Outsourcing of text

 

Outsourcing of text: Brief explanation

The creation of good content is complex and requires a significant amount of resources. Since many companies do not have people and time they need, they look for ways to outsource to external service providers. There are several ways to outsource content development whether it is through freelance authors, agencies or content marketplaces.

Outsourcing: Detailed explanation

Good content is becoming increasingly important for businesses. It is crucial as a means to provide potential customers with information and to rank highly in search engines like Google or Yahoo. It needs to be entertaining and informative, relevant, optimized for search and reader-friendly.

Researching, writing and testing good content can be complex. Many companies lack the resources needed to create effective content at scale. Many companies do not have professional copywriters or editors in-house and rely on people who have other roles to create corporate content. There a many tasks that can be outsourced, therefore, many companies need professional support from external service providers.

Freelance writers

There are countless freelance authors with a variety of skills and expertise in the market. The biggest advantage of working with freelance writers is their flexibility. Many take orders on short notice and provide content at reasonable rates.

However, working with freelance authors has disadvantages as well. Oftentimes, freelancers need a lot of coordination and instruction. They aren’t aware of company messaging and processes for creating content. Companies must be careful to provide detailed instructions and specifications and review the content for quality. Additionally, freelancers do not always have access to internal company or content management systems, and additional effort may be needed to publish the completed project.

Agency

The agency landscape is very diverse. Thousands of digital agencies, PR agencies and other communication agencies offer their services on the market. They specialize in targeted communications and feature copywriters with the necessary experience and qualifications. Choosing the right provider, however, is not always easy.

It is important that the agency understands the target audience and the market of the company. In order to enable the agency to create great content, in-depth discussions and exact specifications are important. This also requires frequent communications and project management, meaning high costs.

Content marketplace

In a content marketplace or text exchange, customers have access to thousands of freelance writers for virtually any subject or type of project including product descriptions, blogs or articles. The advantage is the access to thousands of writers who have the expertise to create content on any topic. Customers search for the right author and pay per word and quality level through the marketplace.

Text exchanges make it possible to outsource the development of a large number of projects in a short period of time. Many have built-in quality assurance through editors decreasing the amount of post-editing needed. They also have checks in place to avoid duplicated content or plagiarized articles.

For companies that require content in multiple languages, content marketplaces are a good choice. Thousands of registered authors write the desired text in their native language, often cheaper than having it translated.

It is important that authors working in a marketplace have detailed instructions. They need all relevant information about the project to write the best content. To learn more about creating the best author instructions, click here.

Conclusion

There are lots of ways to outsource content production, and the best choice depends on individual needs. Outsourcing allows companies to save time and to focus on their core business; but the cost and pricing models vary. And no matter which service provider a company chooses, detailed author instructions are critical.