What are people looking for when they find this blog through search engines?
Although I’ve been signed up to Google Analytics for ages, I don’t pay as much attention as I should to the statistics. However, with the latest upgrade, WordPress now shows statistics from Google Analytics on the dashboard.
Since I’ve been seeing the statistics every day, I’ve noticed something surprising. There is one post that has significantly more traffic than any other, and it’s a post from nearly two years ago: How Much Will It Cost? Average Freelance Editing Rates. That post has had more than 2500 visits in the last year, more than 300 in the last month. It regularly gets more traffic than any other post except the latest one.
The searchers may be freelancers trying to set their own prices or they may be prospective clients wanting to get an idea of how much it will cost them to have something edited—most likely, a combination of both.
Three of the top five search terms that bring search engine traffic here are related to this topic: freelance editing rates, freelance editor rates, and freelance editing fees. Out of curiosity, I searched those three terms on Google. My post is #1 for freelance editing rates and #2 for the other two terms. Strangely, my post is basically a summary of the information and a link to an excellent chart from the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). That organization’s site doesn’t appear on the first page of Google for any of the search terms, but the site that is #2 where my post is #1 and #1 where my post is #2 also links to the EFA site. Guess I’ll never understand search engine ranking.
I’m thinking about writing a series about the topic of freelance rates, but I need your help. Please give me your input in comments. Answer one or more of the following questions and share any other ideas you have.
- Would you be interested in such a series? If so, would you like to see it focused on editing rates or would you like to see writing rates included as well?
- Should it be from the perspective of a freelancer determining her rates or a client trying to understand and compare rates?
- What resources (blogs/Web sites, books, etc.) should I include?
- If you are a freelancer, would you be willing to take part in an anonymous survey to report your rates?
Thank you for your feedback. People seem to want to know about freelance editing rates, and I’d like to provide the information they seek.
Added: I have compiled a short survey to gather information about what freelance writers and editors charge. If you freelance as a writer or editor, full-time or part-time, please take the survey described and linked in this post on September 26.
Well, it proved that you’ve written a pretty good article for the freelance editing rates, Lillie.
PS: Have you noticed that with another five comments, your blog are about to reach 10,000 comments? It’s another milestone for your blogging life, Lillie!
.-= wilson´s last blog ..A Smoke after a Meal is ‘Good’ For Your Health! =-.
wilson,
I was really surprised to see this because the post itself is quite short and primarily links elsewhere.
Yes, I realize how many comments that have been counted here. Actually, I’ve had more than that because when I moved my blog, all my nested comments were lost. I have no idea how many that was—hundreds if not thousands.
A series about this would be great! I appreciate your work for us and wait for the things to come…:-)
Stephanie,
Thank you for your input. Do you have any other feedback on what you would like to see in a series?
Lillie, I did take up the survey and your choice of questions were straight hitting and relevant. I hope you don’t mind sharing some insights from the quiz results. Both the blog posts top the search engine rankings for those search-phrase mentioned by you. I am really expecting to see some analytics and engineer it to other industries as well.
.-= Mack@Las Vegas Real Estate´s last blog ..Commercial Real Estate Bubble =-.
Mack,
I will share the results of the survey in the upcoming series of posts on freelance rates. I’ve had only a few responses so far, but the rates are all over the place. I’m looking forward to getting enough responses to try to see some patterns.
I will tell the truth i came here because i was looking for a specific keyword, i was suprised that that keyword was in a commenter name, so i think that after all we’re all helping with our keywords. Best wishes
.-= Dan@Anime Games´s last blog ..Naruto Vs Goku Game =-.
Dan,
I’d be interested in hearing what that word was. It seems strange that would come up in search engines as this is not a hugely popular blog.
It is quite surprising for me to know that one of your OLD post is getting number of visitors. Whereas i have always seen that the new post grabs all the attention. I just have come to a very unique conclusion if you have a good write up posted than it is the write thats grabs the attention.
.-= karamjit´s last blog ..Electronic goods =-.
karamjit,
It was quite a surprise to me, as well. As I said in the post, I’m terribly negligent about statistics and SEO. Evidently this is a topic that generates interest and there isn’t much information available on the subject.
It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your analytics, to see what content is in particular demand, and then provide more of the same!
As for freelance rates, I think what would be more important is teaching writers how to be able to ask for more. Far too many writers sell their writing as a commodity. They need to understand how to differentiate their writing from a commodity, and convey that to the client.
Actually, I’m going to be blogging about that next week… but the more people who do this, the better
.-= Paul Hancox@copywriting blog´s last blog ..Why Writing Headlines For Search Engines Like Google Will Get You More Readers =-.
Paul,
I will certainly link to my posts on Writer’s Worth Day and other posts about determining prices that allow the freelancer to be profitable.
I’ve subscribed to your blog, but please come back and leave a link to your post(s) on this topic so I can link to it when/if I write more about this.
I also agree that a series about this will be great as it will reveal the facts for readers about the freelance market scenario.
You were right the traffic contribution was majorly contributed by the people who are freelancers… most of the freelancers has to make their portfolio according to the rates so that they get selected, and your post is of concern to them.
Rick,
Freelancers often have a difficult time setting a price that is profitable to them and that still gets them the job. But many freelancers underestimate their worth. I will be writing more about that.
I am a freelance writer, so please write a series that includes writing rates. That is something that would be helpful to so many people, and hopefully, it would give employers insight that cheap rates do not necessarily mean quality writing under any stretch of the imagination!
C,
There seems to be interest so I’ll plan on doing this series. Both writers and clients need to understand pricing.
I am definitely interested to have this kind of series. I think you should provide this series from your blogs which is accessible to everyone on the internet. This will help us to get more information about freelancing.
I would also like to know the techniques by which we can contact companies as a freelancer.
Carl,
I will write that series, and I’ll keep your suggestion in mind about a post or series on connecting with companies.
I think rates would be a very timely topic. Many folks are asking about rates these days. Also there are many new writers who are entering the market as a result of the economy.
So, I vote “yes.”
.-= Laura Spencer´s last blog ..Professional Writing – A Key Component to a Professional Image =-.
Thanks, Laura. I appreciate your input.
I totally agree about differing rates because I am a freelance writer myself, and I feel that some people expect you to write for a lower rate, but they also have to realize that they will get so much less quality, especially since so many people outsource for quantity and not quality.
Tracey,
I’m going to try to get some feedback from writers and editors on their rates. Hope folks respond so I can have some good numbers to use.
[...] I wrote that freelance editing rates is the most popular keyword phrase that brings visitors to this blog. When I realized that one post on this subject has more than 300 visitors per month, I decided it [...]
I find that within my blog – I get about a whopping 30-40% from one search term – Leadership Styles. I have never quite worked that out… as i rank well for other good terms as well – but something about that term brings in the visitors. Search Engine Traffic is quirky like that, I think.
.-= Si@ Leadership Styles´s last blog ..Leadership Mentoring – Developing Your Own Style =-.
Si,
That must be a popular term that people search for. Also, I note you often use that as the keywords with your name in CommentLuv so that may have something to do with it.
I don’t find it surprising that one of your posts hogs most of the traffic.
I have one particular blog that I started about 2 months ago … of the ten or so posts on there, nine recieve virtually no traffic. There is ONE post, that recieves up to four hundred hits a day (500 on a good day) … it’s insane.
All it takes is one post to rank really well in Google for a good search term.
Matt,
Your post gets a lot more traffic than mine—300-400 visits per month got my attention.
It surprised me that one two-year-old post out of more than 600 would get so many more than all the other older posts.
I am lucky to visit this post because i learned that there are many prospective clients looking for that information. I might find some research on how much it really cost as the market value..
thanks
lance,
Yes, I think clients are interested in knowing the market rate so they can tell if they are getting a good price or not.
By the way let me inform you that Philippines have been source of free lance writing due to Filipino English quality. This is also the reason why quality bpo target Philippines over other countries.
The rate of 250 words here is about $5 for your reference…But of course it will depends on difficulty of the content.
Regards
lance,
I’d love for you to take the survey mentioned in a later post. One thing I forgot to ask was where the freelancer was located. That would have been interesting to include.
Lillie,
I’ve been struggling with how to answer this question of “what to charge” for a few months now, and was beyond delighted to stumble across this discussion! So to pile on the bandwagon, yes, I think the series on this is a *great* idea.
I’m especially interested in discussion of different kinds of rates–how to determine/what to charge for editing as opposed to writing, or for different subsets of either (for example, developmental editing of a full manuscript as opposed to a proposal, or writing an article as opposed to ghostwriting a manual). What about the decision to charge different fees for different industries/kinds of businesses? (For example, would you charge a different rate for a company that is just getting off the ground, or does that set a bad precedent for future relations with that company? How about a “corporate” and a “nonprofit” rate?)
Although my interest (right now!) is in rates from a freelancer’s point of view, I think, too, it would be a valuable service to have some posts explaining to a client more about how rates are set and/or why some crazy-low rates are unrealistic. At a minimum, it would provide an external source that freelancers can suggest their lowballing clients check out.
Thanks!!
Leanne,
Thanks for letting me know what you’re looking for. I will try to cover all those topics in the upcoming series. I want to give the survey enough time to get a good number of responses so I am basing the series on accurate information.
It seems that there is s a lot of discussion about the pricing of editing. Can someone please post not only the average price for editing but also freelance writing if that information is available in this forum. I am curious to have an idea for both. I’m looking to job-out some work
Thanks!
.-= chris barry´s last blog ..Money Saving Tips and Creative Ways to Save Money That You Can Profit From! =-.
Chris,
Check the articles on Freelance Writing and Editing Rates on my Series and Related Posts page. I’ve written about this before.
I’m working on a new series and trying to gather real-life information. Please read the post and take the survey.
[...] I’m planning a series on freelance writing and editing rates. Freelancers want to know what others charge, and potential clients want to know how much to expect a… [...]
I’m glad I stumbled on to this. For the record, I was seeking some sort of industry standard from a freelancer’s point of view.
Here’s a question for the ages; what determines a freelancer? Are bona fide freelancers only those with a degree in journalism or similar claim to educated fame?
Does having an article purchased by a publisher qualify someone as a writer?
What about these ‘citizen journalism’ sites like Helium. AC, etc? Do they affect the industry as a whole? If so, is their effect minimal or significant?
Tina,
I added a note to the above post linking to the survey I have compiled to try to get input from freelancers to see what rates they charge. The survey is short, simple, and anonymous, and the results will be very valuable. If you haven’t taken the survey already, please do so.
A freelancer is someone who is not an employee and who does work (writing, editing, design, etc.) for compensation by users. It doesn’t matter what experience or education you have, how good (or bad) you are, what you write/design/etc., how much you make, or who pays you. If you write for the content mills, you’re a freelancer. If you ghostwrite books for $100,000 each, you’re a freelancer. If you write a newspaper column or a newsletter or business letters or ??? and someone pays you to do it, you’re a freelancer. If you can’t string words together in a coherent sentence but someone pays you for incoherent words, you’re a freelancer.
Then, the question becomes “Are you a freelancer who maintains excellent professional standards or are you a hack?” But whether or not you are a good freelancer or a successful freelancer, if you write for pay and are not an employee, you are a freelancer.
Freelance editing? Is it worth my effort? Thanks for the info.
Shawn,
The question isn’t whether it’s worth your effort. The question is whether you are qualified for this kind of work. Editing requires meticulous attention to details; the ability to maintain the author’s voice while making the writing better; knowledge of the publishing industry; self-discipline; a talent for giving other people advice without offending them; excellent grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage skills; and more. Then of course being a freelancer requires business skills. I make a very good living as an editor, though I will never get rich. But many people do not do well in this career because they don’t have the love for words and the skills required.
I find all of this absolutely amazing. Lillie, I believe you are correct that potential clients are searching for rates, while those considering getting into the business are doing the same.
As far as rates, I still find it nearly impossible to believe that some writers offer 400-500 words for $2 or $3. This makes me think that they don’t believe their time or effort is worth more, which is really sad.
I don’t think that rates should be exorbitant at all, but somewhere in the middle that allows a freelance writer to earn $20 or $25 per hour would be realistic in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing:)
Tess,
I’m reviewing and compiling the data from the survey now and will publish it in a few days. I think you’ll find it interesting.
I also like to be a freelancer in order to make my pocket money. But i don’t know the place where should i go to reveal my talents. Can anyone help me?
hasan,
Start by searching some of the freelance job sites and applying for jobs. You can also volunteer to donate your services to a nonprofit to build your portfolio while you contribute to a cause you believe in. Check through the archives here for other posts on finding work.
[...] few weeks ago, I discovered that freelance editing rates is the most popular search term people use to find this blog and the most popular post is How Much Will It Cost? Average Freelance Editing Rates. I decided to [...]
Freelancing is a great way to earn money while staying at home. You can actually do all your chores as long as you handle your time well and submit before deadline. There are lots of sites that give freelancing jobs. Try this site elance.com. One can actually post his or her resume and gives a short description on what you can do.
.-= Jeff@Avoid foreclosure in Las Vegas´s last blog ..Hard times for Hi-Rise lender =-.
Jeff,
I have been a member of elance and several other bidding sites. However, I cancelled all of them long ago because I never found work there, and it’s been years since I needed to find work. I have more than I can handle from regular clients and referrals.
Admittedly, my experience has been awhile back, so I can’t speak to what’s happening now. However, I’ve heard of recent similar experiences from other freelancers. The bidding sites tend to list primarily low-paying jobs.
Thanks for the info Lillie. I haven’t tried elance and was just referred to me by a friend. What you gave me just brighten up my mind about it and other bidding sites. I wonder how other freelancers are actually gaining their clients.
.-= Jeff@Avoid foreclosure in Las Vegas´s last blog ..Hard times for Hi-Rise lender =-.
Jeff,
Some freelancers do have success with the bidding sites; others find jobs through the various freelance writing sites/blogs that list jobs. As you can see from the survey, repeat clients and referrals are the most popular—but you have to use other methods first to get those!
A good while ago I wrote a series on where I find freelance work. Though it’s been some time since I wrote it, the information is still valid.
I checked the link/post you’ve given. Indeed, it’s all referral and eventually the business grows. Now, I’m becoming interested in the freelancing business.
If I happen to pursue freelancing career, I’ll make use of your posts.
.-= Jeff@Avoid foreclosure in Las Vegas´s last blog ..Hard times for Hi-Rise lender =-.
Jeff,
It takes a little while to build a business on referrals, but it’s the best way.
Lillie,
Put your most popular posts in your homepage so they will rank higher in the search engine. It will rank higher because that page has very high pagerank to pass the juice to your popular posts.
-Kai Lo
Kai Lo,
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve tried several top commenters plugins and for some reason have never been able to make any work. If you can recommend one or tell me what I need to do, please let me know.
The hardest part is trying to get your name out there and bring in business.
.-= Mike´s last blog ..Benefits Of The Warm Mist Humidifier =-.
Mike,
That’s the case with any business—getting known and trusted by potential customers is always a challenge. Pricing is part of the equation in getting accepted and trusted.
I’m a firm believer that talented writers deserve to be compensated at good rates. Writing is a talent that very few people in this world can claim as their own. It is a shame to see writers struggle in the modern age, particularly with the decline of newspaper and book publications.
.-= Geoff@San Diego Homes´s last blog ..California Home Buyer Tax Credit! =-.
Geoff,
Everyone should be paid fairly for their work. The problem is that too many writers don’t know what fair pay is.
[...] “Freelance editing rates” is consistently the most popular search term that leads people to my blog. Because of that interest, several months ago, I conducted and publised the results of a freelance rates survey. Freelance rates are the source of continuing debate, and the results of the survey showed rates ranging from less than $5 per hour to $150 per hour. [...]
[...] I know there is a big interest in what writers and editors charge. “Freelance editing rates” is the most popular search term bringing readers to my blog. [...]
There’s a lot of job opportunities out there and some webmaster offer long term writing projects.
You may charge as much as you can but the question is, can you deliver it as expected? USD2 per 300 words can be a good rate, though.
.-= Gary@Watch Anime Online´s last blog ..Watch Naruto Shippuden 139 Online =-.
Gary,
Part of it depends on where you are in the world. In the US, $2 will barely buy a cup of coffee. A good writer who takes pride in his work will spend some time on each project ensuring the article is well-written, well-edited, and effective. I don’t see how anyone can do that for the price of a cup of coffee.
In developing countries, of course, $2 will go a lot further than in the developed world. However, I would think someone who wants to improve their family’s situation would be happy to take advantage of the higher pay rates to help their family get ahead, while still being competitive in the marketplace.
Of course, as you mention, you must give good value for the price you charge. Often, people in other countries for whom English is a second language cannot deliver the same level of quality of a native speaker. So if they are writing in English, they are limited to clients who have low quality standards and who pay commensurate with the quality expected and delivered. Of course, I couldn’t write anything in any other language, and I know I can’t.
If you are an outstanding writer with good English skills -unless you are writing in another language
– if you deliver excellent value to your client to help them grow their own business, you should be paid for the value you provide.
You just never know which post will take off for you – so write more!
.-= JadeDragon@passiveincome´s last blog ..Have You Failed at Constant Content? =-.
JadeDragon,
I generally write three posts a week—all I have time for.
It’s always a good idea to keep a close eye on your site stats, as you can dig up little gems that can prove profitable. You could probably monetize these said keywords which are sending you traffic thru any affiliate program. Otherwise, you should be able to push your own services.
James,
Excellent advice. However, I have decided not to monetize this blog because it is fun for me. If I get too serious about making money, it will become work. I do provide information about my services, and I have occasionally got busienss from it, though most of my work is from referrals. I would like to sell more books … but I’m not good at that.
As a freelancer, I would say that I charged my clients as reasonably as I can that both he/she and I are happy after the negotiations.
felics,
Offering value to your clients is what is most important. Regardless of what your price is, clients should feel they get more than they paid for.
I think what the title of the post is make alot of differance in how poeple will find your post.
Ron & Joann,
I think you’re right. “Freelance editing rates” are good search terms, so the title of my post is good for SEO, even though I didn’t know that when I wrote it.
I edit my own stuff for free lol
don,
If it’s not critically important that your work reflect a level of excellence, editing yourself is fine. I edit myself for casual writing, including blog posts. However, for books or important articles, I use an outside editor. Even though I am a professional editor myself (and a very good one, if I say so myself!), I don’t catch my own mistakes as effectively as I catch the errors of others. There are several reasons for this: As writers, we know what we meant, and we tend to read what we meant, not what we actually wrote. None of us knows everything, so we will miss errors that we don’t know are errors. We read from the perspective of someone who is an expert in the subject matter, not from the point of view of our target audience, who may not be familiar with jargon we use or who may not understand what we write because they lack background knowledge.
A professional editor can give you a different perspective that can make the difference between a mediocre article and a great one. Even asking someone else who isn’t a professional editor to read and give you feedback is better than trusting your own editing.
There’s a saying among editors, “I can catch everyone’s mistakes but my own.” Editing yourself on a major work is like being your own doctor when you need surgery.
I’ve been doing some research on starting a new blog. My first, actually. I’m always daunted by how much work and effort are required to keep a blog running successfully. You have to make sure you update your blog regularly. market it effectively, ensure that Google thinks it’s “cool” enough … geez. And I’m amazed, too, at how Google seems so powerful over all matter concerning blogs.
Thanks for the input, Lillie. Will have to work up enough courage before I launch my own blog.
Michelle,
You need to write another of my posts: Just Do It!
Learn to blog by blogging. I didn’t set out to do anything special when I wrote the post mentioned above. So I surprised to find it ranked #1 for an important search engine. What I did was provide information that people are looking for. Google’s success as a search engine people trust is to give searchers links to the information they want. If they don’t do that, searchers will go elsewhere to search. So if bloggers write people want to read, Google will find it. Of course, it may take a little time, but it will happen.
Focus on content first and everything else is secondary.
This is the beauty of blogging because you’ll never know what keyword you’ll going to hit… you maybe hitting the jackpot where advertiser’s pay higher on a particular keyword..
Kyle,
I don’t know anything about advertising as I don’t use it. Blogging is not a moneymaker for me, but purely a hobby.
There are lots of freelance writers nowadays that lower rate but what is important is that the quality of content that they make is really good.
Scott,
I think plumbers should work at a lower rate as long as their work is very good.
Actually, I think everyone should be paid what they are worth–based on the benefit of the service to the customer.
Good post. Freelancing is a great way to earn money while staying at home. I’ve been doing this for many years.
Micky,
Glad you’re a happy and successful freelancer.
This is a great idea, because sometimes it helps immensely just to know where to start. I’d like to address your second question; I’d say both. Perhaps you could provide a more comprehensive overview with considerations for both freelancers and their potential clients. Thanks!
Bobby,
The survey has already been done, and the results are available in later posts.
Freelance writing is actually a great help for me. I get to have extra income and patch up other miscellaneous expenses. I can even shop what I want.
Glad to hear that freelance writing works for you, Bea.
Freelance job is everywhere and with the advancement of technology you can find lots of freelance jobs over the net. Even I make use of such resource, I sometimes write blogs to earn extra income.
Best wishes in your freelance career, Brendan.
It’s tough to gauge what a writer is worth on the outside. One thing I have to say though is that you do get what you pay for.. best to shop around and if you really need quality writing expect to pay for it.
Andrew,
Different writers with different skills and different rates are appropriate for different projects. When your project is very important, you will want the best and be willing to pay for it.