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 online is outsourcing content writing a good idea, it’s possibly the best way to take your business to the next level.
Here’s a baker’s dozen’s worth of reasons why you should explore outsourcing content marketing and writing in 2023.
1. Shave Expenses Off Your Bottom Line
Quality content can cost a pretty penny — or lots of pennies, really, when you consider that the content creation market was forecasted to hit $13.4 billion in 2022. 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, you can save money by outsourcing, because contractors don’t come with the same costs associated with hiring in-house talent. No giving them a company computer, paying benefits like 401K and insurance or ponying up for sick days.
2. Save Time (That You Can Use On Other Must-Do Tasks)
For most business owners and marketing department heads, 40-hour workweeks are much closer to a dream than reality. That’s especially true if you’ve been carving out blocks of time to tackle content creation firsthand.
Outsource your content and you’ll free up time on your schedule to tackle those tasks only you can do, like 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 in terms of connecting with consumers and getting your audience to engage. But pushing tons of poor-quality content is not the vibe and can even hurt your reputation.
Outsourcing content writing allows you to pull from a pool of talent, generating high-quality content at whatever speed you need. Suddenly find yourself growing from a small startup to a competitive, mid-sized enterprise? Contract writers can churn out a bevy of new location pages or ramp up blog posts at lightning speed.
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 offer thought leadership and credentialed expertise in fields like law, finance, healthcare, insurance, hospitality and tech.
5. Mine Your Talent Pool for Fresh Ideas and Varied Viewpoints
We’ve already touched on some of the limitations that come with relying 100% on in-house writers, but here’s another one: people run out of ideas. Even the most innovative creative stumbles sometimes, and relying on a small team can result in content that starts to drift toward sameness. In other words, ideas, phrasing and even content structure can get staler than a month-old biscuit.
Outsourcing means you can switch up writers at will. 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 just mean contracting a writer. There are editors, subject matter experts and content managers in the mix, too. Choose the right platform and your content partner will take care of everything from ideation to multi-step quality assurance. That means you get deliverables that are error free and publish ready.
Eliminating the need to DIY editing or peruse just-delivered content for accuracy (yup, fact checking is taken care of too!) allows you to press fast-forward on the process. Assign work, go about your business, and wait for the finished product to arrive. It’s efficient and, as you’ll soon find out, it’s effective as well.
7. Reach a Wider Audience
All those subject matter experts and content pros we’ve been talking up thus far? They can help you expand your audience, which means more potential customers and more theoretical dollars in your pocket.
Outsourcing helps boost 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, so it’s not just about blogs anymore but also email marketing, paid ads, social media and B2C content like white papers and case studies
- Giving you the experts you need to tackle multiple niches, so you’re not just publishing content about a single subject but 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
- eBooks
- 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 deal in marketing copy or specialize in scripts. You can’t 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 so you’re covered no matter what.
9. Boost Your ROI
Getting a great return on your investment (ROI) is crucial in marketing, because you want to ensure you’re getting back more than put in. That way, you can reinvest in your business, ramp up content production and build your brand, all without spending a greater percentage of your budget than you initially intended to.
We’ve already discussed how outsourcing content creation can lower your overhead and increase efficiency, but it can also boost ROI by ensuring your content hits the target the first time, every time. No testing out writers or seeing whether your favorite blogger can produce decent results with their first buyer’s guide. Nope, you’re drawing from an already-vetted, trained and well-managed group of writers who know how to make every word count.
There’s also the fact that content marketing generates triple the leads compared to traditional marketing approaches, all while costing a whopping 62% less. It’s a big reduction in time and financial investment for you, better content for your audience and some altogether fantastic ROI to boot.
10. Meet Goals Faster
Even the best content strategy takes time to execute on and come to fruition. SEO doesn’t happen overnight. Neither does building a blog or revamping a website. Consistency counts, but so does quality and volume. You can win over your audience doing one stellar blog a month and you can build out your website over the course of a year. But it’ll take that much longer for you to reach your objectives.
When you outsource content creation, you’re essentially amplifying your reach and growing your team overnight. It doesn’t matter that your contracted writers aren’t actual employees or that they’re not working full time — neither point matters. What does matter is that you’re getting 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 blogs or hundreds of landing pages at the speed you need, with the quality you require.
Imagine how fast you’d meet your goals then.
11. Enhance SEO and Rank Higher
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process by which we all structure our content and websites in order to please Google’s algorithm (it’s really all search engine algorithms, but Google’s rules are the ones we all live and design by). SEO is a vital component of content creation because most digital content is created as part of a SEO-inclusive strategy.
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? Check. Full content briefs? Got those, too. Writing, editing, QA — it’s all included, depending on the options you choose, so you can leave the details to the pros and get back to that to-do list staring at you.
12. Outsourcing Content Creation Helps Increase Authority
All those quality blogs written by subject matter experts aren’t just for looks. They help you establish yourself as an authority in your given niche. People who love a certain topic know when the content they’re reading is created by someone equally passionate about that topic. They also know when someone is just regurgitating basic facts. Which do you think resonates better?
Trust your content and the relationship you’re building with your audience to a writer that takes your project seriously and has the credentials and portfolio to back it all up.
13. Protect Your Reputation With Higher Quality Content
Building on the last point, poor quality content is no joke. Content peppered with typos, grammatical errors and factual inaccuracies isn’t just less effective, it could actually tank your reputation and make you less trustworthy in the eyes of consumers. You literally can’t afford to buy or create subpar content, and outsourcing can save you that headache 100 times over.
Half of today’s marketers say they’re already outsourcing at least part of their content marketing workload, and this is one time you really want to 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.
