9 Signs That It’s Time To Outsource Your Blog Content
Writing blog content is hard work.
Today’s blog content requires strategy, research, marketing tactics, in-depth analytics, and promotion for a good reason. Blogging has never been more competitive than it is now.
There are currently more than 600 million active blogs online in 2020. With everyone vying for a piece of the blogging pie, 86% of marketers report using blog posts as part of their content marketing strategy.
But does all this blog content work need to be done in-house?
Not necessarily.
Here are nine vital signs that it’s time to outsource your blog content efforts, especially if you want to drive significant results.
1. Writing Isn’t Your Strongest Skill
Great blog content requires great writing skills.
Some marketers aren’t the best writers, but we can’t all be fantastic at everything.
Some of us are analytics aficionados while others are social media geniuses. We all have a set of marketing skills to bring to the table. If writing isn’t your strong suit, it’s best to outsource it to someone who rocks at it.
Blog content needs to accomplish a myriad of goals, from lead conversions to information sharing. If the content isn’t written in a way that resonates with readers and convinces them to take the desired action, your results will suffer.
Outsource your content writing needs to professional writers who know how to accomplish your goals and are proficient in writing in a way that truly connects with your audience.
2. Your Team Lacks the Necessary Blogging Skills
DemandMetric reported that companies with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads monthly than companies that don’t blog.
But lead generation success doesn’t magically happen once you press “publish.” It’s the result of a culmination of marketing tactics including:
- Search engine optimization
- Social media distribution
- Email marketing
- Pay-per-click advertising
- Content marketing
If you are reading this list and realizing that your marketing team lacks some or all of these skills, on top of writing prowess, it’s a good time to find an external blogging partner.
This professional or team of blogging experts will work with you to develop a blog strategy that actively works to reach your marketing goals, while also working around the skills your team does possess.
3. You’re Drowning in Content Marketing Work
Marketers are responsible for not only creating the content but distributing it, promoting it, and making sure it achieves company goals. Within each of those larger tasks are numerous, seemingly never-ending subtasks like editing, optimizing, and scheduling.
If you’re overwhelmed with your current content marketing workload, it’s time to outsource your content.
4. You Don’t Have Time to Write
According to Orbit Media’s 2020 Blogging Survey, one in five writers spends 6+ hours writing each article. Considering the typical workday is around 8 hours, we’d go out on a limb to say that unless you are a writer for a living, you don’t have 6+ hours to spend on a blog post each day.
The same survey reported that in 2020, writers spend an average of 3 hours and 55 minutes to write a blog post. With all of the other content marketing tasks we’ve mentioned, even four hours out of a workday is a large chunk to spend on a single task.
HubSpot states that companies that publish 16 or more blog posts in a month generate 4.5 times more leads than those that publish 4 posts (or less). But not many people have time to write 16 blog posts a month ranging from 1,000-2,000 words.
Rather than frantically typing out a blog post for the sake of getting something published under a time crunch, trust a designated, outsourced content writer to get the job done! Their job is to focus on creating top-notch content for their clients day-in and day-out.
5. Your Blog Content Isn’t Generating Results
Lackluster content won’t drive the results you need.
Whether you’re trying to create content for the top of your inbound marketing funnel strategy or write blog posts to promote a new service, your blog content must serve a purpose and execute on that goal.
Orbit Media also reported that 47% of bloggers say it’s increasingly difficult to attract readers through their content. And, OptInMonster found that 60% of B2B marketers struggle with creating engaging content.
Marketers with average blogging skills find it challenging to generate real results through their blog content. They need that time to focus on other marketing tasks.
Outsourcing your blog content writing tasks to experts who know how to perfectly craft content that accomplishes a goal will be one of the best decisions your team has ever made. Content writers know how to tailor their words to resonate with an audience and encourage them to take the desired action.
6. The Company Blog Isn’t a Priority
When your company blog is low on the priority list, the respective results are going to be less than desirable. Your team isn’t going to put effort into writing content for a blog that isn’t a top concern.
Instead, put the responsibility of creating content on the shoulders of someone who does it for a living! They’ll create the expert content and your team can take charge of implementing the content into the overall marketing strategy.
However, your blog should still be a large priority for your marketing team. Consider that 60% of people cite purchasing a product after originally reading a blog post about it. Furthermore, content marketing produces three times more leads than paid search. A fully optimized company blog with expertly written content is a major asset to any organization.
According to Hubspot, 55% of marketers state that blog content creation is their primary inbound marketing priority. But not all marketers have the ability or time to write it.
7. Blogging Is Becoming Increasingly Frustrating
See if this scenario sounds familiar:
You’ve put a significant amount of time and energy into creating a blog post and you’ve finally published it online. You sit back and wait for the results to roll in… except they never do.
You research a few new tips and tactics to try, implement them, and once again wait for the results to magically appear. Again, they never do.
You head back to the drawing board to try again… and again… and again. No matter what you do, you’re frustrated with your writing, your blogging techniques, and your blog strategy.
This frustration is a clear sign that it’s time to outsource your blog content. By eliminating one piece of the puzzle from your daily task load, you have more time and energy to focus on the others.
Instead of worrying about creating the actual content, you can look into why your content isn’t ranking or how to better distribute the blog posts once published.
8. Your Motivation to Write is Long Gone
Whether you’re fed up with the lack of results or writer’s block has hit you hard, it’s practically impossible to randomly summon the motivation to write.
That is unless you’re a seasoned blog writing veteran. Even when writer’s block comes barreling down, content writers know tactics to leverage and get out of their slump and create results-driven blog content for their clients.
As you begin to regain your motivation to write or work on blogging related tasks, you can supplement the content writer’s blog posts with your own and develop an even larger collection of content to leverage!
9. You Have the Budget to Hire a Freelance Writer
Do you have funds in your marketing budget that aren’t allocated to pay-per-click ads or social media promotions? If so, dedicate that part of the budget to outsourcing a blog writer.
Content creation isn’t a cheap resource for many reasons but it also won’t break the bank. It takes time and energy to write undeniably captivating and effective blog posts for a company blog.
In 2017, HubSpot found that companies spend approximately 46% of their budget on content creation.
If you’ve got even a small bit of your marketing budget to spare, invest in your blog content. Find an external content writer that can adapt to your brand’s voice, achieve your blogging goals, and help grow your company blog. This writer will quickly become one of your company’s greatest marketing assets!
Outsource Your Blog Content Today
When your company’s blog is failing to generate real results or connect with readers and is becoming cumbersome for your staff, it’s time to outsource your blog content.
Expert content writers can meet and exceed your blogging expectations- every time. Try it out today and see how outsourcing content benefits your business!
Anne is a copywriter and digital marketing specialist currently residing in the Greater Nashville area. Originally from New England, she leverages her three top talents (writing, marketing, and coffee consuming) for businesses and brands of all sizes across the globe.
Anne is a 2013 Marketing Communications/Advertising graduate from Western New England University in Springfield, MA. She credits her launch into writing to her legendary elementary school poem about pizza that wowed the judges and won the creative writing award in her school district.
When not writing or working on marketing campaigns, you can find Anne at a coffee shop, exploring somewhere new, or training in martial arts as a 3rd degree black belt.
