The Ultimate Guide to Outsourcing Content Writing in 2024

Are you thinking of outsourcing content writing for your blog, business website, or social media channels? Well, you have plenty of outsourcing options to choose from.

Over the past decade or so, content has become a key strategy in driving organic online traffic, marketing products and services, and spreading brand awareness. Even today, content marketing is king. Given the growing demand for content, freelance blogging and outsourced content writing have surged in popularity.

However, navigating the world of content outsourcing is not always easy. You probably have pressing questions like:

• How much does it cost to hire a writer?
• What kind of writer do I need?
• How can I be sure I’m hiring a skilled professional?
• Where do I find competent and willing content writers?
• Can an outsourced content writer really engage my audience?
• How do I go about outsourcing content?

The answers to these questions all come down to your content needs and outsourcing approach. Everything will become clear once you familiarize yourself with the available options for outsourcing content creation. Understanding what’s out there puts you in a better position to choose a content writing outsourcing service that matches your needs.

What Is Content Writing Outsourcing?

Let’s first get the basics out of the way. What does it mean to outsource content writing?

Outsourcing content writing involves hiring a third party, such as a freelance writer or content agency, to create copy for your blog or website. This may include planning, writing, optimizing (for SEO), editing, proofreading, publishing, and updating web, blog, or social content.

An outsourced content agency or writer can handle everything to do with content. That way, your team can focus on other more important tasks.

Benefits of Outsourcing Content Writing

Here are five reasons why it is better to outsource content writing than handle it in-house:

• Unlimited expertise: Outsourcing gives you access to a large pool of talented content creators. You can even hire writers specializing in particular niches or types of content. Tapping into such expertise ensures professionally written, high-quality content that elicits the desired results.

• Cut cost: It might seem counterintuitive, but hiring external content writers is actually cheaper than handling content internally. Retaining in-house writers can get expensive fast. And even without a dedicated team of writers, creating content would still use up valuable company time and resources.

• Easy scalability: Content outsourcing conveniently scales with your fluctuating demand for content. You can instantly ramp up or downscale content production at any time. This means you’ll always get the content volume you need.

• Save time: Creating content takes quite a lot of time. Outsourcing content writing saves you that time, allowing you to concentrate on core business activities.

• Bring fresh perspectives: Outsourced writers bring an outsider’s fresh insights and perspectives to any subject matter. That’s a great way to enrich and diversify your content so it reaches a broader audience.

Should You Outsource Content Writing?

Outsourcing is the way to go if you’re looking for an affordable, flexible, and rich source of high-quality content. Why overburden your internal team or hire more personnel to write content when you can get quality-guaranteed content from already established writers—and for just a fraction of the cost?

So, yes, you should outsource content writing. It’s arguably the best way to get deeply engaging and impactful content.

How to Outsource Content Writing

There’s a method to outsourcing content writing. Here’s a step-by-step guide to effective content outsourcing:

Identify Your Goals

First things first, why do you need content? Perhaps you need content to boost lead generation, increase your website or in-store traffic, improve your SEO performance, spread brand awareness, or drive thought leadership.

Knowing your content goals will help you determine the kind of content you need and communicate that to potential content creators. It will also ensure that your outsourcing decisions align with your content strategy.

Determine the Type of Writer You Need

Different types of content require different sets of writing skills. The ideal writer will depend on the specific kind of content you need. Common types of content writers include:

• Blog writers — Specialize in engaging and informative articles for blog readers
• Copywriters — Produce marketing, promotional, and sales copy
• Webpage writers — Write heavily branded content for web pages
• Technical writers — Handle in-depth content like user manuals, white papers, and product specifications
• SEO writers — Write content optimized for search engine visibility and ranking
• Social writers — Produce content for social media posts

Calculate the Content Volume

How much content do you need? It’s important to determine the number of articles, posts, copies, or white papers you need over a given period.

Take blogging, for example. A blog needs at least four new posts a month to stay active; that’s one article per week. But the more you post, the better. A high frequency helps keep readers interested in the blog. Also, the more blog posts you publish, the higher the blog’s SEO performance.

However, you have to be realistic when setting the content volume. Consider the resources needed to produce high-quality content. For example, it would be impractical to expect a finished article daily for complex topics requiring an expert approach.

One way to figure out content volume is by looking at competing blogs. Find out what your competitors are doing right and apply that to your website.

Decide the Length of Your Content

Simply writing and publishing an article is not enough to attract readers and rank in search engine results pages. You must follow specific guidelines, one of which has to do with the content’s length.

The ideal length will depend on the kind of content you want to write. White papers, for instance, range between 2,500 and 5,000 words a piece. Product descriptions should be 200-400 words. And for blog posts, we recommend 1,000 to 1,500 words, depending on the topic’s complexity.

If you’re not sure how long your content should be, just do a quick Google search of the topic in question. Average out the word count of the top-ranking articles, and there’s your answer. Also, check competitor websites to get an idea of the expected content length in your niche.

Don’t Forget About SEO

Your content must be SEO-friendly to have any chance of appearing on the coveted first pages of online search results. Optimizing content for search engines involves tuning the content for maximum relevance and visibility.

Here’s what goes into creating SEO-friendly content:

• Research keywords

A keyword is a word or phrase that internet users may input as a search term for your content. Keyword research is all about finding the most likely search terms for a particular piece of content. Besides being related to the content, you want keywords with a high search volume and low competition.

• Cite keywords

Once you’ve found your keywords, ensure they are incorporated naturally and appropriately into the material. Mention each keyword just a handful of times in the main text body, subheadings, and title tag.

• Arrange the material in a flowing structure

Create well-structured text with clear formats, headings, paragraphs, and neatly placed media. Ensure it’s as easy as possible for readers to follow. Similarly, a well-flowing structure makes it easier for search engines to understand what the content is about.

• Choose an appropriate URL

A URL is basically a web address pointing to an online resource. While the URL is not an innate part of the article, it does influence SEO. Write a URL that best describes the content and ideally features 3-5 carefully chosen keywords.

• Write optimized meta title and description

Meta titles and meta descriptions do not appear on the web page itself but in search results. They are concise snippets that help search engines understand the content’s topic and focus.

• Add internal links

Add a few links that point to other pages or resources on your site. These help users find additional or related information quickly while improving the site’s navigation. Also, search engines rely on these links to find, index, and understand your web pages.

• Manage backlinks

A backlink is a link on another website pointing to your site. The more backlinks you have from authoritative sources, the better your SEO performance. You can integrate backlinking into your content strategy through techniques such as guest posting.

SEO might seem daunting, especially for those without prior experience in writing and optimization. If that’s the case, all the more reason to hire a professional writer. Leave it to experts who can handle all the nitty-gritty of SEO.

Set a Budget

While outsourcing is the more cost-effective way of generating content, cost is still a significant consideration. So, how much do you want to spend on content outsourcing?

The cost of outsourcing content is not set in stone. It varies widely depending on the content’s complexity, the choice of writer, and the amount of material needed. For example, a long-form article (1,500+ words) will cost more than a 300-word product description. Also, you must consider whether to pay a premium for top-tier writers or go for more affordable solutions.

Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. The cheapest solution is not always the best option. In other words, do not compromise quality to save money.

Choose the Right Content Outsourcing Partner

Next, choose a content outsourcing solution that matches your content goals and needs. You have three main options when it comes to content outsourcing partners:

Freelancers

A freelance writer is an independent writer for hire. Freelancers offer a wide range of expertise and great outsourcing flexibility. They can also be a cost-effective content outsourcing solution, especially for small projects or when working with a tight budget.

If you have a one-time project with minimal requirements and a bit of time to vet candidates, freelancing might be the option for you. You can find ready-vetted and rated freelancers at popular job boards and talent marketplaces such as:

• Upwork — Has a large pool of talented and highly skilled writers. There are thousands of writer profiles ranging from beginners to experts. You can work with any writer directly or post a job request and await proposals from interested freelancers.

• Fiverr — Like Upwork, Fiverr has a large and diverse talent pool. You can engage writers individually through their “Gigs” or post job offers too. The platform also offers premium business solutions for those wanting vetted freelance talent.

• Freelancer — Here, you can hire freelance writers by skill, location, or language. Freelancer is best known for its competitive rates, ideal for small-budget projects.

Content Marketing Agencies

Content marketing agencies outsource content writing services, including content planning, creation, editing, distribution, SEO, updating, and more. They provide comprehensive content outsourcing solutions tailored to each client’s needs, which is ideal for businesses looking to meet their high content demands using a hands-off approach.

Moreover, content agencies typically handle the entire outsourcing process. You don’t need to spend valuable time searching, vetting, or engaging individual writers—that has already been done for you. The agency offers a seamless end-to-end content outsourcing experience.

In addition to writers, most content marketing agencies have diverse teams of graphic designers, SEO experts, and marketing specialists, all working together to meet all your content needs under one roof.

Social Media

Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are another great way to outsource content writing. You can post requests to connect with content creators within and beyond your social and professional circles.

For example, on Twitter, you can use hashtags like #hiring and keywords such as “content writer,” “freelance writer,” or “[Expertise] writer” when looking for talent.

Test Several Candidates

Before committing to a long-term outsourcing partnership, try out several candidates. Start by requesting short projects or trial articles and note each writer’s performance in terms of:

• Overall quality
• Writing style
• Adherence to guidelines
• Punctuality
• Responsiveness
• Availability

Doing this will help you identify the most fitting outsourced content writing service for your needs.

Onboard the Best Candidates

Once you’ve selected your outsourcing candidate, onboard them immediately. The onboarding process will depend on the outsourcing solution. For content agencies, onboarding may include creating an account, consulting with an account manager, and granting content management privileges.

Onboarding basically means defining the nature and scope of your outsourcing partnership. That generally involves setting expectations, obligations, and success metrics.

Best Practices for Working with an Outsourced Writing Team

Content outsourcing is a give-and-take partnership—both parties have a role to play. As the outsourcing client, this is what you must do to ensure effective collaboration:

Establish Clear Communication

Effective communication is the heart of successful content outsourcing. Start by establishing an open and reliable means of communication. And enhance that communication by:

• Checking in regularly. Arrange frequent meetings, calls, or chats with the outsourced team to discuss progress, updates, and any emerging concerns. Doing so should keep everyone on the same page.
• Implementing project management tools. Virtual workplace tools such as Trello, Slack, and Asana are handy for streamlining communications and collaborations between writing teams. They are great for connecting team members, tracking progress, and sharing information.
• Defining expectations clearly. Ensure you always articulate each project’s deliverables, constraints, and goals. For instance, provide detailed content briefs and good examples illustrating the desired outcome. That should help avoid misunderstandings and confusion.

Create Content Briefs

A content brief basically describes the general requirements for a particular project. A good content brief includes:

• Project scope. The overall scope outlines the objectives, topics, themes, and perspectives to cover. It tells the writer how deep and from which standpoint to explore the subject matter.
• Target audience. The writer needs to know the copy’s target audience in order to write content that resonates with your readers. Describe the target readers—demographics, preferences, occupation, interests, income, etc.
• Key message. Specify the main message to relay in each project. This should be the key focus throughout the write-up.
• Specific requirements. These are your specified keywords, deadline, sources, word count, format, structure, tone of voice, etc.

Provide Detailed Feedback

Provide detailed feedback for every outsourced piece. Let the writer know what they’re doing right and what they’re getting wrong. Helpful writer feedback needs to have the following:

• Specific points. Point out the specific areas that work well and those that need improvement. Ensure the feedback illustrates distinct and actionable details.
• Constructive criticism. Rather than just pointing out the problems, offer helpful suggestions for improvement. Help the writer understand how to refine their work and meet your expectations.
• Positive reinforcement. Express appreciation where appreciation is due. Acknowledge and praise writers for excellent work. Positive reinforcement motivates writers and creates a positive working environment.

Be Thoughtful About Deadlines

Working out deadlines is crucial when outsourcing content. It’s a delicate balance between getting content on time and ensuring quality.

• Set realistic timelines. Allow the writer enough time to work on each piece. Set deadlines that account for the project’s complexity, expected quality, and the writer’s availability.
• Account for revisions. Ensure there’s adequate time for reviewing and revising content. For some projects, it might take a couple of iterations to get from the initial draft to the final edit.
• Communicate changes. Sometimes, deadlines must be adjusted due to unforeseen changes or briefing errors. In such a case, communicate the change promptly to avoid a last-minute rush.

Final Thoughts

Crafting high-quality content requires skilled writers. But if hiring full-time writers isn’t practical or feasible, outsourcing can be an excellent alternative.

Look beyond hiring individual writers. Consider content marketing agencies that offer more comprehensive outsourcing services. An exhaustive content approach is not only simpler but also ties in with your broader online marketing strategies.

Try various outsourced content writing services to find the best fit for your content needs. And remember, while quality content often comes at a price, the return on investment more than makes up for the cost.

Nov 01, 2024