I'm starting a business writing content for companies. What's the best way to bill: hourly, weekly, per word?

Question

What is the best way to bill? Do I offer billing by project or on a monthly basis? Do I give the client a choice or should I just say this is my hourly rate? Also, what are the current charges for such a service?

Answer 1

It really depends.

I work with content writers and I pay them on a monthly basis with guidelines on how many articles and the length of the article.

I've also worked on a per project basis where I pay per article. These are ebook types that are 100+ pages. I get writers from countries such as Philippines so they are pretty reasonable (err, cheap).

Some I've come across charging per word, with anywhere from $0.05 to $0.50 per word depending on the difficulty of the content.

Answer 2

I usually charge by the hour for editing and by the word for writing. I've had some businesses that wanted me to quote a flat rate per project, so sometimes I do that by estimating the hours I will spend and applying my hourly rate.

It's hard to say what current charges are. I have specialized knowledge on some topics and charge higher rates for editing on these topics. It's fair to the client because I can do a better job and do it more quickly than someone who is not familiar with the subject matter. Rates vary geographically -- the Midwest is lower than, say, the Northeast or West coast -- and by experience.

Another bulletin board I visit has had assorted discussions on writing rates. The range for editing is about $15-30 per hour, and for writing about $.25-$1.00 a word, with most writers charging about $.40-$.50 a word. If you are new and inexperienced, start by charging at the lower end of the range until you build up a clientele.

Answer 3

By the word is a good way to start out if it isn't ad copy. Or go with an hourly rate. My wife used to do that stuff and she charged by the word and then went to hourly because it takes a long time to write this stuff. Go to the attached web site for all the help you'll need as a freelancer.

Answer 4

The best way of billing is per hour bases, you have to estimate how many hours a job will take and bill accordingly. I worked on project bases and it was always a losing thing.