Are you considering hiring a blogging service to write and publish your small business blog? This is an important but difficult decision because content is a sensitive part of your marketing strategy. Not everyone should hire a blogging service and not everyone should run their own blog. To help you determine which option is right for you, I’ve created a litmus test you can use to help you make a more informed decision…
Every business needs a blog. The question is, who will write, edit, optimize, publish, and manage your blog? There are 5 key questions you need to answer before you make a decision about whether or not to hire a blogging service. Go through each of them one-at-a-time in this order:
1. Are You A Writer?
Let’s start with the most obvious question first: Are you a writer? This question is key because it’s a non-starter if you’re simply incapable of writing. Now, I’m assuming you’re an adult and you’re generally capable of “writing” (email, text messages, letters, etc). This question — “Are You A Writer?” — is about being a productive, consistent, and reliable writer. Can you consistently turn out readable, interesting blog posts on your own?
If the answer is NO, you can stop here. You definitely need to hire a freelancer, employee, or blogging service to manage your blog (and likely your social media, email marketing, and copywriting too).
If the answer is YES you are a writer, let’s continue…
2. Are YOU The Business?
What I mean by this question is, is your personality really what you’re selling? This applies to consultants, coaches, trainers, authors, and other similar “personality based businesses.”
If this is true AND you are a generally good and productive writer, then let’s continue.
If the answer is NO, chances are good you probably need to hand your blogging off to someone else. This is usually the case if you’re selling a product or service that has nothing to do with who YOU are as a person. But there may still be good reason for you to not use a blogging service and to do it yourself instead based on your answers to the following questions…
3. What’s Your Time Worth?
This is the question that even personality based business owners and entrepreneurs need to ask: What’s my time worth? Like any other part of your business or any other marketing investment, you need to calculate the ROI (Return On Investment) correctly. Doing so means first knowing what your time is worth.
Let’s say you’re a real estate agent and investor trying to grow your real estate training business. The answers to questions #1 and #2 are YES — you’re a good writer and your personality is key to the business. But your time is worth a lot. You could be spend 15 hours writing your blog posts for the month OR you could spend 15 hours closing a big real estate transaction that will produce a large commission. This is where ROI calculations need to play a role in your decision making.
If you have a high hourly worth, it’s smarter to invest your time on high-leverage activities and outsource your blogging to a competent and qualified blogging service, freelancer, or employee.
4. Do You Have Available Staff?
This is a bit of an oddball question because it’s more about aligning your assets. You might have an in-house employee with time available to do all of the writing, editing, and managing necessary to run your business blog. This would be a smart reallocation of your resources if this staff member has a lot of downtime (always bad!) or can be reassigned off another lower-value task.
Most of us don’t have free staff but we often do have staff that can be reorganized for higher output elsewhere, like blogging.
5. Can You Train, Manage, And Supervise A Blogger?
Which brings me to the fifth and final question — Are you capable of training, managing, and supervising a blogger? Read that question carefully. What you’re really asking here is if you know what your blogger should be doing, what your blog posts should read/look like, and what your blog marketing strategy should look like.
I, for example, consider myself a competent and capable manager. But that doesn’t mean I’m capable of managing a group of dancers. I know next to nothing about dancing.
How To Hire A Blogging Service
If you do ultimately decide that you need someone else to run your blog, I strongly recommend hiring a blogging service rather than an independent freelancer. With a blogging service, you get a turnkey solution. You get a team of trained and competent professionals who understand what your blog should do for your business.
Ready to hire a blogging service now? Click here to read more about our Full Service Blog Management Service today.
