Why You Should Outsource Content Writing and How to Do It

You make a lot of difficult decisions about what to do with your business’s hard-earned resources, and there’s only so much money to go around. Trying to do everything you can in-house is tempting, but that’s not always the best approach. Outsourcing content writing can save your team valuable time and help grow your business. Those are just some reasons that about half of companies outsource content marketing.

Content Journey handles content marketing for about 30 companies. We either supplement those businesses’ in-house teams or are completely responsible for their content. Multiple businesses have been our clients for the duration of our company’s existence because they see the return on investment our services provide. 

In this post, we’ll explain why and how to outsource content writing.

What Is Content Marketing, and Why Do You Need It?

Before we get too far in, let’s ensure you know the basics. If you have a good grasp of content marketing and why it’s critical for your business, feel free to skip this section.

Content marketing is relevant, engaging content that helps you connect with and educate your audience. It helps your audience answer questions or solve problems while establishing your brand as an expert. Content marketing includes blog posts, email newsletters, lead magnets, and social media posts.

So, why do you need content marketing for your business? It helps you be an expert resource for current and potential customers. It also increases web traffic, which leads to more sales. Companies that use content marketing have six times more conversions. 

Why Outsource Content Writing?

Now that you understand content marketing and how it helps your business, why not do it yourself? We get that it’s not easy to pay someone to do something you feel confident in doing. But do you have the time and expertise to do content marketing well? After all, you need to use your expertise to make high-level decisions and complete essential tasks. Here are some reasons you should outsource content writing services.

Time

We already alluded to this issue, but it’s a significant factor, so it’s worth addressing further. You only have 24 hours every day, and you can only stretch that time so far. 

On average, it takes about four hours to write a blog post. The blogs that get the most attention and conversions publish two to four times a week. We recommend that our clients publish twice a week for consistent results. 

That means you’d need to find more than eight hours a week to write, edit, and publish blog posts. Do you have that time to devote to producing quality content each week in addition to the rest of your tasks?

Don’t forget that you’ll need to spend more time on email marketing, lead magnets, and social media promotions.

Freeing your time or lacking time are key reasons to outsource content writing.

Expertise

Outsourcing your content writing means you get writers, editors, and SEO experts all wrapped up in a team that understands content marketing best practices and how to create quality content that drives results. So, instead of trying to do everything yourself, you get a team of experts to advise you and implement your marketing efforts. This expertise is a vital reason to outsource content writing.

Professional Quality

There’s a difference between a proficient writer and a professional-level writer. That difference matters on your website. Grammar, spelling, and writing errors cause readers to flee blogs. You want to ensure your content marketing represents your brand at the highest level.

Having quality content on your website and in all your marketing materials is another strong reason to outsource content marketing.

Variety

Outsourcing guarantees regular, quality content that’s published on schedule. It also means the experts can advise you on the right content mix for your audience so you can reach them when, how, and where they will be most receptive to the message. 

For example, at Content Journey, our most popular client package includes a weekly blog post, monthly newsletter, social media content promotion, and six lead magnets annually, in addition to technical SEO work. That means your message reaches the various members of your audience in consistent but unique ways.

In our first original research study, people who outsource content marketing said content mix matters when it comes to getting results from content marketing. But that variety isn’t quick or easy to come by. Outsourcing content writing services makes it easier to accomplish.

Scalability

Just like you may need different types of content at various times in your business, you’ll also need varying amounts of content. 

Outsourcing allows you to scale content based on your business’s needs. You can easily change that monthly newsletter to weekly or add three service pages in one month without placing increasing demands on your own team or having to find, hire, and train someone to handle the additional load.

Efficiency

Maybe your team can create the content you need, but can they create quality content quickly? 

Outsourcing can significantly reduce the turnaround time for producing any type of content. 

You also don’t have to choose other activities that won’t or can’t be done during that time while your team is laboring over something that isn’t part of their normal role.

Consistency

Maintaining a consistent voice and quality across all your content can be challenging, especially if multiple team members are involved in writing. Outsourced writers can ensure that all content aligns with your brand’s voice, style, and quality standards, and they can produce content marketing on a consistent basis, helping you show up regularly for current and potential customers.

High ROI

Not convinced yet that outsourcing content writing is the right move for your business? Consider this. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and results in three times as many leads. You know you need a way to attract customers and grow your business. Why not get the most significant ROI?

How to Outsource Content Writing

Outsourcing is starting to sound like a pretty good move. You can save your team’s time and resources while still getting the benefits of excellent content marketing for your business. So, how do you do it? 

In our post on how to outsource content marketing, we provide the details. Here’s an overview of how to outsource content writing.

Determine Your Needs

Content marketing includes various tactics, so you’ll want to spend some time thinking about what you need. Does your blog need service pages? Is search engine optimization research required? Are you looking at outsourcing blog posts?

Once you decide what you need, you’re more prepared to have conversations with freelancers or agencies.

Choose Between a Freelancer or an Agency

You must decide whether to work with a freelance writer or a content marketing agency. Both have benefits and limitations. Your needs and budget will help you decide. Agencies offer greater resources and expertise, but they’ll likely cost more. Freelance writers have more limited resources and likely only specialize in one thing. Depending on the freelancer, they may not be as reliable, but their services probably cost less.

Before you start working together, ask about relevant experience and to see examples of past work. You’ll also want to know their rates and processes. Ask them for references and talk to some of their other clients.

Before you put anything in writing, you’ll want to set the tone for your professional relationship and feel secure in your new partner.

Be Ready to Discuss Your Business

Regardless of who you hire, outsourcing to writers means you must be able to communicate a lot of information about your business. Information like your brand voice, target marketing, unique selling proposition, and competitors will help your new partner when it’s time to create content.

Form Your Agreement

When you’re ready to outsource writing services, make sure all the details of your agreement are in writing. If you’re working with an agency, they’ll have contracts ready for you to sign. With a freelancer, you may need to create the contracts yourself.

Make sure the agreement’s budget, schedule, and goals are clear, and both sides understand what deliverables will be due and when. Agencies will also send reports and updates about their work for you, so make sure that’s in agreement as well.

You may want to pause if a partner refuses to provide any of these documents. You could be setting yourself up to work with a Shadency, which you want to avoid. A shady agency will take advantage of you and cost your business time and money.

Want to know more about Shadencies and how to avoid them? Read our free e-book on Dealing with a Shadency.

Review and Publish Content

Once your contract is signed, it’s time for your new content creators to take over. Your next step is to review the content to ensure the piece meets your standards and has a consistent brand voice. You may want to return the piece with feedback for revision or move it forward to publishing. Remember that the more feedback you give at the beginning of your partnership, the better. It will set you up for future success.

Once you publish the content, don’t forget to share it on social media and in your newsletter. 

If you’re working with a content marketing agency, part of their contract may also be publishing and promoting the content.

Monitor Results

You want results from your content marketing and to see that your partnership is worthwhile. You likely won’t see instant results, but you should monitor analytics. Create a schedule for checking your site traffic and content performance. Your agency also may provide regular analytics updates as part of your agreement.

3 Essential Elements of a Successful Partnership

The best content writing partnerships share a few key elements. These elements can make this type of partnership successful for years, eliminating the need to worry or even think much about your business’s content marketing.

1. Clear Communication

Determine from on onset how you will communicate with your content writing freelancer or agency. Will you have a regular meeting? Will you use Slack?

Also, decide who on your team will handle this communication.

Knowing who will communicate with whom and how (and maybe even when) those conversations will happen makes both partners feel more confident in the relationship. It also prevents either partner from feeling uncertain about the possibility of resolution if an issue arises.

2. Detailed Feedback

Feedback is critical in any working relationship, but it’s vital at the beginning of an outsourcing partnership.

Detailed feedback means helping your new partner get to know your brand and its voice, setting clear expectations, and helping them learn your style.

Yes, this level of feedback can take a lot of time to start, but think of it as investing training time at the beginning of the relationship to save yourself a ton of time later.

Pretty soon, you’ll find that a good content agency will embrace and apply your feedback and understand your expectations. Then, you can pull back the reins and focus on other things, knowing your content is handled exactly how you want it to be.

3. Trust

No partnership will survive without trust. Content outsourcing is no exception.

Once you establish your relationship and feel confident that your partner understands your business’s needs, it’s time to step away and focus on other aspects of your business.

Remember that you hired content experts for a reason. Micromanaging them negates the positive aspects of hiring experts. It hinders creativity, feels like you’re always second-guessing them, and harms your working relationship.

You want to enjoy your partnership, and you want your content writing partner to love working as part of your team. That means trusting one another to do your jobs well and allowing the space for that to happen.

Outsource Your Content Marketing to Content Journey

Content marketing is one of the best ways to grow your business. And since you probably don’t have time to do it yourself, outsourcing content writing services is a strategic way to spend your advertising and marketing dollars. Want to learn more about partnering with Content Journey for your content marketing needs? Schedule a call!