Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Writers For Your Affiliate Site

Anyone who has an online business that actually wants traffic knows they must create content.

Not just any content, but creative, original content.

And of course, you can’t just create content once and think you’re done with it.

New, original content needs to be created consistently.

Otherwise, your customers might get bored and find somewhere else to shop.

But you’re busy running your business.

Or maybe writing just isn’t one of your particular talents. So you’re thinking of outsourcing writers to help with that.

But is outsourcing writers the right strategy for your affiliate site?

Read on and make the decision for yourself:

Outsourcing Writers Can Help You Save Money

There are several ways in which outsourcing writers can help your affiliate marketing business save money.

Here’s how you can save money:

• No need to provide benefits to employees
• You don’t need to hire seasonal or project-based employees
• Only hire when needed, during slow periods an employee may have little to do but has to be paid
• Training of current employees to perform the work is not necessary
• No need to provide equipment or office space for freelancers
• Flexibility with your marketing calendar, no need to pay overtime for rush jobs, freelancers often work during the weekend and holidays

All of these reasons will then help you allocate your funds that would be spent on an internal writer on other marketing projects.

Outsourcing Writers Helps Save You Time

If you’re running a business, time is money.

So use your time wisely.

One of the most valid reasons for outsourcing your marketing efforts is time. Producing quality content – writing, editing, finding images – takes hours of commitment on an ongoing basis.

Here’s what a good quality blog writing service does:

• Researches, Writes and Delivers high-quality blog posts with a short turnaround
• Searches for images to include in the posts
• Quotes and Links: A good service will also include quotes and links to other sites.
• Formating. They know how to format website content

And of course, while they’re doing all the hard blog writing work, here’s what you can do:

• Write other content like white pages or an e-book.
• Focus on other marketing projects.
• Update old content

Here are some signs to help you know it’s time to outsource:

• You haven’t updated your website in quite awhile.
• SEO keeps changing their rules and not only can’t you keep up, you don’t want to.
• Your ROI is not giving you the results you actually want.
• Your social media followers aren’t your target audience…or they’re just not taking any action at all and you’re stuck.

Can Scale Your Efforts Quickly

If your business starts growing quickly, you usually need to hire people quickly.

But sometimes your business starts showing signs of a decline.

And you have to act quickly during times of decline to ensure your business is still around.

So when you’re outsourcing writers, you can scale the services according to your businesses needs.

Now you’re only limited by your budget rather than your own or employees time.

Outsourcing Writing Means Outsourcing New Experts

You know what you know. And you’re an expert in it.

You have hired your employees because they too are experts in something.

But are you or your employee’s experts in everything concerning your business?

And if you’re not an expert, are you comfortable trying to pass yourself off as one? Or will your customers see straight through it and lose interest?

Here’s how hiring outside can work in your favor:

• Excellent writing skills will make your company look more professional
• Ability to find experts in particular subjects you or your employees may be lacking in knowledge of
• Properly optimized for best SEO results. Do you or your employees know how to write content to get the best results?
• Can help you build up appeal, awareness, and leadership in the eyes of your readers.
• New ideas. When hiring writers you have access to new perspectives, that give your content a fresh novel look.

Outsourcing Writing Means a Higher ROI

It’s a total waste of time and money if you’re not getting any results.

You want to know that the efforts you’re making are actually paying off.

Here’s what a professional writer can do for your return on investment:

• They’ll optimize your content. They know what keywords and phrases are going to work best. They also know the right formatting and styles to use to bring in more traffic.
• They’ll write engaging, awesome content. Content is king. If you want Google (and your customers) to take notice of your site and reward you for it, you need great content.
• They’ll use Call to Actions and other tricks of the trade to help convert visitors to leads. It’s not enough to just write well. You need to know the right ways that inspire customers to take action.

After all, most people don’t buy a product after seeing it just once. It can take anywhere from once to 20 times before they finally take that step.

But they might never take any steps if you forget to ask them to!

You’ll Get Additional Resources and Support

Nothing is easy when you’re doing it on your own.

When you own a business, doing it all on your own usually means failure and exhaustion.

When you hire an agency, they’ve got your back.

Here’s how:

• They know what kinds of content works best for your needs
• They know which tools to use to promote your content
• They know how to evaluate and analyze your results
• They’ll know what changes to make if the results aren’t as great as expected
• They want you to succeed and will help you do just that
• You have a group you can rely upon, who produces work on time and is truly excited to be associated with you
• They can help you draft a great marketing plan to help you gain an even larger social media audience

You’ll enjoy a Wider Range of Content

Outsourcing writing means you have at your disposal a wide range of content.

And how can that benefit you and your business?

Here’s how:

• No extra training for staff: For smaller companies, this is great. Instead, you have a whole range of writers who can write on a wide variety of topics.
• You can focus on one relationship: Hiring a firm will allow you to have one relationship where you can get many different writing styles. Otherwise, you may have to shop around for writers who can handle various different subjects.
• Allows you to experiment: You have access to different styles of writing and content. Play around with it and see what styles, topics and formats work best for your company.
• Brainstorming: Two heads are better than one. A whole firm of people putting their ideas on the table will often give better results.

Outsourcing Writing Means You Stay Invested and Happy 

If you want to know how to burn out really quickly, try to run your business by yourself.

It’s easy to imagine you’re irreplaceable when you are deeply involved in your business. That can make it hard to let go or delegate tasks in the fear that others won’t do as good a job as you.

On the other hand, by delegating too much and paying the wrong price you can increase your costs greatly.

When you try to do too much and don’t maintain a good balance between life and work here’s what can happen:

• Frustration
• Lack of energy
• Lose your passion
• Overwhelm
• Stress

And then you either give up or are so exhausted or broke or broken to continue. It’s not fun to no longer love what you do for a living.

It becomes nearly impossible to be and stay creative when you’re burnt out.

So avoid burnout, keep your enthusiasm and energy by:

• Getting enough rest
• Eating healthy foods
• Staying focused
• Staying positive
• Outsourcing and delegating anything and everything you can or should

When Outsourcing Writing May Not Be a Wise Choice

There are times when choosing an outside service may not be the smartest idea for your online business.

Here’s when hiring in-house may be your best choice:

• Can’t take advantage of Real Time posts: Live events and in-office activities are sometimes great ways to promote your business to your customers. When you outsource, you don’t have any staff to help you take advantage of these types of events.
• You already have an in-house writer: Sometimes you get lucky and find an employee who is a great writer and can handle the extra work.

A few other cons of hiring a freelancer:

• They will add to your monthly expenses
• You will have less control
• The company or freelancer you choose may not meet your expectations
• You will be another client for the freelancer or firm, they won’t have the same passion as you. A firm that focuses on their clients will ask probing questions as to your goals. A firm that is interested in getting you as a client will concentrate on getting you to sign a contract.

Which Type of Outsourcing Should You Choose, A Freelancer or An Agency?

The right choice for your business will depend on several factors.

If you have a low budget and are ready to commit a lot of time managing and editing, then a freelancer may be best for you. On the other hand, if you haven’t the time to manage freelance writers then an agency would be the best choice.

Here are some questions that might help you decide.

• How much time can you spend managing, training and editing your writers?

You will often have to spend a considerable amount of time finding, training and generally managing a freelancer writer. If you have the time a freelancer is probably best for you if not consider an agency.

• What happens if your freelancer terminates his contract?

Relying on a single freelancer could be a risk for the continuity of your website. You might find yourself with no new content until you recruit another writer. If this could be a problem for you then an agency would be a better proposition or hire several freelancers.

• What’s your budget?

Agencies are normally more expensive than freelancers. They offer a more hands-free service, once set up they offer quality control and continuity.

• What’s your likely growth?

If your company is growing fast you may face a challenge hiring individual freelancers. Hiring additional freelancers can be time-consuming. Agencies can generally increase content production. If working with an agency ensure they offer flexibility.

There is no right or wrong choice. The decision to work with an agency or freelancer will depend on a number of factors. For me, the main two are time and budget.

The best fit for you will depend on the needs of your business and the type of outsourcing relationship you require. Great unique content will lead to greater traffic and engagement whether it’s from an agency or a freelancer.

Here’s What to Look for if You Choose to Hire Out-House

Getting started hiring a freelance writer can either be a straightforward and painless process, or one filled with frustrating problems, missed deadlines and fees higher than expected.

Not all content marketing agencies or freelance writers are the same. When you start communicating with a writer or agency pay attention to their replies.

• Are they asking questions?
• Have they made suggestions?
• Do they seem enthusiastic?

If so, these are good signs, they are interested in your project!

When outsourcing writing to another company or writer, here’s what to ask:

• What content have you produced on your own behalf?
• Do you have an in-depth knowledge of the subject of my website?
• Will you be able to produce content over a period of time?
• Can you work with my schedule and meet my deadlines?
• Do you have any samples of a documented content marketing strategy I can see?
• If you’re dealing with an agency are they pitching a campaign over a program? A campaign has a finite end while a program will have an ongoing strategy. You’re looking to have an ongoing relationship with them so they should be planning for that to make sure you both have a successful relationship.

Whether to outsource or not is a personal choice based on time, money and what your business goals are.

The bottom line is that any business needs the right tools and support to get and stay successful. A good writer is a great asset and can help you make and save a lot of money.

If you’ve hired a freelance writer or agency before what was your experience and have you any advice to give those looking to hire for the first time?