Digital editor job description templates for small publishers and brand content teams: 6 variants with duties, FLSA rules, and BLS pay data. Free DOCX.
Digital Editor Job Description Templates for Small Publishers and Brand Teams
6 templates covering an online publication, an in-house brand team, a daily news desk, a senior editorial lead, ecommerce product content, and a contract editor. With overtime and pay guidance. Download as DOCX.
Most digital editor job descriptions I read are print editing postings with the word digital added to the title. They list proofreading, style guide adherence, and attention to detail, then stop. None of that describes the job, because the hard part of editing online is not the copy. It is everything that happens around the copy.
A digital editor at a small company publishes directly, with no production department between them and the live site. They write the headline that decides whether the piece gets read, they own the corrections policy, they manage freelancers who may or may not have signed anything, and they are expected to explain last month's traffic. That is four jobs, and a posting that mentions only the first one attracts candidates who will be surprised by the other three.
The occupation itself is steady rather than growing. Federal projections put employment of editors at about 115,800 and growth at 1 percent to 2 percent through 2034, slower than average, with around 9,800 openings a year, mostly from turnover. At FirstHR we write hiring templates for companies without an HR department, and the six below cover the settings a digital editor actually works in, each with the classification answer stated rather than dodged.
TL;DR
A digital editor owns what goes live and what happens to it afterward: commissioning, editing, headlines, CMS publishing, freelancers, and performance. Editors had a median wage of $77,920 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Original editorial judgment is exempt at the $684 per week floor. Mostly CMS production is non-exempt. Six templates below, downloadable as DOCX.
What a Digital Editor Actually Owns
A digital editor is accountable for what gets published, how it is shaped for online reading, and what happens to it after it goes live. That last clause is what separates the role from every print editing job: publication is not the finish line, because updates, corrections, and refreshes are part of the standing duty.
The title covers four settings that share a name and share almost nothing else. The duties overlap by maybe half, and the overtime answer differs across them, which is why one generic template is worse than useless. Pick the setting first.
Independent online publication
Editorial judgment leads
Commissioning, editing, and publishing original coverage. The digital editor decides what runs and owns the standards behind it. Search and analytics support the work rather than dictating it.
In-house brand content team
Marketing goals lead
Editing company-owned content: blog, resource center, help docs. The hard part is holding one voice across many writers while the calendar keeps bending toward whatever the business is selling this quarter.
Daily news desk
The clock leads
Shift work on a same-day cycle: homepage order, breaking copy, corrections, handovers. Speed and sourcing discipline matter more than long-form craft, and the shift pattern belongs in the posting.
Ecommerce and product content
Accuracy at volume leads
Product pages, category copy, buying guides. Mostly consistency and substantiation across a large catalog, which is also the version most likely to be non-exempt hourly work rather than exempt editorial.
Write the Split Between Editing and Production
The single most useful line you can add to a digital editor posting is the percentage split of the real day: how much is commissioning and editing, how much is publishing and formatting, how much is analytics and reporting, how much is writing original copy. Candidates use it to self-select and you use it later to defend the classification. A role that is 70 percent editorial judgment and a role that is 70 percent CMS production carry the same title and different legal answers.
What Belongs in the Posting
A digital editor posting does four jobs at once: it explains what you publish, it filters people who write but do not edit, it protects you legally, and it closes the candidate. Most postings do only the first. Here is the full inventory.
The parts candidates read first
What you publish and who reads it, in two sentences
Publishing volume: pieces per week or month
Which CMS and which analytics tool
Whether the role commissions or only edits
The parts that filter applicants
Years of editing published work, not years of writing
Portfolio of edited pieces, with the reasoning
Style guide command: AP, Chicago, or house
Shift pattern, weekend rotation, or on-call expectation
The parts that protect you
FLSA classification stated on the posting
Essential functions written plainly
Equal opportunity statement
Standards the editor must enforce: sourcing, disclosure, corrections
The parts that win the hire
Salary or a good-faith range
How much editorial autonomy the role actually has
Team size, freelance budget, and who else touches the work
A named person and a real deadline to apply
The omission I see most often is publishing volume. Editing four long features a month and editing forty short pieces a month are different jobs requiring different people, and leaving the number out reads as a company that has not decided. Our guide to writing a job description covers the general structure, and the broader hiring template library has the neighboring roles.
6 Digital Editor Job Description Templates to Download
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification note written for that specific setting, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you need to change.
Post the finished description wherever you already source candidates, and keep one copy as the reference version you edit each hiring round rather than rewriting from scratch. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. Until then, a shared document and a single named owner beat a job posting that lives in four inboxes.
Download All 6 Digital Editor Job Description Templates
Online publication, in-house brand team, news desk, senior lead, ecommerce, and contract editor. All in one download.
Digital Editor
Online publication
The general version: commissioning, editing, CMS publishing, freelance management, and performance reporting in one role.
Digital Content Editor
In-house brand team
For a company publishing under its own name, with voice consistency, product-claim fact-checking, and agency management built in.
Digital News Editor
Daily desk, shift work
For a deadline desk: homepage curation, breaking copy, corrections policy, shift rotation, and a clean written handover.
Senior Digital Editor
Team and standards
For the point where one person cannot edit everything: direct reports, budget, freelance roster, and the standards documents.
Ecommerce Digital Editor
Product and category copy
For an online store: product detail pages, buying guides, substantiation, and an honest note that this one is often non-exempt.
Freelance / Contract Editor
Fixed scope, fixed term
For contract capacity, with deliverables, commercial terms, the misclassification warning, and the copyright clause you must not skip.
Template 1: Digital Editor, Online Publication
The general version: commissioning, editing, CMS publishing, freelance management, and performance reporting in a single role. Start here if you are hiring your first dedicated editor.
Digital Editor Job Description (Online Publication)
DIGITAL EDITOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State] or Remote)
Reports to: [Editor in Chief / Head of Content / Owner]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (creative professional; see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[Company Name] publishes [subject] coverage for [audience] at [site URL]. We
reach about [number] readers a month, publish [number] pieces a week, and run a
team of [number] staff writers plus [number] regular freelancers.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Digital Editor owns what goes live: commissioning and editing stories,
shaping them for how people actually read online, publishing them in our CMS,
and using traffic and engagement data to decide what we cover next.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Commission, assign, and edit [number] pieces per week from staff and freelance
contributors
•Edit for accuracy, structure, clarity, and house style, not just grammar
•Write headlines, decks, meta descriptions, and social copy for each piece
•Publish and schedule in [CMS: WordPress / Contentful / Sanity / custom]
•Own the editorial calendar and the daily or weekly publishing rhythm
•Brief and manage the freelance roster, including rates, deadlines, and
signed contributor agreements
•Track performance in [analytics tool] and report on what moved and why
•Apply search and distribution basics: internal linking, structured headings,
image alt text, and refreshing older pieces that still earn traffic
•Enforce sourcing, disclosure, corrections, and accessibility standards
•Coordinate with [design / video / social / marketing] on launches
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years editing published digital content, with a portfolio of pieces
you edited rather than only pieces you wrote
•Hands-on CMS experience and comfort publishing without engineering help
•Demonstrated command of a style guide (AP, Chicago, or a house guide)
•Ability to read an analytics dashboard and change the plan because of it
•Clear written feedback that makes writers better rather than defensive
NICE TO HAVE
•Subject expertise in [industry]
•Search optimization experience on an editorial site
•Newsletter or podcast production
•Basic HTML and image editing
CLASSIFICATION NOTE (read before posting)
A digital editor whose primary duty is original editorial judgment (deciding
what to publish, shaping arguments, rewriting for meaning) generally qualifies
for the FLSA creative professional exemption, which carries a salary floor of
$684 per week ($35,568 per year). A role that is mostly CMS production,
formatting, uploading, and light proofreading is not creative work and is likely
non-exempt, meaning hourly and owed overtime past 40 hours in a week. Several
states set a higher salary floor than the federal level. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary], [remote policy]
To apply, email __ with your resume and three pieces you
edited, with a note on what you changed and why.
Template 2: Digital Content Editor, In-House Brand Team
For a company publishing under its own name, with voice consistency, product-claim fact-checking, and agency management built in. If you need someone to run the calendar and the budget rather than the red pen, compare it with the content manager templates.
Digital Content Editor, In-House Brand Team Job Description
DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR JOB DESCRIPTION (IN-HOUSE BRAND TEAM)
Company: __ ([City, State] or Remote)
Reports to: [Head of Marketing / Content Manager / Founder]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (creative professional; see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] sells [product] to [customer]. Our blog, resource center, and
help documentation are how most people meet us before they ever talk to sales.
We are hiring a Digital Content Editor to own the quality and the output of
everything we publish under our own name.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Digital Content Editor edits and publishes company-owned content, keeps the
brand voice consistent across writers and agencies, and ties the editorial
calendar to what the business is actually trying to sell that quarter.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Edit and publish [number] pieces per month across blog, resource center, and
[email / landing pages / help center]
•Own and maintain the house style guide and voice documentation
•Brief freelance writers and [agencies / contractors] and review their drafts
•Fact-check product claims with [product / legal / support] before publishing
•Run the content calendar against [campaign / launch / demand] priorities
•Keep the content library current: audit, update, consolidate, or retire
•Coordinate search and distribution with [marketing / demand generation]
•Report on content performance against [traffic / signups / pipeline]
•Ensure every sponsored, affiliate, or partner placement carries the required
disclosure
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years editing marketing or brand content for a company, not only an
agency or a publication
•Portfolio showing edited pieces and the reasoning behind the edits
•CMS experience and comfort shipping without engineering help
•Ability to hold a voice steady across many writers
•Comfort saying no to a draft that is on brief but not good
NICE TO HAVE
•Experience in [our industry]
•Search optimization for a commercial site
•Basic design sense for choosing and cropping images
•Experience managing an outside agency budget
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
An in-house content editor exercising real editorial judgment generally
qualifies as an exempt creative professional, and some roles that primarily
administer the content operation may instead fit the administrative exemption.
Both carry the $684 per week ($35,568 per year) federal salary floor. A role
that is mostly scheduling, formatting, and uploading is production work and is
likely non-exempt. Classify on the actual day, not the title. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary], [remote policy]
To apply, email __ with your resume and two pieces you
edited, before and after.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
For a deadline desk: homepage curation, breaking copy, corrections, shift rotation, and a written handover at the end of each shift. Pair it with the journalist templates when you are staffing the reporting side at the same time.
Digital News Editor Job Description
DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Publication: __ ([City, State] or Remote)
Reports to: [Managing Editor / Editor in Chief]
Employment type: Full-time, [shift pattern: early / late / weekend rotation]
FLSA status: Exempt (creative professional; see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Publication] covers [beat] for [audience]. This is a desk role on a daily
cycle: you decide what runs, in what order, and how fast. Shifts run
[start time] to [end time] with a [weekend / holiday] rotation.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Digital News Editor runs the daily publishing desk: editing copy on
deadline, ordering the homepage and newsletter, coordinating reporters on
developing stories, and keeping the site accurate as facts change.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Edit and publish breaking and daily copy against a same-day deadline
•Curate the homepage, section fronts, and [newsletter / alerts]
•Direct reporters on developing stories and reassign as the day changes
•Write and test headlines for accuracy first and pull second
•Verify sourcing, quotes, and images before publication
•Issue corrections and update live stories under our corrections policy
•Coordinate with [social / video / audience] on distribution
•Monitor real-time traffic and adjust placement accordingly
•Hand over cleanly at the end of each shift with a written note
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years on a daily news desk or equivalent deadline editing
•Demonstrated judgment on sourcing, attribution, and what is not ready to run
•Command of AP style and of libel and privacy basics for published copy
•CMS fluency and speed under pressure
•Availability for the [shift / rotation] described above
NICE TO HAVE
•Beat knowledge in [subject]
•Audience development or search experience
•Newsletter writing
•Second language relevant to [community]
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
A news editor making original editorial judgments about what runs and how it is
framed is generally an exempt creative professional under the FLSA, subject to
the $684 per week ($35,568 per year) federal salary floor. Someone whose desk
work is largely rote production of already-reported copy may fall outside the
exemption. Shift differentials, on-call time, and weekend rotations should be
documented in writing regardless of classification, and any non-exempt desk
staff need hours tracked. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Publication] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [shift differential], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and three headlines you
wrote that you are still proud of.
Template 4: Senior Digital Editor / Editorial Lead
For the point where one person can no longer edit everything: direct reports, budget ownership, the freelance roster, and the standards documents. The managing editor templates cover the closest neighboring title.
Senior Digital Editor / Editorial Lead Job Description
SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR / EDITORIAL LEAD JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State] or Remote)
Reports to: [Founder / Head of Marketing / Editor in Chief]
Direct reports: [number] editors, writers, and freelancers
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] is at the point where one person can no longer edit everything.
We are hiring a Senior Digital Editor to own the strategy, the standards, and
the people, and to keep the quality bar from slipping as volume grows.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Senior Digital Editor sets editorial direction, manages the editing team and
freelance roster, owns the content budget, and is accountable for both the
quality of what we publish and the results it produces.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Set the editorial strategy and the quarterly content plan
•Manage [number] direct reports: assign work, review, and run one-on-ones
•Build and maintain the freelance roster, rates, and contributor agreements
•Own the content budget of $________ and report on spend
•Define and enforce standards: style guide, sourcing policy, corrections
policy, disclosure policy, and accessibility requirements
•Edit the highest-stakes pieces personally
•Own the reporting line to [leadership] on content performance
•Hire, onboard, and develop editors and writers
•Represent editorial in [product / marketing / legal] planning
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years in digital editorial, including [number] managing editors or
writers
•Track record of raising quality while raising volume
•Comfort owning a budget and defending it
•Fluency with analytics and a point of view about which numbers matter
•Willingness to still edit, not only to manage
NICE TO HAVE
•Experience building an editorial function from scratch
•Experience working with outside counsel on publishing risk
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
A senior editor typically qualifies as exempt under the creative professional
exemption, the executive exemption (if the primary duty is managing a team of
two or more full-time equivalents with real authority over hiring), or the
administrative exemption. All three carry the $684 per week ($35,568 per year)
federal salary floor, and the highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432
per year. Several states impose a higher salary floor. Pick the exemption that
matches the actual duties and document the reasoning. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [bonus], [equity], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a short note on a
standard you enforced that was unpopular.
Template 5: Digital Editor, Ecommerce and Product Content
For an online store: product detail pages, category copy, buying guides, and substantiation for every claim. This is the variant most likely to be non-exempt hourly work, and the template says so plainly.
Digital Editor, Ecommerce and Product Content Job Description
DIGITAL EDITOR JOB DESCRIPTION (ECOMMERCE AND PRODUCT CONTENT)
Company: __ ([City, State] or Remote)
Reports to: [Ecommerce Manager / Head of Merchandising / Marketing Lead]
Employment type: Full-time or Part-time
FLSA status: Depends on primary duty (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] sells [product category] online at [site URL] across [number]
active listings. Product copy is the storefront: it has to be accurate,
consistent, findable, and legally defensible. We are hiring a Digital Editor to
own that copy end to end.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Digital Editor writes and edits product detail pages, category pages, and
buying guides, keeps the catalog consistent as it grows, and makes sure every
product claim on the site is one we can support.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Write and edit product titles, descriptions, specifications, and category copy
•Keep naming, attributes, and terminology consistent across [number] listings
•Publish and update listings in [platform: Shopify / BigCommerce / custom]
•Produce buying guides and comparison content for the [seasonal] calendar
•Verify every product claim against supplier documentation before it goes live
•Apply required disclosures on affiliate, sponsored, and review content
•Write image alt text and keep pages accessible to screen readers
•Coordinate with [merchandising / photography / customer support] on launches
•Audit and correct listings flagged by support tickets or returns data
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years writing or editing commercial product content
•Tolerance for detail work at volume without quality drift
•Ecommerce platform experience and comfort with bulk edits and spreadsheets
•Understanding of substantiation: no claim goes live without a source
•Search fundamentals for product and category pages
NICE TO HAVE
•Category expertise in [product category]
•Experience with a product information management system
•Photography direction or basic image editing
•Experience with marketplace listing requirements
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
This one is genuinely mixed. A role centered on original writing, category
strategy, and editorial judgment can meet the FLSA creative professional
exemption at the $684 per week ($35,568 per year) federal salary floor. A role
that is mostly templated copy, bulk uploads, and catalog maintenance is
production work and is likely non-exempt: hourly, with hours tracked and
overtime paid past 40 in a week. Most small ecommerce teams should expect the
non-exempt answer for a first hire. Product claims are also advertising, so
substantiation and disclosure rules apply to this copy. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a product page you
would rewrite, plus your rewrite.
Template 6: Freelance / Contract Digital Editor
For contract capacity with a fixed scope and a fixed end date, including the commercial terms, the misclassification warning, and the copyright clause most small publishers skip until it costs them.
Freelance / Contract Digital Editor Job Description
FREELANCE / CONTRACT DIGITAL EDITOR SCOPE AND JOB DESCRIPTION
Term: [start date] to [end date], [number] hours or pieces per [week / month]
Rate: $_ per [hour / piece / month]
ABOUT THIS ENGAGEMENT
[Company Name] needs editing capacity for [reason: parental leave cover, a
launch, a backlog, a seasonal peak] without adding headcount. This is a defined
contractor engagement with a fixed scope and end date.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Contract Digital Editor edits and prepares assigned pieces for publication
against an agreed turnaround, working independently and delivering finished
files or scheduled CMS drafts.
DELIVERABLES
•Edit [number] pieces per [week / month] of roughly [word count] each
•Turnaround of [number] business days per piece
•Each delivery includes: line edit, structural notes, headline options, meta
description, and a completed fact-check log
•Publish to [CMS] as a scheduled draft where access is granted
•Weekly written status note
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Demonstrated editing portfolio in [subject area]
•Own equipment, own software, own schedule
•Ability to work from our style guide without ongoing supervision
•Availability across the full term of the engagement
COMMERCIAL TERMS TO SET IN THE CONTRACT
•Rate, payment schedule, and invoicing method
•Rights: whether the work is assigned to us, and on what terms
•Confidentiality and embargo handling
•Kill fee for cancelled assignments
•Revision rounds included in the rate
•Termination notice on both sides
CLASSIFICATION AND RIGHTS NOTE (read before posting)
Two traps live in this one document.
First, classification. Calling someone a contractor does not make them one. If
you set the schedule, require specific hours, supply the tools, supervise the
method, and expect an ongoing indefinite relationship, you are describing an
employee, and misclassification exposes you to back wages, overtime, and
payroll tax liability. Keep the scope defined, the term finite, and the method
theirs.
Second, copyright. Work created by an employee inside the scope of employment
belongs to the employer automatically. Work by an independent contractor does
not. It qualifies as a work made for hire only if it falls within one of nine
statutory categories of commissioned works and the parties sign a written
agreement saying so. Without that signed agreement or an express assignment, the
contractor keeps the copyright in what they produced for you. Put the rights
language in the contract before the first piece, not after.
This is general information, not legal advice.
HOW TO APPLY
Email __ with your rate, availability across the term, and
two edited samples.
Overtime and the Creative Professional Exemption
A digital editor is exempt from overtime when the primary duty is original editorial judgment, and non-exempt when the primary duty is production. Both outcomes are normal, and the title on the offer letter has no bearing on which one applies.
The creative professional exemption covers work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent, which for an editor means analyzing, interpreting, and shaping original work rather than correcting it. The exempt path also requires a salary of at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year), and the details are set out in DOL Fact Sheet 17D on the professional exemption. Our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the full tests.
Production Work Is the Trap, and It Creeps
The classification mistake with digital editors is rarely made at hire. It happens over the following quarter, as the CMS, the social scheduler, the image resizing, the newsletter send, and the analytics deck all land on the one person who knows how to do them. Editorial judgment quietly drops to a third of the week and the role becomes production work while the salary and the exempt label stay put. Audit the real day at ninety days. Either move the production off the role or reclassify honestly, start tracking hours, and pay overtime.
Anyone outside the exemption needs hours tracked and overtime paid past forty in a week, and the underlying obligations sit in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Several states set a salary floor above the federal level, so check yours before you set the range. This is general information, not legal advice.
What to Pay a Digital Editor
There is no Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation called digital editor, so there is no single official number to quote. The nearest classification is Editors (SOC 27-3041), whose sample of reported job titles includes web editor, and the honest approach is to benchmark against that plus the adjacent occupations the role borrows duties from.
Nearest Occupation: Editors (SOC 27-3041)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), editors had a national median annual wage of $77,920, with the 10th percentile at $41,250, the 25th at $57,300, the 75th at $106,100, and the 90th at $153,700. Employment stood at about 115,800, with roughly 9,800 openings projected per year through 2034 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Read that ladder as a range rather than a target. The top quartile is concentrated in large publishers and coastal markets, and a first editorial hire at a small company usually lands between the 25th and 50th percentile. What moves someone up the ladder is commissioning authority, team management, and budget ownership, not years alone.
Nearest classification
National median (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
Why it maps to a digital editor
Editors (27-3041)
$77,920 per year
Closest match; reported titles include web editor
Writers and authors (27-3043)
$76,910 per year
Covers the blended write-and-edit role at small teams
Public relations specialists (27-3031)
$74,750 per year
Where in-house brand content roles often sit
Market research analysts and marketing specialists (13-1161)
$78,760 per year
Where audience, search, and analytics duties are classified
Web and digital interface designers (15-1255)
$104,000 per year
Reference point when the role owns page structure and templates
Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply, and remember that for an exempt editor the salary has to clear the federal floor and any higher state floor for the exemption to hold. If the range you can afford sits below that, the role is non-exempt and the posting should say hourly.
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Four obligations arrive with the publish button, and at a small company nobody else is going to pick them up. Write them into the job description as duties rather than leaving them as things a conscientious editor might happen to do.
Disclosure on sponsored and affiliate content
If a piece exists because someone paid for it, or if you earn a commission when a reader buys through your link, that material connection has to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. The Federal Trade Commission treats this as the advertiser’s responsibility, not something you can push entirely onto a contributor, and it applies to affiliate links, sponsored articles, and product reviews seeded with free samples. The practical version for a small team is a written disclosure policy with fixed wording, placement above the fold rather than buried at the end, and a publishing checklist item the editor cannot skip. Put the responsibility in the job description so it is a duty rather than a favor.
Copyright and the freelance roster
Work created by an employee within the scope of employment belongs to the employer automatically. Work created by a freelancer does not. A commissioned piece is a work made for hire only if it falls within one of nine statutory categories and the parties sign a written agreement saying so, which means that without that signed agreement or an express assignment, your freelancer still owns the copyright in the article sitting on your site. Most small publishers discover this during a redesign, a licensing deal, or a dispute. Fix it at the front: a standard contributor agreement, signed before the first assignment, stored where you can find it years later.
Accessibility is an editorial duty, not a design one
The decisions that make a page usable with a screen reader are made by whoever publishes it: descriptive alt text on images, real heading hierarchy instead of bolded paragraphs, link text that means something out of context, captions on video, and adequate contrast on any text baked into an image. None of that is a developer task, and none of it survives if it is nobody’s job. Write it into the digital editor role explicitly and put it in the publishing checklist. Accessibility obligations for public-facing sites are an active area of federal and state enforcement, so treat this as a standing requirement rather than a project.
Corrections, updates, and the archive
Every publisher needs a written corrections policy before it needs one urgently. Decide in advance what gets a silent fix (a typo), what gets a dated correction note (a wrong number or name), and what gets an editor’s note at the top (a changed conclusion). Decide who has authority to unpublish and under what circumstances, because that decision made in a panic tends to be the wrong one. For evergreen content, decide how you mark updated pieces so readers can tell what is current. The digital editor owns all of this, so name it in the job description and hand over the policy on day one.
The disclosure requirement is worth reading in full if you run any sponsored or affiliate content: the FTC guidance on endorsements and material connections answers the practical questions directly. On rights, the Copyright Office circular on works made for hire sets out the two routes and the nine categories of commissioned works, and it is short enough to read before your next contributor agreement.
How to Screen a Digital Editor
Screen for edited work, not written work. Almost every candidate will send a writing portfolio, because that is what they have been asked for their whole career, and it tells you very little about whether they can improve someone else's draft without flattening it.
The single highest-signal step is a paid edit test on a real draft from your own backlog, with a fixed fee and a two-hour cap. It costs a couple of hundred dollars, it takes one round, and it answers the question that four interviews will not.
Ask for this
What it actually tells you
Three pieces they edited, with what they changed and why
Whether they can articulate editorial reasoning or only apply rules
A before and after on one of those pieces
Whether they fix structure and argument or only grammar and style
A paid edit test on a real draft from your backlog
How they work under your constraints rather than a former employer’s
The feedback note they would send the writer
Whether they make writers better or make writers defensive
Headline options for a piece you already published
Judgment on accuracy versus pull, which is the whole job in miniature
How they decide what not to publish
Whether they have standards or only preferences
What they would do if a sponsor asked to change a review
Whether the disclosure and independence duties are real to them
Two more roles worth screening against if the scope is still fuzzy: a candidate who is strongest on line-level accuracy may be a better fit for the copy editor role, and one whose instinct is traffic and distribution may belong closer to the search side of the team. Neither is a worse hire, but hiring one while writing the posting for the other wastes a quarter.
Hiring a Digital Editor Without an HR Department
Small-team editorial hiring fails in three predictable places: the wrong role gets posted, the right role drifts into production work, and the contributor paperwork is never done. Each has a fix, and none of them requires an HR department.
You are hiring an editor to fix a writing problem, and it will not work
The most common mistake I see is a founder who is unhappy with the content posting for a digital editor when what the team actually lacks is a writer, a subject expert, or a decision about who the content is for. An editor multiplies whatever you already have: good raw material becomes very good, and thin material becomes tidier but still thin. Before you post, write down the last five pieces you published and what was wrong with each. If the answer is mostly grammar, structure, and inconsistency, an editor fixes that. If the answer is that nobody knew what the piece was supposed to do, that is a strategy gap and the editor will spend six months absorbing the blame for it.
The role drifts into production work and quietly becomes non-exempt
Small teams write an exempt editorial job description and then hand the person the CMS, the social scheduler, the image resizing, the newsletter send, and the analytics deck. Within a quarter the actual day is mostly production, and production is not creative professional work. That matters twice over: it is a classification exposure if the person is salaried and working long weeks, and it is the fastest way to lose a good editor, because nobody takes an editing job to resize images. Audit the real day at the ninety-day mark. Either move the production work off the role or reclassify honestly, track hours, and pay overtime.
The freelance roster is a group chat and a folder of unsigned drafts
Most small publishers run their contributor network informally until something breaks: a rate dispute, a rights question during a redesign, a contractor who was actually functioning as an employee. The paperwork that prevents all three is unglamorous and it is the first thing an overloaded team skips. FirstHR was built for exactly this kind of small operation without an HR person. Built-in e-signature handles contributor agreements and rights language, document management stores signed contracts and clearances against each person’s profile, and task workflows run the same onboarding sequence for every new editor or contributor instead of a fresh improvisation each time. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Once the offer is signed, the work shifts to a repeatable onboarding checklist. For an editor that means more than laptop and payroll forms: CMS access with the right permission level, the style guide, the sourcing and disclosure policies, the corrections policy, analytics access, and an introduction to every freelancer they are about to inherit.
Key Takeaways
A digital editor owns what goes live and what happens to it afterward, which is why publishing volume, CMS, and the editing-to-production split belong in the posting.
The title covers four different jobs (online publication, in-house brand team, daily news desk, ecommerce product content) that share maybe half their duties and differ on overtime.
Original editorial judgment supports the creative professional exemption at the $684 per week ($35,568 per year) federal floor; mostly CMS production, formatting, and uploading is non-exempt hourly work.
There is no BLS occupation for digital editor; the nearest is Editors (SOC 27-3041) at a $77,920 median (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with adjacent classifications running from $74,750 to $104,000.
Four duties arrive with the publish button: sponsored and affiliate disclosure, copyright and contributor agreements, accessibility, and a written corrections policy.
Screen for edited work rather than written work, and run one paid edit test on a real draft from your own backlog.
Editorial teams run on people who are half staff and half contractor, and the paperwork is what slips. FirstHR runs the same onboarding sequence for every editor and contributor, with built-in e-signature for agreements and rights language, document storage against each profile, and training modules for the standards they are expected to enforce. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a digital editor do?
A digital editor owns what gets published online and how it performs after it goes live. That means commissioning and editing pieces, writing headlines and meta descriptions, publishing and scheduling in a content management system, managing a roster of staff and freelance contributors, and reading traffic and engagement data closely enough to change the plan because of it. The job differs from a print editing role in three concrete ways: publication is continuous rather than tied to an issue date, the editor usually publishes directly without a production department in between, and the work does not end at publication because updates, corrections, and refreshes of older pieces are part of the ongoing duty. At a small company the same person often also enforces the style guide, the sourcing policy, the disclosure policy, and the accessibility checklist.
Is a digital editor exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual primary duty, and both answers are common. A digital editor whose day is original editorial judgment, deciding what to publish, shaping arguments, rewriting for meaning, and setting standards, generally qualifies for the creative professional exemption and must also be paid at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year) on a salary basis. A role that is mostly content management system production, formatting, uploading, scheduling social posts, and light proofreading is production work rather than creative work, and is likely non-exempt: hourly, with hours tracked and overtime paid past forty in a week. Ecommerce product content roles fall on the non-exempt side more often than people expect. Several states set a higher salary floor than the federal level. Classify on the real day rather than the title, and audit again after ninety days. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a digital editor make?
There is no Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation called digital editor, so benchmark against the nearest classifications rather than looking for a single number. The closest match is Editors (SOC 27-3041), whose sample of reported job titles includes web editor. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), editors had a national median annual wage of $77,920, with the 25th percentile at $57,300 and the 75th at $106,100. Nearby classifications that overlap with parts of the role were writers and authors at a $76,910 median, public relations specialists at $74,750, and market research analysts and marketing specialists at $78,760. A first editorial hire at a small publisher or an in-house brand team typically lands between the 25th and 50th percentile, and pay rises with commissioning authority, team management, and budget ownership rather than with years of experience alone.
What is the difference between a digital editor and a content manager?
The difference is what each one is accountable for. A digital editor is accountable for the quality and accuracy of the published work: the line editing, the structure, the sourcing, the headline, the standards. A content manager is accountable for the system that produces it: the calendar, the briefs, the budget, the distribution plan, and the reporting on whether content is helping the business. In a large team those are two people who work closely together. In a small team they are usually one person with one title, and the title tells you which half the founder cares about most. If you are writing the posting, decide which accountability actually matters to you and lead with it, because candidates who are strong at one are frequently mediocre at the other and both will apply.
Do I need a separate job description for a freelance digital editor?
Yes, because a contractor scope of work is a different document with different risks. A freelance posting should state a defined scope, a finite term, a rate, deliverables per piece, turnaround times, revision rounds included, and a kill fee, and it should leave the method and the schedule to the contractor. Two traps sit in that document. First, if you set the hours, supply the tools, supervise the method, and expect an indefinite ongoing relationship, you are describing an employee, and misclassification exposes you to back wages, overtime, and payroll tax liability. Second, copyright does not transfer by default: a commissioned piece is a work made for hire only if it falls within one of nine statutory categories and the parties sign a written agreement saying so. Without that agreement or an express assignment, the freelancer keeps the copyright in work sitting on your site.
What should I ask a digital editor for during hiring?
Ask for edited work rather than written work, because the portfolio most candidates send is a writing portfolio. Request three pieces they edited, with a short note on what they changed and why, and if possible a before and after. Then run a paid edit test on a real draft from your own backlog, with a fixed fee and a two-hour cap, and judge four things: whether they fixed structure or only grammar, whether they caught the factual weak spot, whether the headline they wrote is accurate as well as appealing, and whether their notes to the writer would make that writer better rather than defensive. Ask how they decide what not to publish, and ask what they would do if a sponsor asked to change a review. The answers separate an editor with standards from a fast proofreader.
Can one person be the digital editor and the writer at a small company?
Often yes, and for a first content hire it is usually the honest answer, but the job description has to say so and the volume expectations have to be cut accordingly. Someone who writes and edits their own work loses the second pair of eyes that catches the structural problem and the wrong number, so build in a substitute: a checklist, a fact-check log, a peer review from a subject expert, or a rotating swap with someone else on the team. Split the time explicitly in the posting, for example sixty percent writing and forty percent editing and publishing, so candidates know what they are signing up for. Expect to hire a separate editor once you publish more than roughly two pieces a week, because that is where a blended role starts producing volume at the cost of quality.
