Your team does not need an invoice to incur a content cost.
When a marketing manager researches a topic, a technical expert checks the details, and an editor revises the draft, your business is investing time. Add audio, images, metadata, approvals, and the tools used along the way, and the cost can be much higher than the writing time alone suggests.
That does not mean internal content production is the wrong choice. It means the decision deserves a complete comparison.
Before asking, “What does an article cost?” ask: “What does it take to produce the finished content package our business actually needs?”
1. Count the work—not just the writingLink to this section
Imagine an industrial distributor in Tulsa creating an article that answers a common customer question about equipment selection.
Writing is only one part of the work. Someone must choose the question, research the answer, check technical accuracy, edit the article, prepare the supporting assets, and coordinate delivery.
Start by listing the tasks your team actually performs:
- Research and planning
- Writing
- Editing and verification
- Key summary
- Narrated audio and transcript, if required
- Featured image
- Search metadata
- Coordination, revisions, and delivery
Assign hours and people to each task. If two people contribute, include both.
Use recent projects or time records when available. Estimates are a useful starting point, but they are still assumptions—not industry benchmarks.
2. Use a fully loaded labor rateLink to this section
Salary alone does not represent the full cost of an employee’s productive time.
A basic calculation is:
Loaded hourly labor cost = annual salary, employer benefits, and payroll burden ÷ annual productive working hours
Productive hours should reflect the time realistically available for work, rather than assuming every paid hour is available for content production.
Then calculate:
Labor cost per article = sum of each contributor’s hours × their loaded hourly rate
A quick estimate can use one blended rate. A detailed analysis should use separate rates when a writer, editor, designer, and technical reviewer have materially different costs.
Avoid counting an expense twice. If a contractor’s invoice is already included as a production expense, do not also count the same work as employee labor.
3. Separate allocated expenses from costs that would actually stopLink to this section
Content production may also use software, training, IT support, administration, and other resources.
Those costs help explain the economics of your production process. But allocating an expense to an article does not mean outsourcing that article will remove the expense.
A software subscription you will keep is different from a contractor invoice you will no longer pay. An employee’s recovered time is different from a reduction in payroll.
Ask two questions about each expense:
- 01How much of this cost reasonably belongs to content production?
- 02Would this expense actually decrease if we changed how the content was produced?
Keep the answers separate. Also exclude overhead already included in your loaded labor rate.
4. Compare equivalent deliverables—and retain review timeLink to this section
A text-only draft is not the same product as an edited article with a summary, narrated audio, transcript, featured image, and metadata.
Compare the deliverables you actually need on both sides. If your internal process does not produce audio, do not count avoided audio-production work unless you would otherwise need to create it.
TradeWrite CORE includes a researched, human-edited English article and supporting assets. Your business still needs appropriate subject-matter review and final approval. TradeWrite does not automatically publish the content.
Include that remaining review time in the comparison:
TradeWrite-related cost = article price + remaining client labor + any remaining applicable expenses
5. Test the numbers with an illustrative exampleLink to this section
Consider a hypothetical business producing 10 equivalent article packages per month:
| Assumption or result | Amount |
|---|---|
| Internal production time per article | 8.9 hours |
| Loaded hourly labor rate | $56.66 |
| Internal labor cost per article | $504.27 |
| TradeWrite pilot price per article | $150.00 |
| Remaining client review time | 0.75 hours |
| TradeWrite plus client review cost per article | $192.50 |
| Modeled economic benefit per article | $311.78 |
| Modeled economic benefit at 10 articles per month | $3,117.79 |
| Staff capacity recovered at that volume | 81.5 hours per month |
These are illustrative planning assumptions, not measured customer results or guaranteed savings. Totals are calculated before rounding; multiplying rounded table values can produce a small difference.
The $150 rate represents the pilot offer. The calculator also lets you select the $200 standard rate or enter a custom assumption.
If the pilot is temporary, do not treat that price as a year-round commitment. Annual estimates assume the selected rate and monthly volume continue for all 12 months; they do not model an unspecified post-pilot price.
6. Understand what the result meansLink to this section
The comparison can reveal three different things:
Production economics: The modeled difference in the cost of producing equivalent deliverables.
Recovered capacity: Staff time that could be redirected to other work. That time has value, even when payroll stays the same.
Potential cash savings: Expenses that would genuinely stop or decrease, less the TradeWrite purchase and applicable remaining cash costs.
Do not add capacity value to cash savings when both represent the same work. And do not assume that lower production costs guarantee more traffic, leads, or revenue.
A useful model can also show that an alternative costs more. The purpose is to support a decision—not force a favorable answer.
Calculate your own hidden content costsLink to this section
Your hours, roles, review process, and required deliverables will differ from this example.
Use the TradeWrite Savings Calculator to start with a quick estimate, then explore tasks, roles, software, coordination, rework, and overhead in Detailed Analysis. You can also adjust an AI-assisted internal scenario instead of assuming AI makes production free.
Change the assumptions. Compare the results. Identify which costs are allocated, which hours could be recovered, and which expenses would actually disappear.
Calculate your hidden content costs with the TradeWrite Savings Calculator.
Common questions about content production costs
How do I calculate the true cost of a content article?
Multiply each contributor’s production hours by their fully loaded hourly rate, then add applicable software, contractor, rework, and overhead costs that are not already included. Compare the same deliverables and retain any review or approval work your team will still perform.
Is recovered employee time the same as cash savings?
No. Recovered time is staff capacity that can be redirected to other work. Cash savings require expenses that actually stop or decrease, net of TradeWrite’s purchase price and applicable remaining expenses. Do not add both values for the same work.
Does AI-assisted writing make content production free?
No. AI-assisted production can still require research, technical verification, editing, review, software, and supporting assets. TradeWrite’s calculator lets you edit the AI-assisted scenario independently instead of assuming a productivity gain.
What does the $150 TradeWrite pilot price include?
The pilot article rate is a CORE estimate option. CORE includes a researched, human-edited English article, key summary, narrated audio, transcript, AI-generated featured image, basic search metadata, and organized deliverables. Client subject-matter review and final approval remain necessary. Pilot terms must be confirmed with TradeWrite.
Does the calculator assume pilot pricing lasts all year?
Annual estimates extrapolate the selected article rate and monthly volume for 12 months. They do not guarantee a year of pilot eligibility or model an unspecified post-pilot price. Use the Standard or Custom rate when that better represents the period you are evaluating.
Do I have to share my financial inputs to use the calculator?
No. Calculator entries stay in page memory and are not sent or saved by the calculator. Sharing its link does not include your salaries, hours, costs, or results. You can separately choose to copy, print, or download a summary.
Sources and assumptions
The worked example comes from the TradeWrite Savings Calculator and its stated inputs. It is not a wage survey or a customer case study. Replace the inputs with your own records.
For a reference on employer compensation cost categories, see the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. The illustrative $56.66 hourly rate is a calculator assumption, not a rate attributed to that publication.