It’s true that there are many ways you can generate traffic for affiliate marketing but the most popular method by far is the method of online content creation. Specifically, content in the form of 500 to 1,500-word articles.
Marketers want content on their websites so that they can rank in search engines to get free traffic & generally, articles of between 500 to 1,500 words are just the right length for this particular purpose.
The problem, however, is that content creation can be time-consuming & so as a result, many marketers look to outsource it. On the flip side, this is good news for writers who are looking for work.
But this raises a couple of questions…
- As a marketer, how much should you pay for a 500 to 1,500-word article?
- And as a writer, how much should you charge for a 500 to 1,500-word article?
The good news is that you’ve landed in the right place to find out because here at Commission Academy we’ve got over 10+ combined years of leveraging outsourced content & we’re going to provide the answers below.
First off, we’ll start from a writer’s perspective.
How Much Should You Charge For a 500 To 1,500-Word Article?
Well, the obvious thing that we’re going to begin by saying is that the amount you can charge for an article is going to depend on your experience & capabilities.
But, regardless of your experience & capabilities, you should generally always expect to start by charging below “your worth”, especially if you’re acquiring jobs via websites on which you bid against other writers.
The reason for this is simple. Most marketers who wish to purchase content want the highest quality content possible but at the same time, they also want it at the cheapest rates so they are generally always attracted to the lowest prices.
This means that even if you’re the best writer in the world, a high price is likely going to see you getting ignored.
So, it is general practice for many writers to initially set a price lower than their worth, build up trust by creating quality content & then later ask for a raise.
9 times out of 10, as a writer, you will get the raise & we say this because it’s more tedious for marketers to find new writers than it is to simply pay a little bit more.
That is, providing you’re actually doing a good job, of course.
So, the question is…
What Is a Good Rate As a Writer?
Well, typically a writer producing good content in English should look to charge around $0.01 per word meaning you should charge $5 for a 500-word article & $15 for a 1,500-word article.
This is typically the average starting rate for most writers but of course, if you excel you could look to charge a bit more & a rate of say $0.025 per word would be deemed to be a very good rate as a writer.
That means you would be paid $12.50 for a 500-word article & $37.50 for a 1,500-word article which is very good, given how competitive the online writing industry is.
As we say, however, it would be rare to “land” a long-term position at that heightened rate but by starting out lower you could certainly work your way up to it by leveraging raises.
Now, turning it onto the flipside, let’s see how much you should pay for an article.
How Much Should You Pay For a 500 To 1,500-Word Article?
As somebody paying for content creation services, you will have one clear goal which will be to keep costs to an absolute minimum.
The less you pay for the content, the more you can potentially make in profit.
But there are 2 things you don’t want to do, which are:
- You don’t want to pay too low & compromise quality
- You don’t want to pay too low & risk churning through writers
You want to pay the right amount to have high-quality content delivered consistently by writers who remain loyal to your business & goals.
Question is, though…
What Is The Right Amount To Pay For Articles?
Generally, you should look to keep your costs between $0.01 per word & $0.025 per word, meaning you would pay between $5 to $12.50 for a 500-word article & between $15 to $37.50 for a 1,500-word article.
Those are the typical rates for people looking to purchase content on a consistent, long-term basis.
And you will certainly see some writers or content-houses charging much more than that but the higher rates are generally for short-term, one-off gigs.
A writer being paid from $0.01 per word up to $0.025 per word should be very happy to receive that amount if you are providing them with regular, consistent work (as in multiple articles per day).
But if you’re not, and you’re requesting much less work, then you may have to up your rates a little bit.
The reason for that is simply because if you’re not providing them with full-time work then you should expect that they are working for somebody else & that your pricing should be upped to take priority.
So, you might be wondering what quality would be like at those rates of payment.
Well, at $0.01 per word you should expect above-average quality but with some small amount of mistakes that require correcting (as at this rate the writer will be creating content faster in an effort to meet their income goals).
At a rate of $0.025 per word, however, you should expect high-quality content that is generally mistake-free.
The Bottom Line
As an affiliate marketer, finding a high-quality, reliable writer can be a tedious task & as a writer, finding a marketer who pays well & provides frequent work can be just as tedious.
But if you set your rates right, you can make things much easier.
And as mentioned above, the going rate to pay or charge for a 500-word article is between $5 to $12.50 & the going rate to pay or charge for a 1,500-word article is between $15 to $37.50.
But ultimately, there are going to be a number of other factors at play & those should only be seen as rough guidelines, nothing more.
For example, you may get lucky & find a marketer or company that is willing to pay you much more than those rates for your writing (though, this is rare given the competition in the online writing industry).
And similarly, as a marketer or company, you may find a writer from a specific country who is very happy being paid at a lower rate yet still produces very high-quality content.
So it is just about having a discussion & deciding on a rate that mutually benefits both parties.
But the sure-fire way to earn the most amount of money from content creation is to use the content you create for yourself & leverage affiliate marketing.
And the good news is that our free affiliate marketing course shows you exactly how to do it.
But either way, whatever you decide to do, we hope this article provided you with value & helped you determine how much to pay or charge for a 500 to a 1,500-word article.
And of course, if you happen to have any questions don’t hesitate to leave them below. We always love hearing from our readers.
