It is not always easy to keep publishing a consistent amount of high-quality content. Coming up with good content ideas on a regular basis is difficult enough, especially when you have to write them. That’s where one of the main benefits of outsourcing content writing comes in.
Outsourcing content writing is often seen as the next logical step when your business is growing and you want to focus on other aspects of your company, that can bring quick wins and success like going after potential clients and selling. While creating content represents a long-term commitment, outsourcing content helps give your business a competitive edge, in the form of low-cost, high-quality content.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at why you should and how you can outsource your content writing.
Why Should You Outsource Content Writing? (Benefits)
Before you begin looking for a freelance writer or a content writing agency, you must sit and think about whether you should be outsourcing the content writing.
Here are several signs that you are ready to outsource content writing:
You realize that writing isn’t your strong💪 suit
Not everyone is a professional writer😔. You may be an expert in your field, but do you know how to format and optimize your content writing so that it can be found in search engines? Who has the time to write daily blog posts, update their website copy, create social media engagement posts and run a business to top it all? If no one can find your content then is the effort and expertise you put into it really worth it?
That’s because industry expertise and writing skills are two different things. To that end, you need content creators that are knowledgeable about the industry they write in and can also insert your note on a topic in a seamless manner.
Most content marketing agencies hire a team of writers with a wide range of experience and specialties, covering different topics and industries. Potential writers know how to write for their target audience while serving up engaging content to support the goals of your business. Of course, different writers also have different professional backgrounds and knowledge bases.
Benefit if you outsource content writing: You can hire content writers on different topics, you can reach a wider audience, experiment with different content types.
Writing is taking too much of your time⌛
We know our time is precious😔. And the content writing process can take a lot of that time. When it comes to writing, you also have to include research, fact-checking, creating an appealing title, formatting correctly, SEO optimization, grammar checking, etc.
Even writing a single blog post every week may take an inexperienced type of writer a couple of workdays to research, write and optimize, especially when it comes to long-form content with 2000+ words as this type of content tends to rank best on search results. Hiring a professional writer can take some of the time pressure off you, while still allowing you to maintain editorial control.
Benefit if you outsource content writing: You’ll get the content you need, and you’ll have more time to work on your content marketing strategy and other business-related activities.
Running your blog Is costing💸 you too much
Most businesses have a limited content marketing budget and hiring in-house writers can be expensive when you consider hiring costs, annual salary, benefits, paid leave, and equipment.
It is more cost-efficient to outsource blogging and content writing since you may hire on an as-needed basis at a fraction of the cost. When you outsource, you’re simply paying for the content you want and nothing else.
Benefit if you outsource content writing: By outsourcing your content creation you’re making an investment that is cost-efficient in the long term. In addition, there is no need to train and develop an in-house team of writers or hire experienced writers which due to their set of writing skill levels can cost more than you are willing to commit to. On the other hand, agencies that specialize in content outsourcing take care of the whole process for you, for a price that is cost-effective depending on the clients’ content needs.
How to Outsource Content Writing?
The key🔑 to a successful content writing outsourcing process is planning. There are a few things you should do to better prepare for the process to be more efficient. You must define what you want to achieve, what resources you have at your disposal, and what type of content marketing strategy you want to follow…
Set your goals🎯
The first thing you need to do is write down a clear goal with underlying objectives of what you want to achieve with your content writing. I get the point that for nearly all businesses, the main goal is to support bottom-line growth🌱.
But, you need to be more specific. Your content marketing strategy can have different goals including generating leads, lead nurturing, lead conversion, or simply increasing brand visibility. Setting specific content goals can help in creating a working action plan to drive your content marketing efforts.
Set your budget💰
One of the main reasons for outsourcing is the cost of creating high-quality content. Determine the value of your investment based on the content you need and how you can use it most effectively. Of course, you also shouldn’t invest more than you can afford.
Remember: The budget is determined by your target industry, ranking difficulty, as well as the amount of research and creation time required. Longer commitment to your content marketing strategy may require a higher level of investment upfront but will result in higher returns in the long run.
Having a set budget will help you to have a more grounded conversation with potential content writers for hire.
Find the right writer✍
When it comes to finding the right writer, you need to focus on choosing the right person or team for the type of content that you need for your brand and product or service.
Experienced writers are adept at researching and understanding new brands and target market audiences. However, experienced writer = more expensive due to years of honing their skills you can also go with a somewhat less experienced writer who can offer a fresh perspective on things without the need to spend a pretty penny.
Create a list📜 of content topics
Organize your content strategy around topics or keywords. Make a list of at least 10 keywords and research additional relevant terms. Prioritize these topics based on your business goals🎯.
To increase the number of topics in your list, consider the following suggestions:
- Research and analyze what your competitors are doing.
- Your collaborators can also suggest other interesting content topics related to your business
- Using tools such as Google’s People Also Ask and Quora can help you define your keywords and find out relevant writing topics.
Create a Content Calendar📅
I assume you already know or have heard what a content calendar is, but in case you didn’t: Marketers use a content calendar to organize their upcoming content creation process.
The content team you hire can do this for you, however, it’s essential if you can collaborate with them on this and put in priorities. Ideally, the specific objectives of each activity should be included. Having this insight will give you a general overview of the content plan, progress, and results.
There are plenty of content planning tools out there in the digital marketing world. ( ContentCal, Google Sheets, etc.)
A solid, detailed brief will express exactly what you want, including who the target audience is, which keywords you want to target, and how long the content should be. Among other things, you should mention:
- The specific goal for the content piece
- The keywords that you want to target
- Any specific links, statistics, or products you want the writer to mention
- The competition that you don’t want the writer to avoid
- Examples of pieces related to the content you want
- Visuals you want the writer to include
Question: Does your content need to be approved by other team members?
Absolutely Yes. Make sure they see the brief before the writer ever gets to work on the piece. As my colleagues💛 say: “Two pairs of eyes are always better than one”.
Check the quality of your content. Do a manual review to make sure that everything is in order. Go over the following questions:
- What is the ideal length for the content?
- Do images have to be included? What kind are you looking for? In what format do you want it? How many are there?
- Is it necessary to include links? Internal or external? How many of each type are there?
- Should statistics or expert quotes be included?
Use tools that can help you analyze the SEO potential and grammar (We at Backlinker use Frase, Rytr, and Grammarly). Content marketing agencies have internal editors that work with clients to check the quality of the content and implement requested edits. But having your content marketing team check outsourced content can’t hurt either. If your article is about a specific product or industry, have the right team member review it and provide their input.
Remember: It is essential to review the parts and request corrections as needed on a consistent basis to ensure the requested content follows your guidelines and requirements.
Track your results📈
Once your post is published, you’ll want to start tracking it. (We use tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs to track search results rankings. Watch for posts that are performing well, which can give you key information on what content works well and how to optimize existing content in the future. Make sure you have realistic goals and expectations for your content strategy. Avoid undefined goals and tracking metrics that are not relevant to your content.
Conclusion
Outsourcing content writing is beneficial for different types of businesses regardless of newly formed startups or established companies. It allows business owners and marketing managers to focus on other aspects of their company while ensuring that great content is being created and implemented.
Follow the above advice, to understand when you need to outsource your content writing. We understand outsourcing content isn’t always simple, but having a reliable workflow that’s well-organized and optimized for the success of your content plan can make all the difference.
