Article and content writing outsourcing tips.
Need to publish informational articles to increase your brand presence and improve organic search engine rankings?
It’s better to outsource your article writing requirements rather than doing it in house.
A content writing agency or a content writer is always going to do a better job compared to an in-house writer.
I’m going to share some article outsourcing and content outsourcing tips here that will help you get the maximum out of the content writer you work with.
Article outsourcing means working with an outside article writing agency like Credible Content Writing Services to publish high-quality content on your website in the form of blog posts, webpages, and also get them published on other websites and blog posts to get exposure in front of a different audience.
Benefits of outsourcing your article writing requirements to a content writing service
Here, I’m not listing the benefits just because I have my own content writing agency and hence, it would be profitable for me if you outsource article writing.
Of course, it will be profitable for me.
But outsourcing article writing is actually beneficial to your business.
You can outsource content writing needs such as
- Blog
- Website
- Landing page
- Email marketing
- Informational articles
- E-book
- Case study
Here is a list of benefits:
You don’t have a limited choice when it comes to writers
When you outsource to another content writing agency you are not stuck with particular writers.
Don’t like the writing style?
You can switch to another service or if the content writing service hires multiple writers, you can always request to work with another writer.
You will need to do some research but there are thousands of writers to choose from – writers who can make a big difference in your content marketing efforts.
Outsourcing is cheaper compared to hiring an in-house writer
It is cost effective to work with a content writing agency.
If you hire your own writer, you will need resources such as a computer or a laptop, software and other office resources.
Also, no matter how many quality articles your in-house writer writes, you will be paying a monthly salary, insurance and other benefits that you need to give to a full-time employee.
With outsourcing, you pay-as-you-go.
You can even pay per article for that matter.
You don’t pay for the computer.
You don’t pay for the furniture.
You don’t pay for the electricity.
There is no medical insurance to pay.
There is no monthly salary.
You just pay for the article that you get.
You can focus on strategy and business building
Writing is a time-consuming activity, especially when publishing high-quality articles is your priority.
On an average, a well-written, researched article takes anywhere between 3-4 hours.
Even if you work very fast, an article of 1000-1500 words definitely takes two hours including revisions and research.
If you want to publish 2-3 articles every week, do you really have that much time?
Can you regularly come up with great article writing ideas?
You can rest assured of continuity
Publishing regularity is as important as publishing high-quality content on your website or blog, and the same goes with publishing high-quality articles.
Once you have outsourced your article writing requirement to a content writing agency you don’t need to worry about publishing content regularly.
Depending on your contract and arrangement, you can get a high quality, crisp article in your inbox daily.
A fresh perspective on your article writing ideas
A writer writing from an outsider’s perspective will instill a breath of fresh air into your entire content writing process.
A professional writer is constantly writing on different topics. He or she is always “in the zone”.
Creative juices are constantly flowing.
Since a professional writer like yours truly makes a living out of writing, he knows how to research, how to gather information and then how to weave a narrative to make the writing interesting and worthwhile.
Scale according to your convenience
As mentioned above, you are neither stuck with a writer nor with the budget (unlike in the case of a salary).
You can always scale up or scaled-down your article writing requirements.
It isn’t necessary that if in August you published 10 articles in September also you publish the same number of articles.
If you have budget for just 5 articles, then you publish just 5 articles.
Then you suddenly have a budget for 20 articles.
You publish 20 articles.
Now we come to the main topic of this blog post:
15 tips on how to draw maximum benefit from article outsourcing
There are compelling reasons to outsource your article writing requirements but to benefit fully from your arrangement, there are certain things you must pay attention to.
It’s like any other collaboration.
Some sort of input and diligence will be required from your side whether it is about finding the right content writing agency or zeroing in on the best content writer for your article writing needs, or drawing up your long term content strategy.
The 15 article & content writing outsourcing tips listed below will help you create and maintain a rewarding experience both for you and the writer.
1. Prepare a vision and mission statement for your content strategy
Sometimes I prepare a mission and vision statement even for a single blog post or an article.
If the client is paying good money for the effort and time I’m spending.
Preparing such a document gives you a direction and helps you prioritize and focus.
You normally write a vision and mission statement for your company or your business and you must be wondering why you should write one for your content strategy.
Why do you need article writing?
Why do you need quality content for your blog or website?
Let’s say, what do you want to achieve once you have published at least 50 articles or blog posts?
Do you want to educate your customers and clients?
Do you want to increase the content depth of your website?
Do you want to establish yourself as an authority and an expert in your field?
Do you want to publish lots of helpful literature for your customers and clients so that they feel inclined to buy from you?
Do you want to improve your organic search engine rankings for your target keywords?
Do you want to increase subscribers of your newsletter?
How important high-quality articles are in the scheme of things?
Having a clear vision will help you decide what type of writer you should be looking for.
2. Do research on other websites and blogs
Businesses and entrepreneurs related to your business, all your competitors, are already publishing a ton of content.
Visit their websites and blogs and make a note of what type of content they are publishing.
Try to make sense of what they are achieving.
If you don’t agree with their content strategy, also make note of it so that you don’t do the same with your own content strategy.
Visiting other websites and blogs will also give you an idea of the quality of content they are publishing.
Preserve the list of websites and blogs you like so that when you start working with an article writer, you can share these links as an example.
Getting a sense of quality will also help you find the right writer for your article writing needs.
3. Find out why people would search information related to your field or business
What is generally the buyer journey in your business when it comes to writing and publishing content?
Do people search for information in the beginning and then gradually they decide to buy, or is the buying process is very fast?
I have observed that in the field of content writing and copywriting, especially when it comes to SEO content, clients have already researched a lot.
Most of my clients have worked with multiple SEO companies and content writers before they come to me or they themselves have spent a few months dabbling with various SEO concepts.
Is it the same case with your industry?
4. Prepare a list of keywords and search terms if you are planning to target search engine users
You can either do this on your own in the beginning, or you can leave this process right now and work with your writer later.
Choosing the right keywords and search terms is very important for your search engine rankings.
There may be hundreds of keywords and search term combinations that your prospective customers and clients use to find businesses like yours.
You may have to use a tool like Google Analytics, Serpstat or Ubersuggest to come up with a comprehensive list of keywords.
Having a finalized list of keywords will help you a lot later.
5. Prepare a list of topics based on your keywords and search terms
Again, either you can do it on your own or you can do it when you start working with an article writer.
Many of my clients take my help to come up with the most appropriate article topics.
Having said that, it is always better to prepare an initial list of topics on your own because you have a better understanding of your business and your audience.
Again, this will help you find the best article writer for your requirements.
6. Start searching for an article writing agency you can outsource to
Being in a constant state of hurry has become sort of a fashion these days.
Many clients who approach me say something like, “the deadline for publishing my article is like, yesterday.”
You are pressurizing yourself, and your pressurizing your writer.
This helps nobody.
Why am I mentioning this here?
Don’t start looking for an article writing service when you are pressed hard against the wall.
Give yourself a couple of weeks.
Allocate one hour everyday going through various article writing websites or content writing websites.
Whenever you come across a probable writer, save the information whether it is the website or the social media profile or an email ID.
7. Go through the previous work of the writers you have shortlisted
Most of the experienced content writers have their samples online.
Even if they don’t have their samples online, you can ask them to send you a list of online links you can go through.
You don’t need to worry about your niche focus when you are initially going through the samples.
Yes, industry and subject matter knowledge matters.
So, if the article writer you are looking for must have knowledge of blockchain development then you can ask for specific samples, but otherwise, frankly, it is the style that matters.
Make note of how the writer expresses himself or herself.
As long as he or she is comfortable writing on technology, it hardly matters whether he or she has extensively written on mobile app development, Java programming, artificial intelligence or Internet of Things.
Similarly, if the writer has been primarily writing for real estate builders, if the writing is engaging, conversational and professional, it hardly matters if he or she never seems to have written for a real estate agent.
I’m not undermining the importance of knowledge and subject matter experience, but pay more attention to the writing style and the way the writer communicates different ideas.
Does he or she write like a writer or simply writes like someone who knows how to write correct sentences?
There is a big difference.
8. Be patient, keep a long-term relationship in mind while searching for an article writer
Although, I have written above that you’re always free to move from one article writing agency to another, in the long term, for better productivity and efficiency, it is preferable that your relationship with the writer evolves.
There are many clients for whom I have been writing for 3-4 years, even more.
Sometimes, even in the beginning, if there was no synergy, we ended up working on many assignments simply because we came to understand each other.
All my clients know that I have a particular style of writing.
They know that I show 100% interest in the topic once I start writing on it.
I never do a half-hearted job.
From my side, I have understood their priorities and targeting.
I know what they want from their articles.
This understanding helps me flow.
My writing comes out natural and conversational but at the same time, professional.
One of my clients recently commented, “When you don’t meet my expectations, it is not that you haven’t tried, it is because I didn’t communicate what I’m looking for.”
This level of communication develops over time.
It takes time.
Hence, just because you can find 27 content writers or article writing services on the web, doesn’t mean you should always be ready to drop your writer.
You will need to grow together for a persistent supply of quality articles to your website.
9. Not a hard-and-fast rule, but avoid freelancing portals if you can
I’m not biased against freelancing portals.
After all, there is a great demand for them, and you can find excellent professionals over these freelancing portals.
It is just that, most of my clients haven’t had good experience getting writers from these freelancing portals.
It is not surprising.
The problem with freelancing portals is that a typical writer who registers himself or herself at the website doesn’t have high stakes.
It has taken me years to develop my website and bring it to the stage it is right now.
I have toiled for years to improve my search engine rankings to such an extent that 90% of my work comes from search engines and LinkedIn.
I run a full content writing business.
My stakes are high.
Unlike a writer from a freelancing website, in case something goes wrong, I cannot quickly remove my profile and recreate a new profile with a new username.
I have no experience with such writers myself, but the problem with such websites is that it is very easy to set up a profile and then start providing article writing services.
It is very easy to join and also very easy to leave.
Very little accountability as a result.
Again, not a hard and fast rule – there are some excellent writers working on these freelancing websites.
10. Understand that it is going to cost you money.
Publishing quality content on your website is not a whim, it is not a side activity.
It is a necessity of the times.
If you want visibility on the web in general and the search engines in particular, you cannot do it without quality content, whether it is your website content, your blog or your articles.
What I mean to say is, don’t plan to squeeze your writer.
He makes his or her living writing and he or she won’t be able to deliver you quality articles if he or she is constantly worrying about the payment.
Article writing is just like any other profession – it is an expertise.
You are looking for an article writing agency because you cannot do it yourself or you are not in a position to do for various reasons.
It is a valuable service.
It is going to improve your search engine rankings.
It is going to improve your conversion rate.
It is going to get you more business.
Hence, it is not a wasteful expenditure.
For that matter, it is the most important expenditure of running your business.
11. Give a single topic in the beginning
Although, you should be ready to make a long-term commitment with your article writer or the writing agency, just to test the waters, you can outsource just one article topic.
When my new clients want me to work on a single blog post or a piece of content, I find it fair enough.
It gives them an idea of how I write using the information or the topic they have provided me.
I also get an idea of how fast the client responds if I need more information or if I need some clarifications.
The initial 1-2 articles also give your writer an idea of how much time and effort it is going to take.
12. Trust your article writer when he or she starts writing
This is difficult, but important.
Remember that you’re not looking for a stenographer or someone who is simply going to take your dictation.
You have hired a writer.
A writer uses his or her own discretion.
He or she has his or her own style of conveying information.
He or she has a ton of experience writing for your audience or for a similar audience.
Sure, provide a guideline or a stylesheet if you have one.
But, beyond that, don’t meddle much.
Let the article writer write in his or her own manner.
He or she also has a better idea of how to communicate to your audience.
As long as the writer sticks to your topic, delivers all the information, writes in an engaging manner and writes in a style that is understandable to your audience, don’t try to control every sentence and every word.
13. Make available a content calendar for your content writer
You can either spend some time with your article writer and prepare a content calendar, or you can do it yourself.
You can use Google Calendar for this.
Decide in advance on which date you plan to publish which article.
It is better to have a list for the entire month, if possible.
This will give your article writer enough time to organize and research.
14. Respond fast if your content writer or your article writer needs input or feedback
I have observed that many clients take their own good time when it comes to responding to my messages when I try to contact them while working on their content.
A writer is in creative flow when he or she is writing and he or she needs a fast response in case a clarification is needed.
The flow is broken if you don’t answer for a long time.
The writer may even move on to another assignment and by the time you respond, it may take another couple of days for him or her to enter the right mental zone for your particular topic.
Being a professional content writer, it is not difficult for me to enter the “right mental zone” because my mind is tuned in that sense, but different writers react differently if you don’t respond fast.
15. Create a central repository of knowledge and data
For ongoing article writing and content writing, it is better to create a central repository that is accessible to your writer.
You can use Google Drive.
You can use Evernote and then share the notes with your writer.
You can use any other cloud drive service.
You can use a content aggregation service.
You can use an organization board like Trello.
Whenever you come across some useful information or an insightful article you want your writer to read, save it somewhere your writer can easily access it.
Concluding remarks
Deciding to outsource your article writing and content writing needs is a serious decision.
Your articles, your blog posts, your web pages, and your social media updates are going to be the backbone of your online brand.
When people read your articles and blog posts, they will be making impressions of you.
They will judge you.
Most of the people can read between the lines.
Hence, if you are publishing content just to increase your search engine traffic or just to get people to your website, they will easily be able to understand.
Hence, you need to focus on meaningfulness.
You need to focus on value.
You need to focus on relevance.
Hence, it is very important, in fact, one of the most important tips when deciding to outsource your article writing content writing needs, partner with the right writer.
He or she can make or break your online presence.
