Marketing can make or break your business.
However, when there’s so much on your plate — from trying to secure your next big seed round, to deploying the next, flashier version of your app or site — it’s often the marketing side of things that take the backseat.
Unfortunately, even if your tool, app, product, or service is out-of-this-world amazing, without great marketing — especially great content marketing — it may as well not exist. Nobody will know about it. Nobody will convert. Nobody will buy.
All that hard work; for zilch!
That’s why, no matter the size of your company — from startup to SMB to enterprise — you need to get your content marketing game in check with an in-house team or by outsourcing to a content marketing agency instead.
Read through the following sections to get clued up on in-house versus outsourced content marketing:
- In-house v.s. Outsourced: What Both Terms Mean
- Should You Outsource Your Content Marketing?
- The 8 Major Benefits of Outsourcing Your Content Marketing
- Working With a Pro Content Marketing Agency, Like WordSmiths, Inc.!
Let’s get straight into it.
In-house v.s. Outsourced: What Both Terms Mean
When it comes to content marketing, it can be done either on an in-house basis, or it can be completely outsourced.
Confused?
Don’t be.
The definition of in-house content marketing
Simply put, “in-house” content marketing means that there’s an internal team taking care of a company’s content operations.
The content will help grow the business’ brand, reach, and authority, on top of better selling products or services. Because as lauded keynote speaker Marcus Sheridan says:
“Great content is the best sales tool in the world.”
Marcus Sheridan
In-house, there’ll be a stock of salaried content writers, editors, managers, leaders, graphic designers, video producers, social media coordinators, and general marketing coordinators to ensure that compelling, SEO-focused content is produced and published on a regular basis.
Everything that does get produced will be from these people and these people alone; they won’t be handing off their content operations to folks from a third-party.
The definition of outsourced content marketing
“Outsourced” content marketing, on the other hand, is what happens when a company does hand off content operations to folks from a third-party.
The reasons why a company may choose to outsource its content operations are varied. For starters, they may have a limited budget to employ the legion of folks needed for an in-house content marketing team. Or, they could be so sidetracked that they simply can’t get round to penning a content marketing strategy, let alone creating content in the first place.
No matter the reason, it’s clear that not only is content marketing in general here to stay (82% of consumers feel positive feelings toward a company after reading custom content, and 80% of business decision-makers prefer getting company information in articles versus ads), but outsourcing content marketing is also fast becoming the norm.
When a company begins to work with a content marketing agency, a content marketing strategy — a game plan, if you will — is drawn up that the agency will then act on. The content marketing strategy will provide an overview of the current traffic and conversion metrics, a concise monthly or weekly plan to dramatically increase those metrics and guarantee growth, on top of keyword research, competitor research, and defined goals.
Once a strategy has been defined, the agency will be at the helm of creating, scheduling, and publishing the following types of content:
- Visual assets like videos, graphics, and infographics.
- Onsite blog posts (i.e. posts on the company’s domain).
- Offsite blog posts (i.e. posts on domains owned by other companies).
- Whitepapers, case studies, and ebooks.
- Newsletters and other forms of email marketing.
- Social media content for the likes of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
That’s outsourced content marketing in a nutshell.
Should You Outsource Your Content Marketing?
Still umming and ahhing over getting an in-house content marketing team versus the outsourced option?
We don’t blame you.
It can be a tricky choice to make.
To make the choice a little less painless, if you can relate to the statements below, outsourcing your content marketing operations to the pros will almost certainly be a better choice for your business.
You’re not growing at the rate you want to
Let’s face it: constant growth is the true goal of any business.
Constant growth of traffic, of customers and/or clients, of the business’ bottom-line.
And if you’ve come to a standstill, or if there isn’t a progressive, sizable increase of people falling head over heels for your business, then that’s a huge problem. It’s an issue the majority of CEOs have faced in recent years, too. Only 27% of them are “very confident” that, going forward, they’ll achieve revenue growth in particular.
Pivoting to getting an in-house marketing team during a period of stagnation can actually cause you to stray further from your goal of growth. From hiring to onboarding, training to all the internal meetings, it’s an incredibly lengthy process. But outsourcing to a content marketing agency means your content operations will be instantly scaled up by those in the know, securing growth in multiple areas month after month.
To use an analogy, it’s like having Superman swoop in and help you to quickly complete your mission, instead of you panicking, making some choice and costly decisions, and then failing the mission at hand.
If your business isn’t growing at the rate you want, then perhaps it’s time to side with Superman a content marketing agency.
You’re stretched thin with other aspects of the business
Presentations. Meetings. Emails.
You wouldn’t be reading this post if other tasks and duties weren’t taking time away from you and your team, to the point where nobody can commit themselves to essential content marketing tasks.
And in the fast-paced world of business, not creating and publishing that all-important content will do your business harm. In fact, 86% of B2B marketers and 77% of B2C marketers use content marketing, meaning that each week you aren’t uploading content too, you’re letting competitors have the spot on Google’s front page that you deserve, and taking the customers who should be yours.
An outsourced content marketing team can pick up the slack, and with their content prowess, hit the ground running, ensuring your company makes a dent in the digital world. ASAP.
You don’t have the budget to hire an entire content marketing team
Hiring an entire content marketing is, in a word, expensive.
According to GlassDoor’s figures, the average base-pay for a content writer is around $49,114 per year. For a content marketing editor, it’s $52,107. Meanwhile, for a content marketing manager, it’s roughly $65,834. A social media coordinator will expect about $46,286, and a graphic designer around $45,677 a year.
In total, that’s $259,018 a year — over a quarter of a million dollars — for a small content marketing team with just the core members.
Meanwhile, working with an outsourced content marketing agency, which will have employed the cream-of-the-crop content creators and marketers from across the globe, is a fraction of the cost.
If the $259,018+ figure made your eyes water, it’s safe to say that an in-house content marketing team isn’t for you.
To boot, by going with the outsourced route, you’ll also be able to skip the problematic hiring barriers that, according to an Ad Age study, include: finding skilled talent (65%), the cost of quality staff (30%), attracting top talent (21%), retaining top talent (16%), and finding folks who are a good culture fit (26%).
You don’t have the content marketing know-how
I’ve never met you.
But I’m willing to bet you’re an incredibly talented CEO, CFO, CTO, or COO. The success of your business has, thus far, been due to your knowledge, your skills, and your efforts. But if you’re not a content marketing expert, there’s only so much impact the content you create will have — and only so much your business can grow.
That’s why, if you don’t have the content marketing know-how, then you’re exactly the kind of client that a content marketing agency can do wonders for.
You + a content marketing agency’s expertise = exponential growth.
The 8 Major Benefits of Outsourcing Your Content Marketing
Now that you have a solid idea of whether outsourcing your content marketing operations is right for your business, it’s time to look at the 8 major benefits — the most impressive 8 reasons, really — of working with a content marketing agency.
Thought all the benefits were covered in the previous section?
Not at all.
In fact, we’ve barely scratched the surface.
You’ll clinch back more time
It’s hard to argue with whoever came up with the phrase “life is short” — it’s a true, incisive statement. In terms of how much we want to do and get done each day, the amount of time we have within a 24-hour span just never feels like enough.
Take today, for example.
How much did you want to get done? But how much is there left to do? And how much will spill over to the next day? And then the next day, and one after that?
The good news with outsourcing is that it’s a massive timesaver for you and the folks you’re working alongside.
Question: what do CEOs like Ari Meisel and world-renowned companies like Google and Microsoft all have in common? Answer: they all swear by outsourcing.
As these movers and shakers already have a lot to contend with, outsourcing gives them the opportunity to focus on what they do best. (Just as a quick FYI, one of our content writers has previously worked with Ari Meisel and his team to produce content for him!)
You’ll save a ton of money
Saving money is just as good as saving time.
Although you recognize that you’ll be saving thousands of dollars by going down the outsourcing route, here are the results of some independent research if you need further convincing.
According to Deloitte, 64% of companies see cost-saving as the main reason behind their decisions to outsource. And in a survey of over 7,500 public organizations, it was discovered that outsourcing allowed these companies to save 46% in costs over keeping matters in-house!
Outsourcing, then, is the most effective way to retain those all-important banknotes.
You’ll reach new, untapped audiences
Considering that 26% of U.S. adults are almost always online, and 77% go online daily, it’s no wonder why 91% of B2B marketers specifically use content to reach customers, according to research from the Content Marketing Institute.
To actually reach and engage folks online, though, you’ll need to know the ins-and-outs of content marketing in the first place. (The rules of which are always changing as the digital landscape evolves, and as search engines continually change the algorithms they use.)
Luckily, by outsourcing your content marketing, the pros will know exactly what to do to reach new, untapped audiences in a way that otherwise seems impossible!
Your brand will grow at lightning speed
Traditional marketing tactics not working as you’d hoped?
That’s not a surprise.
Content marketing, on the other hand, generates 3x more leads than any marketing strategy of olde. And with the possibilities that come from those 3x leads, think how quickly your business will grow.
By outsourcing your content operations to an agency, you’ll be able to get those 3x results stat. If you tried to build an in-house content marketing team, the results would be incremental and, let’s face it, drawn out over a period of months — if not years.
You’ll get the return on investment you want
If you invest money in something, you want to see results that justify your investment.
Simply put, you expect a guaranteed return on investment.
When working with an in-house content marketing team, the ROI gets jumbled. It’s often the case that projects take too long, and some projects don’t even make it out the door. The results (or lack thereof) of these projects just don’t justify the number of hours put in.
But with a content marketing agency, this isn’t the case. Every move the content marketing agency makes on your behalf is to generate an ROI that’s equal to the amount of money you put in. Meaning you’ll always get your money’s worth.
Speaking of which, the ROI of content marketing is something that Julie Fleischer, the Chief Growth Officer at Encantos who’s also worked at Digitas, The Kraft Food Group, and more, wholeheartedly believes in:
“Content Marketing provides 4x the ROI of our traditional marketing spend.”
Julie Fleischer
It makes financial sense. And it makes business sense, too.
You’ll get great results that will be backed up with great data
To those who don’t have much experience in creating, managing, and analyzing content on the web, it may seem like there won’t be any data to show whether the content has any impact.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Armed with a collection of apps and tools, a content marketing agency can show their clients exactly how progress is coming along. From views to clicks, shares to conversions, you’ll be shown the ins and outs of how the content is faring. And on a frequent basis, too.
You won’t be as stressed, worried, and confused
There’s enough to be stressed, worried, and confused about in life.
So when it’s time to expand your business’ content marketing efforts, you don’t want there to be added stress (or any other type of negative emotion). But by building an in-house content marketing team, it’s the case that there will, inevitably, always be added stress.
On the flip side, outsourcing means the agency can take care of things for you!
No worries. No sweat. No stress.
You’ll land on Google front pages — and quickly
For businesses around the globe, it’s a dream to have their blog posts on Google’s front pages.
It’s no wonder why, as it’s the digital equivalent of having a brick-and-mortar store on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Working with a content marketing agency — which will be composed of experts who have a track record of getting posts on Google’s front page(s) — is the faster, no-nonsense approach to achieving that dream. Ready and raring to go, they’ve got the skill set to get interesting, informative, and SEO-optimized blog content ranking incredibly quickly. And, as HubSpot found out, marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to drive positive ROI!
There you have it.
The 8 reasons why it’s absurd not to outsource your content marketing operations to an agency.
To secure your seat at the digital table, there’s only one thing left to do — reach out to an expert content marketing agency.
Working With a Pro Content Marketing Agency, Like WordSmiths, Inc.!
Our name is WordSmiths, Inc.
We’re an organic growth content marketing agency that can create exceptional stories that attract, retain, and grow your audience.
But how does working with us, well, work?
Once a conversation gets going, we’ll ask you to jump on a quick call or two, so we can get a feel for how you operate. After that, we’ll send a questionnaire your way, asking you a handful of simple questions on your business’ previous marketing endeavors.
As you work on the survey, rest assured we’ll be doing work on our side, too. Specifically, we’ll perform comprehensive site audits and undergo brand and audience research, before creating a tailor-made content marketing strategy for your business to grow. To create a solid, bespoke strategy, we combine our expertise in content marketing, SEO, link acquisition, and conversion optimization. (Expertise is something we have tons of at WordSmiths, Inc., as our team members have worked with prestigious companies such as Nissan, Oracle, and Sumo.)
With a strategy built, we’ll then help you take the following areas to the next level:
- Search engine optimization.
- Guest post management.
- Ungated and gated content creation.
- Online PR management.
- Reporting and analysis.
- Overall strategy.
Sound too good to be true?
We can talk the talk. But we can also walk the walk.
Check out our case studies to see how we’ve helped the likes of Idyoma and 1937 Hemp Store to become the businesses they were destined to be:
- Case Study: How Idyoma Secured Downloads and Visibility With Wordsmiths, Inc.
- Case Study: How 1937 Hemp Store Turned Traffic into Sales With WordSmiths, Inc.
If you haven’t clicked the links, here’s a TLDR: We know exactly what to do to reach new audiences, drive leads, get conversions, and secure sales for your business.
From creating incredibly high-quality guest posts, getting them placed on high-value domains, and ensuring they’re ranking highly on Google search, to wowing audiences with innovative, engaging newsletters and on-site blog posts, we’ll do wonders for your content marketing and demonstrate ROI every step of the way.
Ready to become the next business our talented team at WordSmiths, Inc. forges content for?
