Post job

Staff writer vs content writer

The differences between staff 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 staff writer and a content writer. Additionally, a content writer has an average salary of $58,918, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.

The top three skills for a staff writer include feature stories, news stories and event coverage. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.

Staff writer vs content writer overview

Staff WriterContent Writer
Yearly salary$44,844$58,918
Hourly rate$21.56$28.33
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs80,54719,621
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4642
Years of experience22

What does a staff writer do?

A staff writer is an individual who works in the television (TV) or entertainment industry to provide standard content such as news reports, reviews, and features. Since writing content is important, staff writers must be able to collaborate and brainstorm ideas with other staff members in the production process. They must attend conferences, events, or seminars to meet other people in the industry. Staff writers must also possess knowledge in scriptwriting and an in-depth understanding of the entertainment industry.

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.

Staff writer vs content writer salary

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

Staff WriterContent Writer
Average salary$44,844$58,918
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $68,000Between $40,000 And $84,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyThe New York Times CompanyCisco
Best paying industryNon ProfitsFinance

Differences between staff writer and content writer education

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

Staff WriterContent Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorJournalismEnglish
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Staff writer vs content writer demographics

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

Staff WriterContent Writer
Average age4642
Gender ratioMale, 49.2% Female, 50.8%Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.3% 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 staff writer and content writer duties and responsibilities

Staff writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage magazine's transition to a new CMS system.
  • Manage website by uploading and scheduling articles, fixing errors, proofreading, optimizing for SEO, and polishing content.
  • Manage arts and entertainment editorial calendar, assign stories to multiple freelancers and plan daily coverage.
  • Assist with copywriting, magazine and advertisement layout.
  • Research, verify facts and edit all contributor submissions.
  • Create unique columns commentating on the social state of hockey and the NHL.
  • Show more

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

Staff writer vs content writer skills

Common staff writer skills
  • Feature Stories, 9%
  • News Stories, 8%
  • Event Coverage, 7%
  • News Articles, 7%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Photography, 6%
Common content writer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 10%
  • WordPress, 9%
  • Web Content, 6%
  • Blog Posts, 6%
  • Digital Content, 3%
  • Content Marketing, 3%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs