Face it.
You’re not THE FLASH.
Which means, you can’t move at the speed of light (obviously).
You can’t write 20 or even 10 articles a week. (Maybe not even five.)
And because of that, you’re stuck with super slow affiliate marketing growth.
The solution?
You already thought of it.
Outsourced content writing.
Easy peasy, right?
Nope.
The truth is, outsourcing content writing is way harder than writing content yourself.
You’ll have to deal with:
People (Ick)
Different writing styles
Quality issues
Work turned in late
People (Ick)
Just kidding about the “Ick part.” Working with people is fun. IF you do it right.
So in this blog, I’ll help you navigate the treacherous world of outsourcing to the right content creators.
I’ll show you:
Why you should outsource content writing
How to deal with differences in your writers’ personal style
How to manage your writers (so you never have to deal with the “Icky” part of working with people)
Where to find great writers
And more!
Ready?
Let’s dive right in.
This post is part of our free series on Affiliate Marketing! If you want to learn everything from A - Z in one place, then check out our course below!
Why Outsource Content Writing? (The Truth About Growing Your Blog)
If you started affiliate marketing to make fast money, you’re in for disappointment.
That’s because starting a blog, gaining trust from an audience, getting accepted to top-notch affiliate programs…
…all that takes hard work.
I mean, think of the individual task of growing your blog.
To start getting good traffic, it’ll need at least 100 pages of quality content.
Is that easy to create?
Nope! (Think sleeping at 3am, saturating your body with caffeine, and pulling all your hair out because no new ideas are entering your exhausted brain.)
So the verdict is, reaching blogging success can take a long, long, LONG time.
Not to discourage you, but here are some answers to the question, “How long does it take for a blog to become successful?”
Source: cultofweb.com
Source: quora.com
Before you roll your eyes, click back, and abandon your affiliate marketing dreams forever, though, listen to this.
There is a way to shorten your success time frame.
That’s through outsourcing your content writing.
Yup: the more great writers you have, the more quality content you’ll be able to publish.
And the more quality content you publish, the sooner it’ll take to rank well on Google and get the traffic and sales you’re hoping for.
The truth about growing a blog is that it takes time, effort, and patience.
But through outsourced content writing, you can hit that fast forward button and achieve quicker (sometimes even better) results.
Of course, I’m assuming that you’re an awesome content creator yourself.
If you aren’t?
All the more reason to outsource your content writing!
Now, let’s go into the how of it all.
How to Outsource Content Creation
Here’s something you should know about outsourcing content creation.
It’s hard.
Like, really hard.
There are 10,000 wrong ways to do it, and each one will end you up in the same place:
Lost, confused, ignored by your audience because of the inconsistent or even bad-quality content you’re publishing each week.
Good news?
There’s a simple, step-by-step blueprint you can follow so you hire the right people, publish great content consistently, and avoid the stress and pain too many blog owners end up with.
Here it is:
Outsourcing Content Writing Step #1: Do the Necessary Prep Work
The first step to hiring great writers is to go online and find people who want to work with you.
Right?
Wrong.
Because honestly, before you even sit down (or hop into a Zoom meeting) with potential writers, you need to set the stage for them.
This means you need to know exactly what you’re looking for, and what you expect from your content creators.
To do this, follow these three steps:
Write the first pieces of content for your blog. This will give future applicants an idea of what you’re looking for, including tone, voice, style, and all those goodies.
Create SOPs. In a perfect world, all writers will know exactly what to do from the research to the polishing stage of content creation. However, it’s not a perfect world. Meaning, you’ll need to show writers what you expect from them. So before going out there and hiring, create videos on how you want the research, writing, and editing processes to be done.
Get your guidelines ready. Yes, your example writing should be enough. But to make things smoother, build some set-in-stone content creation guidelines. For example, “Paragraphs shouldn’t be more than 3 sentences,” or “Don’t use slang like y’all and c’mon.” While examples work, actually writing guidelines down will be a huge help to your future writers.
When you’re done, package all your examples, videos, and guidelines into a Google Drive folder.
Once you have potential writers, have them go through the folder before attempting to write a piece for you.
Trust me.
Doing this before hiring will save you a ton of sweat and tears.
Outsourcing Content Step #2: Hop on Online Platforms to Sniff Out Talent
Easier said than done, I know.
In fact, hiring the right people is the single hardest step in the whole outsourcing process.
But cheer up.
Once you get it right, everything will be rainbows and unicorns. (Well, not exactly. But everything will be 90% easier.)
So first, start with finding great places to find great writers.
Here are three:
Source: upwork.com
UpWork is a huge freelancing platform that allows you to hire talented people from all over the world.
What’s great about it is that you can hire content creators for one-time gigs, meaning you won’t be stuck with them if you don’t love the quality they produce.
If you’re just getting started and on a budget, you’ll also be happy to know that a ton of the freelancers on this platform won’t make you homeless with the fees they charge.
Win-win, if you ask me.
Source: fiverr.com
Fiverr is just like UpWork.
It allows you to hire talent from across the world for one-time gigs, which lets you test quality before going all in and hiring someone for the long term.
The platform is also easy-to-use for most beginners, meaning you won’t be in danger of pulling out all your hair while you’re on it.
Source: expresswriters.com
If you think dealing with writers personally might be too much for you, go for managed content services.
Take a company like Express Writers, for example. (Other options: Constant Content and Crowd Content)
With them, you don’t have to go through the process of talking to writers directly, hiring them, managing the work they do, dealing with edits, and all that fun stuff.
Instead, you order the content you want written, wait a few days, and voila!
All that’s left to do is publish it on your blog.
(You also get free edits if you’re not 100% happy with your order.)
Hold on a minute, though.
Because while this option sounds perfect and stress-free, it also comes with a price (literally).
So if you have unlimited money to spend, go for it!
But if you’re new and need to keep a tight budget, go for Upwork or Fiverr instead.
Remember, finding people who are dedicated, hard-working, easy-to-manage, and talented won’t be easy.
That’s why you need Step #3.
Outsourcing Content Writing Step #3: Become a Judge
When hiring people to write for you, go with your mind, not your heart.
Yes, you can fall in love with someone’s charm and personality.
You can adore working with a certain person.
But in the end, none of these matter if they’re terrible writers.
So before you take someone into the team, you must first become a judge.
Here’s how:
If you hire someone through UpWork, Fiverr, or any other freelance marketplace, order one piece of content first to find out how that person writes.
If you like the quality of their work, order a few more pieces.
You can also order content from different freelancers to compare their work, then go with the ones you like best.
If you go with content managed services like Express Writers, do the same. You can also order content from different agencies to see which one provides the highest quality and best value for money.
Stick to this easy method, and you won’t go wrong when hiring a writer.
Outsourcing Content Writing Step #4: Create a Streamlined System
In a perfect world, outsourcing content writing would be all lollipops and rainbows.
You’d hand out assignments to the passionate, talented writers you hired on the spot when you met them.
They immediately know what to do.
Because they adore you and their job, they hand in their work on time every time, and it’s always flawless.
But unfortunately, the world isn’t perfect. (Seriously, would that be any fun?)
Instead, it’s a place where everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.
And that includes the world of outsourcing content writing!
So before you even start handing out writing projects, create and put into place a system.
It could go something like this:
Sign up for a work management tool like Trello.
Source: trello.com
Hire an editor to go through the work of each writer. (Or you could do it yourself, if you have the guts and mental stamina. Just kidding. It’s fun.)
Add your writers and editors to your job board, then give them their tasks, including deadlines and other information they should have.
Set some rules. For example, writers should edit their document twice for free, if issues are found.
And so on. You’re the boss, so you make the flow and the rules!
Before we move on, here’s what a job board with writers and editors looks like.
Source: trello
As you can see, there are cards for each assignment, and you can add as many people you want (writers, editors, etc.) to each card.
Of course, in the end, you’re in charge of creating a system that works for you.
So, go out there and start.
Make mistakes, learn, and find out what’s best for you.
Outsourced Content Writing: Is It for You? (And How to Do it if it Is)
The truth is, outsourcing content writing isn’t for everyone.
That’s because it’s hard.
It takes time.
It takes patience, good communication skills, and solid leadership.
So before you jump into it, make sure you’re ready.
And if you are?
Congratulations!
You’re in for an epic journey.
Plus, you’re in for growing your blog much faster than you could have done yourself.
So, go ahead.
Follow the four steps I mentioned above, and get to work.
Trust me, if you follow them carefully, you’ll soon find yourself running a well-oiled machine run by talented people you trust.
Cheers to your journey!
Image credits: All screenshots taken by the author, July 2022.
This post is part of our free series on Affiliate Marketing! If you want to learn everything from A - Z in one place, then check out our course below!