Guide to Receiving Quality Content from Content Writing Companies

You’ve probably come across the famous line, “content is king,” written by Bill Gates in an essay in 1996. And though it has become a cliche, there’s no denying that compelling content reigns supreme in an age of apps and social media. Almost two and a half decades after the Microsoft co-founder penned his essay, and ventures still prove the line to be true. In fact, a study says content marketing generates over thrice as many leads compared to outbound marketing, plus it costs 62 percent less. If you feel like coming up with fresh content is too much work for you, the good news is, you don’t have to! Content writing companies are ready to be of service whenever you need them. Here are a few tips to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth from the money you spend outsourcing your content.

Set Up a Strategy

Just because you’re hiring content writing companies doesn’t mean you don’t have to lift a finger. After all, the company will only do the heavy lifting, but the strategy would still have to come from you. 

Think of your contractors – third-party writers, graphic designers, suppliers – as musicians in an orchestra. It’s your job as a conductor to lead them to play the piece. 

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you brainstorm for your content strategy:

• Know Your Audience. As with many other business facets, it’s crucial that you know who your audience is in the first place. Aside from demographics, you should know their psychographics – what their goals are and how you can help them get there.   
• Have Clear Objectives. To have a solid content strategy, you should have clear objectives in place. Is your goal this quarter to introduce your brand to prospects? Or is it to generate sales? Setting these matters from the get-go will help ensure that your marketing efforts are aligned.
• Check Out Your Competitors. What type of content are your competitors coming up with? This doesn’t mean that you have to copy what they’re doing, but it’s ideal to know the trends in your industry as you craft your own strategy.

Know What You Need

Though SEO content writing services are crucial to growing your brand in the digital age, your content shouldn’t stop at keyword use. Instead, content should offer value to readers so that they’ll see you as a partner in enriching their lives.

Whether you’re going for unlimited content service or requesting articles per piece, here are a few tips to know what type of content you need.

• Know how you can solve your clients’ problems. What are the pain points of your readers? And more importantly, how do you fit in the solutions to their problems? For instance, if you’re offering plumbing services, you may want to build content around issues such as clogged pipes, slow-moving drains, and other problems the reader may be searching online.  
• Create a calendar. Create a monthly or quarterly content calendar. Doing so will help you stay relevant amid timely occasions such as holidays and other celebrations. A calendar will also help ensure that you’re putting out a variety of content for your readers.
• Evaluate as you go. Some content will do better than others. Measure your progress by looking at your social sharing metrics and consumption metrics. This way, you’ll know what types of content you need more of.

Create a Style Guide

Having a style guide ensures consistent results, even if content writing companies assign different writers to your project. 

Every time you put in an article request, the assigned writer will consult the style guide, thus saving both parties’ time and effort.

If it’s your first time creating a style guide for copywriter companies, here are a few components to keep in mind:

• Structure.  Some ventures prefer to have a specific content style associated with their company. For instance, Buzzfeed is known for its listicles and quizzes, while Tasty is famous for how-to easy recipe videos. 
• Style and Formatting. This includes grammar, capitalization, and other style guidelines you should be consistent with.
• Brand voice. Your brand personality should reflect in each piece of content that you put out there. That said, the writer should know what type of voice and tone to use when writing for your brand.

Communicate with the Contractor

When you work with content writers online, it’s vital to keep communication lines open to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Constant communication fosters a pleasant working relationship and optimizes results.

The first step to good communication is creating a clear project brief. Provide all the relevant data the writer needs to write the piece. Though writers will do their own research about the topic, provide as much info as you can to lead the project to where you need it to be.

Here are a few other tips to keep in mind when collaborating with your content writer:

• Be clear with what you want but also consider the writer’s point of view. Pro content users are likely to have valuable input from their experience in what they do.
• Keep your language professional when giving feedback. 
• Try to respond promptly to the writer’s questions or clarifications, especially if the project is urgent.
• Try to be as concrete as you can when you want anything revised. By avoiding vague words in revision requests, you’re steering the project in the right direction and improving time efficiency.
• As much as possible, give instructions via email or chat rather than through phone calls. This way, you have a clear record you can refer to in the future. 

The Lowdown on Content Writing Companies

A content writing agency can be a great solution to produce consistent content sans the hassle and legwork. With quality content proven to generate sales, you can indeed get your money’s worth from content writing services. 

However, it’s crucial to remember that you need to meet the content writer halfway. Without complete info and proper communication from you, even the best web content writers would have a hard time coming up with the content that you need.

If you’re looking for a reliable content writing service provider to create content for you, check out Content Fuel. We offer unlimited content at a flat monthly rate, so you can have all the content and copies you need to run your business.