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Writer and editor vs content writer

The differences between writer and editors and content writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a writer and editor, becoming a content writer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a writer and editor has an average salary of $61,482, which is higher than the $58,918 average annual salary of a content writer.

The top three skills for a writer and editor include web content, blog posts and press releases. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.

Writer and editor vs content writer overview

Writer And EditorContent Writer
Yearly salary$61,482$58,918
Hourly rate$29.56$28.33
Growth rate-5%4%
Number of jobs14,86519,621
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4442
Years of experience42

What does a writer and editor do?

Writing is not an easy task, so a Writer and an Editor must work together to deliver quality content. A writer's role is to gather information to create a structured written material that would serve its purpose, whether for recreational or informational. Moreover, it is the Editor's responsibility to oversee and examine what the Writer has produced. From this, the Editor will provide feedback, corrections or suggestions, and guidelines that the Writer can follow to improve the material.

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.

Writer and editor vs content writer salary

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

Writer And EditorContent Writer
Average salary$61,482$58,918
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $103,000Between $40,000 And $84,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateConnecticutCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleCisco
Best paying industryInternetFinance

Differences between writer and editor and content writer education

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

Writer And EditorContent Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Writer and editor vs content writer demographics

Here are the differences between writer and editors' and content writers' demographics:

Writer And EditorContent Writer
Average age4442
Gender ratioMale, 40.0% Female, 60.0%Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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 Percentage12%16%

Differences between writer and editor and content writer duties and responsibilities

Writer and editor example responsibilities.

  • Update website daily, manage Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram accounts.
  • Create articles featuring campus faculty and students, as well as lifestyle tips, and opinion editorials.
  • Work closely with magazine's editor-in-chief to hash out design ideas and content.
  • Gain 9k twitter followers in four months, and create a consistent fan base.
  • Assign stories to writers, edit them with SEO in mind, then post to proprietary CMS.
  • Pitch, write, and publish full length book/news relate articles-Edit and format images, SEO, HTML formatting
  • 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

Writer and editor vs content writer skills

Common writer and editor skills
  • Web Content, 23%
  • Blog Posts, 8%
  • Press Releases, 8%
  • Writing Articles, 3%
  • Feature Stories, 3%
  • Photography, 3%
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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