Let’s get straight to the point.
You already know the importance of content and SEO. You already know what your clients expect.
So instead of talking about why content is important, let’s address something more useful: why digital marketing agencies outsource their writing tasks.
It’s not because they can’t do it, but because it actually makes more sense.
I’m Ben, and I work with digital marketing agencies around the world. Here’s why they seem to like me.
Digital marketing agencies need reliable operators
I mean, you tell me – what’s the biggest frustration your digital marketing agency has with freelance writers?
In my experience (being on the other side of the operation, here), the most consistent headache is predictability.
There are lots of good writers out there, but my clients love working with me because I maintain good communication. If I book a holiday, I let them know well in advance. If I’m sick, they’re the first people I tell. If I think things could be done a different way, it’s up for discussion.
I suppose, then, that some writers aren’t like that. Everyone I’ve ever worked with has been fantastic. But it goes to show the importance of working with a reliable writer when you outsource your tasks.
Another way of putting that is you want someone who behaves like part of the team – even though they aren’t on the payroll. That’s always how I try to work!
What you’re really outsourcing is bottlenecks
You don’t need to outsource because you lack writers. I’ve worked with plenty of amazing writers within agencies, and I learned almost everything I know from them.
You need to outsource to solve bottlenecks.
If you employ writers within your organisation, you likely have them working on other tasks alongside content. Otherwise, they have times where they’re swamped, and times where they have nothing to do. Neither are ideal.
Outsourcing your writing tasks to external contractors (like me!) helps smooth out the load.
It’s about your bandwidth, not talent.
Basically:
Pay writer → receive deliverable → move to next project.
That’s a much simpler process than hiring, paying a salary and holiday pay, and having to account for rushes and downtime.
(Some digital marketing agencies I work with only employ one or two head writers/editors – all the actual content writers are outsourced. That business model seems to work pretty well, too!)
Outsourced writers protect your margins
You’re not supposed to say this out loud, so I’ll do it for you.
Outsourcing your agency’s writing tasks protects your margins.
Our industry is a challenging one. Things can change almost every single day. What worked yesterday doesn’t today.
On top of that, your projects expand, your clients add new requests, your timelines shift, and then, one day, 30% of your clients all go out of business at exactly the same time.
I know, I know.
The beauty of outsourcing your work is that you aren’t hit quite so hard when these things happen. External contractors like me are scalable and (sadly, for me) dispensable – in the sense of, we take the hit too. If there’s no work to write? Well, there’s no work to write.
On the happier side, when you’re busy, we can also scale for you. I’m very big on meeting deadlines, and only very rarely do I have to request extensions (in the case of illness and, once, my wedding – which I think is a fair exception!). That means we help stabilise delivery costs because you can price projects as part of a dependable production timeline.
Outsourcing your writing gives you more control
Ironically, I’d say that outsourcing gives agencies like yours more control.
Why?
Because you can choose:
- who works on which project
- which specialist handles which niche
- when to scale output
- when to scale back
In contrast, an internal team has you locked into one structure. With freelancers and agencies, you can move things around and constantly adapt. And it’s that adaptability that’s the real competitive advantage in digital marketing.
What agencies actually want from a writer
Let’s strip away all the fluff, as we say. In summary terms, you want three things:
- Speed (without chasing)
- Quality (without micromanaging)
- Consistency (without babysitting)
That’s it.
Other things can help. Fancy portfolios. Good reviews. Buzzwords. Jargon. Sales tactics.
But really, it all comes down to reliability.
Why some agencies have bad experiences with outsourcing
I truly don’t believe that outsourcing itself is a problem.
However – who you outsource to? That makes a difference.
If you’ve had a bad experience outsourcing your written tasks to external writers, you likely hired someone who:
- didn’t understand marketing
- didn’t understand SEO
- didn’t understand intent
- needed constant clarification
- couldn’t write well!
And I’m sure that, if you find a professional writer who already has years of experience working with digital marketing agencies (ahem, I know one), things will go much better this time around.
Since we’re here, let me introduce myself
I love it when coincidences like this happen. I’m Ben, and I work with digital marketing agencies who outsource their written content. Like you. Count on me for high-quality work delivered on time and without drama.
Just send me a brief, answer any of my initial follow-up questions, and leave me to it.
If you want to outsource your writing to someone who understands how your business actually operates –
– let’s chat!