Blog Writing Rates in 2022

Freelance blog writing rates have been steadily increasing. To get top-quality content, you’ll need to hire an exceptional writer suited for your precise business needs. 

According to Search Metrics and Orbit Media, top-ranking content on Google averages between 1,140 and 1,285 words per post. It takes on average about 3.5 hours to write 1000 words. 

Content is vital to achieving your business goals. The more you produce, the more your business has the chance to be:

• Acknowledged 
• Recognized
• Authoritative 

Blog writers are key to getting your message out in the online world. But how much should blog writing cost? 

Many factors affect how much to pay for a blog post.  Here, we'll dive deep into freelance blog post rates and help you determine how much to pay for a blog post.

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Blog writing rates in 2022

According to a survey we did of writers from our community and Upwork, the hourly base freelance blog post rates are a median of $25/hour and an average of $37/hour.

Minimum wages are increasing across the country and worldwide. For example, a worker at a popular grocery store in Texas makes a minimum wage of $17/hour. This means the average of $37/hour for a quality content writer isn’t too far off.

Project-based blog writing costs are a median of $150 for a 1,500 word project. The average is  $175 for a 1,500 word project. 

When it comes to blog cost per word, this averages just over $0.1 per word. This is the standard blog writing rate for even a beginner to intermediate content writer.

Blog writing prices per word are a median of $0.1 per word and an average of $0.12 per word. 

Less than $0.1 per word is usually acceptable for first-time writers or complete beginners who may be in training. Their goal is to gain experience and create a solid portfolio before moving forward. 

This is a cost-effective solution to get blog content quickly. However, it usually ends up with a sacrifice in quality and time wasted because the writer needs a lot of guidance.

Top-quality freelance writers are in higher demand. Depending on experience and expertise, their blog writing rates will greatly vary. 

Blog content is exponentially valuable. It’s one of the best strategies to get eyes on your business and its services. 

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How much should a blog post cost? 

So, how much to pay for a blog post? Blog writing rates vary widely depending on the writer's experience and the scope of work. 

Many freelance writers charge between $50 and $100 per post. However, you could pay up to $500 for an experienced, native English speaker to create a quality piece. 

Additional factors that affect how much you pay are:

• Length/word count
• Deadline
• Previous knowledge of the subject
• Specialization

Blog length 

The median blog post length is about 1,200 words. The length of a post has a huge effect on search rankings, so it’s important to stay around this average (if not higher). 

According to Yoast, your blog post has a higher chance of ranking if it is longer and of higher quality. Many well-ranked posts are around 2,000-2,500 words. 

The more that is written, the more information search engines have to dissect from your content and sort it into sections/categories. 

By optimizing the length and identifying strong keywords throughout your content, your post can end up in a top-ranking position. This will get more eyes on what your business offers. 

When someone searches for a solution to a problem or to gain information, your blog post will be one of the ones to first come up.

Naturally, the longer the blog post, the more time it takes to write it. This means it’ll cost more. Remember, time is money!

Native English speaker

Most likely, your target audience is people from native English-speaking countries. 

Having a native English speaker write blog content is a non-negotiable factor. This is especially true if your audience is in an English speaking country. 

Native speakers fully understand the spectrum of tones and colloquialisms that are necessary to relate to in written word.

Few things look worse than misusing idioms and having grammatical errors for your target audience to read. It will give your business less authority and your audience the notion that you're inexperienced and untrustworthy. You can’t have that!

While the freelance blog writing rates will be higher, it’s worth a little extra money to hire a native English speaker if you want higher-quality content.

Deadline 

Quality writers can get booked up weeks in advance, so it’s important that you’re prepared to be flexible. If it’s a rushed job, you’ll likely need to pay more to get your work done on time.

The shorter the deadline, the higher the price. This is because the writer will need to prioritize your project over the others they already have in their queue. 

Be sure to plan ahead and give yourself and the writer enough time to organize and prepare any project that’s in the works. This will save you both time and money when hiring a writer and calculating freelance blog writing rates. 

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Research 

The amount of required research can make a huge difference in how long it takes a freelance blog writer to complete a post.

The topic of the post is a huge factor for not only the chosen writer but also the blog writing price. Important questions writers face are: 

• How much time do I have in my schedule to write a blog post?
• How much time do I need to research the topic? Am I familiar with it at all?
• How much time will it take to write and edit the content?
• How many blog posts per week can I write? 

Answers will vary. For example:

• I have plenty of time to work this into my schedule or hardly any 
• I’m quite experienced, so I don’t think I need to do much research
• I estimate a 3 day to 3 week timeline 
• I can write 2-5 posts a week, depending on specifics

Questions you as the client/business may face are:

• Is this writer experienced in this topic?
• How much research is estimated to be involved?
• Are we able to pay for extra work time (such as editing)?

These answers will also vary. For example:

• From our research, this writer is experienced and we’d like to interview them
• We estimate 5-10 hours of research for this writer
• Yes, we are able to pay additional for edits

Many freelance writers will need at least several business days to complete a post. They may need even more if there’s extensive research involved. 

Make sure you try to get a writer that has at least some knowledge of the topic to ensure quality and timely delivery. Otherwise, you may get stuck in a costly, time-consuming circle. 

The answers to these questions will widely vary depending on the client and the writer. However, each one will be a determining component for freelance blog post rates. 

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Specialization 

Personal writing and business writing target different audiences. Business blogging is much more specialized, according to ProBlogger. 

Business blogging is:

• Very technical
• Niched down
• More difficult to write 

On the other hand, personal blog writing is broader and more conversational.

Technical and/or industry knowledge may be required for your project. If so, be very selective with the writers you intend to hire. 

Be sure to check the writer's portfolio before hiring them. This way, you can see if they have the experience and reviews necessary for the project’s specialization. 

You might discover an incredible blog writer who checks almost all the boxes except for the specialization box. Hiring an inexperienced writer for a complex assignment could lead to bad results. 

While the blog writing rates for specialty writers may be higher, it could be well worth the cost.

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How do freelance blog writers bill?

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Freelance blog writers usually bill on either a project basis or an hourly basis.

Project-based freelance blog writing rates

Assignments completed on a project basis encompass aspects like:

• Research
• Time
• Organization

Billing on a project basis is beneficial if both the client and provider are familiar with:

• The scope of the entire project
• Client expectations
• Expected revisions

Hourly-based freelance blog writing rates

For hourly-based projects, the provider has a set hourly rate that is tracked with a timesheet until project completion. 

This billing method is very beneficial if the writing assignment is:

• Shorter
• Straightforward
• Requires little previous knowledge
• Requires little research

This is a common practice for experienced writers. That’s because there is much more to a project than just the word count. 

Each project varies greatly, so it is up to both parties to agree on which billing method is best for the scope.

Blog cost per word

The longer the post, the more time it takes to write. 

Depending on the topic, these longer posts may also require more research, which will cost more. 

Even though many freelance writers bill by the hour or by project, sometimes it can be very beneficial to calculate the blog cost by word. 

Many beginner freelance writers start out charging per word to gain experience and traction in a specific niche before:

• Increasing their rates
• Charging by project
• Charging by the hour

The price per word normally decreases as the post gets longer. Ideally, you’ll want to maintain just under the median price per word if the post is quite long. 

Keep the 1,200 word average in mind and remember that writing more will get optimal results!

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Know your goals and budget when considering blog writing rates

When determining how much to pay for a blog post, you have to ask yourself:

• What is the purpose of hiring a writer? 
• What is the budget? 
• How much time do we have? 
• What are our business goals? 

The most important thing is establishing the business goals you hope to accomplish by creating this blog content. This not only helps you, but the writer as well. 

Maybe the purpose of hiring a writer is time constraint or that larger projects are currently taking priority and you need to outsource. Identify an established budget to hire freelance writers and be transparent about the:

• Goals
• Deadline
• Budget. 

There’s no use in wasting anyone’s time. Whatever your reason for hiring a writer, outsourcing blog content is a great way to meet business goals quicker and within a reasonable budget.

Takeaway 

There are many factors that go into determining how much to pay a blogger per post. 

Some weigh heavier than others, but all must be taken into consideration by both the client and the writer. 

Communicating both of your requirements and goals effectively will benefit all parties. Most importantly, it will result in great content!