Blogging is one of those things you know you should be doing, like eating more vegetables or calling your mom. But some business owners still let it fall to the wayside. It can feel like a herculean undertaking, sure, but it’s also so important for business.
Imagine you’re standing on a crowded street corner with a megaphone. That’s your blog. It’s your chance to shout out to the world what your business is all about, show off your expertise, and let people know why they should care about you. Without it, you might just be another face in the crowd.
Plus, Google loves fresh content. SEO is more than just keywords. Every new blog post boosts your search rankings, drawing more traffic and potential customers your way. Blogging builds trust and credibility, showing you know your stuff and creating a loyal community around your brand. It’s also a cost-effective marketing tool with huge ROI, giving you endless content to repurpose for social media, newsletters, and more. Finally, blogging keeps you sharp, pushing you to stay innovative and engaged with your audience.
All of that said, it is a commitment. It demands time, resources, know-how, and fresh takes on your areas of expertise. And if you own your own business, it can be tricky to find the time to populate a blog – much less an optimized, continuously updated one.
Therefore, many turn to outside writers. In this blog post, we weigh the options, discussing if and how you should be outsourcing blogs.
Is Blog Outsourcing a Good Idea? Consider Three C’s
No two businesses are alike. As such, no sweeping statement about your blog posting can ring true for every business owner. To start, it might help to consider three C’s:
- Core Competencies: “Core competencies” are those actions and processes you excel at that few others do. If you’re an accountant, for instance, that’d be your number crunching wizardry. When deciding whether outsourcing blog posting is a good idea, you have to ask yourself: ‘Will the time it takes me to write and publish pull me away from my core competencies?’ If you feel like your time is better funneled toward strengthening the foundations of your business – in a way that only you can – outsourcing makes better sense.
- Control: Next, consider your propensity for sharing control. Some business owners are happy to delegate, resting on the expertise of others to keep the ship moving forward. Others need to touch every aspect of their enterprise to ensure perfection. Ask yourself: ‘Can I trust my brand to another writer?’ If it’s hard for you to say “yes,” we can refer you to the lower sections of this post, where we detail how to find quality content writers that can match your brand tone.
- Content Specificity: Is your business writing about app development, a topic widely covered online and therefore easy for an outsourced content creator to research? Or is your business writing about the technical specs of bridge engineering in the Central American highlands? Obviously, the latter is a tad more challenging for an outsider. Not impossible, but it will merit a more rigorous search for suitable content creators.
Our humble take after considering the three C’s: Most businesses will benefit from outsourcing blog posts.
Writing, researching, editing, formatting, and publishing a blog article that inspires reader engagement is a challenge for even the most experienced bloggers. Add in sourcing images, choosing topics, creating custom info-graphics, keyword research for SEO, and research data to enhance your blog article… that’s a large undertaking, week after week.
Then, even after you publish your article, there are literally dozens of other minor tasks you’ll need to attend to if you want your article to actually circulate, build followers and convert readers into subscribers. Responding to comments, sharing on social media, connecting with other businesses, monitoring your content for better SEO, and internal linking can quickly get overwhelming if you’re publishing consistently.
Outsourcing content creation for your blog can be a viable, practical solution for several reasons. Whether you decide on a ghost writer who can convey your expertise, or guest bloggers to supplement your own writing, you’ll want to consider the impact outsourcing will have on your brand as well as your budget.
Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty. Below, learn the differences between content creators, how to choose the right fit, and how budget influences results.
Choosing Your Scribe: Bloggers Vs Writers
Blogging involves writing, but not all writers are bloggers. A great writer isn’t quite the same as a great blogger. I mean, could you imagine Tolstoy writing ‘how to’ tips for bathroom renovations? Could you imagine Shakespeare writing a listicle of makeup routine tips? (Okay, that would be fun, to be fair).
Consider whether copywriters and bloggers suit your needs/budget/niche better.
Copywriters – The Specialists
Professional copywriters aren’t all that hard to find. There are job boards specifically for writers (Upwork, Freelancewriting.com, writersjobboard.com), but you’ll want to examine them thoroughly to find one who matches your needs.
Some writers specialize in marketing copy, technical directions, public relations, or SEO link building writing. They can write compelling headlines, tantalizing copy; they can develop a story, or defend a point of view.
Before you hire a content writer or blog writer, find out about their writing experience and background. If you want articles that are humorous and informative, someone with ten years of technical writing experience may not be the right fit.
Bloggers – The Enthusiasts
Successful bloggers tend to have a background in either journalism or creative writing, but that isn’t always the case.
Some of the most popular bloggers, like Raelyn Tan, have absolutely zero writing expertise or education, but their copy is fun, relatable, and shareable. Their enthusiasm and passion for blogging makes them very effective at promoting and circulating your blog, but their writing skills (i.e. grammar, punctuation) may not be as strong as a professional writer.
Besides a good writer, there are great editors working freelance as well. An editor can help you polish and refine your content so that it’s error-free. An editor with knowledge of SEO on page optimization is even better because they can also ensure that your blog articles are optimized for higher visibility in search results – keep in mind SEO content performs much better than just content that isn’t specifically optimized for your keywords.
Once you settle on a content writer (or editor) you’ll also need to decide who should handle publishing. Publishing blog articles will require administrative access to your blog (WordPress, Blogger, etc.), which means granting the writer privileged access to your business.
Some writers focus solely on producing copy, while others will write and publish content for you. If you’re looking to shave valuable time off your schedule, you might opt for a writer who can do it all. Conversely, if you prefer to be the final “eyes” on a piece of content before its publication, being the administrative point person offers a greater degree of control.
Personality Vs. Expertise
Branding isn’t just your logo or your company slogan. Branding is an integral part of a customer’s experience.
Every time someone interacts with your business, you’re conveying an image of your personality as well as your expertise. Some brands succeed by focusing more on one than the other. Coca-Cola wants people to think of their brand as fun. The World Health Organization wants to be recognized for their medical expertise and humanitarian efforts.
If you’ve built your brand based largely on your personality, outsourcing a blog writer for your business might not be the ideal solution. Loyal readers could really be put off if the tone and style of your blog posts suddenly changes. Personal anecdotes that make your content unique will obviously be missing, making your brand less engaging.
On the other hand, if your blog focuses more on sharing your expertise, you could outsource your blog content with someone who shares your level of knowledge (or can reasonably research the topic). An experienced accountant can provide great advice that isn’t unique to your brand or personality.Of course, you’ll still need to review the content before it’s published to ensure that it’s on-brand conversion focused. But at least you’ll have someone to share the workload of researching topics, writing, and publishing them.
When Outsourcing Blog Posts, You Get What You Pay For
Lastly, there’s the small matter of money.
Freelance job boards for writers are chock-full of international freelancers from a wide range of backgrounds. Some charge mere cents per word, but you may not be thrilled with the results. It’s often slapdash stuff – logically disjointed, with surface-level talking points and a healthy dose of technical errors.
On the other end of the spectrum, professional, in-demand bloggers can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per article. That exposure can absolutely be worth it, but it’s a risk that may not garner your ROI.
The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle. There are several aspiring copywriters and aspiring influencers working their way up. They’re well educated, flexible on topics, and have a pulse on audiences’ tastes. In fact, if you’re a sole business owner, you may be able to leverage your offering to attract an affordable and reliable writer in exchange for exposure, product, or a discount.
Many SEO experts and agencies also provide SEO content writers for their clients, which takes the work out of finding one on your own. An SEO consultant can help you define the tone, topics, keywords and marketing objectives for your blog, which makes it easier to find a suitable blog writer. They can also help perform a content audit to optimize your existing blog articles.
Not sure whether to outsource your blog content? Call Paul Teitelman today for the best free SEO tips!