A delicate question that needs a lot of thinking before one can answer it. I feel the speed depends on various factors. How long is a piece of string? What's the product, what's the price point, how competitive is the industry, how effective are the competitors at selling their product, what are the unique selling points of the product, are these reflected in the site, does the product have clearly defined and understandable features and benefits, is the benefit tangible, are the audience likely to be in the early or late stages of the buying cycle?

Writing for products is an other major challenge. Depends on how much information I have on the product. If I know the product by heart I could write a good sales letter in 15 minutes. If I don't know anything about the product at all, nothing of its use, purpose, USP, brand etc. I could not write it in two years.
If all of the stars were in alignment, and the wind blowing in the right direction and the tides out, it could be done in 30 minutes, if the stars aren't in alignment etc, it could take a weeks work to get the right text. I write copy all the time and the time it takes to complete really varies. Some days I am right on the mark and can crank out awesome sales copy in a couple of hours. Other days I have major writer's block and couldn't do it in 2 days.

Labels: copywriting