What it costs to hire a writer varies greatly among writing professionals. You might pay a very different rate for two writers with different specialties, or even two writers with the same specialty but different experience levels. However, you’ll have a better idea of how to figure out what it might cost to hire a writer for your project if you consider a few important points.

Charging by the Word

Many writers use rate structures based on a per-word rate. Magazines and newspapers typically pay per word, and most professional freelance writers (as opposed to novel and non-fiction book authors) do some magazine or newspaper writing. Keep in mind that magazine and newspaper per-word rates vary, but they typically range from as little as $0.10 to as high as $3.00 per word for some magazines. This means that if your writer was writing a 500-word article for a newspaper or magazine, the rate could potentially range from $50 to $1,500 per article.

Many clients who want to hire writers have no idea what reasonable writing rates actually include. $0.30 to $0.50 per word is not uncommon among professional writers. If your budget is $3 for a 500-word article – a rate of just over half a cent per word – you’re probably not going to be able to hire a professional writer for that rate.

Writing Rates may Vary Depending on the Content

Many writers use variable rates depending on the content of the materials. More technical subjects, or content that requires more research, is typically charged at a higher rate. Likewise, content that might require a specialist is almost always more expensive than general content that everyone can write. A writer might charge $0.10 per word for an article with a very general subject that won’t require much research, but writers can charge $0.30 to $0.50 per word for more technical projects – or even more for projects like user documentation, etc. Consider what you’re requesting when you go to hire a writer in order to figure out if you’re likely to face higher rates or if you have a relatively inexpensive project.

Experience Level and Demand Influences Writer Rates

Another factor that has a direct impact on writer rates is experience level. A writer that has been writing professionally for a decade is likely to charge a somewhat or significantly higher rate than a writer that’s just starting out. Writers who have been writing for a decade have grown their rates with their client base and experience, and typically represent a better value – or more effective writing – than writers just starting out. Hiring a writer just starting out is fine if you’re on a budget, you have very general content and you’re not too particular about grammar, sentence structure and having a well-researched product. These are skills honed over time, and the experience level of the writer almost directly correlates with the amount of work he or she has done (and the rates he or she is charging).

Additionally, writers who are in high demand might charge higher rates for a specific project. For example, if a writer currently has a full workload but is contacted about a project, he or she might bid higher on the project to make it worthwhile to take on the extra work. If writers in high demand lose a project because of high prices, it typically isn’t much of a problem. However, earning the higher rate makes it worthwhile to take on the extra work if the client is willing to pay it.

Rates are Directly Related to How Much Time Writers Spend on a Project

Think about this logically: rates are directly related to how much time writers spend on a project. Writers are people who have to make a living, just like you. If they expect to spend 5 hours on your project, writers might charge anywhere from $50 to $300 for your project, depending on their hourly rate. Think about that when you evaluate writer bids and consider placing an ad for a writing project.

Consider how much time your project is likely to take, and how much an experienced writer might charge per hour. If your project is going to take three hours and you only want to spend $5 per hour, you’re not going to get a professional writer. (In fact, that’s even lower than minimum wage in the United States, so keep this in mind if you want to hire a U.S.-based writer!)

Deadlines Influence Writers’ Rates

If you need a project in a hurry, it’ll typically cost you more. Writers must prioritize their projects to ensure they meet all of their project deadlines on time. Taking on a project at the last minute, or accepting a project when a writer is overloaded, means the writer has to put in overtime to complete your project in the time allotted. You get better values when you don’t have a 24-hour deadline, so try to plan ahead when you want to hire a writer so you can have a longer lead time and get a lower rate. With an extremely short deadline, you might risk not finding a writer or getting a rushed job.

If you’re looking for a writer for the first time, you face challenges. What to request? How do you decide which writer is right for the job? How much should you pay? If you’re thinking of hiring a writer, here are some tips for how to place an ad, and what questions to ask to help you find the right writer.

Decide where to advertise.

The first question you face when hiring a writer is to decide where to advertise. Do you place an ad, or do you contact a writer directly? A Web search can potentially turn up writers and copywriters in your area, but without contacting them, you have no way of knowing whether or not they’re right for the work you have in mind. You can review website materials and get an idea of their experience and writing style (if it’s a comprehensive website) but you don’t have a lot to evaluate. I have had clients contact me through my website, but many clients prefer to use a freelance website to place an ad and select a provider.

If you’ve decided to use a freelance website, you have two options: job-posting boards, or full-scale freelance websites. Job posting boards enable you to post an ad and get email responses. However, these boards provide you no way of evaluating your providers – you’re just sending your ad off into the ether. This is fine if you know what you’re looking for and are satisfied to handle your project independently, but doesn’t offer any additional protection.

Full-scale freelance websites, on the other hand, such as Elance and Guru, give you an entire system to manage your freelance job from start to finish. You can place an ad, evaluate providers, agree to project terms, arrange payment and leave feedback all through these freelance systems. While these systems confine you somewhat within the terms of use, they provide a valuable tool for clients who are searching for a new writer or hiring a writer for the first time.

Map out your job before you place an ad.

One cause of contention between clients and writers is not having the same picture of what a project entails. A client may believe that the project is fairly straightforward, and have a perfect sense in his head of what a project should be. Writers aren’t mind-readers, though, so unless you give your writer a clear idea of what you expect, you’re more likely to be disappointed than not.

To avoid disappointment, or to avoid falling victim to a project that unexpectedly changes scope, map out your job before you ever place an ad. Get a picture in your mind of exactly what you want. If you’re picturing a series of 500-word articles targeted to a specific keyword, convey that in your ad. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a 10-page report to distribute to mailing list clients, make that clear to a writer up front. If you don’t know quite what you want, you might want to give it some more thought before you place an ad to hire a writer.

Be clear when you place an ad.

When you do place an ad to hire a writer, be clear about what you want. I see ads all the time where clients say things like “I need 10 articles” or “I want to produce a weekly newsletter for my mailing list clients.” This is a good place to start, but you need to flesh out the project so writers know what you need and can bid accordingly. What’s your niche? On what subject would you like articles? How long is your project? What’s your timeframe? The more information you can provide a writer, the better your chances of finding a writer who fits your needs.

A good writer bids on projects for which they’re qualified.

By providing clear information about what you need and expect, you’re automatically narrowing down the list of writers who might apply for your ad. If you say something generic like “I need 10 articles,” you might get upwards of 20 or 30 responses – or more. A good writer will ask you for more details, but many responses will simply quote you a rate without any information about expertise or how a writer handles your niche.

However, when you say “I need 10 articles on Web design, CSS and HTML5,” you automatically self-select the writers who apply for your project. While you may still get some generic responses, you’ll get more responses by writers who are familiar with your content and can provide you samples of their work on related topics. You automatically reduce the number of people who reply to your ad, while simultaneously eliciting information specific to your topics. This saves a ton of time when you’re narrowing down your short list of writers by giving you information about a writer’s qualifications specific to your project.

Determining budget.

Generally speaking, if you pay a low rate, you’ll get a low-quality writer. In theory, anyone can call themselves anything – I could sign up for a freelance website or create my own website right now saying that I’m a Web designer. However, a real Web designer with years of experience – the kind of Web designer who produces websites that make you happy to browse – has experience, references and samples, and typically comes at a premium.

The same thing holds true for writers. When you’re looking to hire a writer, you might get a host of responses from people with no real writing experience. These might be students fresh out of college, teachers trying to make money on the side or even housewives trying to supplement their income. These people might have a range of experience and skill levels from non-existent to quality work. However, the real writers – the people who have been doing it for long enough to hone their skills and learn about the industry and niche – cost more. They spend more time on their work, and therefore must charge more for it.

When you’re considering budget, think about what you want. Do you simply want content? If you’re not looking for high-quality work, you might be able to afford to go low-budget on your project. However, low-quality content produces a poor ROI, and you simply don’t get the same results. When you’re setting your budget, ask yourself what you want your content to be, and what you want it to do.

If you need content that performs, you might need to pay more for a writer up front to yield better rewards and ROI. Be clear about your budget in your ad, though, so you don’t waste your time following up with a writer who is out of your price range, or a low-budget writer who can’t deliver what you seek.

Potential writing clients: learn how to shop for the right writer and make your budget stretch.

Be realistic about your budget.
A writer isn’t necessarily going to ask for every penny in your budget; good writers only ask for what they’re worth. If you’ve got a low budget and advertise that, you’ll save time by narrowing down your field to people willing to work within your price range. The problem you’ll often find is that if you have an extremely low budget, you’ll get a low-budget writer.

Some good writers work for low-budget projects for many reasons; to build up a portfolio, to establish a client base or even to pay the mortgage if they’re having a slow month. However, many writers who are willing to work for extremely low budget projects (you know what I’m talking about: $4 for a 500-word article) are going to produce a low-budget product.

Think about it from a practical standpoint: if a writer wants to earn $20 per hour, and you’re only paying $4 per article, that writer has to complete 5 articles within an hour to meet the hourly rate. I don’t know many writers that can write 2,500 article-words in an hour (and if you do, please share your secrets with me!) but even if they can, you’re not getting the same quality from those 5 articles as you would from one 500-word article at $20.

On the other hand, if a writer has an hour to spend on a 500-word article, they’ve got time to revise it, make word choice changes, check it for grammar, and do detailed research to ensure all the facts are correct. Those 5 articles in an hour? You’re lucky if you even get complete sentences, and some ‘copy mills’ just copy-and-paste content from elsewhere on the Web. If that happens, you could be on the hook for copyright infringement.

Quality matters.

Be realistic about your budget. If you only have $100 to spend on a writer, consider asking for fewer pieces; your quality will increase exponentially.

Find a writer knowledgeable about your topic.
The less a writer knows about your topic, the more the writer has to learn before they can write about it. Most writers build-in time for research when they quote a project, but if they need more than a quick search to hunt down specific facts, that research cost goes up – sometimes significantly.

On the other hand, if the writer is an ‘expert’ in your field, the cost may go up; experts in niche fields are in higher demand, and can therefore charge more for their services. Expert knowledge also comes at the cost of time, so experts have gotten to that point by earning their fees in research and experience. Unless you need an expert level of knowledge to cover an esoteric topic in great detail, you’ll be best served to find someone who has good general knowledge about your topic and charges a reasonable price.

Formulate a clear idea of what you want before you go writer-hunting.
You don’t have to have a detailed outline of what you intend, and a writer with substantial experience can even help you improve upon your original plan. The idea here is to have a starting point so that you can intelligently communicate your needs to the writer.

Don’t just say: “I need five keyword articles.” Decide which keywords you want to use, and how they’ll help you promote your product or services. Many keyword trackers exist to help you find successful keywords.

Once you settle on the keywords or the subject of your article, go a step further: pick a direction. If you want a writer to write about Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, decide what angle you want to use for your focus. Tell the writer: “I want an article about how Chapter 7 Bankruptcy impacts foreclosure and debt repayment.” The more you can tell a writer about what you want, the more satisfied you’ll be with the end product – and the better it will meet your needs.

When possible, give a writer a sample of writing that you like, or that you want your work to resemble. Do a little research and see what your competitors are writing. If you like what you see, point it out to your writer, who can then take that writing style or format and create the quality content you want in the style that you like. If you don’t have an example for a writer and can’t communicate the style of writing that you need, you and the writer may churn out frustrating draft after frustrating draft, making you both unhappy and discouraged, and potentially raising your cost.

Communicate Clearly.
After you’ve nailed down your budget, determined what you want your writer to write and found a writer comfortable with your topic, communicate clearly. Clear communication is the key to a happy client-writer relationship. Both of you want to know what the other expects and whether they’re comfortable with the work – so ask! If you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask your writer, and communicate your expectations clearly in return. If you “don’t want to tell the writer what to do” but then get a piece that makes you dissatisfied, you’re not getting the most for your buck. Most writers accept guidance happily to ensure they’re delivering content that meets their clients’ expectations.

Master these four tenets of hiring a writer, and you’ll get the most for your buck, every time.