By Rhonda Campbell
- Figuring out what to pay writers
You’re launching a new blog or company website. Or perhaps you’re getting ready to launch a direct mail or media campaign. Your vision for the work is crystal clear. Now if you could just find the right writers to bring your vision to life. Oh. And there’s this other thing, figuring out what to pay the writers.
Define Word Count, Research and Frequency Writer Guidelines
Decide on the numbers of blog posts, white papers, feature articles, analytical reports, press releases, etc. you want writers to create each week or month. Next, get a clear idea on the research required to finish each writing project. For example, medical white papers, college prep test guides and corporate quarterly business reports require more research than blog posts, social network posts and Q&A feature interviews.
Set a word count range for each piece of writing content. For example, you could decide to hire freelance writers to create 350-400 SEO articles for your creative business. Before you post writer job ads at websites like Media Bistro, Journalism Jobs, Indeed, Career Builder, Morning Coffee and Pro Blogger, decide how much content you want writers to create each week or month.
Keys to Figure Out What to Pay Writers
As a short guide, keys to figure out what to pay writers include:
- Bloggers (Many guest bloggers are willing to create blog posts for free if you allow them to link to their personal websites/blogs. If you choose this route as a creative business leader, make sure your blog generates sizable traffic. Also keep in mind that top businesses pay guest bloggers a minimum of $50 per posts.)
- Word Count (Top writers receive $1 and more per word, even for blog posts.)
- Hourly Writer Pay (If you know how long it takes to complete writing assignments, consider paying writers an hourly wage. For example, if your budget allows you to pay a writer $2,000 for a project and you know it takes 50 hours to complete the project, you could pay a writer $40 an hour.)
- Research Required (You can reduce this expense by providing writers with links to specific research material.)
- Frequency of Writing (How often you want writers to create content; if your creative business wants writers to build large content databases, budget for volume)
- Deadlines (Tight deadlines may call for higher writer wages.)
National Average Writer Wages
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, writers and authors earned a mean hourly wage of $31.71 as of May 2010. Their mean annual wage was $65,960. The top 10 percent of writers earned more than $109,000 a year.
Whether you hire experienced writers as full-time employees or as independent contractors, design a contract that includes the writer’s wages, scope of writing projects and writing assignment deadlines. Also indicate whether the writers are being hired as full-time employees or as independent contractors.
More Information on Spiral and Long Walk Up is at – http://www.chistell.com
Sources:
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes273043.htm (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics: Writers and Authors)
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes273042.htm (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics: Technical Writers)
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