Show Your Cards: How Much Do You Earn Per Post?
Money. It’s the reason 97% of us work. But for whatever bizarre sociological reason, it’s always the last thing to come up during job interviews.
It doesn’t get any better for freelance bloggers. In fact, since many of the hiring agents are small in size (when compared to brick and mortar companies), I often find them to be quite unsure what a fair wage actually is. Most blog employers want to tow the line of paying as little as possible (while being fair) in return for quality product. That is why as a freelance blogger, I find it important to go into a conversation about a job knowing how much I want to be paid. At the very least, have an understanding of the minimum you are willing to accept.
While it is possible to glean some basic rate information from job posts, it is not as good as knowing what someone is actually making.
Feel free to keep it anonymous, but help your fellow BlogHearld readers out by giving full disclosure on your blogging rates.
I’ll go first…
– I have earned as low as $5 for 250 words (I will no longer except this rate)
– I have earned as high as $25 for 250 words
– My average rate is approximately 5 cents per word
I will always factor in the post frequency and offer a ‘bulk discount.’ Blogging items that you are expected to perform, other than writing, should be built into your rate. For example, if the blog owner expects you to locate an image, crop it, add keywords, submit to social networks, etc. – this should be factored into your rate or used as a negotiation point.
Being a compulsive bunch, I realize most bloggers are pleased to simply make a few extra dollars. But if you value yourself, you will make sure that you are earning what you deserve.
How much do you earn per post?
I’m about where you are, it seems. I’ve made $125 for 20 400 word posts, but it was a subject I knew lots about. When the subject matter changed, I left the position. I’ve made $25 a post, and my last gig was .05 a word. I’ve learned that I won’t work for less than what I feel I’m worth.
I only blog for pay for one site, and I charge a monthly fee to maintain the blog including updating links and site content and posting up to 4 articles per month. I’d say I average about $10 per post with posts averaging about 250 words. Hourly, though, it averages out to about $10 per hour when I take into consideration the amount of time I spend maintaining the blog. If the owner of the site wasn’t a friend, I’d definitely charge more for these services. I’d say that if all you’re doing is researching and writing a blog post, $.05 to $.10 per word is a fair rate. If there are images, key words and other factors to consider, rates should go up from there. I honestly find it difficult to work for less than 10 cents a word. The less I’m being paid, the less I enjoy the work, at that’s not good for me or my client.
Dude, I’m sorry to point this out but if you don’t know the difference between ‘accept’ and ‘except’ and if you don’t proofread your posts before publishing them (as seems evident with this one) then $5 seems like a fair price to me!
I rarely have paid blogging posts in my blog but when I do, I usually accept at least $15 per article.