How does blogger pricing work?
A professionally written blog is one way for individuals, businesses and other organizations to reach a target audience. "Blogs need to be smart, engaging and informative," says Lisa Cerasoli of 529 Editorial & Book Design Services in Marquette, Michigan, because return readership to a site is the whole point. Blog writers can be engaged on an as-needed basis, but some businesses develop relationships with writers to support their ongoing writing needs. Professional bloggers can develop a blog from the ground up, handling the design and concept as well as the writing.
Bloggers charge by the word, post or hour for blog writing. For concept and design work to create a blog from scratch—as opposed to contributing blog posts to an existing blog—bloggers charge either a set rate or an hourly rate. Rates can vary depending on experience, the level of expertise required for the writing, whether there are rush requests and other factors.
Every industry and market benefits from having a blog—healthcare, information technology, education, financial services, government and public services, manufacturing, human resources, nonprofit, fashion and beauty, and much more. Several factors affect the cost of hiring a professional blog writer.
Hourly rate
Some writers charge by the hour. "The cost of blogging is based on the time it takes me to design and compose the blog, which is in turn based on my hourly rate," says Kaneez-Fatima Khan of K.F. Khan School & College of Tutoring Services & Writers Alliance in Irvine, California. Elaborating on this, Sandra Bykowski of VerbWright Writing Services in Chicago, explains that writers “calculate how long it takes to create a typical article, then figure that into the word count to determine an hourly rate.” Here are two examples of hourly rates:
Per post
Paying per post typically involves a negotiation based on word count. A 200-word blurb or a 1,000-word researched essay can both qualify as a blog post, but they require different levels of effort for a writer, says Bykowski of VerbWright Writing Services. The level of expertise required also impacts the cost of a blog post. Bykowski specializes in HR and workforce development issues, literacy and writing, and real estate. If she has to research a topic outside of her wheelhouse, that may increase writing time and cost. "Due to the nature of blogs, I don't do a rate or word quote. Some blogs are 800 words, some end up 1,500 words. The length of a blog depends on one thing: delivering its message effectively. Here are examples of per-post rates:
- Short post from VerbWright Writing Services: $150–$200.
- Blog concept and post from 529 Editorial & Book Design Services: $75
Per word
Some bloggers charge by the word for their services. Pricing can vary from 10 cents per word from someone just starting out to $1 or more per word from an experienced blogger. Khan of K.F. Khan School & College of Tutoring Services & Writers Alliance charges $15 for every 500 words if a client asks for a per-word quote. Content mills (businesses that churn out high quantities of web writing) charge just pennies per word, says Bykowski with VerbWright Writing Services, but they don’t generate very high-quality writing.
Editing blogs
Individuals or businesses can also have their own blog copy polished to professional standards. Cerasoli of 529 Editorial & Book Design Services provides blog editing in addition to her other writing and design services. For one of her long-time clients, she typically edits two blogs in one hour and charges $75 per hour for the service.
