You can write a text message.
You can write an email.
But should write your blog posts for your business?
The short answer: unless you love writing, your time is likely better spent growing your business.
And unless you enjoy website SEO and content marketing, you may want to consider hiring a blog writer.
In this article, we’ll explain how blog writers get paid and what fees you can expect to pay for different types of expert blog writers. If you are looking to hire a blog writer it will give you a clearer idea of how to get started.
Should You Hire A Blog Writer?
Having a dedicated blog writer to take care of your business blog can be a great way to boost your SEO rankings, and also increase engagement on your site.
Writing new blog posts each week on your site means that you will increase your Google rankings, and attract more people to your website. An expert blog writer who can speak to your audience with engaging content will help build trust and keep people on your website.
Some business owners choose to do the writing themselves, or delegate the blog writing to a team member who likes to write. Both can be good options, as long as the person is experienced in both content writing and search engine optimization.
If you don’t have an expert writer on your team, then another excellent option is to hire a freelance blogger who can create high quality content. An article writer creating fresh content each is an effective, low-cost method of growing your business visibility.
An experienced writer who can take care of your article writing means you are free to focus on other parts of the business or marketing. Let’s look at important things to know if you’re looking to hire blog writers.
What You Need To Know When Hiring a Blog Writer
The problem with hiring a blog writer is that you can’t tell who is a good writer and who isn’t.
Even worse, you don’t know whether the price you’re paying is worth it.
This is because business owners aren’t familiar with how typical blog writer rates work. There is a range of costs for professional blog writers, and each price-point delivers a different level of quality.
Not knowing how much to pay for a professional blogger can mean that you waste a lot of time and money.
Hiring the right blog writer comes down to more than just the financial cost.
Three Ways Professional Bloggers Get Paid
Let’s look at how much people pay when they hire bloggers for their website. There are three different ways professional blog writers get paid: hourly rate, by the word count, or perarticle.
Each payment type has pros and cons for both the business owner and the blog writer.
Generally speaking, the more experienced a freelance blog writer is, the better your chances of quality content.
1) Hiring a Blog Writer by Hourly Rate
Average Blog Writer Hourly Cost: $15-$115/hour
Most business owners are familiar with paying for services by the hour, and many bloggers are happy to use this method. Keep in mind that unless you agree to a cap on billable hours, the cost for a professional blogger can be unpredictable.
The reason is that some articles take more time to research than others, especially if the writer is not experienced in your industry. There is also extra time spent editing and making changes. If you look at a freelance writer site like Upwork, the average cost for a blog writer per hour is between $35 to $150 per hour.
If you are looking to hire a blogger by the hour, then be sure to have ask for an estimate for each article they write. You can list the requirements you have in the job ad, or on the job board, and an experienced blogger can give you an estimate on how long it will take them.
Also keep in mind that you need to factor in time for editing and revisions for each blog article that you hire a blogger to write.
2) Hiring a Blog Writer by Word Count
Average Blog Writer Per Word Cost: $0.06 to $3.00/word
Paying a blog writer by the word eliminates the high variance of cost of hourly billing because time doesn’t come into the equation. Marketing agencies or blog writing service often take this billing approach if they have teams of content writers. Some writers who do freelance blogging will bill for writing by the word.
The cost per-word rates are determined at the start of the project, depending on the writer’s experience, and their reputation for quality.
If you want to work with a blogger who has a specialization in a topic or SEO skills, these usually cost more. You can expect to pay anywhere from 6 cents a word on the low end to as much as $3 per word for high-level subject matter expertise.
3) Hiring a Blog Writer By Post
Average Blog Writer Per Article Cost: $25 to $500/article
Some professional bloggers charge a flat fee for every post with a minimum word count.
This arrangement sounds ideal for business owners since they know how much the blog will cost upfront, but there are drawbacks. However, keep in mind that looking for a cheap professional blog writer can have drawbacks.
Blog writers who get paid by the job will sometimes focus on reaching the minimum word count in the shortest time possible. Freelance writing is focused around finishing projects quickly and moving on to the next. This tactic makes the quality of the project suffer unless there are reviews before the content is posted. Great content is rarely rushed and needs several iterations and reviews before it makes an impact.
If you considering hiring a blogger who charges a flat cost per blog post, it’s essential to get a sample of their writing first. Any freelancer that is worth hiring will have examples of past articles they have written.
Getting Good Value When Hiring a Blog Writer
Before figuring out what to pay for a blog writer or blogging service, it’s important to consider what professional blog writing is worth to your business.
Outsourcing your content writing can be one of the best or worst investments, depending on which writer you choose. Without a clear content strategy in place, even a skilled writer cannot help you get full benefit from your blog posts.
Content creation on your company blog should have a purpose and help you grow your online reach.
You should aim to create relevant content for your audience, and this comes down to a combination of writing skills, and understanding of industry related topics, product knowledge, and the search intent of your audience.
A Blogger For Hire is an Investment
Most business owners know that spending a few hundred dollars on advertising is a standard cost. But for ads, all you get is temporary exposure to your market.
In contrast, a well written, SEO-optimized blog post written by an expert blogger can drive traffic to your website for many years.
The organic value of your blog content showing up in search engines cannot be understated. And this is why hiring a professional writer or blog writing service can be valuable over the long-term.
With this in mind, any piece of content that brings you new website clicks and paying customers is worth paying more money for.
Paying a small amount for blog writing and low quality content that is ignored is not good value in the long term. Whereas paying a higher fee for a quality writer and blog article that brings new business for years is well worth the premium.
If you choose to hire a blogger, they should become a long-term partner to to help grow the value of your business blog.
Choose wisely, and plan on working together for at least one to two years if you hire a blog writer to see real results.
[…] there is no simple answer to how much it costs to outsource blog writing, there are several ways that you can approach it. The three most common ways to pay for outsourced […]