There’s a lot online about how every business needs a blog.
(I’ve written some of it myself, in fact.)
But what if you want a blog, you just can’t find the time to write it?
You’re a busy person running a business, after all. Maybe you need to spend more time of growing your offerings. Or working with clients. Or traveling. Or any number of other things people working for themselves need to do.
You want that blog to get written, of course. It’s a great way to connect with potential customers and improve your online presence.
You just don’t have time to do it yourself.
That’s when a savvy business owner starts to think about outsourcing.
Outsourcing is a necessary part of a business owner’s life. It lets you focus on the big picture, giving you time to work on rather than in your business.
But when it comes to outsourcing blog posts… you start to wonder if it’s a good idea.
You don’t want to end up with some cookie-cutter top ten post that you suspect was copied from eHow. You don’t want to sound like everyone else — you want to sound like you, the person and the brand that has started a stellar, successful business.
Is there’s any way to outsource blog posts while still remaining true to your brand? Can you save your (very limited) time for other things, but still ultimately be the one talking to your customers through your blog?
(Not something you’re worried about? Maybe your brand survives just fine with fully outsourced blog posts. No shame in that — it’s a service I provide for many clients! You keep doing what you’re doing. But if you are worried about outsourcing… read on.)
Can you outsource your business blog without losing your own voice?
You’ll be happy to know that the answer is a resounding yes!
What’s the secret?
The best way to outsource blog posts without losing your unique voice, and your ability to speak directly to your readers, is to outsource only part of the process.
After all, when you get down to it, writing is only part of putting a blog post together. In fact, in many ways, it’s the part that takes the least time!
Try outsourcing these specific tasks, and you may find that it’s much easier than you thought to find the time to write.
1. Outlining Posts
If you have trouble coming up with ideas or figuring out what to write, hire a writer to come up with topics and outline posts.
Your assistant will see what’s trending online, what’s evergreen and what’s topical, and come up with a list of ideas that you can turn into sparkling, relevant blog post ideas. For each post, your writer can outline the broad sections of the post and even bullet point what should go in each section.
Once you have an outline, suddenly it’s possible to get all your blogging for the week down on Sunday night, the way every small business guru seems to recommend.
You don’t have to spend hours staring at your computer screen, trying to figure out what the heck you even want to write about. You can get right down to it and bang out that post (or five) in less than 20 minutes each.
2. Research
Does your blog require a lot of technical writing? Do you need a lot of background statistics and facts for each article?
If so, try outsourcing the research behind each post.
Finding little details — the pH of a chemical, or what year a celebrity got married — can take up a lot of time. Instead of doing it yourself, make a list of all the facts you’ll need, either before you start writing or as you go. Give that list to a blogger who can take care of the research for you, then either send you back the answers you need or stick them directly in the post.
You’ll still be the one writing, and it will still be your voice shining through. You just won’t have to bother jumping from website to website to look up the details.
3. Editing
It’s easy to spend hours staring at a blog post, wondering if you’ve missed any grammatical errors or if your phrasing is quite right.
And it’s hard to edit yourself — so give that job to someone else to do!
Everyone needs another set of eyes to look things over and make sure you haven’t used they’re when you meant their, or accidentally mentioned Michael Obama instead of Michelle. By outsourcing the editing process, you’ll save yourself time and the embarrassment of realizing your mistakes are out there for the world to see.
4. Fiddly Technical Things
(That’s highly professional terminology, don’t you think?)
Putting a blog post up online takes a lot more than just writing it. You have to find (or create) an image. Upload it all to your CMS. Make sure the URL, tags, and SEO information are correct. Schedule it to go out at the right time.
All that can take forever. So when it comes to fiddly technical things, put your time to better use and hire someone else to do it. You’ll find more productive things to do, and your posts will still get out to the world on schedule.
Interested in learning more about outsourcing your blogging? You might want to check out No Hassle Blogging!
PS – If you’d still prefer to write it yourself, check out 15 Blog Ideas for Any Niche + Free Images For Your Blog
These are GREAT ideas! I hadn’t considered outsourcing blog posts before (other than inviting a few other author friends to guest-post) but now I’m kind of tempted. Especially since it’s hard to keep up with a million different social media platforms AND write books AND blog AND reply to the emails that have sadly accrued in my inbox.
It’s a little ridiculous how many things there are to keep track of, isn’t it?!
Another way to cut down on your to-do list is to really target your social media efforts — pick two platforms, say, where you KNOW your customers are and really put work into your presence there. Trying to keep up with every new network that pops up can drive anyone bonkers!