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Contract writer vs freelance journalist

The differences between contract writers and freelance journalists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a contract writer has an average salary of $91,260, which is higher than the $49,141 average annual salary of a freelance journalist.

The top three skills for a contract writer include web content, SEO and press releases. The most important skills for a freelance journalist are web content, local news, and feature stories.

Contract writer vs freelance journalist overview

Contract WriterFreelance Journalist
Yearly salary$91,260$49,141
Hourly rate$43.88$23.63
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs23,67110,775
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4242
Years of experience2-

Contract writer vs freelance journalist salary

Contract writers and freelance journalists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Contract WriterFreelance Journalist
Average salary$91,260$49,141
Salary rangeBetween $61,000 And $136,000Between $33,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between contract writer and freelance journalist education

There are a few differences between a contract writer and a freelance journalist in terms of educational background:

Contract WriterFreelance Journalist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorEnglishJournalism
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Contract writer vs freelance journalist demographics

Here are the differences between contract writers' and freelance journalists' demographics:

Contract WriterFreelance Journalist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 38.5% Female, 61.5%Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 75.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between contract writer and freelance journalist duties and responsibilities

Contract writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the proposal lifecycle, including RFP analysis, regular communications, proposal development and production consistent with branding strategies.
  • Manage the proposal lifecycle, including RFP analysis, regular communications, proposal development and production consistent with branding strategies.
  • Interview subject matter experts and process source data to write biographies and profiles.
  • Post social media and hospital promotional/patient testimonial YouTube videos.

Freelance journalist example responsibilities.

  • Update website daily, manage Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram accounts.
  • Utilize SEO strategies effectively in order to generate high traffic on high-quality writing pieces.
  • Fulfill multifaceted duties that include reporting, news/feature writing, photography, researching, fact checking, proofreading and editing.
  • Perform photography to support articles on limit basis.
  • Provide strategic creative concepts, copywriting, technical writing and cost-effective digital media production services on a per-project outsource basis.
  • Interview up and coming Latino artists which generate significant increase in readership.

Contract writer vs freelance journalist skills

Common contract writer skills
  • Web Content, 15%
  • SEO, 12%
  • Press Releases, 12%
  • Blog Posts, 12%
  • Website Copy, 4%
  • Copywriting, 4%
Common freelance journalist skills
  • Web Content, 15%
  • Local News, 9%
  • Feature Stories, 7%
  • Photography, 7%
  • News Stories, 6%
  • Press Releases, 5%

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