what do you pay copy writers?

[Graham Wellington]

I have never employed a copy writer but am curious as to what the going average rate is. One day I'll probably have to hire one.

[Graham Wellington]

I probably wouldn't pay more than $5 an hour, just slightly higher than my illegal immigrant gardener's wage. After reading many of the posts on this forum, it seems even a moderately intelligent chimp can post an informative web article.

[rj87uk]

just slightly higher than my illegal immigrant gardener's wage

Is your post a joke, are you looking for real information?

[Graham Wellington]

i'm trying to shed light onto the plight of gardeners and web copyrighters. both are essentially no skills jobs, and thus grossly and unjustly underpaid.

[Green_Grass]

"After reading many of the posts on this forum, it seems even a moderately intelligent chimp can post an informative web article. "

How kind of you to say so.

Why don't you write your own articles...

I am sure you will do well...

Best of Luck.

[rj87uk]

both are essentially no skills jobs

I know I can't write very well, I know I can't write an article and my spelling is very bad so I know that writers are very, very skilled people.

What you are implying is that anyone can write an informative and interesting article and this is just not true.

Some writers charge 100$+ an hour, 500$ an article and you tell me this is unskilled, Your mad :)

[idolw]

best to pay per article not per hour.
my writers end up at 150%-200% of average salary for their countries

[Syzygy]

I probably wouldn't pay more than $5 an hour...

...it seems even a moderately intelligent chimp can post an informative web article.

Well, as they say, "pay peanuts..."

I presume that you're referring to freelance writers rather than creative copywriters who provide written materials for advertising and marketing use?

If so, I guess the fees you're prepared to pay relate to a) what you want, b) the level of quality you expect, and c) the value you place on that content.

At $5/£2.50 an hour (writers are best paid by the job, not by increments of time), you're probably better off with that chimp.

Many webmasters will firmly disagree and state that for that price you could get a quality 1,000 word article on any topic you like from one of the many content-providing bureau's 'overseas'.

Syzygy

[plumsauce]

Gardening is a skill, writing is a skill.

You've managed to cheap out on gardening, and now you want to do the same thing with writing.

[hollyringo]

Well, I live in the Midwest and I've been paid a flat fee ($75 for a 200 word article) or by the word (.20 for 1,000 word article). A good copywriter will have a rate scale and then you go from there. I will say not everyone can write, and having a good writer in your pocket will make your site look all the more credible. If the copy is for a Web site then you should ask the person if they have any experience in writing for the Web, because it is a different animal as well. I think others have mentioned good keyword copy, etc. but the person needs to keep in mind how the copy visually looks on the page and how they are going to keep the visitor reading.

[axgrindr]

the plight of gardeners and web copyrighters. both are essentially no skills jobs

I don't understand this statement. What are you saying exactly?

(assuming you meant copywriters and not people who go around "copyrighting" things)

[Marcia]

There are some in the business who write sales copy and make $300,000 a year - and have moved millions of dollars worth of product for their clients.

[maccas]

Gardening as in landscape gardening is a trade and can be very well paid if you have the skills. A "cheap gardener" will do a job of weeding your garden, but if you want a esthetically pleasing garden you have to pay top dollar.

[chicagohh]

I use a writer that has published several books for gaming companies like MechWarrior.

I pay him $0.15 per word.

[Marcia]

Writing isn't the same skill set as writing "copy" for web pages intended to convert in some way - seminar sign-ups, purchases, etc. A lot can depend on the purpose of the site itself.

[LifeinAsia]

both are essentially no skills jobs, and thus grossly and unjustly underpaid.

You contradict yourself. If they are actually no-skill jobs (and I'm not saying they are), then how can you consider them grossly and unjustly underpaid? If they have no skills of value, then why should anyone pay high wages for them? High payments are reserved for highly skilled jobs.

In terms of either of those jobs being unskilled, I counter that both fields have a whole spectrum of skill levels. There are gardeners who can push a lawn mower around your yard for less than minimum wage and probably not do too much damage. But there are also highly skilled gardeners (who probably use a fancier name like horticulture consultant) who can completely turn your house around and add tens of thousands of dollars to its resale value.

The same goes for copy writers. I've seen some who couldn't figure out how to use a spell checker and thought "copy writer" means to "copy" what other "writers" have already done. And I've seen others that took a poorly monetizing page and turned it into a goldmine for sales.

[arieng]

You've obviously never been introduced to really good copywriting. Marcia's $300K/year figure is decent, but I've run across a few copywriters who earn many times more than that per project. Go google Gary Halbert, John Carlton, or Gary Bencivenga to get a picture of what a good copywriter can be worth.

[jimbeetle]

He, he, three of the guys whose sites I have bookmarked. They made themselves and their clients big bunches of money over many years.

[axgrindr]

and thought "copy writer" means to "copy" what other "writers" have already done.

that's awesome!

[seo_4_u]

We normally pay by number of words say 400-500 per article.

[Turbulence]

I probably wouldn't pay more than $5 an hour, just slightly higher than my illegal immigrant gardener's wage. After reading many of the posts on this forum, it seems even a moderately intelligent chimp can post an informative web article.

To be honest, I have been wondering and trying to find a reasonable explanation why such an (unsuccessfully, of course) attitude to copywriters still exists. Who said we live in a civilized and informed community.

[kneoteric_V]

As per PPP (Purchasing Power Parity), wage of an average copywriter in the USA would cost in the range of 2000 USD per month (as compared to what I pay to my guy in India).