How to Hire a Content Writer
Last updated . Every number on this page was checked October 2, 2026.
To hire a content writer, write down what you need written, choose the kind of hire, read samples, and pay for a short test before you commit. A "hire content writer" search can mean blog posts, website pages, or both, so this page covers each. In Texas, a full-time writer hired as an employee at the middle (median) wage costs $6,302.44 a month, and a part-time writer at 20 hours a week costs $3,163.18 a month. Both are wages plus employer taxes, before benefits, using the BLS May 2025 wage for Writers and Authors and 2026 tax rates.
This page is a plain reading of the rules. It isn't legal or tax advice.
How do you hire a content writer?
You hire a content writer in five steps: define the work, pick the kind of hire, read samples, run a paid test, and put the terms in writing.
- Define the work. List what you need written, such as blog posts, website pages, case studies or emails. Add how many pieces you need each month.
- Pick the kind of hire. The choices are a contractor, an employee or an outside team. The sections below cover each one.
- Read samples. Ask for published pieces close to the kind you need. For the search skills to check, see hire seo content writer.
- Run a paid test. Give the writer one short piece on a topic you know well, with a real deadline.
- Put the terms in writing. Cover what's due, when it's due, the number of revision rounds, and the pay. For a contract or an offer letter, ask an employment lawyer.
Here's a test brief you can copy for step 4. Fill in the parts in parentheses.
- Topic: (one topic you know well)
- Reader: (who the piece is for)
- Length: (a short piece, such as one page)
- Due: (date and time)
- Changes: one round, after your notes
- Pay: (the amount, paid whether or not you use the piece)
This page is about writers. For a social media manager, see hire social media manager. For a video editor, see hire video editor.
How do you hire a website content writer?
You hire a website content writer in five steps: list the pages you need, pick the kind of hire, read samples of website pages, run a paid test on one page, and put the terms in writing. A website writer is one kind of content writer. The work is pages such as a home page, a service page or an about page.
Give the writer what a web page needs before they start:
- Who the page is for, and what you want that reader to do next
- What you sell, in your own words
- The facts and proof you can stand behind
- The list of pages, with one job for each page
Ask for the page text with its headings. Ask for a page title and a short description for search results too.
Be clear about which kind of writing you're buying. Website pages and blog posts are content. A sales page or an ad is a different job. Say which one you need before you ask for samples.
DeskTeam360, the company that runs this site, does content writing for agencies, under the agency's brand. If that's the route you're weighing, a call is where you find out whether it fits.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
Should you hire a freelance content writer?
A freelance content writer fits when the writing comes in set pieces, such as a batch of website pages or a few posts a month. An employee fits when you need a writer inside the business every week. An outside team fits when writing is one of several kinds of production work you need done.
| A freelance writer | An employee | An outside team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the work is set | You agree on the pieces. The work ends when they're delivered | You set the hours and the tasks | You buy a service, and the team does the writing along with other work |
| Who directs it | The writer decides how the pieces get written. You approve them | You do. That right to direct and control the worker is what the IRS looks at | The company that runs the team |
| What you pay | The price you agreed on for the pieces | Wages plus employer taxes. The last section shows that cost | The price of the service |
The word "freelance" says how the work is set up. It doesn't say how the worker is treated for taxes. For taxes, the IRS weighs the whole working relationship, and how far the business has the right to direct and control the worker. The IRS and the Texas Workforce Commission each have a test for who counts as a contractor. For those tests, see independent contractor vs employee. Not legal or tax advice. Ask your accountant.
Where do you hire a content writer online?
Online, you can hire a content writer through a job board, a marketplace, or an outside team.
- A job board. You post the job and writers apply.
- A marketplace. Writers list their services and you pick one. The headline on Upwork's own cost page says content writers on Upwork cost $15 to $40 an hour (as of October 2026). The same page also lists other figures: a median of $25 an hour in its search description, and a line in its body that says rates for top content writers run from as low as $15 to as high as $80 an hour, with most in the $30 to $50 range (all read October 2, 2026). These are one marketplace's own figures for the people on it. None of them stands for the whole market.
- An outside team. DeskTeam360 does content writing for agencies, under the agency's brand. Sales pages, cold email copy and ad copy are outside its work. For email, its plan covers the build, and copywriting is an add-on.
Whichever one you use, ask for published samples and run the paid test.
What does a content writer cost as an employee?
In Texas, a full-time writer hired as an employee at the middle (median) wage costs $6,302.44 a month. A part-time writer at 20 hours a week costs $3,163.18 a month. Both are wages plus employer taxes, before benefits (BLS May 2025 wages, 2026 tax rates).
The wage comes from the BLS job "Writers and Authors" (code 27-3043). That job is wider than web content writers, so read these figures as a guide.
| Texas | US | |
|---|---|---|
| Middle (median) wage an hour, May 2025 | $33.65 | $36.98 |
| Middle (median) wage a year, May 2025 | $69,990 | $76,910 |
| Full time, a month: wages plus employer taxes, before benefits | $6,302.44 | $6,902.97 |
| Full time, a year: wages plus employer taxes, before benefits | $75,629.24 | $82,835.62 |
| Part time at 20 hours a week, a month: wages plus employer taxes, before benefits | $3,163.18 | $3,453.61 |
The monthly figures were made this way. Start with the wage. Add employer Social Security tax at 6.2% and Medicare tax at 1.45%. Add federal unemployment tax of $42 a worker a year, with the full state credit. The Texas column also counts Texas unemployment tax, which is $243 a year at the 2.70% entry rate for a new employer in 2026. State unemployment tax isn't in the US column. The 20 hours a week is our assumption.
These are employee-path figures. They aren't a quote, and a real hire can cost less or more. Ask your accountant how the taxes apply to you.
For four kinds of first hire side by side by the month, see the first-hire cost page.
More on first hires for an agency
If your agency needs content written under its own brand, a call with DeskTeam360 shows whether a team fits.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupation Profiles, Writers and Authors (BLS code 27-3043), Texas and US
- The monthly totals are our math on the BLS wages and the tax rates in the next three sources
- IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare
- IRS Topic 759, federal unemployment tax
- Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment tax rates
- IRS, independent contractor (self-employed) or employee and IRS Topic 762, independent contractor vs. employee
- Texas Workforce Commission, classifying employees and independent contractors
- Upwork, content writers cost page, read October 2, 2026
- DeskTeam360, How It Works page (deskteam360.com/how-it-works) and email and funnels page (deskteam360.com/services/email-funnels), and a statement by its founder, Jeremy Kenerson, dated September 25, 2026
All checked October 2, 2026.
This site isn't connected to the State of Texas or any government agency.
What changed
- October 2, 2026: First version of this page.