Even though everyone is well aware that in 2017, a blog is a crucial and necessary tool for a serious e-commerce site, it doesn’t stop it being a lot of work. Part of a blog’s attractiveness to readers and potential clients is the writer’s ability to come up with engaging, informative content that is well-written and concise. It’s less about SEO these days, though of course it is still important to get those keywords in. It’s more about personality, wit, content and good ol’ fundamental engagement with readers. But if your blog is proving too much to handle, what can you do? Well, the first thing you might consider is outsourcing its content production and monthly management.
There are right ways and wrong ways to go about this. And it has less to do with who you choose to outsource the blog to and more to do with what kind of blog you’ve already established. Basically, you want to outsource your blog quite early in your e-commerce career because if you don’t you’ll establish your own voice, which another writer might find hard to replicate. If your readers and customers suddenly notice the switch, you’ll at best disappoint them and at worst lose them. So if you know you don’t want to personally keep up the blog in the long run, outsource immediately so that you can establish the right tone with your hired writer AND keep it consistent.
Outsourcing blog writing can be really useful; just make sure that wherever your writer is based, they can capture the tone that you want for your blog.
The next thing to consider is what type of writer fits with your brand and business; you don’t want to outsource to someone who is professional and talented, but completely the wrong fit tonally. Make sure you do your homework on this one, because your writer needs to check all the boxes; you need someone who can fire up your work and take it to the next level. Once you’ve found the right fit, make sure to discuss compensation up front; not all bloggers are looking for money. Some will work for the correct exposure, others will want links to their own blogs at the foot of every post. Whatever it is, make sure you agree up front what form the compensation will take; and once you do, stick to it!
Lastly, make sure that you keep an eye on the blog posts as they come in; don’t just assume everything’s trucking along smoothly! Though you outsource the work, it’s still your business, and it doesn’t give you licence to take your eye off the ball! Keep these three things in mind, and you should have no problem successfully outsourcing your blogging.
