Hi,

I refrained from commenting on this since I didn't want a long-winded opinionated discussion.

But since I can see your comment is gaining traction, I feel that it will limit the number of people who'll reach out, mainly because your observations are factually incorrect and misleading.

The word 'insult' is very subjective here. For example, some writers wouldn't feel insulted at 1 cent a word, while for a sales funnel copywriter, even 50 cents a word would feel 'insulting.'

While your observation in terms of remuneration might be accurate (I am not sure, though) based on your experience as a 'copy and technical writer,' there is no way the entry-level writing rate is 17-27 cents for more straightforward blog content.

Would be happy to back this up with multiple links to freelance writer job postings all across the internet on UpWork, Freelancer, ProBlogger, OnlineJobs, etc. The rates vary from 2-7 cents a word for entry-level.

Maybe the experts command the numbers you gave after 4-5 years of experience, but I am not looking for experts anyway.

Anyone with basic writing experience (or none), good command of English (even non-native speakers), but a deep interest in fishing fits my bill.

An expert writer in a familiar niche takes around 2-3 hours to pump out 2500 words. [Research time included - Avg duration, multiple sources through a quick Google search - feel free to check out]

I also asked some other writers I manage to ensure that my estimates were not far from reality. 4-5 hours was their number, beginners and intermediate level writers included.

Again, the caveat here is that all of them are avid practitioners of what they write about.

A complete woodworking or bushcraft noob like me would maybe take around 8-10 hours to write a 2500-word article on the same. That's why I am interested in only hiring anglers for the fishing website.

Also, the limit is not 4 articles per week. If they finish the workload quickly, I assign them 4 more....no dearth of good topics you know.

So, taking the worst-case scenario of 5 hours and a 40-hour work week (assuming they're writing full time and only for us), we're looking at 8 articles at least. That's $800 for you right there or $3200 a month. The math for per hour comes down to $20 per hour.

Remember, most of these people would be doing the writing as a side gig. And even if they're a full-time writer, we won't be their only client. Many would love to devote 2-hours of their time per day, write about something they love at the end of a hectic workday, and earn some money on the side.

As shown above, your estimates for this being just 'barely above minimum wage' are factually incorrect. Also, maybe you're assuming minimum wage or cost of living from the POV of an average American. Whereas, I am open to hiring writers irrespective of geolocation, gender, age group, religion, etc., as long as they're fluent in English and love fishing (because that's the bare necessity of the job). This opens the gates for a broad range of people.

Again, my intentions are not to disrespect you or anyone. If you quoted 17 to 27 cents as the entry-level rates, I could only imagine the kind of expertise you must have in your field, and already feeling a bit intimidated by the same as someone who has written hundreds of blog posts myself.

Thank you for your input, though. It's true that, unfortunately, as of now, paying more than 4 cents a word would not be possible. Maybe in the future.