If you’re as confused as ever about how much to charge for web content writing, don’t worry, because you’re definitely not the only one.
I’ve been doing this for almost a decade and I still find it confusing sometimes.
It’s extra confusing as a beginner, but you may not be fully aware why.
Let’s discuss some of the biggest contributors to this confusion.
There are tons of low-value writers on freelance marketplaces.
Freelancer marketplaces like Upwork and Elance are where the cheapest writers thrive.
Many of these writers can set their rates extremely low because they live in parts of the world where the cost of living is quite low (and as expected, many don’t speak English as their first language).
Makes sense, right?
I mean, if you can crank out loads of mediocre articles for $10 to $15, have no problem getting clients for that kind of work, and be able to afford all your lifestyle amenities, then why not take advantage of it?
A lot of beginner freelance writers turn to these platforms, see how low the competition has set their rates, and then assume that they should follow suit by doing the same so they have a shot at getting hired.
But if you live in a wealthier part of the world like the US, Canada, the UK, or Australia where the cost of living is a lot higher, then running your freelancing business and competing against all the cheap writers on those platforms just isn’t sustainable over the long run.
Freelance marketplaces can be useful for getting some initial experience if you’re a total newbie, but beyond that, they’re not going to help you make a living from your writing.
There’s no market rate for written content.
Some writers charge as little as $0.2 to $0.5 a word.
Elite writers can get paid between $1 to $3 to word (or alternatively just a nice flat fee that translates to around that amount).
In other words, there’s an enormous range between the cheapest writer rates and the most expensive writer rates.
Most writers who take their businesses seriously typically assume they should set their rate somewhere in the middle—maybe somewhere between $0.10 and $0.50 a word — but even that’s considered a significant range.
After all, there’s a big difference between charging $50 versus $250 per 500-word article.
Charge lower and you might have an easier time getting gigs, but you might not get the client of your dreams and you’ll probably end up working more.
Charge higher and you might maximize your hourly rate, however there’s always a risk of scaring away clients who aren’t convinced that it’s worth paying that much for content.
There are lots of factors that can influence your rate.
Every writing project different.
This is one of the main reasons why the most experienced writers don’t publish their rates on their writer websites.
The more details they can get about the project and the client, the more they can tailor their pricing and maximize their hourly rate.
Here are some of the most obvious contributing factors that can drastically influence how to set your web content writing rate:
- The niche you’re writing for (including industry, content format, and client type)
- The length and scope of the project
- Your current level of knowledge/experience
- Your current online reputation (including portfolio samples)
- Any credentials you may have
- How fast you can type/write/work
- How much research you have to do
- Add-on work like outline creation, interviewing, image sourcing, formatting, publishing, social media
- Revisions (editing and proofreading)
- How much time you intend spending writing versus doing everything else (marketing, administrative tasks, etc.)
And the list goes on.
There’s a lot that goes into a writing project.
Luckily, as you gain more experience, you learn how to price your projects more effectively.
You’re confusing it with a real job.
Now I want to really hone in on that last bullet point mentioned above.
How much time you intend to spending writing vs doing everything else has a very important impact on your rates.
A lot of new freelancers mistakenly charge with the idea in mind that their hourly rate should be right on par with a typical job.
While someone with a regular job might be thrilled to be paid $30 for an hour, it’s not the same for freelancers.
Freelancers have to charge more to account for all the time they’re working, but not actually writing.
For instance, let’s say that you agree to write a 500-word article for $50 and you finish it in an hour.
Now let’s say that you spend another five hours of your day pitching, answering emails, having a Skype meeting, reaching out to new connections on LinkedIn, and updating your portfolio.
You didn’t make $50 an hour for a whole day of work—you made $50 for one hour and nothing else for the rest of the day.
If you were an employee with a real job, you’d be paid $50 an hour for those five extra hours of work, but you’re not—you’re a freelancer.
It’s normal to have an imbalance in the beginning when you’re just starting out, but as you build your business and become more experienced, you should be working toward setting your rates so that they cover all the business-related tasks that you inevitably must do.
