I’ve been in the content marketing game for 14 years and for most of them my focus has been on delivering content services to small businesses. But in the last few years I’ve started working with bigger brands. That surprised me at first. After all, companies have their own marketing teams – why should they outsource content?
But after working with large companies, I see the benefits for them. Whether you’re running a solo show or a market for a multinational company, here are the benefits of outsourcing your content development.
1. An external consultant brings a new perspective
As an employee, you sometimes get caught up in messaging. I mean, you’re too close to the brand to be seen from a customer perspective at times. You think your brand is amazing for X, Y, and Z reasons, but someone else may see it very differently.
When you work with someone outside your company, you get a different point of view. You may have ideas for content that you haven’t seen because you focused on messages that you received internally. And as they say, having a fresh pair of eyes is always great.
2. You saw what works (and what doesn’t‘t) for other companies
Often times, even when you have a robust marketing team, your employees only know what they’ve done for your company. There is a whole world of SEO (search engine optimization) and content strategy beyond the walls of your office.
In an organization, processes are often inherited and rarely questioned. If the person who previously held a role did it this way, who are you to change them? With a third-party content consultant, you’ll benefit from everything they’ve done and learned for other customers.
3. You have broad, in-depth expertise that you may lack
I hate bursting your bubble, but your incredibly complicated industry is actually not that complicated after all. An outsider – of course Experienced Content Creator – Can see what your company is doing and what differentiators it is faster than you imagine. Consultants immerse themselves in your industry so they can speak intelligently in your brand voice.
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What you to do Need is a content buff and sometimes you just don’t have that on the staff. Hiring a marketer or even a marketing director doesn’t mean a person has knowledge of content strategy. Marketing is a broad field and you need to make sure that you have experts in everything you do – from email to social media, advertising to content development.
4. You give your team the freedom to focus on what they do best
The reason for outsourcing is to gain time to do what you are best at in your role. For a one-person operation, this could run the business or attract new customers. For a company, this can mean focusing on the bigger marketing picture while a consultant works on the content.
5. You save money and time
This is the best part for you: instead of paying a full-time salary plus benefits, with an outside writer, you pay only for what you need. This could be a blog post from here and there or a repository for a certain amount of work per month.
You also don’t need to have a human resources department on board, and you don’t have to come to all of your strategy meetings. Your relationship with your content writer can be as involved as you need it to be. Assign an article. Set a deadline. Get the article published. It’s easy.
Tips for hiring a content creator
Oh where do i start Let’s start with: Believe in your investment. By that I mean, if you expect to pay $ 50 per article, you need to understand that content is an essential service and that if you expect to pay $ 50 per article, you will not be happy with the results. You want to hire a writer who is able to create content that will appeal to your specific audience and it won’t be cheap. But think about it. You don’t hire an accountant for $ 10 an hour because you want your taxes to be done right. So why should you look for a discount content writer?
Next, Look for a writer with industry experience. This is not strictly necessary, but it will help if you have a basic understanding of your industry. Read industry blogs and look for bios from authors you like. Grab it and see if they are interested in writing for you. This is how I have received a significant portion of my business.
Set parameters and processes. The more precisely you know what you want, the more likely you are to get it. Would you like to provide themes for the writers or would you like them to develop themes and story ideas for you? What is the process and turnaround time to deliver, review, and then publish an article?
Authors like feedback (good ones anyway), so Communicate in a constructive way what you liked and what you didn’t like. This will help the writer nail it.
Outsourcing content can help you grow your blog with relevant and well-written articles that will attract new businesses.
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