All You Need to Know about Outsourcing Content Writing

Why Do You Need Content Writing?

When you think of marketing, content marketing is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, email marketing, social media marketing, and PPC (pay-per-click) are some of the more popular options that businesses have.

But if we are to look at the latest statistics, we can see that content marketing is a field that has grown exponentially in the past few years. In fact, when compared with traditional marketing strategies, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads.

Not only that, but about 70% of customers prefer learning more about a company or a subject from an article or blog post rather than from a traditional advertisement.

All this makes content marketing a must for any business that wants to succeed. But what exactly falls into this specific marketing category?

Content can come in the form of blog posts, guest posts, ebooks, infographics, product descriptions, videos, and the list goes on. Without a doubt though, blogging is the most popular content format, but any kind of written content is a fantastic investment.

Why you might ask?

Well, let’s just take a look at a few of the benefits that content writing has to offer. Content writing:

• Improves SEO by increasing your search engine ranking
• Helps the sales process by boosting conversion rates
• Establishes your company as a reliable figure in your industry
• Educates customers so they can make informed purchases
• Gives customers a reason to come back to your website

Content writing is an excellent method of promoting your business. So if you haven’t invested in content writing, then it’s about time for you to consider it.

Benefits of Outsourcing Content Writing

When it comes to content writing, most people believe that all you have to do is sit down in front of your laptop, open up a new document, and start typing. But content writing requires so much more than that.

Here are the steps needed to write a good piece of content:

1. Research
2. Outline your content
3. Write
4. Edit

Overall, it’s a time-consuming process, especially if you decide to create the content yourself. Not only does it take time to follow all the steps, but if you’re not a professional writer, it will be hard to find the motivation and creativity to write.

Luckily, outsourcing content writing is a possibility that more and more businesses are currently exploring.  There are many reasons why outsourcing is a fantastic option for any business, no matter the size.

The main reasons for outsourcing content writing are:

It’s more affordable than hiring an in-house writer

Depending on where you are in your content marketing journey, you might not need to constantly post blog posts or other kinds of written content.

For example, if you’re just starting content marketing, then creating as many forms of content, especially blog posts, is essential. Through this type of content, you not only build brand awareness but also increase SEO.

So in this situation, having an in-house writer that can work five days out of seven on your content might be the way to go. But even then, finding an agency that provides content writing services can be a lot easier and cheaper in the long run.

You can get more content in less time

There is only so much content that an in-house writer can create. It would be a stretch to expect a single writer to write blogs, guest posts, web pages, case studies, and other forms of content in a limited amount of time.

Tasks will get confusing in no time and your writer will become overwhelmed by the diversity of their tasks.

But when you outsource content writing, you can easily purchase a service for each kind of content you need. This will help you get more content in no time.

You can get a fresh perspective on your business

After some time, your in-house writer will get to a point where they will know your business and brand better than anybody. This can be a double-edged sword.

On one side, your writer will always stay on brand, which is very important. On the other hand, your writer might stay in their comfort zone and not come up with any new, innovative ideas.

Outsourced writers will bring on board a  new and unique understanding of your business.

You can get industry-specific content

The truth is, businesses can be very diverse. For every field there is, you will have a field-specific business. For example, you can have a business in real estate, eCommerce, advertising, web developing, or pet grooming. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the field of a business.

But no matter the field, you will need industry-specific content. After all, nobody is going to go to a website with web developing services and expect to read blog posts about cooking.

Finding a writer for your specific industry can be difficult, but if you outsource content writing, then you will have access to professional writers who are trained to write about any subject.

You have more options to choose from

If you hire an in-house writer, then you will have to work with the writer for a specific period of time, even if you realize that you don’t like their style that much.

With outsourcing, not only will you have plenty of options to choose from, but you will be able to cancel your service at any time. Once you cancel, you can instantly move on to another service without any drawbacks or contractual complications.

It’s less stressful than hiring an in-house writer

Let’s be honest, finding a great in-house writer is like finding a needle in the haystack. You have to interview dozens of candidates, test them, and read countless writing samples.

The whole process is tedious and it can take more time than you’re willing to spend. But you don’t want to rush things either, because you don’t want to hire the wrong person.

All of this can be easily avoided by outsourcing your content writing. You can read testimonials, review past articles, and end up making an informed decision.

In-House Writer vs Freelance Content Writer vs a Content Writing Agency

When starting a content marketing strategy, you’d think that the best option would be to hire an in-house content writer. Although there are pros to an in-house writer, there are also a few disadvantages.

The good thing is that an in-house content writer will:

• Know your brand’s voice — once you have your brand figured out, you need to stay on brand, and an in-house writer will help you do that.
• Has availability —  an in-house writer will be available daily, during normal working hours, so there are no chances of them disappearing mid-project.
• Knows the team — many departments in a business are interdependent and for one department to do well, you need all of the departments to do well. An in-house content writer will know the rest of your employees and there will be open communication between them and the other departments.

But with these pros come some disadvantages as well:

• Having an in-house content writer is pricey —  content writers are paid about $25.00 hourly, which in the long run, can become too costly for your business, especially if you’re managing a startup.
• Content writing services are not needed constantly — you might need them for the occasional project, but their assistance will not always be required.
• The hiring process takes up a lot of resources — finding the perfect fit for your company is harder than it looks. You will have to spend time interviewing candidates and reading samples, and if you’re not a seasoned content writer, you might not know what to look for.
• The content can become repetitive — sometimes, a fresh perspective is what a business needs and a writer that is too comfortable with a business’ brand might not be able to provide it.

Depending on what you’re looking for, an in-house content writer might or might not be what you need. The best strategy is to try a content writing agency and see how things develop from there.

When you’re looking for content writers, you have the option to either work with a freelancer or with a content writing agency.

You might be able to find some great freelance content writers that have amazing reviews and portfolios, but in the long run, an agency is always the safest and better choice.

Here’s why:

1. You have access to more people in an agency

An agency has multiple writers, so if you don’t like somebody’s style, you will not have to go through the process of looking for another agency. You can simply request to work with another writer.

2. You have access to professional writers

A good agency will only hire certified writers that have stellar portfolios or that have been previously tested.

3. You can get more done in less time

If you have multiple projects going on, you can simply purchase more of the agency’s services, which will give you access to more writers. This way you can have all your projects done simultaneously.

4. The agency’s content writers are reliable

Emergencies can happen all the time, and we can’t blame people for taking time off when they need to. If you were to hire a freelancer, then your project would have to be put on hold until your writer returned.

But with an agency,  if a writer suddenly becomes unavailable, somebody else will step into their place and get the job done.

5. You will have access to different perspectives

Two heads are better than one, and when you hire an agency, you definitely will be getting ideas from more than one person. In a content writing agency, there are always ideas flowing around, so the chances of your writer becoming repetitive and dull are close to none.

There are many more advantages when it comes to a content writing agency.  While hiring a freelancer might seem like a cost-effective and smart decision, it’s better to begin a partnership with an agency that you can trust.

How to Outsource Content Writing?

When you think about it, outsourcing content writing doesn’t seem very hard. All you have to do is check out google for some content writing agencies, see which one fits your budget, and go ahead and purchase one of their services.

That is one way to do it and you might get lucky and get good results. But you should never put your faith in luck when it comes to your business. Every decision needs to be considered carefully and choosing a good content writing agency is no different.

In fact, seeing that 84% of companies have a content marketing strategy, you need to double your efforts to make sure that your content stands out from the crowd.

But you can’t have great content without great content writers, which is why you need to learn how to outsource your content marketing properly.

Before you jump headfirst into finding a great agency you can work with, you need to prepare your business for the outsourcing process.

Prepare to Outsource Your Content Writing

You need to see the outsourcing process like any other business partnership. Sure, you might be purchasing content writing services and the whole situation might seem very transactional.

But nonetheless, if this is going to be a long-term business venture, then you have to treat it like a serious partnership. This means laying out your goals and making sure that you and your future writers are on the same page.

To do so, your business has to be well-prepared for outsourcing content writing. You will need to:

• Know what needs to be outsourced — define your goals and see which parts you need to outsource. Perhaps you already have people working on your social media content or on your newsletters, so you don’t need services involving these marketing channels.
• Have a company guide — this guide should include details regarding your brand voice, image, business values, etc. After going over the guide, your future writer should have a clear picture of your business.
• Be ready to offer existing materials — if you have reports, studies, or existing content, you should make them available to your writer. This way, your writer can link your resources in future content, which in turn can help with things such as SEO and brand credibility.
• Have instructions laid out — besides existing materials and a company guide, you should also provide a list of instructions. For example, if you hire blog writers, then your instructions should pertain to blog writing. These instructions should contain details such as the length of the blog posts, the number of internal and external links, and the number of pictures used.
• Have open communication channels — communication is vital to any business operation. This is why you should have at least one active communication channel with your writer. Email is probably the most common channel, but adding your writer on Zoom, Slack, or whatever communication tool you use, can improve the workflow and the relationship between the writing agency and your business.

Selecting the Perfect Agency

Once your business is prepared for the process of outsourcing content writing, you need to start looking for a content writing agency.

You can find plenty of agencies that offer writing services, but how do you know which one is the right one for you?

There are many signs that indicate the quality of an agency’s writing services — reviews, testimonials, and case studies being a few of those signs. But you can really tell a lot about an agency by how it deals with a new client, which is why you should contact the company you’re interested in and see what their procedure entails.

To get a better idea, here’s how ContentAdore proceeds with customers:

1. Client brief

The client brief contains valuable pieces of information regarding a business, which is why assembling a client brief should be the first step a writing agency takes. The information found in the client brief can come from the agency’s research, forms completed by the customer, or client interviews.

2. Brainstorming

After the client brief was created, a brainstorming session should take place to decide things such as how to embed the new project with more quality, which writer is more suitable for the project, etc.

3. Idea sign-off

Once the client brief has been analyzed and the meeting is over, a representative needs to clarify the best ideas with the client.

4. Assign roles

Dealing with content is not a one-man job, but a team effort. Therefore, a manager should create assignments with the best SEO and copywriting practices in mind and assign them to writers.

5. Get creative!

The writers can start working once they have their assignments handed to them. If a manager uses effective management methods then the writers will finish the tasks on time, giving the client a great business experience.

6. Internal feedback

No matter what the assignments are, they should be thoroughly checked before being released to the clients. Either a manager or a professional editor needs to check the texts and leave feedback for the writers.

7. Client feedback (this can happen multiple times)

Asking for feedback from a professional editor comes first, but then, writers should get their client’s feedback. Although clients might not always be professional writers, they can still give pointers regarding brand voice, tone, and image.

8. Make edits

Depending on the feedback that the clients give, there can be edits that need to be performed on the text. The writers should implement the edits and make sure the content matches what the client has in mind.

9. Publish and promote

A good agency shouldn’t just write content, but also publish it on client’s websites and social media outlets. This task can be done by content managers or programmers. Another great service that a good agency will provide is teaching clients how to better promote their content.

10. Measure its success

Lastly, the content should be tracked and its success measured. To do this, content writing agencies use modern SEO tools that track page performance scores, positions in Google, and the engagement level that readers have.

Generally, this is how the process should look like for each and every content writing agency. Of course, some elements might differ, but the flow should be the same.

To know if an agency has the right procedures, you should have a meeting and ask for a walkthrough before purchasing a service or hiring a content writing agency.

Give It a Test Trial

Although a lot of agencies have great deals and promotions, don’t make a long-term investment right off the bat. The best strategy when outsourcing is to purchase a content writing service for a period of time (for example three months), set business goals, and track the content’s KPIs during this time.

Maintain constant communication with your content writing agency through this period of time and try to work out any potential issues that might appear.

If during or after the assigned timeframe you did not get the results that you wanted, then don’t be afraid to drop the service and look for another agency. It is better to start over than to keep on spending your resources on an agency that is not helping you reach your goals.

Conclusion

Every single business is creating content these days. Be it in the form of blog posts, social media posts, emails, eBooks, or infographics, businesses are creating and publishing content like never before.

This is why your content needs to stand out from the crowd. There are a few tricks that can help you achieve this, but the best trick is to create quality content. And to create quality content, you will need professional writers that don’t only know everything about writing, but everything about SEO.

The easiest way to find professional writers is to find a content writing agency. Luckily, ContentAdore is one of the best content writing businesses on the market, creating content in over 30 languages.

If you want to find out more about ContentAdore, then you can contact us today, or schedule a call to see how much you’d need to invest in your content.