Outsource Blogging? The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Blog Writing

Have you ever considered outsourcing your blogging by hiring a blog writing service? Depending on what blogging strategy you’re currently using, this could sound like a godsend. The basic idea is simple; you’ll hire a writer or team of writers to take over writing and publishing articles for your blog (or for outsourcing your off-site link building). Over time, those articles will increase your website’s visibility, especially if you’re building a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy around that content (e.g. pillar pages). Leaving the work to someone else puts it in the hands of an expert—and takes it off your plate. But is hiring content writers really all it’s cracked up to be?

Why Blogging Services Are So Important

Content writing (in the form of onsite blogging and guest posting) is a fundamental pillar in almost any online marketing strategy. It can be used as a persuasive tool to get more conversions, a way to attract and retain more direct visitors, and a framework for an SEO or targeted advertising campaign. Unfortunately, for your content to be valuable, it needs to be well-researched, cleverly written, and aligned with your overarching goals. That means it’s going to take time, so you can’t do it all yourself. There are only a few alternative options:

• Independent contractors. You could also hire independent contractors to outsource your blogging. They’re more flexible than full-time hires, but give you the potential to get the same expertise as an agency—but they’re very hard to find, and may be unreliable.

The Pros of Blog Writing Services

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Hiring SEO copy writers of any variety (i.e., independent contractors or an agency) will yield the following benefits:

• Someone else will be accountable for the success of your campaign. Assume for a moment that you’ll be taking on 100 percent of your content writing and SEO by yourself. What happens when your growth stagnates, and you no longer see the results you wanted? How are you going to make up for a blog post that misinforms readers and gets heavily criticized? If you’re outsourcing your campaign with an agency, you’ll have someone to hold accountable; a reputable agency will be ever vigilant to prevent these instances from occurring. And in the rare occasion they do occur, they’ll work twice as hard to investigate the root cause, make up for the error, and reestablish trust so they can keep your business. Paying money to an agency gives them an enormous incentive to help you achieve better results, and they’re going to take your campaign seriously as a result.

The Cons of Blog Writing Services

However, not all businesses will benefit from hiring blogging services. There are some potential downsides to watch for, though most can be compensated for:

• Low-quality articles are worse than no articles. Cheap articles aren’t good for your business. Outsourcing to a non-native English speaker, an amateur writer, or an inexperienced agency can leave you with low-quality articles that aren’t reflective of your brand values. Ultimately, low-quality articles are worse than having no articles for your brand; they can leave first-time visitors with a bad impression, and worsen your brand reputation.

The Final Analysis: Should You Outsource Blogging and Hire Content Writers?

If you’ve decided to outsource SEO your content marketing, be sure to follow these five important strategies:

1. Be Judicious in Your Partner Selection.

There are a ton of content options available to you—you can work with an expensive, lucrative agency, a cheap content mill focused on turnaround times and volume, or a one-off freelancer ranging in both skill and price. Your needs will be different than the needs of any other company. You’ll have a different budget, different goals, and a different demand for expertise. Because of the diversity of options available to you, there’s no reason to jump into any partnership right away. Take your time when researching your options. Evaluate each possibility in terms of its price, service offerings, reliability, history, and level of expertise. Generally, the more you pay, the higher quality of the content you’ll receive, but this isn’t always the case. Do your research well in advance and only make a final selection once you’re absolutely sure your partner is the best possible option for your brand.

2. Work on a Strategy Together.

Most businesses will choose to outsource their content to a verified expert in the field of content marketing. As a result, many businesses take a hands-off approach, allowing their partner expert to call the shots, set the direction, and produce the content without restriction. In these scenarios, as long as you have properly vetted your candidates, you can rest assured that you’ll end up with a quality content strategy—but it won’t be as good or as focused as it could be. Early on, inject yourself into the strategic planning process. Your content expert partners know content better than anyone else, but you know your brand far better than they do. You’ll be able to set direction, set the tone, and outline the main goals you hope to accomplish. You’ll be able to answer their questions and clear up common misconceptions. Only together will you be able to work up the best possible strategy.

3. Do Your Own Research for Content Topics.

Your content partner will likely take charge in coming up with new topic ideas for your ongoing publications. However, they will not be as plugged into the industry as you are. You know all the major publications, the state of the industry, and the approach of your competitors far better than they do, and you can use your knowledge and familiarity to enhance their productivity and focus. Don’t be afraid to send new topic ideas to your content partner. Send them links to news articles that would make for good topics, and express your opinions on recent happenings. Your input is vital for keeping the authority of your outsourced work high. Otherwise, your content writers will be writing blindly in an industry they probably know very little about.

4. Give Feedback and Make Adjustments.

Feedback and revision is as important in a content partnership as it is a solo content marketing campaign. When you come across an article that you don’t like or don’t understand, make an inquiry. Explain why it’s off—it could be a topic misaligned with your industry, poor adherence to tone, or just poor structuring. Your feedback will prevent any outliers from slipping through and compromising your brand’s reputation, and will help your content partner produce better work in the future. Also feel free to send along new ideas for strategic direction, and work with your partner to make long-term adjustments to your mutual approach.

5. Trust, but Verify.

Finally, trust that your content partner is doing everything they can to produce high-quality work. You vetted your candidates carefully, so you should feel comfortable with your partner’s intentions and abilities. Let them do their job to the best of their ability, and follow up with verifications to ensure this is the case. Proofread the articles before they go out. Double check the editorial calendar to make sure you’re getting what you pay for. Mistakes happen, and the more eyes you have looking out for them, the better. Whether you’re wanting to find your own guest posting opportunities, trying to scale your link building campaign or just want to offer better content for your most loyal customers, outsourcing your blog writing or hiring a white label SEO partner. Most of the downsides can easily be remedied by proactively guarding against them, and the benefits are undeniably powerful (so long as you choose the right agency to work with). The more important, less answerable questions are things like how much are you willing to spend? How fast do you want to grow? When do you want to get started? And what do you ultimately hope to achieve? If you’re interested in hiring a team of content writers for your business, or if you’re just curious to learn more about the benefits of outsourcing your blogging, contact us at SEO.co today! We’ll run a free analysis of your current content marketing and SEO strategy, and introduce you to the SEO experts who can help you get the most out of your content writing campaign.