you give her strict copyright rules and try to track it.

A difficult topic for all creatives Jan, good luck with it. Hopefully someone in these forums has had experience with this exact problem and can give you stronger advice that I can!

You could incentivise your client to a) recommend it to fellow party planners and b) ensure they pay for usage by giving her some sort of referral commission on additional sales.

Now there's a bloody good idea!

Why can't you just write a new verse for the second party planner?  Isn't that what they would want?

Some fantasic replies on here...with some great suggestions which have really given me food for thought.

David, that's a good question.  Usually, yes, each verse for each client is very different, even with the 4 I have written for various  Virtual Assistants.  Despite the range of services they offer being quit similar each verse is very different because I work to people's personalities which are of course very individual.

With this latest commission, I'm writing about the company, the benefits it offers and the way it works etc.  This lady wants me to help her 'recuit' people, so it's all about the benefits of this particular company.... and very fact based...something that the company itself could use....

Thanks again, I really appreciate your help

Jan

Sounds to me like you've come across an astute member of that business... she might have found you and set the ball rolling, but you should try going higher to see if your services are something they can use across the board; you'll earn more for it and you won't have to worry about intellectual copyright being breached by other members. Maybe the lady who contacted you can get a reward for finding you, so everyone's a winner :) Good luck!