How Much to Charge per Article for Contract Writing Project

[cody109]

I'm trying to get a sense of how much I should charge for writing blog articles on a contract basis. This would be my first time doing this on a contract basis so I could use some help.

The company is a online e-commerce site that sells pipe and fittings. Customers use these to build railing and DIY industrial pipe furniture. I currently work for the company as an intern and we've worked out that I would write for them on a contract basis when my internship ends. This would include two blog posts per week. Most blog posts are roughly 600 words. The type of articles include how to, list type, customer project overview, product benefits, and case studies.

Here's all that I'm thinking may be involved in writing and submitting the article:

• Writing the article
• Coding/Formatting the article in HTML
• Uploading the article to the CMS (Content Management System)
• Image collection. This might include searching through the customer project images we have on file or search Google/Pinterest for images that match the article I'm writing
• Image editing
• Creating graphics for the main image and social media
• Research (if necessary). This might include searching the internet for relevant information to talking to customers about their project.

The project may also include:

• Developing posts for social media involving the article
• Developing and creating the email to sent out to the email list
• Call to Action development

I know some of this may not be writing related but I'm trying to get a fair offer to bring to my manager. So anything you can offer will be helpful. Maybe a suggestion of what you think I should charge for just the article and/or the article plus the other services. Or maybe an idea of what you would charge for this type of project. I appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks in advance!

[WritingFun]

Try for at least $50 each. I know beginning rates are low (boy, do I know!), but that's a lot of work you'll be doing. Many places try to pay $25 for a blog like that, but aim higher.

ETA: Unless you can get more than $50 😁

[cody109]

That seems a bit low. I know my manager pays a writer $150 per typical article for our sister company that sells safety equipment. So I know I can at least get around that mark. I write more from a content marketer perspective and know how to write for SEO and long tail keywords. So that might possibly earn more? But yea I'm just curious about what other people are charging. Thanks for your answer!

[beanandpumpkin]

If you already know that the manager pays $150, then don't go any lower than that, for sure! Does the sister company also do all of the formatting/uploading/image editing and graphic design? If not, add on for that. (I generally include uploading and finding one Creative Commons image in my fees, but you certainly don't have to; I'd go by what the current writer/company is doing.) You could probably get away with charging more because of your knowledge, assuming it's more than what the other company is providing.

[cody109]

No, I usually take the article from the writer and do all of the formatting/image search/image editing for the article and then upload it to our sister website. But yea I'll use the $150 as a starting mark and go from there.

[ZenDude]

How long does it take you to do all that you normally do, and what do you want per hour? Don't ever negotiate from your low point. I'd go for $200, and explain all the extra work you'll have to do besides writing and how long it takes.

[Success19]

I hope the op comes back and tells us how much he is getting paid. While he is doing some extra things that content mills don't require, at a content mill 500 words pays less than $10. If private clients are paying this much, then writers at content mills are definitely underpaid.

[Robin Bull]

Originally Posted by cody109

I'm trying to get a sense of how much I should charge for writing blog articles on a contract basis. This would be my first time doing this on a contract basis so I could use some help.

The company is a online e-commerce site that sells pipe and fittings. Customers use these to build railing and DIY industrial pipe furniture. I currently work for the company as an intern and we've worked out that I would write for them on a contract basis when my internship ends. This would include two blog posts per week. Most blog posts are roughly 600 words. The type of articles include how to, list type, customer project overview, product benefits, and case studies.

Here's all that I'm thinking may be involved in writing and submitting the article:

• Writing the article
• Coding/Formatting the article in HTML
• Uploading the article to the CMS (Content Management System)
• Image collection. This might include searching through the customer project images we have on file or search Google/Pinterest for images that match the article I'm writing
• Image editing
• Creating graphics for the main image and social media
• Research (if necessary). This might include searching the internet for relevant information to talking to customers about their project.

The project may also include:

• Developing posts for social media involving the article
• Developing and creating the email to sent out to the email list
• Call to Action development

I know some of this may not be writing related but I'm trying to get a fair offer to bring to my manager. So anything you can offer will be helpful. Maybe a suggestion of what you think I should charge for just the article and/or the article plus the other services. Or maybe an idea of what you would charge for this type of project. I appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks in advance!

When I write an article, that's all I do...write an article. I am not a coder. I know code, but unless someone is paying me more, it's not happening. If I were writing a 600 word article I would charge a flat rate of $18.00 for the article (it's not a novel...it's barely an article at 600 words). If research is involved, they pay an hourly rate of $25 per hour with a one hour minimum. If they expect me to pimp out across social media, particularly my own hard grown networks, that's another $25 per hour with a one hour minimum. If I have to find images, they are charged hourly -and- they pay for the licensing to use said images.

Believe it or not, people don't say no. Many of my clients have their own standard rates that are much higher than what I charge and I certainly don't say no to that.

Don't over think this. Did they say to you that they expect you to code, find images, and all the rest? Even my corporate clients do that stuff on their own.

[beanandpumpkin]

Originally Posted by Success19

I hope the op comes back and tells us how much he is getting paid. While he is doing some extra things that content mills don't require, at a content mill 500 words pays less than $10. If private clients are paying this much, then writers at content mills are definitely underpaid.

Yes, writers at content mills are underpaid, regardless of how much the OP is making on his project. Private clients are indeed paying that much. Not all of them, obviously, but some. $10 for 500 words is very low pay, I'd say.