I've been in for 14 years Content marketing game 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 marketplace for a multinational organization, here are the benefits of outsourcing your content development.
As an employee, you sometimes get into the news. 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 of your company, you get a different point of view. You may have ideas for content that you might not have seen because you focused on messages that you received internally. And as they say, having a new pair of eyes is always great.
Even when you have a robust marketing team, often all your employees know is 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 an outside content consultant, you benefit from everything they have done for other customers and what they have learned in the process.
I hate bursting your bubble, but your incredibly complicated industry is actually not that complicated after all. An outsider – admittedly, a seasoned content creator – can get an idea of what your company is doing and which differentiators are 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 need is a content expert, 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.
The reason for outsourcing is to buy 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 could mean focusing on the bigger marketing picture while a consultant edits the content.
This is the best part for you: instead of paying a full-time salary plus benefits, with an outside writer, you only pay for what you need. This could be a here-and-there blog post or a repository for a certain amount of work per month.
You don't have 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.
Oh where do I start? Let's start with: Believe in your investment. By that I mean, if you count on $ 50 per article, you need to understand that content is an essential service and that if you count on $ 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 that won't get 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 helps if you have a basic understanding of your industry. Read industry blogs and find the biographies of authors you like. Contact us to 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 it is that you will 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 they liked and what they didn't. This will help the writer pin it down.
By outsourcing content, you can add relevant and well-written articles to your blog that will attract new businesses.
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