If it’s been a while since you last hired a content writer or it’s your very first time, you may be wondering how much a blog post costs in 2022.
Like many things in life, the answer is kinda complicated. Read on to figure out how much you can expect to pay based on the writer’s experience, niche, availability and pricing strategy.
How experienced is the writer?
I can’t speak for all freelance writers, but in my experience, many will increase their prices based on how busy they are and how much demand there is for their services.
Junior writers with little experience under their belt may charge as little as £30 for a blog post.
Mid-level writers with a decent amount of experience but plenty of availability may charge anywhere between £100-£300.
Senior writers will probably charge £300+ and they won’t bat an eyelid if you think their fee is too high. There’s no shortage of prospects wanting to work with them.
Does the writer specialise in your niche?
Writers who specialise in a particular industry tend to charge more than those who’ll write about any topic under the sun.
For complex and competitive niches such as finance, you may pay more for a blog post than businesses in less competitive niches where little specialist knowledge is required.
Does the writer charge per hour, day or blog post?
The amount you pay for a blog post will often depend on whether your chosen content writer charges per hour, day or blog post.
Charging per hour
Junior copywriters and content writers often charge per hour because they don’t know any better. I made this mistake in the early days and I’m grateful to more seasoned writers for teaching me the error of my ways.
An hourly rate could vary anywhere from £10 an hour to £100 an hour, but I suspect most writers who charge per hour will be somewhere in the middle.
Personally, I think charging per hour is an ineffective way to buy blog posts.
If your writer bashes out a 500 word blog post in an hour and they’ve only charged you £30, this might seem like a bargain to you, but will it be any good?
A lot of people underestimate just how much time, research and knowledge can go into creating a good blog post. I’ve been in this game for a decade yet it often takes me a day or two to write an article that’s informative and entertaining while also meeting my client’s goals.
Charging per day/half day
When copywriters and content writers grow out of charging per hour, they’ll often switch to charging a day rate instead. Up until last year, my day rate was £300 and I used to promise my clients two blog posts a day.
Effectively, I was charging £150 a blog post. Unfortunately, this pricing strategy is almost as problematic as charging per hour. You’re still judged on how long it takes you to write something, rather than how much research, experience and skill is involved.
Charging per blog post or project
If you’re looking for a senior copywriter or content writer who really knows their stuff and cares about getting results, I’d recommend finding someone who charges per blog post/project.
I wish I’d started charging per blog post or project earlier on in my freelance writing career because I honestly think it’s the best option for both the client and the freelancer.
It works in my favour because:
- I’m not penalised for writing quickly
- I’m not penalised for using existing knowledge I’ve gained over the course of my career
- I can spend as long as I like writing the blog post
- I can quote a higher fee if I think the blog will require a lot of research or edits
- I can quote a higher fee if the client wants guaranteed results (such as a full refund or free edits if results aren’t achieved)
It works in your favour because:
- You know exactly how much you’ll need to pay from the start
- You won’t get hit by unexpected costs
- You won’t have to worry about your content writer wasting time to charge a higher fee
- You’ll reduce the likelihood that you’re sent a blog post that’s been churned out in 30 minutes
- You’ll be able to work with more experienced copywriters and content writers
How long is the blog post?
As you might’ve guessed, a blog post’s length is a huge factor in how much it costs. You can’t expect to pay the same for a 2,000 word blog post as you would for a 500 word blog post.
A content writer who charges £200 for 1,000 words, may well charge twice as much for 2,000 words. Some might charge more for the longer article because of the amount of research it requires. Others may offer a slight discount – £375 for 2,000 words, for example.
Saying that, I try to have quite a flexible approach to word counts. I want the freedom to make blog posts as long or short as it needs to be.
If I end up writing 1,400 words instead of 1,000, there’s usually a reason for that and I don’t feel right increasing the amount on the invoice.
Paying your content writer per project (rather than basing the price on time or word count) can help to tackle this dilemma.
But I’d recommend being clear about your word count expectations from the beginning just in case.
How much is a blog post worth to you?
I often speak to finance business owners who resent having to pay more than £200 for a blog post, even though their own clients are high net worth individuals.
One client could easily make them thousands – millions if they end up referring their wealthy friends too.
When you think about the lifetime value of one new customer, paying £500 for a blog post designed to attract your dream client doesn’t seem so bad, does it?
How much I charge per blog post…
The amount I charge per blog post depends on a number of factors such as:
- My client’s size. Are they a freelancer, startup or large business owned by a billionaire?
- My client’s goals. Do they simply want to show they’re still in business or do they want to rank in the search engines and increase conversions?
- How much are new clients worth to them? Will one new sign-up make them £500 or £50,000?
At the lower end of the scale, a blog post by me can cost £200. Though I usually only charge this little if I have tons of availability and I’ve been approached by an agency who has their sh*t together and will provide me with a detailed brief and do the keyword research themselves.
When working directly with finance companies, I’ll usually charge between £300-£600, depending on what they need.
But, to make things more complicated, I’ll often include blog posts within a retainer package rather than pricing them individually.
So a client might pay me £2,000 a month, for example, and in return they’ll get:
- A content calendar
- 4 blog posts
- 4 social media posts
The beauty of charging a retainer like this is that it gives me freedom to attend client calls or help them with tasks that would be a pain in the bum to add to the invoice. Rather than setting a timer whenever they need my help or invoicing for every minor task I do, I can include most things in the retainer. Within reason.
TL;DR: How much does a blog post cost in 2022?
The price of a blog post can vary depending on the writer’s experience, availability and whether they have a niche or not.
If you want to pay just £30 a blog post, you can. You could even used AI tools to write the blog post for you – though I’ve tried these robots myself and do not recommend them.
But if you want to build your brand, show up in the search engines, and convert readers into customers, it’s a good idea to invest an amount that causes at least a little bit of discomfort.