As a general rule of thumb, every business should have a blog. It provides a long-term source of online content that can continue to work for your brand in perpetuity.
The thing is, most businesses know this, and they’re pumping out content hand over fist. That makes it easy to get lost in the white noise — which is why many brands focus on more than basic content.
When it comes to tech companies, in particular, it’s essential that they don’t just hire generic content creators: tech companies must work with technology writers. Professional writers give tech-based companies an edge and allow the creation of high-quality content that provides real, targeted value to readers.
While tapping into the power of technology writers is an excellent first step, there’s another factor to the tech blog question: should you create your content in-house or outsource it to third-party professionals?
Knowing When to Outsource Your Tech Blog Writing
Outsourcing a tech blog can be beneficial. The most obvious advantage is the significant time that you save when others create your content. On top of that, there can be serious budgetary advantages if you go about the process thoughtfully.
A third-party writer can also bring new perspectives, experiences, and knowledge to the table. Their fresh approach to content can invigorate a blog. You can also use their articles to inspire and create other pieces of content, such as social media posts or newsletters.
And, of course, once you’ve created a system to outsource your blog writing, it’s much easier to scale your content output over time.
These are all excellent benefits — but they aren’t a foregone conclusion. To make outsourcing work, you need to start by figuring out if it’s the right choice for your blog at the moment. Then you need to create a plan to shift from whatever in-house content creation you currently use.
Let’s start with the first step. Here are a few key questions to ask your marketing team, and use their answers to gauge if it’s time to hire a writer for your tech blog:
1. What Stage of Growth Is Your Blog in?
The size of your blog can often dictate whether or not you need to pass things off to someone else. This goes both ways. If your blog is big and getting bigger, it can be hard to handle the momentum with limited internal staff. If you’re just getting started, it can be challenging to create a quality blog while you’re focused on other things, too.
Either way, long-term scalability can be difficult if you’re trying to manage everything yourself. Are you holding back the marketing potential of your blog because you’re not willing to hire outside blog writers to keep up with ongoing growth?
2. What Kind of Content Are You Creating?
The type of content you create for your blog can also impact if and how you outsource creation to a tech writer.
For instance, is your blog highly personal? Does your CEO compose most of the content? If so, replacing their personal opinions and thoughts can be challenging, and you may need to vet the ghostwriter they can work with.
Most tech blogs focus on things like product announcements, PR and how-to topics that target your audience’s pain points. If this is the case, it’s much easier to find qualified writers who can help.
3. What Is Your Budget?
When you’re creating industry-specific content in an area like tech, you have to be careful not to allow budgetary considerations to undermine the value of the content itself. That said, expenses still factor into the equation.
There are always costs involved whether you hire a blog writer full time or outsource the activity to a good freelance writer. Even so, outsourcing generally saves more money in the long run. You need to pay well for good content, but you’ll be saving the other costs that come with a full-time salary and benefits.
Outsourcing is your best alternative if your budget is tight — or you can’t keep up with your tech blog’s growth.
Tips for Outsourcing Your Tech Blog Writing
When you decide it’s time to outsource your tech blog writing, it’s crucial to begin the process carefully. Here are a few tips to help as you hire a writer.
- Set up solid lines of communication. Internal communication is difficult enough. If you work with a third-party content creator, ensure you stay in close contact as you work together.
- Take the time to educate your writers. Quality professional writers will bring an elite level of content creation to the table. However, you still need to teach them about your products and services. It’s also wise to prepare brand guidelines to help your writer understand your blog’s tone, voice and style.
- Have an SME in place to help. If you have a subject matter expert on-site, connect them with your outsourced writers. A powerful synergy can take place when you channel your SME’s knowledge through a quality writer.
- Hire from a writer marketplace. Finding a professional writer can be challenging. General freelancing platforms can be a crapshoot, and individual freelancers are hard to identify. A writer marketplace is the perfect middle-ground between these two options. It transparently connects competent and experienced writers with companies looking for more nuanced content.
Outsourcing can provide many benefits for a tech blog. Make sure you take the time to find the right fit for you!
Outsourcing With PowerPublish
If you’re considering outsourcing your tech blog writing, PowerPublish is a great place to meet that need. Our writer marketplace caters to the specific needs of niche industries, including companies in healthcare, law, manufacturing and technology.
Along with a full stable of experienced writers, we also have freelance editors that can shepherd your content through development to the publishing phase. When outsourcing is in the cards, we’re ready to help take your tech blog to the next level.