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How Much Do You Get Paid for Writing Campaign Speeches?

If you’re thinking about taking on a side gig to make some extra cash, how much do you get paid for writing campaign speeches? You might be surprised to learn that it’s not as easy as you’d think it is. Let’s take a look, shall we?

The Basics

First off, let’s establish the basics. What is a campaign speech, and how is it different from an interview or regular old public speaking? As the name suggests, a campaign speech is given during the course of a political campaign. You’ll most commonly find them coming from candidates in an election, but they can also come from politicians who are running for office or those who are just campaigning for votes. In other words, you’re bound to come across them when you’re following politics. For our purposes, a campaign speech is simply a speech given during a political campaign. Here’s a good example.

A politician or political organization might want someone to write up some quick campaign speech for a local restaurant owner or community college professor who is running for office. In exchange, the politician will pay the writer a flat fee or possibly a per-word fee, whichever is more favorable. The fee will vary depending on the writer’s experience, but it is not uncommon for it to be anywhere from $25 to $100 or more per speech. So, you can see that there’s definitely some money to be made here. How much money depends on several factors, but the main ones are how experienced you are in speaking and how much mileage you have under your belt. In general, the more experience you have, the more you’ll likely be paid. What’s important is that you’re able to negotiate a contract before you start writing the speech.

Getting Paid Ahead Of Time

Once you’ve written the speech, the next step is to present it to the client for approval. This is usually a quick and easy process, and you can expect to be paid fairly promptly once the client has given their approval. In some cases, the client will ask for as many as 10 speeches to choose from. So, you might get a couple of them the same day and be paid accordingly. In other cases, you might have to wait a few days or a couple of weeks for more to come in. When you do eventually get paid, however, you’ll usually be able to negotiate a satisfactory contract for at least half of the original agreed-upon price.

The Differences In The Formats

The main difference between a campaign speech and other types of public speaking is the delivery method. When delivered by an experienced voice-over artist, a campaign speech can sound just like a recorded announcement or a radio ad. So, while it can be effective as a stand-alone piece, it’s probably not the best choice for someone just getting started. One important thing to keep in mind is that the fee you get for a campaign speech will vary based on the frequency and the style in which you perform the service. The more you are able to vary your delivery and the more spontaneous you can make it sound, the more you will likely get paid. In some cases, you might even get paid per word. These are usually the types of speeches that are written by professional speech writers. While sometimes the work is done well ahead of time, a lot of it is generally done with only a few hours to spare. So, if you do happen to run into some trouble, there are usually people nearby who can help you out. But, for the most part, you’re on your own. Writing and delivering a campaign speech is certainly not the most lucrative gig around, but it’s fairly easy to get started and can be a good way to pad your income while you learn the ropes.