Pricing content marketing and ongoing blog work

Who this is for

This page is for a freelance content marketer quoting an ongoing blog or editorial engagement for a real client.

The pricing question

Which recurring editorial tasks belong in the monthly engagement, and which requests should trigger a separate brief?

What to decide before you send the price

Ask before quoting: How many pieces are expected? Which formats count? Who owns the editorial calendar? Are expert interviews available? Who approves topics? Is keyword research required? Who supplies product updates? Does the work include CMS publishing? Is distribution included? Which results will be reviewed? Confirm audience segments, article depth, brand voice, source standards, internal links, visual assets, approval time, and the handling of urgent requests.

A recurring scope may cover editorial planning, topic briefs, expert interviews, article drafting, editing, CMS formatting, internal linking, and monthly reporting. Base it on assumptions such as a stable cadence, available experts, one approval path, and client access to analytics. Exclude paid promotion, video production, design, translation, technical site fixes, sales enablement, product launches, and unplanned rush pieces unless the offer names them.

Create an Editorial option for briefs and articles, a Managed Blog option adding publishing and internal links, and a Growth Review option adding distribution assets and a monthly learning session. Use one outline review and one consolidated draft revision per article. Topic swaps after research, delayed experts, repeated approvals, extensive source disputes, and urgent campaign work are common causes of monthly capacity drift.

A weak scope says, "Create weekly content and support promotion." A clear scope says, "Deliver one approved brief and one long-form article per week, upload each article to the existing CMS, add agreed internal links, and provide one monthly performance summary." Define what happens when approvals miss the publishing window. The retainer buys reserved capacity for named outputs, not unlimited access to every marketing task.

• Fix the monthly cadence and name every content format.
• Assign ownership for topics, experts, sources, and approvals.
• Separate evergreen publishing from launches and rush campaigns.
• Cap revisions at the outline and draft stages.
• Carry unused capacity forward only when the offer says so.

FAQ

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Useful glossary terms

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