Why the hell would you outsource your blogging to a copywriter? Seriously!

March 16, 2011 •
Outsource blgoging to copywriter

Bloggers and article marketers, if you’re outsourcing your writing, DON’T give it to a copywriter. I mean, let’s think about this…

It’s about content marketing & SEO

You want a link-worthy, keyword-rich piece, right? Something people will read, appreciate and share? (If you’re guest-blogging or article marketing, you want the same, because that’s what will get you published.)

So what makes a link-worthy piece? Typically something helpful and informative, that answers a question or resolves a problem, and which targets readers who are in the research phase of the buying cycle — or who may not be in the buying cycle at all.

Why? Because…

“…content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent.”

What are copywriters good at?

Now let’s think about what copywriters are good at… As a rule, they’re good at writing copy that sells an offering.

A match made in heaven?

So if you outsource your posts and articles to a copywriter, you’re asking a writer who specializes in selling to communicate without selling… Does that sound like a match made in heaven to you?

So who’s good at communicating without selling?

Instead of seeking out freelance copywriters, you should be outsourcing to someone who specializes in precisely what you’re after: helpful, informative writing that answers questions and resolves problems. But who on earth does that?!

Journalists, that’s who. And technical writers. They do exactly what you’re after, every day.

You’ll still have to do the strategy

Of course, journalists and technical writers aren’t content marketers, so you’ll still have to devise your overarching strategy yourself. You’ll be outsourcing only the writing task.

Or you could engage a content marketer

If you’re really serious about results, I’d recommend engaging a genuine content marketer. Like Garrett French or Junta42. (I get no kickback from recommending them. I recommend them only because I reckon they deserve it. I’ve had quite a few dealings with Garrett, and he’s a great guy who knows his  stuff. I haven’t dealt with Junta42, but they’ve been around for a while, and they look good from a distance.)

“But I don’t have the budget”

Granted, good journos, techwriters and content marketers don’t come cheap. But nor do good copywriters. (I was a technical writer for 9 years before starting Divine Write — a senior in some big companies like Honeywell, Siemens and Citect — and I can assure you, I earn more now as a copywriter than I did as a techwriter.)

“But my copywriter charges only $1 per article!”

*Ahem* I’m sorry to say, your ‘copywriter’ is no copywriter, and/or they’re rushing your piece. In other words, it’s worth every cent you’re paying! 😉

“But my copywriter is an SEO copywriter”

Big deal! I’m an SEO copywriter too, and I can tell you, the hard part of SEO copywriting is the copywriting, not the SEO. (It’s the important part, too. The SEO in SEO copywriting is becoming less and less important. Learn why…)

“But my copywriter does all sorts of writing”

Granted, there are copywriters out there who can write great blog posts and great articles. Some can even do strategy. But I’d suggest they’re actually content marketers. And they certainly won’t be cheap!

My experience, however, is that very few writers write well across all — or even several — forms. I’ve reviewed the resumes and portfolios of hundreds of writers who’ve wanted to freelance for me, and most can’t even write copy, let alone quality posts and articles. Once, I even got a press release specialist to write an article for me, and she failed dismally. (I assumed those two forms were close enough that she’d handle it, no problems. Not so.)

Conclusion

If you’re serious about your blogging (or article marketing), get an expert to do it. You’ll pay a bit more, but it’ll be finished faster, with less grief and better results.

What do you think?

Clients: Have you ever outsourced your blog posts and articles to a copywriter? Or to a journalist, technical writer or content marketer? Better yet, have you tried the lot? Who worked best?

Providers: Are you a copywriter who writes blog posts and articles? Are you a copywriter turned content marketer? Or journo/techwriter turned copywriter? Give us your perspective…

Please comment.

Feel free to comment...
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Kate Toon wrote on March 16th, 2011

Hi Glenn, Great post as always. I write blog posts for several companies, and also Ghost Write for a few Creative Directors of large advertising agencies (obviously I won't name). They usually give me a basic premise and I then write the blog piece in their tone of voice. It can be quite cost effective as, after a while, writing 'as' that client becomes second nature, and there are very few amends. Putting aside a little budget each month for professional blog writing can take away the stress many businesses have about keeping their blog current. And we all know that regular content updates are a positive from both a user and an SEO perspective, so money well spent! Thanks Kate

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Sarah Mitchell wrote on March 16th, 2011

Hi Glenn, I'm thrilled to see this post on your blog. I started my freelance writing career as a journalist. Prior to that, I worked in the software industry and wrote my fair share of technical publications. Being a technical writer wasn't my preferred work but project invariably had a writing deliverable and I could do it - more efficiently and with less edits than the rest of the technical teams I worked on. I started Global Copywriting with the idea I would specialise in White Papers and Case Studies. What I found out pretty quickly was there was a huge demand for original content. I'm a content marketer by way of technical writer --> journalist --> copywriter. It's a good fit for me and I pull on my experiences in other writing forms. I blog for several organisations for the exact reasons you mention. They want good content and want to be found. They also want their brand represented accurately and professionally. When I outsource blogging work I always look for journalists to help. They're terrific at working to a spec, understand deadlines and can their copy is always reader directed. I can vouch for Junta42. Joe Pulizzi, the man behind the Junta42 organisation, is a founder of the content marketing movement in the USA. Junta42 is very happy to help people find the right content marketer(s) to help with any project. The Junta42 blog is an excellent resource. Another good place to find information about content marketing is The Content Marketing Institute, an off-shoot of Junta42. I'm a regular contributor to that blog but find WAY more value from the other bloggers. It's a goldmine of instructional content. As a disclaimer, I'm also the Australian editor of the Content Marketing Institute's magazine, Chief Content Officer. It's a free digital magazine published 4 times a year written by and for content marketers. And with that, I need to put my nose down in copy. I've got 2 blogging deadlines for clients today.

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OtherAndrew wrote on March 16th, 2011

An interesting post, Glenn. In the end, it probably depends on who the copywriter is. There are many who are probably, by your definition, 'content marketers' but wouldn't necessarily go by that label. As for me, I communicate with written words. That's my job. If you want me to sell something, I'll sell it. If you want me to teach something, I'll teach it. If you want me to... well, you get the point. I would have said 'Copywriter' covers that, but maybe that's changing. I probably wouldn't call myself a 'Content Marketer' at this stage as it sounds a little too Web 2.whateverwe'reuptonow and a lot of my work still appears offline in traditional channels like magazines, on billboards, etc.. As for people pumping out content for $1 a page... I think you've addressed that suitably before!

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Aprill Allen wrote on March 16th, 2011

Hmm. Interesting post. I'm a bit of an all-rounder but I wouldn't call myself a content marketer. I've written articles, web copy, product descriptions, technical documentation.. so I tend to call myself a freelance commercial writer. But nobody knows that term when they're searching for someone like me, so 'copywriter' it is.

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Shauna wrote on March 16th, 2011

Great post Glenn. I love to write, but I'm just a beginner. I have worked in a Gov't Agency, where writing is done by the 'book' but the 'book' changes with every change of Minister! I'd like to investigate 'ghost writing' a lot more, what would you suggest as a place to start learning? Thanks in advance.

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Garrett French wrote on March 16th, 2011

Hi Glenn, Thanks for the shout out... and I couldn't agree more that a copywriter may not be the best choice for your company's blog. Especially if you're more than a thin-affiliate site! Content can also include free widgets, web-based tools, videos, podcasts etcetera as well... When marketing Ontolo with placed-content (aka guest posts) I consistently link to our free tools, some of which require a free sign up (eg: http://searchenginewatch.com/3641949). Content marketing can do so many different things for companies, from lead generation, email list building, buzz + branding to link bait, etc... And sometimes ALL of those things at once ;) If you're looking for someone to execute your blogging, I'd recommend that you STILL invest time in directing their efforts and providing the insights and expertise that comes from your experience in business. Otherwise they will be rehashing what everyone else has said and you won't get as many shares/links/retweets... Wil Reynolds at Seer Interactive has an excellent piece on a process for extracting great insights from clients and writing posts around their unique viewpoints (http://www.seerinteractive.com/blog/how-to-produce-2-3-quality-blog-posts-in-1-hour-a-month/2011/02/10/) Thanks for starting a great conversation Glenn! Garrett

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Glenn (Owner) wrote on March 16th, 2011

Great comments, guy. Thanks! @Kate @Andrew @Aprill, I write in a lot of different forms too. (Although I do tend to steer clear of blog ghost-writing -- mostly because clients require high volume, so budget becomes an issue.) Like you, I struggle with the label 'copywriter', not because it doesn't fit my main WRITING activity, but because writing isn't really the crux of what I do. More on that another day... @Garrett, I agree that clients should still direct their writer/content marketer's efforts. Without that input, the client is relying purely on the expertise of the provider, which will never be an adequate substitute for the expertise of the expert! I checked out that Wil Reynolds post... interesting. I suspect 2-3 in an hour, even with that approach, is a little optimistic, but it certainly seems like a good way to fast-track the process of getting subject matter expertise into a post. Have you used this approach much yourself?

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Garrett French wrote on March 17th, 2011

Glenn I haven't tried it myself yet.... the closest I've gotten is citing expert forum users in a B2C vertical. And I think Wil's 2-3 hour estimate was for client involvement, not for the writer's time spent.

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Glenn (Owner) wrote on March 17th, 2011

The more I think about this method, the more I like it (for certain clients). I re-read it, though, and I'm pretty sure it's 2-3 posts in 1 hour of the writer/provider's time... The only way I can see that happening is if you use the original interview for 2-3 posts. Otherwise you'd be recording 2-3 interviews, each of 30 minutes, and that alone would obviously blow your time limit. PLUS you'd have to be doing it all the time, in order to become really systematized. Personally, I still think it's highly optimistic, but it's still a lot quicker than writing 2-3 high quality posts from scratch...

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Anna Roe wrote on March 31st, 2011

Some very good points Glenn - the difficulty as I see it is this: as one is trying to build a business the funds flow out. In order to regain some of this one has to advertise and work on SEO. The funds keep flowing out! So blogging remains my responsibility until the funds flow back in [sounds tidal, guess I'm hoping for a king tide]. Now that appears all doom and gloom. However, I am now on Page 2 of Google [was page 19, 6 months ago] and occasionally say out loud, "Here I come!' to the page one-ers. Also, sold more leather briefcases and leather luggage in the last 8 days than the last 2 months combined, so am feeling optimistic. What am I trying to say? If it keeps going like this I will pass the blogging to someone who knows the power of the written word better than I.

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galdies wrote on October 18th, 2011

I would be more interested in the topic if it has wider vision on the SEO outsoursing rather than putting stuff like this which everyone in the industry has seen day by day. I am looking for some unique content i need to research on.Thanks

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Jamie wrote on October 21st, 2011

Being mindful of the role SEO plays in blog writing and driving traffic to your website is vitally important in the blogging process. For those who you who may be considering outsourcing a freelance copywriter or doing some freelance copywriting yourself...we've just published an article discussing the Top 10 Tips for Pricing your Freelance Copywriting Servcies: http://blog.jobcrowd.com/top-10-tips-for-pricing-your-freelance-copywriting-services/ Hope this helps.

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Randy wrote on December 7th, 2011

A lot of people think SEO is a technical task. Not so. Copywriting is by far the most important SEO strategy - especially for blogs. Just as important is ensuring an accurate and believable voice. So buying copywriting from India or Pakistan is pretty dumb. Our online marketing firm hires north-american-based writers only, and we always rewrite to our clients' needs and personality, plus have the client s do a final tweak for authenticity. Let's talk Divine Write - we're always looking for great copy. :-) For clients that want to do the small things on their own, we've written a short blog article on writing for Tweets, Shares and Statuses here: http://www.kayakcreative.ca/blog/bid/100419/3-3-Tweets-and-Statuses-tips

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Glenn (Owner) wrote on December 8th, 2011

Couldn't agree more, Randy. Thanks for your comment. :-)

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Why the hell would you outsource your blogging to a copywriter? Seriously! - Sandiya Solutions wrote on December 20th, 2012

[...] Comment on this post By Glenn (Owner)|article marketing, content marketing, Copywriting, Garrett French, ghostwriting, guest blogging, Junta42|1 Comment [...]

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