Flowmesh Blog

Think you don’t have the budget to outsource B2B content creation? Think again.

Written by Kate Wolters | Feb 20, 2023 12:54:00 PM

If you’re not already outsourcing some of your content creation, you and your teams are probably working harder than is necessary. You might be hesitant at first, but once you start to achieve your content marketing goals, it will be clear that outsourcing your content creation to the right partner specialists was worth the time and the money.  

While many marketing professionals and business owners depend on their ability to multitask to get ahead, outsourcing these chores is the smartest way to avoid multitasking altogether.  

 

FAST FACT #1:  

An average 1000-word blog post takes at least 3.5 hours for a writer to draft. This doesn’t even cover research, reverts, or QA. 

A great blog post? Takes even more time. Even more specialist skills. Research shows that the brands that see the best content marketing ROI publish 16+ blog posts every month. 

 Let’s look at some numbers behind content creation:  

  • Blog publishing at optimal frequency requires more than 60 hours of work every week, in our experience.  
  • Hiring a full-time internal team generally costs more than agency outsourcing. 
  • Brands that outsource content creation develop and publish content at a higher frequency and with more consistency. 
  • Brands have the ability to tap into content specialists at willfrom experienced strategists to designers.  
  • Outsourcing content creation gives brands the ability to scale content efforts easily. 

Time vs money: It’s a content creation calculation 
If you think that you just don’t have the budget to pay for outsourced content, we’re here to tell you that’s not true. If you’re thinking about creating the content yourself, think again.

There’s a reason why 75% of larger B2B companies outsource their content creation these days - because it’s a smart investment.  

Remember: in business (and in life) everything has a single cost, with two possible ways of paying: you’re either going to pay in time, or in money.  

Unless you’re a professional writer, video producer, or visual designer, you’re probably going to spend more of your valuable time creating content than you would spend in money. Ask yourself how much your time is worth, and what you could spend that time on if you weren’t creating B2B content in-house, yourself. 

Gain access to expertise on demand. 

When the purpose is B2B lead generation and customer retention, outsourcing content creation to the specialists is a business decision you’re unlikely to regret. Let’s think about it logically. You wouldn’t ask a plumber to fix your car, nor would you ask an accountant to do your root canal. Specialists are specialists for a reasonthey’ve trained and worked exceptionally hard to become experts in their chosen field.  

It is no different for B2B copywriters and specialist content creation agencies. They’ve honed their craft over many years, sometimes by trial and error, so they know what works and what doesn’t. Continuing the same logic above, you wouldn’t tell a dentist how best to extract a tooth, nor would you question the method used by a mechanic to change brake pads. If you’ve hired an expert for their expertise, trust that you made the right choice and lean into that expertise without second-guessing it too much. After all, outsourcing is supposed to take a load off your shoulders, not increase your worries. 

Improve your ROI on outsourcing content creation by using the opportunity to work smarter, not harder. 

It’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to hand over the sum total of your content creation needs at the start of your outsourcing partnership, either due to budgetary or operational constraints. Instead, you’re going to need to be smarter about what you outsource.  

 

To decide what types of content creation you should outsource, first evaluate your content marketing return on investment (ROI): 

  • Assess which areas of content are the most time-consuming and therefore the most expensive to create in-house. 
  • Outsource the content that requires the most time and effort so if producing your weekly newsletter takes longer than creating a content calendar, outsource the newsletter.  

 Variety is the spice of life in B2B content creation 

Outsourcing your content creation isn’t just a way to speed up your production cycle, it’s also a quick way to access a larger resource pool of industry experts, practitioners, and influencers who can offer your content greater credibility. Authenticity and audience trust are critical to content's success, so you'll want to have the right experience behind your brand's messaging. 

In a survey by Demand Gen Report 95% of B2B buyers said they preferred credible content from industry influencers.  

  • Working with a content partner gives you access to a database of experienced, highly-relevant talent that will give you the opportunity to produce effective content at scale.  
  • Hiring a single person with multiple content specialisations is costly and nearly impossible. Outsourcing eliminates your need for a content unicorn and you’ll still get the skills you need, on demand.  
  • This can be exceptionally useful with global operations, as outsourcing can connect your brand with local specialists with unique knowledge of the markets and audiences you want to engage. 

Fresh, engaging content. That’s the main ingredient in any successful content marketing recipe, but fresh and engaging content takes energy, time, and resources. If you’re struggling with your content output, it’s not a matter of putting more in to get more out. It’s a matter of partnering with the right specialist B2B copywriting agency to reduce your load. Working harder isn’t going to get the results you need, but outsourcing will.  

Find out how we can help you.