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Debby read the job requirements and wondered how much to charge per blog post.
You see, Debby started as a freelance writer a few weeks ago so she’s fairly new to the field.
Although she had general training on how to become a freelancer the thing about her specific skillset is that every writing project is different.
The freelance writing space is so broad because there are so many niches and tons of writing sub niches.
How can Debby figure this out on her own without undercharging or overcharging for her work?
Since you’re here, then you’re most likely…
If so, then you’ve come to the right place!
Freelance writers are in high demand. Every small business needs a copywriter at some point and many are willing to pay freelance writers top dollar to produce consistent content for their websites and blogs.
So how much should you charge per blog post? That all depends on your experience and the market rates in your area.
In this post, you’ll learn what factors go into determining how much to charge for freelance writing services, as well as some tips to help you get started.
If you’re just getting started as a freelance writer, you’re probably curious about how you can put your skills to use. The answer is blog post writing.
Most small businesses understand that blogs are necessary to improve their visibility and reach on the internet–and many take advantage of this SEO-boosting business tool.
Blogs help small businesses build trust with their audiences. The ability to share helpful, informative, and engaging content regularly shows their audience that they’re an expert in their industry. And when they trust you, they’re more likely to do business with you.
Blogs can also help small businesses drive traffic to their websites.
Every time a new blog post is published, they get the opportunity to optimise it for search engines and share it across all social media platforms.
This means more eyes on their websites–and more potential customers for their businesses.
(All statistics are sourced from OptInMonster.com)
Running a professional blog writing business requires some forethought.
There’s more to it than just firing up your computer and banging out a few posts for clients.
As a new writer it’s very important to produce good high-quality content.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what’s involved:
When it comes to a blog writing service, the first question you need to ask yourself is: what’s your niche? What are you going to write about? What do you have expertise in? Who is your target audience?
This is critical because if you’re going to be a professional blogger, you need to be able to provide value to your clients. Otherwise, they’ll just go find someone else who can.
Finding a niche that you can really sink your teeth into will help you perfect your craft and allow you to eventually raise your prices as an expert writer in a given topic area.
As a writer you can be asked to write white papers, press releases, social media posts, short posts (300 words), various web content, a guest post, a media kit, a corporate blog or even a sponsored blog post.
As a blog writer, one of the best things you can do for your career is to create a professional writing portfolio.
A writing portfolio highlights your skills and abilities as a writer, showcases your best work, demonstrates your range as a writer, and shows pride and commitment to your craft.
This can be especially important when trying to land new clients or jobs.
As a professional blog writer, you will be responsible for generating your own leads.
When it comes to blog copywriting, generating leads is essential for two reasons.
First, it helps you build a list of potential clients that you can contact in the future.
Second, it allows you to gauge interest in your writing and ensure that you’re creating content that people actually want to acquire.
You will need systems in place to manage clients. This means keeping track of deadlines, communication, and payments.
Fortunately, there are a number of project management tools like Asana or Trello that can help you keep track of deadlines and assignments.
Payment processing systems like PayPal, Wise, Square or Stripe can make it easy to send invoices and receive payments.
If your writing services include conducting keyword research then you will need to use research tools to help you.
I recommend using keyword research tools like Keywords Everywhere (a low-cost solution), RankIq (mid-range cost), Ahrefs or SEMRush (higher-cost solutions).
Anyone who tells you that writing is easy is either lying or a very fast typist. Copywriting is a critical skill, but it takes time to do it right.
Initially, you may not be aware of how much time it takes for you to write a post for a client from scratch.
Make sure you schedule enough time to write quality blog posts. I recommend scheduling four-hour blocks per client and scaling back as it takes you less time to write each post.
Give yourself enough time to revise and proofread your work before sending it off, and you’ll be rewarded with blog posts that reflect well on your business that brings in repeat clients.
Before you set up shop, you need to be able to calculate your cost and profit.
You will need to figure out how much you need to earn per hour in order to cover your costs and make a profit.
Costs include your time, as well as any associated costs, such as equipment, software, and skill-refining education.
Once you understand your costs, you can move on to developing your freelance writing rates.
| Resources | Monthly Price |
|---|---|
| Grammarly (3 x team members) | $45.00 |
| Writer.com (3 x team members) | $54.00 |
| RankIQ | $49.00 |
| Keywords Everywhere | $5.00 |
| Dubsado | $35.00 |
| FreshBooks | $25.00 |
| Social Media Marketing | $500.00 |
| Rent (25%) | $250.00 |
| Heating (10%) | $20.00 |
| Electricity (25%) | $20.00 |
| Broadband (100%) | $50.00 |
| Total Monthly Cost | $1,053.00 |
While you may not use all these tools and services in your business, I wanted to give you a realistic idea of your cost as a blog writer.
When you realise that running a freelance writing business can cost you money, you’ll get more comfortable about charging your worth.
Rate setting can be a little tricky for freelancers just starting out.
After all, how do you know what to charge for your services if you’ve never done this before?
Well, if you’re new to the blog post copywriting game, you might be tempted to lowball your rates in order to attract clients. However, this is a mistake.
Not only will you end up working for less than you’re worth, but you might also find yourself bogged down in low-paying work that doesn’t leave much room for growth.
So how do you set your rates? The best way is to start by considering your experience, skills, and the time it takes you to complete a project.
Once you have a good understanding of your own value, you can start setting your rates accordingly.
Here are three ways you can set your prices in your freelance copywriting business:
Charging by the hour means you get paid a flat rate for the time you invest in each article. This is great for articles that may take longer than anticipated, ensuring you get paid for the time spent.
However, it also means you will need to log your hours and submit an invoice for payment to clients after writing each article. This can be a downside and pose a risk since you are receiving payment after the work is completed.
(If you’re new to your craft and you’re proficient in English, $14/hr is a great place to start, but be sure to take into account your own specific skill set and costs when determining your rate.)
Charging per word is one the most common ways to set rates as a copywriter as there is a wide enough price range.
This method takes the pressure off of establishing solid prices for services. Instead, giving your clients a per word rate will keep things more fluid and allow you to make more money on more extensive and involving posts.
This means that a 500-word blog post will range from $10 (0.02/word) to $75 (0.15/word).
(Five cents per word is a standard introductory rate, but be sure to take into account your own specific skill set and costs when determining your rate.)
Charging per post is the most common way to set rates for a blog post copywriter. Considering most posts take 3.5 hours to complete, you can easily determine what you’re comfortable earning for the time invested.
Of course if it is a 300-word article and you are doing it as a test project $15 is a great way to start. Be sure it doesn’t take you longer than 30-45 minutes to write it.
($50 per post is a standard introductory rate, but be sure to take into account your own specific skill set and costs when determining your rate. The standard rate is closer to $75/post).
I cannot finish off this section without telling you a quick story. There’s a platform that hires writers to create a piece of content for interior design website.
Think of a website like IKEA that requires a description for each and every product in their portfolio.
As far as I am aware, I’m still one of their writers but I have to tell you that they pay $5 and sometimes less per piece of content!!
Please promise me that you’ll set a minimum word count in your pricing structure because spending 5 hours to earn less than $50 isn’t a good way to earn a living as a writer.
If you want to scale up your career as a blog post writer and start hitting six-figure years, then you’ll create a system that allows you to process more clients in a shorter amount of time.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to scale your copywriting business and reach six-figure years:
If you’re looking to scale your blog post copywriting business, niching down is the way to go.
Finding a niche that is in high demand for content creation will ensure a never-ending sea of clients coming your way.
Not to mention, niching down will make you an expert in your field – something that will only benefit your business in the long run.
People want the best of the best in their respective industries and by getting specific about who it is that you produce content for, you’ll find that you get to work with top-quality clients that are perfect for you.
In order to scale your blog post copywriting business, you’ll need to hire a team to produce more content each month.
This will allow you to take on more clients and generate more revenue.
There are three different ways you can go about this.
Pros: Hiring in-house writers gives you more control over quality and deadlines. You can also create a company culture and team dynamic that works for your business.
Cons: In-house writers can be expensive to hire and train, and you may need to provide them with benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation days.
Additionally, your in-house team may be less flexible than freelancers when it comes to meeting last-minute deadlines or responding to changes in project scope.
Pros: Partnering up with other freelance writers allows you to offer a wider range of services, as well as pooling resources so you can take on bigger projects.
Cons: You’ll need to be careful about how you divide up the workload and make sure that each partner is happy with the arrangement. You’ll also need to communicate effectively in order to avoid any misunderstandings.
Pros: Agencies typically have more resources, which means they can scale up your operation much faster than you could on your own. They also usually have more experience and can provide valuable insights into how to run a successful copywriting business.
Cons: Working with an agency can be more expensive, and you may not always have control over the final product. You also have to be careful to find a reputable agency that will deliver quality work.
Let’s face it, blog copywriting is not a one-man show. At some point, you’re going to have to delegate tasks to other people if you want to scale your business.
But how do you do that without sacrificing quality or losing control of your clients’ brand voice?
The answer is simple: create systems that can be followed by every team member.
That means having a clear and concise style guide that covers everything from tone and voice to grammar and punctuation.
It also means establishing clear processes for each stage of the copywriting process, from initial brainstorming to final review.
By taking the time to create systems that can be followed by everyone on your team, you’ll be able to scale your business without sacrificing quality or losing control of your clients’ brand voice.
You need a system in place that will generate leads for you. And luckily, with a little bit of effort, that’s something you can easily create.
To start with, take a look at your data and metrics to see how you’re currently bringing in new clients. What’s working well? What’s not so much?
Once you’ve identified your top performing channels, it’s time to start thinking about how to scale them.
One way to do this is by automated lead generation.
This could involve setting up an email autoresponder sequence or creating a series of targeted ads that lead potential customers to a landing page where they can sign up for your services.
Whatever route you decide to go down, the important thing is that you’re putting in the effort to make things easier for yourself in the long run.
After all, there’s nothing worse than missing out on a great opportunity because you were too busy chasing down leads manually.
As any new freelancer knows, the world of online work can be a little daunting at first.
There are so many systems, software and tools out there, and it can be hard to know which ones you need to excel in your field.
When it comes to freelance writing, however, the situation is a little different.
Just about the only tool you need to get started is a computer and an internet connection – everything else can be learned along the way.
The important thing is to apply yourself and produce high-quality work.
If you can do that, then eventually you’ll be able to scale your blog post copywriting business to new heights.
Who knows, maybe one day you’ll even be able to give up your day job entirely! Which means that becoming a freelance blogger could be a full-time job.
By now, you, and Debby, should have a clearer idea of how much to charge per blog post.
Yes, it takes more than sticking your finger in the air or even playing the “eeny, meeny, miny, moe” game.
In fact, coming up with a rate is quite strategic as it affects your writing business in the long run.
When it comes to finding your first set of clients you’ll have to do some manual outreach.
A great place to find potential clients is social media platforms.
I created a resource on how to find clients on Instagram here to make it easier for you.
Now, over to you what has been your experience when it comes to deciding on a rate to charge per blog post?
Have you subscribed to the Success Unscrambled podcast yet?
If yes, then what about leaving a review? Leaving a positive review will help me to understand what’s working as well as how I can produce more value for you as a listener.
I have to admit when I started as a freelancer a few years ago, deciding on my hourly rate was hard.
The number one secret to charging what you are worth is confidence and delivering amazing value for money to your clients.
I started this blog in 2017 because I had a burden on my heart to reduce women’s illiteracy globally.
Because this is a huge undertaking I have decided to help 1,000 women over the next 10 years to become wildly successful in their online business through simplified marketing strategies.
That way we can build a strong business network of women who can donate 1% of their profit and together we can help reduce women’s illiteracy worldwide.
Would you like to be part of this movement? Shoot me an email using alvern (at) successunscrambled (dot) com.
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