You write emails and text messsages all the time. You've probably even written a press release or two. And you have some faint memories of writing essays back in college. But does that mean that you should be writing your business blog posts?
Many business owners have started – and subsequently abandoned – blogs for their businesses. They can be a veritable vacuum for time, resources, and energy. And as a business owner, particularly if your business is small or a single-person entity, you have other important things to work on.
That's why many business owners eventually look at hiring someone to write their blog posts. You've heard how successful business blogging can be. In fact, one study found that businesses that blog get 55% more website traffic than those that don't. The more website traffic you get, the more potential customers you'll reach – and those customers might purchase your project, book your time, or fill out a contact form for lead gen purposes.
In other words, blogging for business is essential in today's SEO-driven world. So how can you make it happen in a cost-effective way when you have other priorities for your own time and energy?
Perks of Hiring a Blog Writer
There are a number of different ways to go about finding the right person to write your business' blog posts. They each come with different benefits, costs, and considerations.
When you hire a blog writer through a freelance marketplace like Upwork, you'll have to sift through many options – and it's often difficult to find the right person for the job. Plus, you really have no guarantee of the quality of work that you'll be receiving.
But when you go through a reputable content writing agency like WriteHQ, you won't face that problem. You'll be working with a team of highly-vetted, trained experts in the writing and editing field. You'll be able to trust that the person you're hiring to write your blogs is qualified to do so. Additionally, you'll only receive work that's been through an unmatched editing process, so you'll never have to worry about getting work only to have to do it over again yourself. What's the point of paying for that?
Perhaps most importantly, hiring a blog writer frees up time for you to focus on other areas of your business. Especially if writing isn't your strong suit, don't waste your time stressing over developing your blog. Making sure your blog shines is quite literally OUR JOB. Hiring a blog writer can take a lot of stress of your plate, making it a very worthwhile investment.
That leads us right into our next question: How much should you expect to spend when you're hiring a blog writer?
Three Ways Bloggers Typically Get Paid
Generally speaking, there are three ways that professional bloggers get paid: by the hour, by the world, or by the article. Each of those payment types comes with pros and cons on both sides of the equation – for the business owner and for the blog writer is.
It's normally safe to assume that the more experienced a blog writer is, the better your chances of getting quality content back. Let's dive into each method of payment so that you can understand what's right for you and your business.
#1: Paying by the Hour
Average cost: $35 - $115 per hour
Most business owners are familiar with billiing or paying for services by the hour, and many bloggers bill by the hour in order to fit in with typical corporate standards for service work. While this is a common option, it's important to keep in mind that unless you agree to a cap on billable hours, the cost for a professional blogger can be unpredictable.
That's because some articles take more time to research than others, especially if the writer isn't particularly experienced in your industry. You'll also need to account for any time you want the writer to spend on edits and making changes.
If you're looking to hire a blogger by the hour, one way to counter the unpredictability is asking them for an estimate for each article they're going to write.
#2: Paying by the Word
Average cost: $0.05 - $3.00 per word
Paying a blog writer by the word eliminates the high variance associated with hourly billing because time doesn't come into the equation. Billing by the word is a strategy often used by marketing agencies or blog writing services that have teams of content writers.
The price-per-word rate will be determined at the beginning of a project. It'll usually depend on the writer's experience, reputation, and portfolio quality. If you're looking to work with a blogger who specializes in a certain topic or has notable SEO skills, you should expect to pay a bit more. On the low end of the spectrum, some bloggers charge as little as $0.05 per word. But it's important to note that when it comes to blogging, you usually get what you pay for.
Normally, you can specify the length of the article beforehand. That way, you'll have a general idea of what you can expect to spend on it.
#3: Paying by the Article
Average cost: $25 to $500 per article
Some professional bloggers charge a flat fee for every post with a minimum word count. While this might sound like an ideal arrangement for business owners because the upfront cost is a given, there are definitely drawbacks when it comes to hiring a cheap professional blogger.
Freelance blog writers who get paid by the article have no incentive to write more to ensure they're adequately covering the topic, and they also have no incentive to take their time with each piece. That means that they'll often be rushing to finish the job and move onto the next piece. While this issue doesn't normally arise with agencies, individual freelancers often lead to project quality suffering when paid by the article.
Regardless of which method you choose, you should always ask for work samples. Any blog writer or agency worth their weight will be able to provide a robust portfolio of work samples upon request.
The Better Way to Pay
Now, there's actually a fourth way to pay a blog writer, and it's an option that's normally only available when you're working with content writing agencies like WriteHQ. When you're working with an established agency, you can often save money while still getting top-tier work by paying by the project or establishing a recurring billing cycle.
For instance, our clients who choose one of our recurring packages of three or more blog posts per month save 10% when we bill them. If you're looking to establish a long-term relationship with a blog writer – which we'd highly reccomend in order to ensure consistent, high-quality content – then paying by the project might be a great solution for you.
Many agencies (including ours) also offer a retainer option. That means that you can pay a flat rate per month and have a writer on call to do any work that comes up for you. Usually there will be word- or hour-based cap associated with work done under a retainer, but the main benefit is that you have consistent access to a blogger you know and trust, and your work will be their first priority.
Is Paying for a Blog Writer Worth It?
There's really only one situation in which outsourcing your blog work is a bad investment, and that's if you choose the wrong writer. When you source work through freelancing marketplaces, there's no guarantee of quality. We also often see freelancers outsourcing work overseas to non-native English speakers who simply don't capture the nuances of the English language in the work.
That's why we have a quality guarantee, offer unlimited rounds of editing, and NEVER source work outside North America. A well-written, SEO-optimized blog post written by an expoert blogger can drive traffic to your website for many years. It's impossible to overstate the value of your content organically appearing on a search engine results page. And the best way to achieve that end is hiring a tried and true blogger or partnering with a reputable agency that does the work of vetting bloggers for you.
Most business owners see paying for advertising as a standard cost. But when you spend on ads, you get only temporary exposure to your market. In contrast, high-quality blog posts can drive traffic in the long-term. So what if you allocated even a small portion of your advertising budget to building and maintaining an active business blog? You'd be amazed at the results you can achieve.
Let Baltimore's #1 Content Writing Agency Take Care of Your Blogging Needs
Finding the right blogger for your business can be a daunting task – you don't want to throw away money on someone who's going to do a poor job or who you can never reach when you need to speak with them. That's where WriteHQ comes in.
We're a team of highly trained, heavily vetted experts with years of experience in the worlds of content writing, copywriting, and editing. We'll make sure your content is created with SEO in mind and with longevity at the forefront. Our goal is to write evergreen content for your business that can keep generating customers and leads for years to come.
Want to learn more? Get in touch with us today to find out how we can ensure your blogging is done by only the best.
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