Regularly producing quality and valuable content is one of the best practices in building trust with your audience. And creating optimized content is a solid method to increase your ranking in search engines. But when it comes to making your website’s content, a typical question of businesses is if they should write the content themselves, get an in-house writer, or outsource it to freelance writers.
Determining the best choice for your business is critical to keep up with your marketing efforts. Here’s what you should consider to decide if a staff writer is a good option or a freelance writer is better.
Pros and cons of hiring in-house writers
In-house writers are salaried employees that work for a company full-time or part-time. They are paid to be available in hours you set, and once trained, can be a great asset to your business due to the amount of commitment that comes with the job as an employee. They’ll know your business inside and out, and you can involve them from start to finish of any given project—from ideation and brainstorming to executing and measuring.
However, despite the great perks of having a staff writer on your team, not many small businesses or startups can pay for a full-time writer's salary at the onset. The national average salary for a writer in the United States is about $56k per year, according to GlassDoor. And that most likely excludes the costs of training, healthcare, insurance, and other mandated benefits.
An experienced writer may know more about search engine optimization, and industry best practices and have a good understanding of your business to translate to your customers. But they likely cost more than a budding business can afford.
On the other hand, an amateur writer may be cheaper but may not be as familiar with the nuances of business birth pains and industry challenges. You might also need to be a little more hands-on or hire a separate project manager or editor to ensure their load and work quality are up to standards.
An in-house generalist writer may be good to have as a standby writer for all types of content you need. But a major con is downtime you still pay for once you run out of tasks to give.
Why hire a freelance writer for your business
Freelance writers are independent contractors hired on an as-needed basis. You won’t need to pay for typical expenses associated with employees, such as healthcare or training. Once your agreement is done, it’s done.
Seasoned freelance writers offer more expertise and experience, as they primarily work by themselves and need to learn many skills. As a business, you can also hire a niche writer for every one of your projects to guarantee work that fits your requirements. You can hire specific skill sets to fit what you need, as some freelancers offer a variety of skills that can be beneficial depending on the nature of your business. For example, experience in Google ads and social media marketing is a good combination if your business is in the digital marketing space. At the same time, a freelance writer with knowledge in design or video editing may be an asset if your business is in production.
You won’t need to commit to freelance writers long-term, so there is no pressure with setting aside X dollars to pay for their salary. Once you share information about your business and what you need, they can work independently and turn over work that’s ready to publish.
Despite that, many businesses have second thoughts about hiring a freelancer writer due to the collective reputation associated with them over the years. They usually work remotely and can potentially disappear at any moment. Or they can commit to project delivery but end up failing to meet your timelines which may affect your relationship with your clients. But once you find the right content writer with a great work ethic, reasonable prices, and fits in your business culture, there are bigger merits to the advantages.
Personally, I’ve worked with different industries but have found my greatest interest in technology, education, digital and social media marketing, and sales. While I can and would write in almost every niche (just not beauty or fashion where I will suck at), my skills resonate with these industries the best, and many of my former and existing clients seek my expertise in these fields.
If your business needs a freelance writer, check out my content writing and marketing retainer services or request a customized proposal today. Aside from being a freelance content writer and copywriter, I’m a digital marketing expert who can help you speed up your go-to-market plans, align your business goals with your marketing efforts, and create you sustaining efforts for your short and long-term goals.