Content marketing can help your startup or small business connect with your audience on a personal level. It builds credibility and trust and encourages content sharing, which helps you grow your online presence. It can generate traffic, increase shares, and more.

The biggest challenge with content marketing is finding the time for it.

Content marketing works only when it produces good quality content in a sufficient quantity. Your website, blog, social media pages, landing pages, and other marketing channels devour content. Many small business or startup owners barely have time to update their blog, let alone create enough content for all of these. As much as I like to think of myself as Wonder Woman, it doesn’t change the fact that there are only 24 hours in the day.

With outsourcing, you pay someone else to create the content for you. You start by providing them the topics, keywords, and titles, or ask them to perform marketing research for you. You can order content in bulk, or as and when you need it.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Content Marketing

• Your content gets written by professional writers, which means better copy and more engagement
• You save up time that you can devote to running your business
• It can be relatively inexpensive when viewed in the light of the long-term benefits it brings you (steady traffic, more authority in your field, higher conversion rates)
• Frees up your staff’s time, if content creation has been one of their responsibilities
• You can get it before your deadline, in a matter of days at most
• You can work with freelancers instead of hiring a full-blown marketing agency, so you don’t have to pay for extra services
• You can request edits, revisions, and changes if you’re not happy with the result, or even get your money back
• You can use independent freelancing platforms like Freelancer.com or UpWork.com where you have access to a talented base of writers in any major language
• You can create localized content or translate existing content
• You can set your own price
• You no longer have to worry about coming up with titles or performing keyword research — this can be done for you

The Cons of Outsourcing Content Marketing

• You may have to try several freelancers or content agencies before finding the right one for your needs
• Some content may have to be revised or edited, which you have to factor in when choosing deadlines
• You have to create a set of guidelines and even a manual of style to keep all content consistent and coherent, especially when different writers create it at different times
• It may take longer to create than if you just did it yourself, especially if we’re talking about a small number of blog posts or social media updates
• It requires a long-term commitment and a steady investment if it’s going to bring you notable results
• You may have to pay a deposit before you actually receive the content
• If you use a freelancing platform for the first time, you may have to offer higher rates in the beginning, until you receive reviews and build a reputation as a trustworthy employer

The Bottom Line

“Is outsourcing content marketing right for my business?” is a question every small business owner should ask themselves. The benefits of content marketing are undeniable, and to make the most of outbound marketing you need most of all valuable, engaging content. If you have the resources necessary to create in-house content, you may not need to outsource it, or do it only occasionally.

However when you can’t create the content yourself, outsourcing enables you to take advantage of the benefits of content marketing, which you would otherwise miss. The cost and the other drawbacks of outsourcing content marketing outweigh the disadvantages of not having enough content.