Do I Hire a Writer or Outsource to a Content Partner?

Ineffective writing falls flat. Gets no results. Sells nothing. 

You know your business needs quality writers in order to thrive, and that’s why you’re hiring professionals. 

But what kind of hire is right for your company? Do you add to the size of your staff with a  full-time team member? Or outsource your content creation to an agency staffed with writers to handle your needs on a project-by-project basis? Let’s look at what’s at stake with both.

Full-Time Writer or Content Agency? Which is Right for You?

If you know your company needs a permanent writer to create a particular content piece for your business, it makes sense to hire a full-time worker. 

Let’s say a hospital has content needs that require a writer with authority to share recent research and fundraising news to its backers in a weekly newsletter. In that case, it would make a lot of sense to hire a medical expert to join the marketing team and establish an authoritarian voice on your site. 

If, however, you have shorter-term goals or want to try something new in content creation, you might want to partner with a content agency. 

What if you’d like to become a thought leader in your industry, but you don’t have the writing chops to complete a white paper for your site? Or what if your blog has gone cold your staff can’t spare the 60 hours of labor a week it takes to keep it running and generating clicks?  

That’s when you turn to a content creation partner.

What a Content Agency Can Do For You

Here’s a look at some pros of outsourcing your content creation to an agency. 

It’s often more affordable.

The primary goal of any outsourcing is to streamline your business and save money. You don’t have to worry about onboarding costs or providing workplace benefits, and you only have to pay for the hours spent on your project. Even if the partner’s hourly rate is higher than a full-time worker, this difference will work out in your favor over time. 

Partners bring the creativity. The directors at a content agency have access to a team of creative writers to choose from for your project. An agency can add a burst of new ideas and inspiration to your brand. Also, since the team is looking at your business from the outside, they also can give you an outside perspective on your business and its needs and offer solutions you might not have thought of before. 

Your content creation becomes more agile. Trends and preferences are constantly changing, and no matter what style of writing you need for your site, you’ll be able to find someone skilled in that area. And widening your pool of talent from one person to a team means you have access to lots of writers with diverse talents and subject matter expertise. 

Scaling up becomes easier. 

You know you have great ideas for scaling your business – you’d love to add an ebook to your site to generate leads – but you don’t have the time. And your staff is already swamped as it is. So just let go, breathe, and let your partners take it from here. Isn’t that better? 

They understand that you are on a deadline. The writers at a quality agency work on hundreds or thousands of projects a year. They are used to starting quickly and hitting the deadline – their reputation depends on it!

Content agencies diversify your audience. If you want to reach a broader group of people with different wants, needs, and interests than your existing customer base, you’ll need to find a writer who has an authentic connection to that audience. Diversify your message with new creative voices who are experts in fostering brand authenticity. 

It pays to invest in storytellers. Think of the last time you searched for information and found a valuable post that you bookmarked. Or the last commercial that made you giggle so much you shared it with your sister. There’s a good chance that a content agency is responsible for the content that you admire. Bring that same human value to your brand.

When Hiring a Content Partner Doesn’t Make Sense

Not all partners are the same when it comes to quality. Unfortunately, not all of the partners are equally talented. If you go to a service that produces low-quality writers, you take a gamble on what kind of work you might get. In that case, it’s wiser to keep a full-time writer on staff or carefully vet your partner before entering into an agreement. 
Here at Comma, we have a team of quality writers, and we love building new partnerships with companies in just about every kind of business you can think of. Book a 20-minute consultation with us and see what our agency can do for you.