#freelance-talk
Thread
Hi all! Iām expanding into content writing and applying for a freelance role writing blog posts. They will provide brief, outline, keywords, etc. What is good per-word rate for this kind of work? What is considered fair?
I realize this is a little vague, but just looking for ballpark ideas here. Thanks!
Totally depends on experience level, niche, and the type of client. I'm guessing you're pretty new to this based on your description.
I'd say $0.05 per word would be like a bare minimum to ever consider. $0.10 is reasonably fair IMO for good writers with limited/moderate experience levels. $0.15-$0.20 is adequate for experienced writers, and companies paying in this range will have a lot of applicants. $0.25-$0.40+ is mostly for very experienced writers with clear topical authority.
You'll see people occasionally saying they get $0.50-$1 per word. This is certainly possible for thought leadership type stuff (as well as some editorial content) with direct clients, but it's pretty rare.
Hope that's helpful!
Depending on your experience, anywhere from $0.15 to $0.40/word.
Personally, I would consider no less than $0.30/word fair when writing for B2B ā even post-brief, outline, keywords, etc. When I was freelancing full-time a couple years ago, I worked with B2B agencies who paid me $0.30-0.50/word for SEO blogs. They provided me the brief with keywords and brand guidelines, and sometimes even an outline. All I had to do was write and follow up with edits. I know many freelancers who command more than that working with direct brands ā also writing B2B SEO blogs.
I'd say anywhere in the $0.20-$0.30/word space would be "good" for a new writer or if you're just starting to freelance, but it's so completely subjective that it's almost impossible for one person to help out here. Hopefully you get a ton of replies and can find an average from them all.
I'll just add though that I don't think it's necessarily rare that you can achieve $0.50+ per word. And it doesn't have to just be thought leadership content.
I've written plenty of SEO-focused blog content in various niches at this rate and higher. Not at the start, and not through agencies, but it isn't as rare as you might think.
You just need to find the kind of clients that understand the value of content and are happy to pay for experts. So, yeah. Don't feel like the future's limited or that you have to go in a specific direction in order to achieve higher rates. š