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Contributing writer vs content writer

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 vs content writer overview

Contributing WriterContent Writer
Yearly salary$51,372$58,918
Hourly rate$24.70$28.33
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs10,29219,621
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4642
Years of experience22

What does a contributing writer do?

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.

What does a content writer do?

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 writer vs content writer salary

Contributing writers and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Contributing WriterContent Writer
Average salary$51,372$58,918
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $75,000Between $40,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Cisco
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between contributing writer and content writer education

There are a few differences between a contributing writer and a content writer in terms of educational background:

Contributing WriterContent Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorJournalismEnglish
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Contributing writer vs content writer demographics

Here are the differences between contributing writers' and content writers' demographics:

Contributing WriterContent Writer
Average age4642
Gender ratioMale, 44.6% Female, 55.4%Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage11%16%

Differences between contributing writer and content writer duties and responsibilities

Contributing writer example responsibilities.

  • Collaborate with overseas team and manage documents using SharePoint to conceptualize and generate new marketing content.
  • Pitch, write and photograph audience-aligned content, which are centered on the European-American luxury lifestyle in the greater Chicago area
  • Create SharePoint site for marketing and communications that include project tracking, document governance and collaboration space.

Content writer example responsibilities.

  • Implement and manage Salesforce and Marketo for client to establish lead nurturing campaigns.
  • Maintain guest blogging strategy and policies to achieve a consistently diverse authorship and to grow readership.
  • Manage the editorial production of the pamphlets, brochures and graphic material to target worldwide audiences including china.
  • Manage proposal process from RFP (request for proposal) receipt to writing and editing various contributions to final RFP submission.
  • Collaborate with overseas team and manage documents using SharePoint to conceptualize and generate new marketing content.
  • Produce a wide array of literature ranging from poetry to short stories.
  • Show more

Contributing writer vs content writer skills

Common contributing writer skills
  • Lifestyle, 13%
  • Web Content, 7%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Feature Stories, 6%
  • Conduct Interviews, 5%
  • Blog Posts, 5%
Common content writer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 10%
  • WordPress, 9%
  • Web Content, 6%
  • Blog Posts, 6%
  • Digital Content, 3%
  • Content Marketing, 3%

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