83% of marketing specialists agree that content is necessary for creating brand awareness, while 42% perceives content as a driving force for sales and revenue generation.
The digital media landscape is becoming more saturated, and the demand for content advertising continuously increases.
Businesses are shelling out more on marketing as the budget for promotional initiatives has climbed from 6.4% in 2021 to 9.5% in 2022. Still, the cost of content marketing is 62% lower than traditional advertising and generates more leads.
But how much does content marketing cost exactly?
There is not one-size-fits-all strategy — your content marketing cost will depend on numerous factors, which we will discuss below.
Table of Contents
How Much Does Content Marketing Cost: Staffing
How you build your team affects the content marketing cost. These are the three main categories of content teams you can employ:
Freelancers
Freelancers are self-employed, independent contractors you can work with to deliver services on a project basis.
Depending on their professional experience and the complexity of tasks, a freelancer’s rate can range from $21 to $98 per hour.
In-house Team
You can build an in-house content team to integrate into your marketing department. They will be employees who will work full-time for your brand.
The core members of an in-house team are as follows:
- Content marketing manager
- Content strategist
- Editorial planner
- Copywriter
- Visual designer
- Social media manager
- SEO specialist
- Video creator and editor
Content Marketing Partner
The fees charged by a digital marketing service agency can be between $2,000 and $12,500 per month for full services. Or it can range from $1,500 to $7,000 per project in specialized areas for small to medium-sized businesses.
Content Marketing Prices: Strategy
A content strategist’s responsibilities cover the following:
- Overseeing all phases of the content marketing funnel
- Competitive keyword research
- 12-month editorial calendar planning
- Data analysis
- Marketing initiative performance evaluation
It is an essential role in content marketing, requiring a long-term commitment. That is why the cost for a content marketing strategy is an ongoing expense.
A freelancing content strategist typically asks for a monthly retainer fee of $1,500 to $2,000. Their professional background includes:
- Data science
- Advertising
- Journalism
The salary of an in-house content strategist starts at $3,084 and can go as high as $8,583 per month, while an agency can charge somewhere between $2,500 and $50,000 per month. Your choice of partner company should use a data-driven approach to long- and short-term content strategies.
Content Marketing Cost: Content Creation
Prices of content creation and strategy may overlap. Ask yourself these questions when crafting content to assess more clearly the costs of this area of content marketing:
- Who will you hire to produce content?
- What content type are you formulating? Is it a written piece, video, audio, or static graphics?
- What is the length of the written or video content?
- Will the written piece be a feature or a listicle?
- What research type and reporting do you require?
- How complex is the visual design?
Freelancing content creators set their own content marketing pricing based on the level of expertise, work experience, and project scope. They may charge hourly or flat fees. The prices can also be on a per-project basis or depend on word count.
Every content piece can cost anywhere from $50 to $3,500 by the date of completion.
Inclusions are:
- Creation
- Revision or edits
- Feedback loop
- Feedback implementation
- Polishing and touchups
Note that you need a singular contact point from your company to manage and assign the freelance work.
If you have an in-house team of content creators, they need to create a wide variety of content all year round. You can still hire freelancers to work alongside your employees for special projects.
An in-house content creator’s salary is between $2,650 and $6,650 every month. This will be based on the skill level, experience, and specialization.
Costs for an online marketing firm can range from $2,500 to $10,500 a month for extensive services, including fact-checking and multiple layers of editing. These content marketing prices vary according to the nature of work and the frequency of content production.
Here are the most common content types and their average costs:
Basic 200 to 500-word blog post – $25
Expect this to be generic with no in-depth, authentic brand representation.
Series of 2,000-word blog post – $137 to $217
Compared to a generic write-up, these articles will have higher quality and reflect your brand messaging and image.
Professionally made video – $150 to $350 per hour
Your videographer will use their equipment, tools, and editing software. You may also provide these necessities if you have a preference in terms of brand and quality.
Infographics – $597 to $2,997 per piece
This price range will include thorough conceptualization, research, fact-checking, actual design work, and revisions. All these will go into a fun output that tells a story aligned with your branding.
White Papers, Tutorials, and Guides – $3,000 to $7,000 per piece or $67 to $197 per hour
These are well-thought-out production pieces to help establish your business as an industry and thought leader. The content marketing prices already cover idea generation, creation, and publication.
Cost of Content Marketing: Distribution
Distributing excellent online marketing materials organically can bring you closer to your business goals. However, paid distribution is equally important. And there are experts who should be in charge of distribution.
A freelancing advertisement specialist and social media marketing manager can charge between $300 and $1,000 per project. It can also be a monthly fee starting at $500. Social and ad specialists will help you organize and disseminate brand information and promotional collaterals.
Content distribution is usually a project manager’s duty. On average, an in-house project lead earns $3,500 to $8,000 per month. They will formulate the appropriate content distribution strategies consistent with your marketing objectives and allocated budget.
Additionally, they will manage and execute advertising campaigns. They should optimize creative content and drive more conversions in the most cost-efficient way possible.
These are the other content marketing costs for distribution:
Paid social promotion with analytics on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn starts at $5. You can choose from advanced targeting options, like:
- Age groups
- Interests
- Keywords
- Location
PR promotions can cost $150 per post, with up to $3,000 as retainer fee. This will vary depending on your PR company.
Content Marketing Pricing: Software and Tools
In addition to salaries and agency fees, you have to allot budget for automation tools and software for effective content marketing:
Project management platforms
- Asana—starts at $10.99
- Trello—starts at $5
- ClickUp—starts at $5
- Monday—starts at $8
Design software
- Canva—$12.99 per month
- Adobe Creative Cloud—starts at $54.99
- Infogr.am—starts at $19
- Piktochart—starts at $14
- Gimp—free
- Inkscape—free
- Vecteezy—starts at $7
Social media management / pre-scheduling / publishing tools
- Hootsuite—starts at $49
- Buffer—starts at $5
- Later—starts at $18
- SocialPilot—starts at $25.50
- ManageFilter—starts at $50
- Followerwonk—starts at $99
Factors Impacting Content Marketing Prices
These are the considerations you need to balance when allocating a budget for the cost of content marketing:
Word Count or Video Length
The longer a content piece is, the higher the rate will be. This content type will need intensive research, fact-checking, and even interviews. Thus, it will fetch higher fees than a more concise output.
Content Type
Generally, content targeting the funnel's middle and bottom stages costs more.
This is because conversion-focused content, like white paper or a case study, tends to be more time-complicated and time-consuming to complete. It will need a deeper understanding of how a buyer persona interacts with your branding.
Industry
Certain niches pay higher than others. For instance, independent contractors working in information technology, finance and insurance, and human resources earn up to three times higher than professionals in other areas.
Subject Matter Expertise
Content creators who are professional-level practitioners and industry experts charge higher rates. But they also provide exceptional quality work because they have in-depth subject matter proficiency in their respective niches. Plus, they have industry credibility.
Level of Experience
You can expect to pay more for the services of more seasoned professionals with established portfolios.
Tight Deadlines
A quick turnaround time for rush assignments will mean higher fees. This is especially true for freelancers who may be balancing other commitments while trying to fast-track your demand.
Interviews and Extensive Research
There are tasks that require creators to conduct an interview with clients or subject matter experts.
In these cases, your content specialists should prepare a questionnaire and perform background research in advance. The time and skill involved in these tasks will likely raise the cost of content marketing.
Rounds of Revision
While content marketers typically specify a fixed number of standard revisions, you may also negotiate for additional levels of editing.
But note that more modifications from multiple reviewers and approvers will increase the content marketing prices, owing to the time and coordination involved in the feedback loop and update requests.
How Much Does Content Marketing Cost? Final Word
Producing and distributing great content is worth the right content marketing prices. It is not particularly inexpensive, but in terms of digital marketing collaterals, you get what you pay for.
If you want to position your brand as an industry authority, you should be ready to expend a decent amount of time and money.
