Stop us if this sounds familiar: Your workdays are spent in meetings, strategizing, tracking things down and checking email — oh so much email! — leaving you little time to actually write the content you’ve planned. So you end up spending time at night or on the weekends writing, when you actually can devote time to think without other work distractions. Or perhaps you squeeze in some copywriting during your lunch hour or between meetings, but let’s face it, it’s not your best work. Or maybe you have staff, and so you delegate content creation to other team members, but they’re complaining that they’re overloaded.
In any event, what you’re doing isn’t working — and it certainly isn’t sustainable. And that means it’s time to think about outsourcing. And no, we’re not talking about having AI generate content. While it can be beneficial to marketers, there are still too many reasons AI shouldn’t be creating your company’s content (we’ll explain more about that in a future post). We’re talking about outsourcing to a real, human writer — one who can lighten your workload and produce quality work the first time.
If you’re wondering if it’s time to outsource your copywriting, ask yourself the following questions.
Do my team and I have the skills needed to write this piece of content?
Even if your team can churn out articles and social posts like no one’s business, that doesn’t mean they’re skilled — or practiced — at writing every type of content. Writing something like a report, ebook, white paper or entire website requires not only a certain amount of know-how but also strong project management skills. You’ll need to assess whether your team is the right fit for the project or if it could be more efficiently handled by someone with experience in that format.
You’ll also want to consider expertise. Your team is likely well versed in your typical subject matter and accustomed to writing for your target audience, but what if a particular project requires you to work outside of their comfort zone or write for a different audience? For example, let’s say you’re a large medical practice that typically creates content for consumers but must also occasionally communicate with other physician audiences or shareholders. It might be worth it to bring in a writer-for-hire a few times a year who is comfortable communicating with these audiences rather than relying on full-time staff who may not retain those skills because of the infrequency.
Do we have more work than we can handle?
If you’re constantly hearing that your team has too much on its plate, it’s working more hours than it should or deadlines are getting missed and mistakes are being made, it’s time to advocate for change. If that results in adding full-time team members, great! But frequently, we’ve seen marketing leaders have more success requesting additional budget to outsource writing or adjusting their team’s scope of work, such as shifting event planning to a different group or reducing the frequency of newsletters and other communications vehicles.
Should I be spending my time doing something other than writing?
Some marketers resist outsourcing content creation because, well, they enjoy it. And we totally get that! But you also probably enjoy being successful in your role and like having free time as well. So ask yourself if writing is really where you should be spending your time. Or would your time and energy be better spent on things like coming up with big ideas, managing people or being strategic? Remember, you can always journal in your free time. In fact, we encourage it!
Am I a better writer or editor?
If a blank page smells like opportunity to you and you’re a good writer, great! Perhaps content writing really is the best use of your skills. But some people actually are better editors — they are much more comfortable perfecting the words that are already on a page or massaging an article that’s already been started. If that sounds like you, consider hiring out the writing function and taking on the editing responsibilities.
Do my team and I even like writing?
Listen, there are some amazing marketers out there who just don’t enjoy putting pen to paper. And that’s totally OK. If writing isn’t your team’s jam, don’t force it. Morale, job satisfaction and employee retention are important considerations, too. If you have the resources to outsource a task that everyone bemoans, we say go for it. (And consider the team at Active Voice for the job!)
Give yourself a break
Writing isn’t easy, and it’s a function that requires stretches of time to think and create. Marketing leaders and teams are pulled in so many different directions throughout the day that it can be hard to set aside the chunks of time necessary to produce good content. So, give yourself some grace and ask for help — whether that means a reduced scope of work for your team, additional staff or a budget for outsourced copywriting or other work. You’ll be glad you did.