SHOULD YOU HIRE A BLOGGER? 8 THINGS TO CONSIDER FIRST
You already know that you want to start a blog for business to boost your traffic, engagement, and conversions. The trouble is, writing a blog is a major time investment. Between brainstorming, researching, drafting, editing, uploading, and so on and so forth, it’s easy to spend 3 or more hours on just one blog post (which will only take your reader 37 seconds to skim!).
Luckily, it’s never been easier to hire a blogger and outsource blog writing. But the question is: should you?
HIRING A BLOGGER IS A GREAT WAY TO EXECUTE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY, BUT THEY’RE NOT CHEAP.
HIRING A BLOGGER: HOW IT WORKS
Freelance bloggers make their living by writing blog articles for others. Sometimes they are credited with a by-line (i.e. “Written By: Colleen Welsch”), and sometimes they will ghostwrite articles so you can pass them off as your own work. Typically, by-lined articles are less expensive than ghostwritten articles. Most freelance bloggers accept payment on a per project or per word basis.
But it’s not cheap. For a newbie freelance blogger, you can expect to pay at least $0.10 per word. Rates increase with experience.
You could hire a less expensive writer by working with a content mill. Content mills charge between $0.01 to $0.10 per word. However, you should avoid content mills because:
Content mills hire bloggers with poor writing skills. Think of it like this: if these writers value their own skills so little, do you think their content will actually be good? If they were good, they would charge more. You may find a diamond in the rough, but in most cases, the content will be subpar at best.
If the blog posts are bad (which they will be), you’ll need to spend time editing the posts to fix the voice, grammar, and spelling issues. If your intention is to save time, this is obviously not what you want.
Low-cost writers rarely have extensive knowledge of your industry, which means the content will be shallow and bland.
Think of hiring a freelance writer as an investment. The more you invest in your content, the higher your returns will be. If you choose to hire a blogger, you’ll be trusting them with your business’s most valuable asset: your reputation. Choose wisely!
UNLESS YOU WANT TO SUFFER, DON’T CHOOSE THE CHEAPEST BLOGGER ON THE BLOCK.
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A BLOGGER
Now that we’ve got my rate rant out of the way, let’s look at a few of the pros of hiring a blogger.
1. You don’t have time.
Professional bloggers have a lot more experience writing than you do. More writing experience translates to producing content more quickly, efficiently, and with better results. A post that may take you six hours to write will take a professional writer just one. You can take that time to focus on your strong suits instead.
2. You don’t have good writing skills.
If your writing is loaded with grammar and spelling mistakes, you’re not going to make a great first impression with readers and prospective customers. Poor writing damages the credibility and reputation of your business. If writing isn’t your thing (and you’re not willing to learn how to write better), you may want to hire a blogger.
3. You have trouble sticking to a calendar.
When you’re managing your own blog, it’s so easy to push out your deadlines due to more pressing matters (trust me, I’ve been there!). Before you know it, it’s been three months and you haven’t updated your blog.
Unfortunately, you won’t get any results if you don’t post regularly. A professional blogger will be committed to meeting your deadlines so you can execute your content marketing strategy and reap all the rewards.
4. You don’t know SEO.
Most businesses want a blog to improve their Googleability. But if you don’t know how SEO works or how to optimize your blog posts, no one will find you through Google.
Freelance bloggers are not only writers, they’re also trained SEO professionals. They know how to optimize their work to bump your website up to the first page of Google. Do you?
5. It’s expensive to hire an in-house writer.
If you’re serious about content marketing, you should consider hiring an in-house writer. However, you’ll have to pay that person’s salary, benefits, and other employee expenses. When you hire a freelance blogger, you are simply paying them for their experience and their work. They take care of all their other expenses.
PUNCH TODAY IN THE FACE BY WRITING YOUR OWN BLOG!
3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HIRE A BLOGGER
While I do offer blog writing as one of my copywriting services, I honestly believe that with the right training, you are capable of writing your own blog posts. If you are willing to dedicate yourself to your content marketing strategy, the results will be well worth it.
1. You’re the expert.
No one knows your product, industry, and audience like you do. This expertise leads to a better connection with your readers and an improved reputation for your business.
However, it is possible to find a writer who is an expert in your industry. A niche writer will produce better content for you, but at a cost. Niche writers are often in higher demand and thus charge higher rates.
2. You have more time than money.
If you’re just starting out and don’t have a budget to outsource quality content, it makes sense to write your own blog posts. Many new business owners and entrepreneurs have more time than money. If this is you, it’s time to learn how to write better blog posts and start producing your own work.
3. You just like writing.
If you just like writing, more power to you! I like writing too (obviously). Writing your own blog will help you to learn more about your business and clarify your ideas. You may be surprised by what you learn through writing your own blog!
So, should you hire a blogger? The answer really depends on your business, your budget, your skills, and your time constraints. Weigh the pros and cons of each side.
Whichever you choose, commit to a plan for six months or so and reevaluate. If your strategy isn’t working, pivot and try something new. After all, it’s better to get some content out there than none at all.