Blogging is a core service offered by many digital marketing agencies. It’s an excellent way to help your clients rank on SERPs and connect with their customers. Agencies have the option to write this blog content internally or work with independent contractors. But how do you choose?
There’s no question that hiring freelancers for certain tasks can help small businesses limit unnecessary wage costs and keep their operations lean while they expand. But is content writing one of these tasks?
In this article, we’re breaking down why you should hire freelance copywriters to deliver monthly blogs to your clients.
Why not hire full-time writers for blogging?
Agencies may choose to hire a full-time copywriter for a variety of reasons. Employees are easier to manage, more consistent, and more dedicated to their work than freelancers, right? Not always.
Larger marketing agencies may benefit from hiring full-time copywriters. But for most small agencies, hiring a full-time writer comes with some drawbacks:
- You may end up not having enough work for an in-house writer every month.
- Paying salaries and benefits for full-time content writers is expensive.
- Replacing a full-time writer is time-consuming and costly.
- Relying on a single writer limits you to their skills and scope of knowledge.
- You may still need to hire specialists for certain clients or projects.
Of course, working with freelance blog writers comes with its own set of pros and cons. But it can open up a world of possibilities for digital marketing agencies and their clients. It’s a low cost, low commitment option. The risks are limited, but the potential benefits aren’t.
1. Hiring freelancers is cost effective
Full-time employees are expensive. In many cases, hiring a full-time employee means you’re paying for unproductive hours of work. In fact, an article on Inc.com states that in an eight-hour work day, “the average employee is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes.”
Whether your employees are salaried or paid hourly, this is costly. When you hire freelance copywriters, you generally pay by the word or project, not by the hour. That means you’re only paying for productivity.
Are some months busier than others? Do you have seasonal clients? Occasional longer-form projects? An employee is a fixed cost, while a freelancer is a variable one. When you work with freelance writers, you only pay for what you need.
2. It’s a scalable strategy
Small start-ups may have limited content volume early on. But as you grow your agency and take on new clients, your list of monthly blog projects will grow – and grow fast.
Hiring new in-house writers is time consuming. But if you’ve built a network of freelance content writers that you trust, you can quickly and easily expand your content services to accommodate new clients.
3. You can hire specialists for niche projects
Every project has unique requirements, and some blog posts require specialized skills or knowledge. Even agencies with in-house writers sometimes need to hire specialists to handle blogs or pages that involve highly technical or sensitive information.
Chances are your employee isn’t a specialist in finance, property law, artificial intelligence, dentistry, home security, and commercial construction. But you may have clients in all of these areas. Working with a team of freelancers who specialize in different areas helps you provide more targeted, more informative content to each and every client.
4. Freelance writers are less of a commitment than full-time hires…
Hiring an in-house writer is a significant undertaking. It involves substantial investments of time, money, and effort. At minimum, the recruiting process involves:
- Planning for the new role
- Writing and distributing a job listing
- Screening applicants
- Interviewing
- Onboarding and training
If the new hire doesn’t work out, replacing them can be even more expensive. According to Gallup research, “the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary.”
Of course, hiring a freelance writer still involves time and money. You still need to make sure you ask the right questions and do your due diligence before you trust a freelancer with a project. But it’s a much smaller commitment. If it doesn’t work out, you can simply move on.
5. … but you can still build long-term partnerships with freelancers
Hiring a freelancer is less of a commitment than hiring an employee. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build long and meaningful working relationships with them. At Pitkin Writing & Editing, we’ve worked with some of our clients for years. We know these agencies well, and we know their clients.
The difference is that, for us, content writing is more than a job. Just like you, we’ve worked hard to build a business, make connections and build our network, and consistently deliver value to our clients and partners. The content we write is our business, and your success is our success.
Work with our team of experienced freelance copywriters and deliver quality content to your clients every time!
You don’t have to sacrifice quality or consistency to save time and money when it comes to content creation. Companies that hire freelance writers take on less risk and keep their operations lean as they grow and expand into new industries.
We’re a team of versatile, inquisitive content writers with a passion for helping digital marketing agencies and their clients create optimized content that truly connects.
Contact us today to tell us about your content needs. From monthly blogging to web pages, newsletters, case studies, and social media, we’ve got you covered.
