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Your Guide on How to Outsource Content Writing & Survive

June 19, 2024May 8, 2018 by Adam Oakley

When it comes to outsourcing content writing, it seems like everyone has a horror story to tell. On the client side: “They took my money and didn’t complete the work.” “The content read horribly.” “They spelled my client’s business name wrong and linked to a competitor. I lost my client.” On the flip side, content writers often have horror stories, too. “He wants 600 articles and has a budget of $600.” “A big, national brand just ripped me off on the last payment owed.” These stories can chill you to the bone. They’re that bad. All in all, on both sides of it (client and writer), there are negative experiences that have sent a giant black cloud hovering over the word “outsource.” A stigma, of sorts. Here’s the truth. The reality of what happens when you outsource content writing to a perfect-fit creator is pure magic. You save time. You get high-quality, beautifully written copy that reflects your business. The creator gets paid for doing what he or she loves. I’m excited to say that today, content creation is now the top activity outsourced by B2B marketers this year. The impact of content marketing means that marketers must publish high-quality and long-form content consistently. So, why the stigma? There are still a few “buts” that stop many business owners from experiencing success with outsourcing content writing. “But I can do it all myself.” I was there once, too. At the beginning. You really can’t, if you want to scale. Or… “But content writing is cheaper at [insert platform name].” Instead of focusing on numbers, ask yourself why services like Upwork, Fiverr and the rest are so much cheaper. Anyone can call themselves an expert content writer, but that doesn’t make it true. When outsourcing to an agency, the vetting process is taken care of. At Express Writers, it takes an average of 100 candidates for us to find one great writer. We’ve designed a hiring process that can take up to two weeks in order to properly evaluate, test, review and talk one-on-one with applicants. How can I successfully outsource content writing? Outsourcing doesn’t have to be a scary process. A clear strategy on what to look for and what to avoid will lead you to your perfect fit. Today’s guide is here to bust through the stigma, and add clarity to the fuzzy areas of “outsourcing writing.” Treating the Symptoms: Knowing When It’s Time (or Past Time) to Outsource Content Writing Tell us your symptoms. Fear of miscommunication Clenching tightly to your wallet General distrust Obsessive-compulsive control over all of your content You’re hitting all of the marks. But hey, it’s totally fine. We get patients like you all the time. According to my findings, it seems you may be suffering from PTOD. It’s a condition we refer to as Post Traumatic Outsourcing Disorder. It’s more common than you think. Outsourcing content writing can keep your business on track with a profitable content strategy. However, without a proper plan, you’re at risk for PTOD. Back to you. Have you had any traumatic experiences outsourcing before? You discussed your content strategy and sent payment… but never received any content back? Okay, you also ran your content through Copyscape and it was 100% plagiarized? We’ve never seen that before. Even the name? Right. You published a piece on your site that had an excess of, how many? Nine-hundred spelling and grammatical errors? You say this piece was only a 500-word blog post? Youch. The good news is, you’re going to be okay. You will survive and heal. Post-traumatic outsourcing disorder affects countless companies and business owners worldwide but it can be beaten. Let’s take a look at your treatment plan. Preventative Care for Outsourcing Content Writing The best approach to overcoming your fears about outsourcing content is to prevent any nightmare situations. To ensure the best outsourcing experience, I advise that you steer clear of websites offering fast and cheap quality content. Cheap and high quality are two terms that should never be in the same sentence. Have you ever heard anyone boast about how cheap their Chanel purse is? I don’t think so. When it comes to content services, high quality should be at the top of your checklist. Now, some freelance writers may try to trick you by offering inexpensive services and making claims that they work with clients “across every major vertical service.” Sure they can cover vertical services but what about the horizontal? These are the questions you should be asking yourself. Also, count the grammar and spelling mistakes in their post. Professional content writers should also know how to edit. When looking at their pricing model, consider why they omitted the first “a” in the word “standard.” Is this a ruse to convince you of their inventiveness? Are they that good? Is standard even spelled with two a’s? Try not to succumb to the tactics of such content writing freelancers. Refer to the Oxford English Dictionary to double-check how words are spelled. Run potential applicants’ resumes and posts through spell check and even ask for help from that one friend that’s constantly correcting you to look for grammatical errors. Think of posts and applicant responses as a preview of the content you’ll be provided with. 3 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Outsourcing Content Writing If you wear shorts in a blizzard, you’re going to catch a cold. The same goes for outsourcing content writing. Being aware of these common outsourcing pitfalls will result in a more effective and enjoyable hiring process. 1. Going into the Process Without a Strategy The content you receive will mirror the quality of your application process. All of this can be prevented if you wade out into the content writer pool with a clear content strategy in mind. Try answering these questions: What type of content do you need? What is the voice of your brand? Who is your targeted audience? What are your goals with content marketing? How do you like to communicate? 2. Hiring an Outsourced Content … Read more

How to Write an Amazing About Page

January 1, 2021May 22, 2017 by Adam Oakley

Ah, the dreaded About Page. You know you need one… But few people know how to create one that actually accomplishes anything for their business. Here’s a good question. What is a “good About Page” really supposed to accomplish? Copyblogger says that it should answer three questions for your visitor: What’s in this for me? Am I in the right place? Can this person help me with my problem? The first thing that you should notice here is that, while your About Page is about your business, it needs to be catered to your visitors. You don’t want to turn your reader off by talking about yourself too much. Make them interested in a natural conversation with you. To answer these three questions and get your readers to pull up a chair and stay a while, there are a few steps that you will need to follow through on. Let’s take a look at what they are. How to Write an Amazing About Page: Focus on Your Reader As you go through each step, the importance of focusing on the reader cannot be overstated. While your initial thought may be that your About Page should be about you, the fact of the matter is that your readers aren’t there for you. They’re there for them. By understanding that your reader should be your main focus you can avoid producing an information-littered About Page that doesn’t accomplish anything for your business. Go ahead and tell your story. Just don’t get so lost in telling it that you forget why you’re doing it in the first place. Step #1 – Tell Your Story With Your Customers in Mind There are thousands of examples of stale About Pages that tell weakly put together stories about the history of a company and what they offer to customers. The thing is, people already know most of these things. They’ve made it to your page because they feel you might have the potential to solve their problems. As Entrepreneur contributor Aaron Agius is quick to point out, “So many companies focus on business specifics in their About Page content, such as types of services and products offered.” Agius wants you to look away from this boring strategy. His recommendation is that, “Your About Page should illustrate your business’s humble beginnings and highlight the positive attributes of your team that helped you get where you are today.” Here’s a good overview of the elements of a compelling B2B story: All six elements outlined above play an integral role in ensuring that businesses see you as someone that they’d like to work with. Make your About Page about your customers. Relate to them. Be memorable. Give them a reason to trust you. Do these things and you’re well on your way to making a strong first impression with the people who matter. Step #2 – Utilize Visuals to Strengthen Visuals are a necessary part of any great About Page. And they’re especially effective when you’re attempting to tell your brand’s unique story. This visual, showing why infographics are a great business tool, gives you a sense as to why. It grabs you, doesn’t it? Now, we’re certainly not saying that your About Page needs an infographic. What we are saying, however, is that, if 90% of information that comes to the brain is visual, your page needs more than just words. Visuals can include anything from images and videos to infographics and photographs. MailChimp is one of many B2B companies that effectively utilizes photographs on their About Page. When you see this photo, you immediately think of community. This isn’t a coincidence. As you scroll down their page, they have a section about Community Investment and how they’re helping cities like Atlanta become, “better, weirder, and more human.” They also feature a visual-rich section on their employees that looks like this: When you see these photos, the word “fun” comes to mind. Now we know, without even reading a single word, that MailChimp identifies themselves as a fun, community-driven company. They’ve told their story through photos and use words to supplement it. This is the power of visuals. And it’s why they need to be implemented, and featured, on your About Page. Video content is an excellent choice to consider for your About Page. Here’s how we did it on our About Page (our video story was filmed professionally and told by our founder, Julia McCoy): And if you scroll down, you’ll learn about each of the creators that make up a core portion of our team: Step #3 – Use Social Proof The power of social proof in the marketing world is astounding. And while there are dozens of examples of how social proof can help you market effectively, it can also be leveraged on your About Page to build a strong first impression about your reputation. But with so many different ways to show that others trust your brand, which one works best for your About Page? This infographic shows eight ways you can use social proof on your website: The type that will work best for your brand is, plain and simply, the one that will be seen as most powerful to your customers. Gummisig, a freelance web designer, identified that listing popular clients that he’s worked with proved most effective. Ikea is a Fortune 500 company. Showing potential customers that a company like that has trusted his services provides immediate, and incredibly effective, social proof. But maybe you haven’t had the pleasure of working with a client with that type of name recognition. No problem. Use the customers you do have. Providing quotes from testimonials is a powerful way to generate effective social proof. Including actual data about what you’ve accomplished for your clients can also work incredibly well. Use what you have to provide social proof that your unique readers will understand and appreciate. Step #4 – Give Readers a Next Step If they like what they see, what are they supposed to … Read more

My Journey as a Creative Copywriter

December 31, 2020January 16, 2017 by Marcie M

The fall of 2014 seems like such a long time ago. It had only been a few months since we made the move to the Dallas area, and for the life of me I could not find my place in the land ‘o heat. Aside from my in-laws, I knew no one. I was looking for a job, something that would allow me to stay home and be available to our 3 boys, but finding something with that kind of flexibility was difficult. And then I ran across a blog titled “Stay-at-Home-Moms: Could Freelance Writing Be the Income You Need?” from Red and Honey. The blogger gave a short blurb about Express Writers, one of her recommendations that she described as “very active…with lots of work.” Take a writing test? I thought. Easy. They assign jobs to you? I can handle that. So I leapt. I filled out the application, took the writing assessment, and lo and behold—I was a writer! Well, kind of. Over the next 7 months or so, I spent my days churning out blog posts, web content, and trying to hone my skills as a creative copywriter. Let me tell you, it was a rough beginning—and I’m not talking about the workload. Thankfully, they have been patient with me. A Day in the Life of a Creative Copywriter I have always wanted to be a writer. From the days of third grade, when I won a Young Author’s award for my story about the fisherman who kept his catch as a friend rather than as food, all the way through my days of journal-keeping in college, something in me has always wanted to put pen to paper and create. After getting married and having 3 kids in 3½ years, not to mention a decade’s work with my husband as a non-profit administrator, writing took a backseat. I was faced with the task of a regular speaking schedule, which meant I put together manuscripts for delivery, but it was not the creative copywriting I knew could be developed in myself. And then our move to Texas changed everything. I went on to write for EW until the summer of 2015, when I began working for a local non-profit. While I loved serving the impoverished and homeless, a leadership change in the organization was my cue to exit that position. So there I was again, earlier this year, without a job and once again unable to find my place in the land ‘o heat (funny how things come back around). So I sent an email to Express Writers, asking if they had any open positions. What is a Creative Copywriter? After I meet someone new, the next question is usually, “And what do you do?”, and after I answer, they usually come back with, “So, you have a blog?”. Not exactly. Although a creative copywriter’s job may sound simple and mundane, every day does not look the same. Here are some highlights of my workload in the past few weeks: Social media management: One of my favorite tasks! Blog posts: A couple of 1,000 word posts with a keyword emphasis that required research and finding authoritative voices to back it up. Video transcription: I summarized the key points made in a media presentation. Encyclopedia-like content articles: Rather than present content in a blog format, I took a third-person approach and wrote more encyclopedic content. A creative copywriter takes on a variety of roles, depending on the needs of the client and their industry. The approach is always changing, and in order for the content to be effective, there must be thought and creativity behind the writing process during every step of the process. What is a Creative Copywriter Made Of? I have the advantage of working from home, which always includes a full pot of coffee and a variety of comfortable yoga pants (my husband is not convinced that these are considered a business expense). When I first started with EW, I was looking to earn a supplemental income for my family and be available when they needed me. This second time around has been much different, and I think it’s because I’ve realized that a creative content writer can’t be as impactful if he or she sees the process as “just a job”. While I do love the flexibility (and the work attire), I have also seen growth in myself as a writer. I have learned that to be effective in this industry, there a few characteristics that must be present: 1. Research No content creator comes up with authoritative content on a whim. Even the experts have sources on whom they rely for accurate information and statistics. Content without research holds little power for the audience. To the non-writer, coming up with 500 words may sound like an easy task. In reality, it depends on the topic at hand. If I am creating content for a long-term client for whom I have written in the past, it probably won’t take long to develop a post or article. However, if it’s a brand new client in an unfamiliar industry, the research will be more in-depth. 2. Creativity Every week, I sit down and picture myself as one of the followers of the social media pages I manage and think about what I would like to see in my newsfeed. I create images, find interesting articles and posts, and present them to specific audiences for their sharing and retweeting pleasure. Creativity means getting outside of yourself and into the mind of the reader. It’s always about taking a unique approach and drawing others into the story. 3. Focus Sometimes, the topics that our Content Manager sends me can feel drier than the Texas heat. I have to admit that there are times I have had to dig very deep in order to make an extraordinarily boring topic sound exciting. Focusing on the topic at hand might mean an extra cup of coffee or a walk around the … Read more