When you decide to outsource your blog writing, you join an estimated 50% of businesses who entrust independent, professional writers with their content. In fact, freelance and independent workers are likely to make up more of the marketing labor market over the next few years. 

The importance of blog writing

First, let’s briefly discuss the importance and impact of blog writing. Running a blog is one of the best things you can do for your brand. It’s a great way to:

Connect with your target audience

When you write a blog, you have the opportunity to connect with your target audience in a more personal and informal way. You can use your blog to share your company’s offering, story, values, and mission. It also gives you an avenue to provide helpful and informative content that your target audience will appreciate, keeping you top of mind.

Build trust and credibility

Some products or services are expensive, and customers need to feel confident they’re making a good investment. A blog can help you build that trust. If you can consistently provide valuable and relevant content, your readers will start to see you as an authority in your industry. In turn, they will be more receptive to your sales messages and more willing to engage with and share your content on social media. 

Drive traffic to your website

Every time you publish a new blog post, you create another indexed page on your website. That means more opportunities for people to find your site when searching for information related to your industry. If you optimize your blog posts properly, you can even rank in Google search results, which can significantly increase website traffic.

Using relevant phrases, you can target keywords that people are searching for. For example, a company selling health supplements could target the phrase “best vitamins for women over 50” or “natural remedies for anxiety.”

A blog can be a valuable asset regardless of your industry or niche. However, the sheer number of businesses that have started blogging in recent years has made it harder than ever to stand out from the crowd.

This is where professional blog writing services come in. By working with a team of experienced writers, you can make sure that your blog always features high-quality, well-written content that readers and search engines will love.

The state of the blog writing industry

The blog writing industry is booming. There are thousands of different options to choose from, but the main ones include:

Marketplaces and content platforms – $

Blogging and content marketplaces are among the most affordable and scalable options for blog writing. By managing the messy, time-consuming content operations—such as sourcing writers, managing workflows and deadlines, matching your briefs to the best writer, and handling writer invoices—marketplaces offer an efficient and reliable blog service every time. 

Not all marketplaces are the same though. For example, Upwork is a marketplace for all types of freelancers—from web developers to content writers. But by being so broad, Upwork isn’t able to ensure quality on its platform or develop deep expertise in any one area. 

On the otherhand, niche, quality writer marketplaces like Draft specialize in written content, so you can be sure the tools and talent are catered to your specific blog and content needs. 

Freelancer bloggers – $$

The second type of blog writing service is the freelancer. These independent contractors offer their blog services to businesses on a per-project basis. You can find freelance writers on dedicated platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com—although that takes some serious vetting on your part—or you can contact them directly through their personal websites or social media accounts.

Sourcing freelance blog writers is hit or miss. On the one hand, you might find a fantastic writer who produces excellent work at a fraction of the cost of an agency. But on the other hand, you also run the risk of working with someone who’s unprofessional, unreliable, uncommunicative, or simply not very good at writing.

You’re also putting all your eggs in one basket by working with a single freelancer. If they get sick, take a vacation, or otherwise disappear, you’ll be left without anyone to produce new content for your blog.

Content agencies – $$$

The third type of blog writing service is the agency. Agencies are usually full-service companies that offer a wide range of content or marketing services, of which blog writing is just one. They might also offer paid marketing services, brand services, and white-glove campaign building. 

The main advantage of working with an agency is having a broad set of marketing resources at your disposal with different backgrounds and expertise. That said, the price matches the capabilities, so it’s important to go with this option when you need broader support beyond content or blog writing. 

In-house bloggers – $$$$

Sometimes, businesses decide to give the responsibility of writing blog posts to a singular employee or team. However, in-house content creators are the most expensive option since they require a full-time salary and typically a set of health and retirement benefits. Often, they also get bogged down with interal politics and priorities, making blogging a longer process when pitted against competing priorities.

How to choose a blog writing service

Now that you know the different blog writing services available, how do you choose the right one for your business? 

Price

Just because someone charges more doesn’t mean they’re better, and just because someone charges less doesn’t mean they’re worse. The best way to judge the quality of a writer is to read their work. Most blog services will have a blog of their own or a portfolio on their website where you can see examples of their writing.

If the blog posts you’re looking for don’t require much research or special knowledge, you can probably find a cheaper option. But if you need in-depth, well-researched articles, you should be prepared to pay more. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Some agencies will have different price tiers depending on the quality of the writer you want to hire. The cheapest tier will usually be for beginner writers or writers who learned English as a second language, while pricier options will offer experienced writers with a proven track record of producing great content.

Generally speaking, blog post pricing begins at around $0.10 per word and can go up to $0.50 per word or more for the best writers. Note that you might also get discounts for larger orders. For example, Draft offers discounts when you purchase words in bulk.

Expertise

When looking for blog services, it’s important to find one that specializes in the type of content you need. For example, if your business is in the financial space, look for platforms that offer financially literate writers familiar with the topic who can produce high-quality content. If you need blog posts about financial planning, you don’t want to work with an blogging service that only sources travel or fashion writers.

Expertise doesn’t end there. Writers must also be able to produce content tailored to your brand’s tone of voice and be comfortable with SEO basics. They will be able to incorporate the right keywords into your blog posts so that you rank high in search engine results. 

If you want your blog to be successful, you need people who can provide content that sounds good and flows well, and is optimized for search engines. As for the content type itself, you’ll want to ensure the content service specializes in blog posts. 

Guarantees

A good content agency will offer guarantees on their work. Some platforms, like Draft, offer a money-back guarantee. This is noteworthy because it shows how confident a blog writing service is in their ability to produce undeniably high-quality content that you’ll be happy with.

If an agency doesn’t have any policy in place for dissatisfied customers, that may be a red flag. It shows that they either don’t care about their clients or are not confident in their ability to produce great work.

Revisions

A money-back guarantee is not the same as revisions. Revisions are changes that you want to make to the article after you’ve received it. They are usually minor tweaks, such as adding a sentence or two, changing a word here and there, or slightly altering the article’s tone.

Most blogging services will allow some revisions, but the best ones will include unlimited revisions in the price. It shows that they are willing to make changes until you’re happy with the final product, regardless of how long it takes. Some blog writing services will charge extra for revisions, so ask about their policy before you commit to working with them.

Delivery time and due dates

How fast do you need the content services delivered? If you need the content yesterday, you might have to sacrifice quality for speed. Of course, it is better if the agency can deliver the blogs as soon as possible, but it is more important that they can provide high-quality content.

In this case, try to find an agency with many writers on staff so they can accommodate your tight deadline. However, if you have a bit more time, you can afford to be pickier about the quality of the writing. You can afford to find an agency that only works with experienced writers who have a proven track record of producing great work.

The industry standard is seven business days for a 1,000-2,000 word article, giving the writer time to do proper research, come up with a catchy headline, and edit the piece before sending it to you. This timeframe doesn’t include revisions, so if you need modifications, then it will take even longer.

Support

Even if you’re dealing with the best blogging service, there will still be times when you need to contact customer support. Maybe you need to update a brief or change a deadline. Whatever the case, you need to know that you can rely on your content partner’s customer support team to help you resolve it fast.

The best way to gauge an agency’s customer support is to contact them and see how they respond. Send them an email or give them a call and see how long it takes for them to get back to you. If they’re not responsive, take the hint.

It would also be best to look at the blog service’s online reviews to see what other people have said about their customer support. If there are many complaints, that’s another red flag.

Tools and resources

Depending on your needs, you might also want to consider an agency that can provide you with additional tools and resources. This could include things like a content calendar, brief creator, or project management software.

These tools can make it easier for you to manage your projects and help the agency deliver the content more quickly. Some agencies also have plenty of resources to read, helping guide you through the content creation process.

While these additional tools and resources are nice to have, they’re not essential. You can always find other means, or you can create your own resources.

Research

You should also consider how your chosen agency does its research. The best writers will go above and beyond to use high-quality sources. They’ll include links to all their sources in the article so you can check them yourself. Fact-checking is essential in the age of misinformation, and your stats should be backed up.

You should also consider how much research the agency actually does. The more research they do, the better understanding they’ll have of your industry and your target audience. That should result in higher quality content.

Images

Although this post focuses on blog writing, it’s also worth mentioning that you should consider an agency’s ability to provide images. Many agencies will provide a few visuals to set the mood of your content piece. These images should be included in the price of the content.

Copyrights are also essential to consider. You need to make sure that you have the right to use any images included in your content. Otherwise, you could be facing some hefty fines.

The bottom line

Your blog is an extension of your brand, helping attract new customers while retaining and engaging your existing ones. Don’t just trust your blog content to anyone. Make sure to find a blogging platform or service that offers you a fair price, quality writing and research, guarantees on timelines and quality, as well as built-in revisions. 

Learn more about Draft’s writer marketplace.