When you consider outsourcing your writing to a freelance blogger, you will need to start thinking about the types of content you need. There are so many options, including blog posts, sales copy and press releases.
So can you outsource all content?
Most of them I’d say yes, but there are certain types of content that you should really write yourself.
Personal Blog Posts
There may be times that you want to update your blog with personal updates. You may have visited a convention and want to share your thoughts, or you may like to tell people about your business week from the CEO point of view.
It’s not worth hiring someone to write that type of blog post. Your readers want to hear from you. Getting someone else to do it for you is a lie, and it can really upset your readers so much that they disappear.
There is nothing wrong with having someone else offering a weekly update of the business posts, but don’t have them add that personal touch for you.
What you can do is write the post and ask an editor to polish it up for you.
Personal Social Media Updates
Like the personal blog posts, social media updates that are designed to be specifically from you should be written by you. That doesn’t mean you have to do them on the day. There’s nothing wrong with scheduling them.
But you will want to stay updated for your personal replies.
The Mission Statement
What’s your mission statement?
There’s no point getting someone else to write your own mission statement. How do they know what you really want to achieve?
What you could do is write the statement and then ask someone to polish it for you. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that!
Customer Personas
Do you have personas for your customers? This is a profile of the typical type of buyer for your products, and is really important.
This isn’t one of the types of content you want to outsource. Why? Because bloggers and writers don’t know your customers as well as you do.
You’ll have had the buyers in mind when you created your product or services. You’ll know the type of people you’re marketing to, and who your other types of content are for.
Go through the types of content that you need, and really decide whether you should outsource them. In most cases, hiring a freelance blogger is worthwhile. You have more time for other parts of your business.
However, the more personal types of content should be written by you. Your readers will see through the attempt of someone else trying to be you, especially when it comes to the details.
What types of content are you considering outsourcing? Do you think that outsourcing is the way to go for you? Maybe you prefer doing it all yourself. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Great post! I “outsource” sometimes, but I call it a “guest-post”. People contact me all the time to be a guest-poster on my blog, so I have to be selective, because I want my voice to be the main one, ya know? I set up some guidelines, and as long as folks agree to those, I allow them to submit a guest post.
I view guest posting and outsourcing as two different things. Usually when a blog owner outsources, the work is ghost written and paid for. With guest posting, an author box is given and they are often free because the gain is from the back link in the author box. It’s great that you have guidelines on the your site so people are aware of them before they request to guest post and that you are selective. Having the wrong posts can end up damaging your own blog’s reputation.
I’m not at the point that I’d outsource any writing. I’m the writer. However, from a reader’s point of view I completely agree with your advice. The personal posts must be from the person. It’s great advice to have someone polish up your grammar and spelling if you aren’t a great writer.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment, Cathy.
Thanks for all your tips!
I need to put Google+ to better use!
You’re welcome, Sophie. I’m a little confused where the Google+ comment comes from though.