5 Costly Mistakes When You Buy Blog Articles
Around 44% of marketing agencies today outsource content creation to meet content demands.
This allows you to quickly scale up or down your efforts, keep ideas fresh and reduce in-house staffing cost. But there are also some common mistakes you may make when you buy blog articles for marketing purposes.
These mistakes can really cost you. They equate to unmet KPIs, lost opportunities and branding inconsistencies that leave customers scratching their heads.
Let's explore 5 silly mistakes you may still be making when you buy content for inbound marketing purposes.
1) Not Sharing Your Content Marketing Objectives
Every piece of content should have a clear objective. You already know that. But does your content writer?
What do you plan to achieve with this content? How does it fit into your strategy? What needs to be in this content to ensure it meets its objectives?
Start out fuzzy on your goals and objectives and you won't get far with any inbound marketing content creator.
Not making sure a content creator is clear on what you're setting out to achieve is not the way to meet objectives.
It's the way to spend money on content that doesn't pay you back.
The Solution
Fuzzy is for puppies, not your content goals.
Be clear on your objectives before hiring a content creator. The SEO content writer should be competent and experienced enough to understand your objectives when you explain them.
They should have the technical skills to help you:
Attract the right audience
Reduce bounce rate
Increase dwell time
Convert more leads
Increase Returning Visitors
Build Domain Authority with time
Rank higher in searches
They should know how to apply best practices to help you meet your goals with minimal but clear guidance.
This is how to maximize your content marketing budget.
2) Buying Prefab Content on a Whim
Oh, this blog post will look great on your site.
Who cares if it's random and doesn't really fit into your strategy or brand? Who cares if it doesn't really connect with your customer persona you need to target?
Answer: You should.
Unfortunately, this momentary lapse in judgement can really cost you.
Every piece of content should have a clear objective. It should speak directly to your target audience.
It should align with your content marketing strategy and be designed to do one of the following specifically for your brand:
Increase challenge awareness
Increase solution awareness
Increase brand awareness
Help leads consider options
Help leads make a decision to buy
Close the deal
Generate promoter activity
In addition, you may have the objectives of:
Rising in search engine rankings for a specific keyword
Becoming a link magnet
If the content was not designed around your brand and target customers, it
can't effectively help you meet your goals surrounding these components of the buyer's journey.
The Solution
When you buy blog articles for marketing, stay away from prefab content. To maximize your ROI get content that's specifically designed for your brand and marketing strategy.
Content with purpose is crafted around an objective and customer profile, not the other way around.
3) Spending Too Much on Average Content
When you buy blog articles for marketing, it's true that you get what you pay for, But high cost doesn't = compelling content.
Somewhere between 2 million and 5 million blogs and videos are published every day. To get results you must publish outstanding content. You can't afford to spend too much on mediocre articles.
The Solution
Vet content creators meticulously. Check out their content. Read reviews. Ask for a sample of something similar to what you need if you don't see it in their portfolio.
Make sure they have the skills you need to succeed like:
Inbound marketing best practices
On page SEO best practices
Connecting with a target audience
Don't assume that high cost means better content. Some SEO content writers are way over-confident. They don't know how their blog posts perform in the real world. They've never seen the data.
Don't get pulled in. Do your homework to get results.
4) Expecting Results for Pennies
Compelling content doesn't have to cost a fortune. We wouldn't be able to get the right ROI if it did.
But the writers who do write compelling content that helps you meet goals know their worth and have put years and tears into perfecting the craft.
Just like you, they spend hours each week following influencers, staying current and adding to their skill-sets to deliver even better results -- and adapt to changing marketing trends.
These content creators don't work on Fiverr, Upwork or Freelancer for $5-10/hr. They expect a reasonable pay for their labor and skill.
They are worth every penny.
The Solution
When you buy blog articles for marketing, consider what you are working to achieve. Find a writer who understands your goals and can collaborate with you to achieve them.
A great writer knows how to optimize content creation to maximize results.
They grow and adapt with your needs.
Make sure they have a growth mentality and stay current with best practices that help you maximize your content marketing ROI through their content.
What's a 1000 word article that converts to pay you back exponentially worth to you?
Consider this when agreeing upon a price.
5) Wasting Time with Too Many Writers
The screening process to buy blog articles for inbound marketing is no simple task. It takes some time and determination to get results.
It's exhausting you're trying to screen at this level every time you buy blog articles for marketing.
Your time is money so keep more of it.
The Solution
Focus on quality over quantity.
Find your star writer, or writers, and continue to work with them to build great things together.
You'll get a more consistent voice and better results by sticking with one or a few great inbound marketing writers.
Bonus: You can also get the best rates when you work with fewer writers.
Buy Blog Articles for Marketing the Effective & Efficient Way
Disaster averted. You're poised to maximize your content marketing ROI by avoiding these mistakes. Be clear on your goals. Make sure your writer is clear on your goals.
Invest some time into finding a writer that can help you achieve your goals. Optimize everything and succeed.
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