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The differences between contributing writers and content writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a contributing writer and a content writer. Additionally, a content writer has an average salary of $58,918, which is higher than the $51,372 average annual salary of a contributing writer.
The top three skills for a contributing writer include lifestyle, web content and SEO. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.
| Contributing Writer | Content Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $51,372 | $58,918 |
| Hourly rate | $24.70 | $28.33 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 10,292 | 19,621 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A contributing writer is responsible for contributing content to a publication or a specific client, typically on a freelance basis. Contributing writers must have a strong command of their language and extensive understanding of the topics assigned to them. They should be keen on details, perfecting grammar usage with proper writing elements. A contributing writer performs in-depth research to support content, ensuring the accuracy of information to release a high-quality article and serve a good read for the target audience. Contributing writers must have excellent time-management and communication skills, especially on meeting deadlines and doing revisions.
The job of content writers is to create the best possible written or visual content ranging from blog posts to press releases. They produce the content for various types of websites, including social networks, news aggregators, and e-commerce sites. The job of content writers is not limited to writing, but also ensuring that the content connects or is relevant to the website pages. They are expected to set the tone of the website and revise the content upon customers' or clients' requests. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of style guides.
Contributing writers and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contributing Writer | Content Writer | |
| Average salary | $51,372 | $58,918 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $75,000 | Between $40,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Cisco |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a contributing writer and a content writer in terms of educational background:
| Contributing Writer | Content Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Journalism | English |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between contributing writers' and content writers' demographics:
| Contributing Writer | Content Writer | |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.6% Female, 55.4% | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 16% |