Blogging - Per word rate and resume

They're asking you to "bid" on the job -- to become the lowest per word person, and then they'll give you the job. Not my preference, of course. One of the quickest ways to lose credibility is to appear desperate for work. Ebay notwithstanding, bidding is exactly that.

However, that said -- here's how to break down what the job is asking for so you know what amount you're willing to accept per word written.

The job says you're "posting about blogging." This implies that you will be reading other people's blogs to find useful and/or interesting information to pass along to the hiring website's readers. So, you'll be doing research. You'll be clipping links (probably specific to the particular post you're commenting on) so that readers can hyperlink to the source. You'll probably be tying different blogs into a specific theme for your posts, or at least have SOME commonality of subject, topic, event, etc.

In other words -- you'll be writing articles that require research, authority and quotes from the authors of the blogs. Freelance writing rates can be anywhere from $.05 per word ($25 for a 500-word article), up to $1 per word ($500 for a 500-word article).

Consider your ACTUAL time in reading the blogs, taking notes and then writing your column when deciding your per word rate. If you have a DSL or T1 internet connection, your time moving between blogs will be quite different than if you're on a 26kbs dial-up (which I am). Next, determine how many words they want per post and whether they want a theme for each of your posts (sort of like a newspaper columnist). If not, then you have a bit more leeway. Also decide how fast you type and if you have the proper software on your computer to give the website what it needs without them taking the time to reformat it.

For me, I probably wouldn't consider less than $100 per 500 word post, which would be $.20 per word. But again, that's just me.

Good luck!

Cathy C said:

The job says you're "posting about blogging."

Click to expand...

Cathy, maybe she found a job posting (among other job postings) about blogging.

Ah! Hadn't considered that, reph. Thanks! Marilyn, if what reph suggests is the case, you might want to post this same question on the Blogging forum. I don't blog, so I have no concept of the mechanics/prices of blogging for profit.

If you want me for anything else, I'll be over here, parsing.

Okay, so this IS a blogging for profit job. Let me have the Freelance mod shunt this over to Blogging. They'll probably have better answers for you over there!

I seem to recall a similar call being posted in the paying markets forum a while back. If I remember correctly (which is no sure thing) it involved a lot of work for very little pay. So Marilyn, you might want to check some of the older posts on that board. Should be within the first 2-3 pages though (again, IIRC).

In the meantime, I'll port this over to the Blogging forum to what folks there think.