Perhaps you’re a naysayer. Maybe you think content marketing is an ineffective way to reach your customers and boost sales. If so, I’m willing to bet that one of the following applies. Do you:
- Put off writing articles for your own blog?
- Don’t bother blogging at all?
- Write subpar content, trying to save a buck?
Sorry, my friend. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s not content marketing that’s failing you, it’s you. Content marketing really is one of the best tools for establishing your expertise and introducing your brand to new audiences… unless you’re tripping yourself up.
Look, I get the fact that you want to save money by doing your own content marketing. And for some business owners, that totally works. But if the content that you are creating is riddled with errors and typos, boring, or inconsistent, you’re actually doing more harm than good. The revenue you’re not bringing in thanks to your content marketing efforts is far greater than what you would actually spend to hire a professional writer or marketer to help you.
How Do You Know If You Should Hire Help?
When I say “content marketing,” how does your body react? Do you get a pain in your gut? A flashing headache? Do you want to go back to bed and throw the covers over your head?
If so, I’d say that the subject is one you have trouble dealing with.
Maybe you are a good writer, but just can’t find time to consistently create blog posts every week.
Maybe writing one takes all day, and then you have no time to actually run your business.
Maybe you are writing your own content, but your blog traffic is abysmally low.
Any and all of these reasons indicate that you would benefit from hiring a writer. It would, in fact, be the smartest thing your company could do. Smarter than buying that fancy cappuccino machine. Way smarter.
How to Hire the Best Writer for Your Brand
It’s extremely difficult for many business owners to hire someone to represent their brand through content. They think no one will “get” the right tone and voice.
It’s nice to feel indispensable, isn’t it? The truth is, professional content writers and marketing firms are experts at doing just that. They have deep industry experience and can easily adapt to the writing style you want.
First, determine what your needs are. Do you just need a blog post here and there to enhance what you are able to create yourself, or do you need someone to fully take on your content marketing strategy? Do you need someone with technical experience and knowledge, or just a skilled writer?
When you start considering a content marketing company, ask to see writing samples. You want to see examples of professional writing on reputable websites and blogs. Remember: you get what you pay for, so don’t expect to get by with $20 articles. Or you’ll get $20 results.
Feel free to ask all questions you may have:
- What does the writing process look like?
- How involved will I need to be?
- Can I give input on the draft and get edits (and are they included in the price)?
- What’s your turnaround?
Ultimately, trust your gut. If you feel like this firm can do a good job with your content, hire them, or at least do a trial run. Provide feedback as they complete articles so that they can improve their work.
Content marketing will give you what you put into it. If you’re serious about getting great results, be willing to invest the time and money to get them.
Ready to hand your content marketing over? Get a free trial of MediaShower today!