You have heard of people leaving their 9-5 jobs to venture into freelance writing full time and they are very successful at it. Truth is that there is a high earning potential working as a freelance writer regardless of where you are located, that is just the beauty of freelancing. real ways to make money from home for free
So, you also want to become a freelance writer. It’s quite possible, but it is sometimes not as simple or glamorous as people might make it look! There are tons of paid writing opportunities available and when done tactfully, what usually starts as a side hustle turns out to be a very lucrative full-time writing job.
If you are reading this article to learn how much you can make as a freelance writer, we will not bombard you with information about where to find freelance writing jobs, you probably already know. If not, you can read that here.
Our main focus today is to break down the million-dollar question, how much does a freelance writer make per article. For some reason, most freelancers will not be very open to say how much they make with their writing gigs. They will mostly give you rough estimates of how much they make over a duration of time that usually leaves you with more questions than answers. Allow us to cut to the chase here
How Much Do Freelance Writers Make Per Article
There are no set rules as to how much to charge per article with freelance writing. this gives you complete control over how much you can make writing an article. However, certain factors come to play when trying to determine how much you earn as a writer. Some of them include;
- Your Client
There are two main types of clients,
- Direct clients
- Job Board Clients
Direct Clients are the clients you find for yourself either through cold pitching, warm pitching, or referrals. Freelancers are often able to make more with direct clients since you get to determine how much you want to make per article and you will find clients who will be ready to pay you.
For example: With direct clients, you can state that your rate is $100 for a well-researched 1000-word article and you will be paid just that with clients who request your service. Another freelancer might opt to charge $30 for the same type of work for a direct client and that is exactly how much they will make.
Job Board Clients are clients you find from freelance sites such as Upwork, TextBroker, or WritersAccess. While some of these sites will give you the liberty of stating how much you want to make with hourly jobs, most will have clients who have their set budgets. The disadvantage with these jobs is that there is a lot of competition hence you will find yourself sometimes having to settle for less if you want the job.
The rates on most of these sites are usually about 1 cent to 8 cents per word. Therefore, if you were to write a 1000-word article, you would make about $10-$80 per article. This compares nothing to what you get with a direct client also because these sites will also deduct a service fee from what you make.
2. Length of the Article
It is only logical that you get to earn more with longer writing assignments but again, it also depends on your client. Most clients usually request articles around 500 – 2500 words.
If you are working for a direct client, you can negotiate to even up to $125 for a 500-word article which is rarely unheard of working with clients on writing platforms. Working for a client on a writing platform can at the most earn you about $25 for a 500-word article.
Again, there is a lot of competition on these platforms, you will therefore always find someone ready to undercut you for the same job.
How to Determine your Writing Rates
There are three main ways in which you can get to know how much to charge for an article, that is
- Per Hour
This is pretty simple. Start by figuring out how much you need to cover all your living expenses. Next, you need to determine how many hours per week you can put into writing. Use this information to help you determine how much you want to make per hour. It could be $30, $45, or even $60 per hour. It does not matter.
- Per Word
This is pretty much the same. You will want to put into consideration how much you want to make per day and how many words you can write per day. You will then list your rates for your clients and they will decide how long of an article they would want you to write for them. The rates could be anywhere from $0.03 per word, especially for beginner freelancers to $0.20 or more for professional writers.
- Monthly Retainer
This is mostly for your direct long-term clients. Depending on the hourly or per word rate you agree with your clients, you can set up a system in which you submit invoices to the client per month for every job done and they pay you at the end of the month. You however need to be careful with this as it is easy for you to fall into a scam.
The Different Types of Freelance Writing Jobs
There are so many different types of freelance writing jobs each with different earning potentials.
For example, we have online writing which mainly comprises SEO writing, Blogging, Content Millwork, and Web content. This types of work do not have a much high earning potential
Next, we have jobs such as social media work, newspaper and magazine writing, copywriting, press releases, email content, business writing (white papers, brochures), and sales pages. These often pay more than general writing, mentioned above, but still not the best.
Finally, we have ghostwriting which is the best paying type of freelance writing job, BUT, only if you have the right client.
Levels of Freelance Writing
We all have got to start from somewhere. In Freelance writing, there are about five levels of writers depending on the experience and capabilities of a writer. They include;
Level 5: these are mostly beginner and non-native speakers. This is the lowest-paid freelance writing level with the rates being about 1 cent to 3 cents per word.
Level 4: mostly comprises seasoned writers and high-quality beginner writers looking for experience. Their rates are usually $0.1-$0.2 per word
Level 3: these are the freelancers who mostly work full time for companies. They charge about $0.2-$0.3 per word.
Level 2: comprises experienced and high-quality writers. In this category, you can make about $0.5 per word or more
Level 1: these are the top tire professional writers. The best in this game. You will find them featuring in top magazines and websites. They charge about $1.50 per word or even more and are very picky about who to work with.
In Conclusion
There you have it guys. The truth about how much you can make per article as a freelance writer. We sure do hope that these articles shed some light on the world of freelance writing. By this, you can be able to determine if it is a worthwhile venture for you and is better positioned to know how best to go about it.
If you are only starting on freelance writing, do not be discouraged. Work hard, work smart and you will see the results. Or as in the words of Oprah Winfrey, ‘Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do’
