
Someone getting paid a small amount per piece has an incentive to get it done fast. Writers that can prove their work contributes to results will charge accordingly. Whether that’s landing pages that drove sales, blog posts that reached the top spot on Google, or emails that get impressive open rates. But writers that charge on the high end of the range can usually also reveal evidence of results they’ve helped clients achieve. When you hear “experience,” you probably think first about time-the years spent doing something. And you’re less likely to receive content from them that reveals a misunderstanding of what your business does and who you’re talking to. When a business hires a specialist in the field, you don’t have to worry about training them in the basics.

When a writer dives deep into learning a specific industry and audience, especially one that’s complicated like B2B (business-to-business) technology or health care, they become more valuable to clients in that space. The same thing goes for industry experience. And they gain successful examples of that specific type of work, which makes them a more attractive choice for clients needing that type of writing. When someone spends years on a specific type of writing, they tend to get pretty good at it. Others build up specific experience in email marketing, website copywriting, or landing pages, to name a few examples. In my case, I focus on content marketing writing, specifically blog posts and longform content marketing assets like guides and ebooks. Many freelance writers specialize in a specific type of work. The people charging $30 an hour or $.20 a word now will gain the experience they need to-little by little-join the ranks of the writers on the higher end of the range. That’s where you get the super low rates, but what about the rates on the low end of the fair range? That’s from people still working to grow their skills, gain writing samples that prove their abilities, and build up awareness of their freelance business.

Cost per word writer professional#
Someone who recently finished school will have a limited knowledge of professional norms in general, including around rates. And that’s especially a risk for those new to the professional world. On day one of launching a freelance business, a lot of writers vastly undercharge. And those job ads with low rates I mentioned earlier cause a lot of confusion. Many new freelancers don’t have a good grasp on what’s normal for freelance writers to charge. A number of different types of experience come into play here: But it’s more complicated than more experience = higher rates. This is the biggest reason behind the differences in pricing between freelance writers. How is that fair and reasonable? How do you decide which end of that range you should be on, whether hiring a writer or working as one?īased on Ashley’s report combined with my nine years of anecdotal experience, four main factors play a role here: 1.

Some freelance writers are charging more than five times as much as others. The Reasons for the DisparityĮven after winnowing out rates so low as to not be reasonable, the range I provided is still vast. But recent data compiled by Ashley Cummings can give you an idea at a glimpse.
