How Much Do Entry-Level Content Writers Make

Typically, entry-level content writers in India, at the time of writing this, make about ₹1 per word, translating to about ₹1000-1200 per article. Some writers are getting paid less than that, while others pocket marginally more. 

This number varies across the world. In Western nations, for instance, you are more likely to get paid handsomely for writing persuasive copy than in countries like India.

There are definitely exceptions to this rule. 

In this chapter, let’s take a quick look at the myriad of factors that affect how much you can expect to make after starting your content writing career.

1. Content type

Long-form blog posts are the most popular form of content and come in various sizes. It could be regular articles, in-depth guides, and eBooks. This diversity of formats increases the job market size, and their complexity almost ensures decent pay.

As a seasoned professional with 5+ years of experience, I recommend focusing on writing blog posts. Apart from increasing your chances of making decent money, it will also help you develop your written communication and persuasion skills rapidly.

The second form of content includes social media posts. This includes captions, text-only posts, and other creatives. I don’t recommend starting with this because creating short-form content is harder and usually pays less.

Short-form content requires you to have domain expertise and knowledge. Only then can you condense complex concepts into bite-sized chunks for the continually decreasing attention spans of modern consumers.

The final one is direct marketing content. It’s a term I made up to cover community posts, forum discussions, emails, and personal messages. Again, this format of content is best created by experienced folks who know the product or service too well.

2. Market conditions

Jobs in the private sector are dependent on the economy. When the numbers are good, there will be more consumers, which leads to more brands investing in their marketing efforts.

Unfortunately, marketing is one of the first departments that experience budget restrictions when a recession hits. Consequently, the professionals in the industry either end up without jobs or with negligible salary hikes.

This is an external factor that you can’t control.

However, you can control how you are perceived within the industry. For instance, if you are one of the best writers within your niche, chances are you will still have a job during a recession.

Therefore, it is critical to keep improving your skills after landing a job, whether it is a freelancing opportunity or a full-time role. Even if you have a few years of experience under your belt, it is still key to continuously break your limits.

I’ve delved deeper into how you can improve your skill sets effectively in the next section of this book.

3. Range and industry shifts

Range is the diversity of content you can produce while upholding a threshold of quality and maintaining a certain volume. A writer who can write both short and long-form content is more valuable than one who can only produce the former or the latter.

Industry shifts refer to the preferences of the general audience and the algorithms of the platforms where content gets published.

Currently, people want more short-form videos and posts, which is encouraging many brands and creators to invest in it. Similarly, the algorithms of social media and search engines are rewarding authentic human-generated content over machine-written slop.

With the rise of AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, along with features such as AI Overviews, the focus on SEO is shifting. Now, brands are better off by producing content that is related to their offerings, company, and customers.

Again, the aforementioned industry shifts and suggested content range depend on micro factors, such as the extent to which you want to grow and the current markets you write for.

You can easily navigate the challenges by simply getting 1% better every day, which can be done by remaining consistent.

Wrapping up

Read books about psychology, marketing, and persuasion. I’ve spent many hours learning about propaganda, manipulation, and religion as well to dive into how you can make someone do something they may not want to do naturally.

All of this will make you more resilient to the transient nature of the industry and secure your position within the company you are working for. 

Finally, try to build a brand for yourself, like I am trying to with this blog. It makes your resume stronger and elevates your skills without you even knowing.

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Next Chapter: 3 Tips to Skyrocket Your Content Writing Income

Previous Chapter: The Best Way to Apply for Content Writing Jobs

Index (Prologue): What is Content Writing