#freelance-talk

Thread

Tammy Danan January 03, 2025 at 04:05 AM

Happy New Year, folks!!

First freelance Q of the year: I have a client who wants to upgrade old posts by interviewing people who can add more insight into already published posts and I’ll weave some of the interview quotes into the article.

How much is the typical rate for this kind job? Basically, I’ll look for the right people to interview, contact them, do the interview (which can be quick and via email, can also be via call) then weave the interview/blurbs into the article.

We’re looking at 15 articles that I’ll update. I just don’t know how much to charge…

Thanks so much!

Patrick Icasas January 03, 2025 at 08:26 AM

Given that you're interviewing people in addition to writing/editing the articles, an hourly rate would make sense. Especially since the actual time you spend interviewing people will vary based on the interviewee's availability and preference (whether email or video chat)

As for the actual rate, you'll have to determine that based on how much the client is already paying you. Are they paying per project or something else?

Tammy Danan January 03, 2025 at 10:35 AM

@Patrick Icasas They’re paying me $350 per article now. That’s 1.5-2k words. Yeah, hourly makes more sense too… Gotta figure out the hourly rate as I’ve never charged that ever haha

Joanna Kaminska January 03, 2025 at 07:58 PM

I wouldn't go with hourly rate or else you'd like to lock yourself in a specific setup. Instead I'd calculate how much it would take me + my desired h rate but then I'd offer a fixed project price with some kind of buffer in case some projects take longer

Linsey Knerl January 04, 2025 at 01:24 AM

I agree with @Joanna Kaminska. And are you interviewing people provided by the client? Or do you have to go out and source from your network, Quoted, or social media? If you’re doing all the sourcing I would charge more than if they bring you the subjects and you just have to coordinate schedules and to the interviews. Your talent network and time finding people is worth something. Good luck!

Anna Burgess Yang January 06, 2025 at 04:02 PM

I'd go with an hourly rate for the interview portion, and then the writing part as a proportion of the article rate. So if you're earning $350/article and you think the quotes would add an additional 20% to the article, then add $70. So let's say you charge something like $50/hr for the interview and it's a 30-minute call (so $25), plus $70 for the writing - so charge $95 per article.