What to Pay a Copywriter

Many site owners view acquiring content as an expense. It’s much wiser to see it as an investment. The value of quality content can’t be underestimated. It brings enviable user loyalty and SEO results. It also helps establish your unique selling position on the web.

However, paying for good copy can be complex. Some people suggest it all comes down to what you can afford to pay, but it’s not that straightforward. These insights can simplify the process a bit:

Ad or Sales Revenue Affect Copywriting Fees

If your website is already raking in ad revenue, you’re in a better position to know how much to pay. In the magazine and newspaper industries, editorial budgets are often set as a percentage of past or projected sales revenue. Apply the same principle to your online business.  You may settle on a scale of 5% to 10% of ad revenue: If your site brings in $6000 each month, that’s $300 to $600 each month.

Quality Counts

Once you’ve set your budget you’ll need to determine how many articles you can afford. This will be influenced by word count, research required, or whether you need keyword-rich articles.

 

On some freelance websites you can pay as little as $1 for articles. For the low end of your budget, that would give you 300 articles each month. To be precise, that would give you 300 crap articles per month. Your site must exude value and substance for success. Paying $30 or more for professional content pumps up your profits; 300 shoddy articles won’t.

Position Matters

Copywriting fees for home pages are more expensive than for pages inside your site. For many visitors your home page is their first contact with your site. Riveting headlines, catchy article summaries and spotlighting popular tools are necessary to improving conversion rates. Copywriters charge anywhere between $200 to $500 for home page content.

Word Length May Not Matter

The most time consuming aspect of content and copywriting is research. Many copywriters rely on Internet sources. However, there’s a lot of misinformation on the web. A good copywriter spends time verifying facts from at least two or more credible sources. With research they can trust in hand, they can churn out a 700-word article in less than an hour.

 

In fact, it’s far easier to write longer than it is to write shorter. Tight, concise writing takes more time. So a skilled copywriter may not adjust rates if there’s a difference of only a few hundred words between articles (e.g. a 350-word article compared to a 600-word article).

Consider Commission

Some copywriters provide their services for a percentage of sales generated by their content. This can end up being far more expensive. However, they are providing you with a guarantee that their copy will increase your search engine marketing results and revenue. If you have a bigger budget, it’s worth it.