Whether you’re thinking about outsourcing content creation for the first time or just looking for a better way to get the job done, there’s good news: Experts agree that not only is outsourcing content writing a good idea, but it also may be the best way to take your business to the next level.
Here’s a baker’s dozen’s worth of reasons to outsource your content marketing efforts in 2024.
1. Shave Expenses Off Your Bottom Line by Outsourcing Content Creation
Quality content can cost a pretty penny — or lots of pennies, really, when you consider forecasts that the content creation market will hit $53.6 billion by 2033. When you commission a blog or a white paper, you’re not just paying for words. You’re paying for the years those writers and editors spent perfecting their grammar, learning about SEO, and mastering various content types.
That said, outsourcing content still saves you considerable amounts of money, as contractors don’t come with the same costs associated with hiring in-house talent. You don’t need to give them a company computer, pay 401(k) and insurance, or cover their sick days.
2. Save Time for Other Must-Do Tasks
For most business owners and marketing department heads, 40-hour workweeks are the dream, not the reality. That’s especially true if you tackle content creation firsthand. From ideation to publishing, there’s an endless stream of tasks to complete.
If you outsource your content, you’ll free up your schedule to tackle those tasks only you can do, such as coaching your managers or pitching new ideas to the board.
3. Scale Content and Expand Your Content Calendar
When it comes to content, it can be difficult to balance quality and quantity. Most experts agree that frequent blogging and a steady stream of social media posts are better for connecting with consumers and engaging your audience. But pushing tons of poor-quality content isn’t the answer — it may even harm your business.Content outsourcing allows you to pull from a vast talent pool, generating high-quality content at whatever speed you need. Have you suddenly found yourself growing from a small start-up to a competitive, midsized enterprise? When you hire contract writers, they can churn out quality landing pages or blog posts at a lightning-fast pace.
4. Leverage Subject Matter Experts
Unless you’re ready to hire an entire stable of in-house writers, your team can’t possibly cover all the subjects you may want to reference as part of your overarching content strategy. Outsourcing with a company or platform that offers subject matter experts connects you with people who provide thought leadership and credentialed expertise in fields such as law, finance, health care, insurance, hospitality, and tech.
SMEs add significant value to your content by imbuing it with more authority and expertise. These days, Google craves trustworthy content written by experts. It’s a central aspect of the search giant’s E-E-A-T quality guidelines that prioritize experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
5. Mine Your Talent Pool for Fresh Ideas and Varied Viewpoints
We’ve already touched on some limitations of relying 100% on in-house writers, but here’s another factor to consider: People run out of ideas. Even the most innovative creatives stumble sometimes, and content written by a small team can start to drift toward sameness. In other words, ideas, phrasing, and even content structure can get staler than a month-old biscuit.
Outsourcing lets you switch up writers at will. You can create your own team of freelancers and release batches of content to the group as a whole, or ask for pitches and see which ideas are most exciting.
6. Publish Faster and More Efficiently
Outsourcing doesn’t always just involve contracting a writer. Editors, subject matter experts, and content managers play an essential role in the process. Choose the right platform and service options, and your content partner can handle everything from ideation to multistep quality assurance. That means you get deliverables that are error-free and publish-ready.
Eliminating the need to edit or peruse just-delivered content for accuracy allows you to fast-forward the production process. Assign work, switch focus to wherever you’re needed, and wait for the finished product to arrive.
7. Reach a Wider Audience
Subject matter experts and content pros can help you expand your audience, meaning more potential customers and theoretical dollars in your pocket.
Outsourcing boosts reach by:
- Giving you access to marketing agencies that can help you create a content calendar and ramp up distribution
- Assisting in creating multiple content types, which expands to email marketing, paid ads, social media posts, and B2B or B2C content such as white papers and case studies
- Giving you the experts you need so you can approach your niche from multiple angles
8. Experiment With Different Content Types
Speaking of different content types, do you know how many there are? Hint: There’s a lot, including:
- Blogs
- Testimonials and reviews
- Case studies
- E-books
- Videos
- Infographics
- White papers
- Guides and how-tos
- Scripts for podcasts, videos, speeches, and webinars
- Web copy
- Landing pages
- Product descriptions
- Buyer’s guides
Some writers dabble in multiple content types, while others only specialize in marketing copy or scripts. You can’t necessarily expect a blog writer to knock a case study out of the park, but you can outsource to a platform that has already vetted writers specializing in all types of content. That way, you’re covered no matter what.
9. Boost Your ROI
Getting a great return on your investment is crucial in marketing because you want to ensure you get back more than you put in. That way, you can reinvest in your business, ramp up content production, and build your brand, all without spending more of your budget than you initially intended.
We’ve already discussed how outsourcing content creation can reduce overhead and increase efficiency. It can also boost ROI by ensuring your content hits the target the first time, every time, so you don’t have to test out whether your favorite blogger can produce decent results with their first buyer’s guide. Instead, you draw from an already-vetted, well-managed group of writers who know how to make every word count.
10. Meet Goals Faster
Even the best content strategy takes time to execute and come to fruition. SEO doesn’t happen overnight, and neither does building a blog or revamping a website.
Consistency counts, but so do quality and volume. You can win over your audience by crafting just one stellar blog a month and building your website over a year. But it’ll take that much longer for you to reach your objectives.
When you outsource content creation, you amplify your reach and grow your team overnight. It doesn’t matter that contracted writers aren’t actual employees or full-time workers.
You’ll get the help you need when you need it, and that’s true whether you work with a single writer or a team of 100. You can generate a couple of quality blogs or hundreds of landing pages at the speed you need.
11. Enhance SEO and Rank Higher
With search engine optimization, you can determine how to structure your content and website to please Google’s algorithm — the enigmatic yet all-important equation that drives search rankings. Without SEO, you can’t expect to rank high on the search engine results pages, dampening your marketing efforts.
The thing is, keeping up with SEO updates can be a full-time job. Even the best writers in the world may be a step or two behind on SEO, which is why so many people work with agencies that specialize in optimization. But that means another contract, another bill to pay, and another step in the content creation process.
Instead, partner with a platform like Crowd Content that offers soup-to-nuts content creation services. Keywords, content briefs, writing, editing, QA — it can all be included. Choose what you need, and leave the details to the pros so you can get back to your to-do list.
12. Outsourcing Content Creation Helps Increase Authority
Publishing quality blogs reviewed by SMEs helps you become an established authority in your given niche. People who love a particular topic know when someone equally passionate wrote the content they’re reading. They also know when someone is just regurgitating basic facts. Which do you think resonates better?
Trust your content and your relationship with your audience to writers and SMEs who take your project seriously and have the credentials and portfolios to back it all up. Each piece of authoritative content will grow the overall authority of your domain.
13. Protect Your Reputation With Higher Quality Content
Poor-quality content is no joke. Content littered with typos, grammatical errors, and factual inaccuracies tanks your reputation and makes you less trustworthy in the eyes of consumers. You can’t afford to buy or create subpar content, and outsourcing can save you that headache 100 times over.
But what is quality content? Two articles can vary in so many ways yet still rise to the top of the search results. Ultimately, high-ranking content takes a person-first approach and includes insightful, authoritative information.
This is easier if you outsource content production to an agency that follows an extensive content quality checklist through every step of the process.
What Are the Best Practices for Communicating With Outsourced Teams?
So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and expand your content creation efforts with outsourcing. But how do you communicate with your team of freelancers?
Communication shouldn’t be more complicated than it is with an in-house writing team, but outsourcing definitely creates a different dynamic. You can’t necessarily expect freelancers to be available to talk at any point during business hours like you would employees.
Instead, set clear expectations from the get-go, including regular check-ins and updates. Outline your preferred communication methods, whether those include email, calls, or platforms such as Teams and Slack, so your team knows how to contact you with questions or ideas.
Of course, time and optimization are the ultimate factors in outsourcing, and you can’t expect to get everything right on your first try. After the work is done, look for any improvements you can make to instructions, briefs, and communication, then offer detailed feedback for your writers to do the same. Content calibration lets you scale things up next time with even smoother results.
How Do You Monitor and Measure the Success of Outsourced Content?
Regardless of whether you’re working with an in-house team, hiring freelancers from across the ocean, or doing everything yourself, you need a way to measure the success of your content. It’s how you know when to scale up or cut your losses.
There are several tools you can use to track content performance, including free options such as Google Analytics and full-service marketing platforms that can become costly. As long as you can see how many views your content gets and observe the search rankings over time, that’s all you need to start.
Of course, you may eventually want to track user experience and engagement. Throw in a way to also assess the social media impact of your content, and you’re set for the future.
Budgeting and Investing for the Future
Outsourcing content creation may saves money over the long run — especially if your in-house team is finding it hard to keep your content supply flowing. However, content marketing offers slower returns than paid marketing streams, so you won’t see new leads immediately. Patience is key.
Over the weeks and months to come, the budget you invest in content marketing should establish trust, authority, and brand awareness for your business. High-quality content continues to attract new customers without much additional investment — something that can’t be said of pay-per-click marketing.
Half of today’s marketers say they’re already outsourcing at least part of their content marketing workload, and this is one time you should follow the crowd. For more information on outsourcing or to see how Crowd Content can help you with your content marketing strategy, sign up for an account today.
