Since my blog focuses on writing, marketing—and working with the freelancers who do it—I wanted to discuss the elephant in the room. Yep, I’m talking about the “F” word: Fee. What (and how) should you pay freelancers?
Whether you’re a content marketing agency, Fortune 500 company, or small business, you might occasionally outsource some writing projects to a freelance writer. Ideally, you don’t wait until the last minute, desperately trying to find someone who’s a good fit. Instead, you spend time finding the right freelancer before you need one.
Once you find someone who might be a good fit, you’ll probably hop on the phone to discuss your project. During the discovery call between a freelancer and a potential client, one question invariably pops up: “What’s your hourly rate?”
But you might want to reconsider this approach. Think about it—what’s the incentive for a freelancer to finish the job quickly? The longer the job takes, the more the freelancer makes.
What Do Freelancers Charge?
What you pay freelancers starts with whether the freelancer charges by the word, the hour, or the project—and it varies depending on the individual.
- By the word: Charging by the word is more common in editorial writing for magazines, with pro rates starting at $1/word. Yep, one dollar per word. I even got paid $2/word when I published a piece in Good Housekeeping. Of course, smaller publications, especially consumer pubs, often work with a limited budget and can’t match the fees that a national glossy can pay. But many small, B2B publications pay these pro rates. And sometimes this per word fee can cross over into content marketing or copywriting, when writers create eBooks, white papers, and case studies.
- By the hour: Some freelancers do charge by the hour, and some clients (like agencies) even insist on hourly rates. But not having a project cap often scares clients. What if the project hits a snag and requires twice as much work? What if the freelancer is simply a slow writer? That hourly fee just keeps upping the final project cost. Cha-ching! While this can work to the advantage of freelance writers, it can spell disaster for clients working on a tight budget. Not only can this “unknown” be nerve-wracking, but it can also derail a project if it goes way over budget.
- By the project: Most clients prefer to know their costs upfront. That’s why many professional freelance writers charge per project, and that’s exactly what I do. This allows me to focus on creating effective content instead of tracking hours. Once I gather project details from a prospect (either via email, creative brief, and/or phone call), then I provide a quick quote (if it’s a timely request) or create a project proposal outlining deliverables, deadline, expectations, and fee.
How Much Should You Pay Freelancers?
No matter how you pay freelancers (word, hour, or project), payment varies depending on project details and writer experience. (I’ll talk in more detail about project variables in a future newsletter.) But fees might also vary from freelancer to freelancer, even for the same project. Why? Because some writers might be less experienced, commanding a lower fee than those with decades of experience.
The general rule of thumb? The more experience a writer has, the higher the fee she commands. Shocker, right?
Of course, this makes total sense. Think of the years of formal education, in-the-trenches experience, trial-and-error lessons, client collaborations, and continued training a writer puts in to keep her skills sharp. For me, that equates to more than 30 years of hands-on experience as a writer. So, I command a higher fee than someone fresh out of college. This doesn’t diminish a newbie, but it does explain how fees are commensurate with experience—just like every other industry.
For a quick look at what you can expect to pay freelancers, check out this 2018 Clearvoice survey. It gives you a real-world view of what freelancers earn based on experience. The results define “experience levels” as beginner (0-3 years), intermediate (3-7 years), professional (7-15 years), and expert (15+ years). The results provide a great benchmark for whether or not you’re paying freelancers what they’re worth. For example, if you’re paying a writer with 18 years’ experience only $30 an hour, you’re essentially paying beginner rates.
If you want to develop a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship with your freelancers, value them. While this certainly goes beyond fees, paying your freelancers what they’re worth sets the baseline. Value also factors in respect, collaboration, open-mindedness, inclusion, and, above all, kindness.
