Money For Nothing (Or Vice Versa)
Thursday, August 5, 2010 Question of the day: Is there a standard rate or tier of pay for blogs? Are blogs typically non-paying gigs for newbies? (it's not an ad-based "pay-per-click" type of blog) When's the best time & what's the best way to discuss payment? I don't want to sell myself short but I don't want to have unrealistic expectations either. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Ah money. One of the singular MOST uncomfortable things for a freelancer to talk about and yet also the singular MOST important thing for a freelancer to talk about. I can't speak to specific rates for blogs - I'll leave that up to the comments section - but I CAN speak to how to go about this, and why it is so important that you do so.
Back when I was freelancing as my main gig, I always established pay from the get-go. When I was offered an assignment, the editor usually included her offer in the email, and from there, I'd calculate how long the article would take me (approximately), and what I could then anticipate earning per hour. If it was too low for my time, I'd ask for a bump up. I - because negotiating makes my heart skip a beat like many others - always tried to do this in the kindest yet FIRMEST way possible. Maybe it's that you're earning more elsewhere or maybe it's just that your typical rate is higher and you hope they can match it. Or using some language like that. Other writers will be more aggressive about it, but that's what worked for me. Editors KNOW that you want to earn the most money possible, and they are NOT going to be offended or pull the assignment because you ask, nor are they going to really even think about it again once the conversation is over. But if you don't ask, you DEFINITELY will not get a rate bump.
These days, so much assigning is done via email, that in some ways, the negotiation task is easier. You can think about what you want to say and not stumble over your words. Also, your editor won't feel put on the spot when you approach her. (Yes, I am sure that there are some old schoolers out there who prefer to handle this by phone. That's totally cool too. I'm just sharing what has worked for me. By all means, please weigh in below on what works for you too!) If no rate is mentioned in the initial assignment email, I'd write back with something like, "This all makes sense - thanks for being so clear. What is the word count and rate per word?" This isn't a difficult question - it's a simple fact that she NEEDS to tell YOU before you begin. If, in fact, she's paying you nothing, this is also the time that she has to tuck her tail between her legs and share that too. At no point should you be sitting there working on a piece with a giant payment question mark over your head.
So that's how I tended/tend to handle things. As far as blogging pay rate, I really haven't blogged for money, but I'm hoping that some folks out there have and will share the varying scales. I suspect that they run anywhere from literal pennies to $1+ more per word. Magazine rates STILL hover between $1-2 per word (for nationals), and haven't been bumped up in years. So I'm guessing (again, just a guess) that blogging comes in below that.
Anyone want to share his or her strategies for negotiation/uncovering pay rate, and if you're feeling really generous, share what you might earn for a blogging gig?
Reader Comments (6)
I don't get paid to blog.
My blog has a great following, I get tonnes of free books from publishers to review.
However, as I like to say, it's a labour of love!
HOWEVER, if you're blogging on behalf of a company, for that company, then I'd guess they'd pay.
There was a position going for a book blogger for this book company, and, if memory serves me, they were going to pay $100 a month for two blogs a week? Something like that.
I don't have any insight into the pay scale for paid blog work, but I wanted to chime in on the importance of negotiating, especially for women. Allison said it exactly right, if you don't ask you definitely won't get more money (or a raise - you can't sit back and wait for the boss to notice how much you've been contributing.) Whoever is offering the pay EXPECTS it. They do! It's all part of the game. When I'm nervous, I just try to channel one of the overly confident guys I went to grad school with or worked with in finance. It works every time.
I have blogged for various websites and know many women who have and it varies so widely (depending on the site, depending on how much traffic you can bring the site, if it's a regular gig, etc.). I know of gigs that are as low as $25 a blog and as much as $800 a month for a regular weekly gig. If you can bust out a blog in an hour (even on the low end you can make $25 an hour then) or more....)and I always say (always!) when you are estimating how long it's going to take to do a project/story/blog, always estimate high - usually it takes longer than you think, but if you surprise yourself and get it done quicker, it's a nice little bonus. The other thing is, if you're a newbie, get some blogs under your belt and then ask for more. Show them you are reliable, produce quality work and then they'll usually have no problem increasing the rate.
I have only blogged at one site, so I'm not sure if this is standard, but I am paid $10 for 100 words and $50 for an 800 word post. That may not sound like a high pay rate, but I can usually write blog posts fairly quickly. Blogs tend to be pretty casual and personal in tone and don't require tons of outside research (if any). Plus, they pay you a lot faster (often via paypal) so that's always nice.
Negotiations for pay should always take place prior to work being done. It sounds obvious but I have had conversations with friends/colleagues in which they have told me that they felt like they deserved more pay for their work. Two of them tried to hint to the editors that they deserved more. Wrong time, work is done so you don't have any leverage.
It is also important to pay attention to whom you decide to work for. It takes no effort to set up a professional looking website and appropriate copy to go along with it. There is nothing wrong with politely vetting a new employer.
I have written blog posts for big outlets and there was never any money paid. That may be okay if you just want to get your name out there and use them as a reference in the future.
But that said, bloggers can make money from their own sites from advertising, via Adsense or direct deals with sponsors. Amazon is one (large) example of an affiliate program that pays for "leads" (customers that came to their site via a lead from your blog). Many, many online stores offer this. I also write monthly articles and product reviews for an online retailer and they pay a set fee. The most important part of it all is traffic. The commissions are pretty small, so you need lots of traffic to make anything.