How content are you with your content?
If you’ve been in business long enough, chances are your satisfaction level sits between somewhat to not very — and you could benefit from a tune-up. But the demands of a growing business can make it difficult to churn out new content.
What can you do?
Bring in a content writing agency.
These specialized companies help entrepreneurs produce fresh and engaging online content. Their expertise often utilizes search engine optimization (SEO) and knowledge of the industry to create targeted media that speaks to your audience — and ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs).
But how do you choose the right content agency for your brand?
With all the available options (making lofty promises) it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. We’re here to deliver the inside scoop on what to look for when you shop around for a content writing agency — because the right agency can bring your brand to the highest level yet.
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What to Expect Working With a Great Content Writing Agency
When you bring in an outside business, you need to be confident they’ll fit in with your company and deliver quality products and services — especially if your customers interact with anything the agency provides. And if you’re investing your hard-earned capital, it’s essential to know what you should expect to get in return.
Here are five of the most important qualities you’ll find in a top-notch content writing agency worthy enough to create customer-facing media for your company.
1. Consistently Eye-Catching Content
The digital economy continues to expand at a dizzying rate. While many websites put out gobs of mediocre content, others have stepped up their game. It’s become much more difficult to rank at the top of an online search.
You need to scrutinize the technical skill of a content writing agency to evaluate whether they can deliver competitive copy. Proper grammar and punctuation are a bare minimum.
Fantastic online articles have:
- Instantly engaging opening paragraphs
- Easily scannable headings
- Useful, relevant images (rather than generic stock photos)
- Straightforward sentence structure optimized for clarity
- Satisfying conclusions that encourage the reader to act
Find an agency that crafts content that engages readers and incorporates keywords thoroughly yet naturally. A well-written article with relevant, good-quality information will trump keyword-stuffed nonsense, boost SERP rankings, and improve conversion rates.
2. Outstanding Command of SEO Best Practices
If you write a fabulous article, but nobody reads it, does it contain any information?
Philosophical speculations aside, it doesn’t matter how well-written it is unless it reaches the intended audience.
The content writing agency you hire needs to have the right knowledge and tools to boost your rank on SERPs. SEO best practices are nuanced and change frequently. The people who create your website’s content should be on the pulse of online optimization strategies.
Effective SEO requires much more than a primary keyword. At The Blogsmith, we use a 13-step keyword research process to find the best words and phrases to optimize every article using tools like Clearscope, Frase and Marketmuse. We also include external and internal links within the copy’s body to simultaneously help readers and search engines.
3. Experience In Your Niche
Many content creation companies offer writing services for a variety of industries. But you’ll get better results from a content writing agency that specializes in your niche.
Ask around in your professional network. Who are the heavy hitters in your field? Which agencies provide the most comprehensive SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) services?
When someone you trust recommends an agency, you’ll be more confident in its credibility and professional track record.
The Blogsmith specializes in business-to-business (B2B) technology brands like HubSpot, Automattic, Sprout Social, and Bluehost. That doesn’t mean we can’t help your catering company, meditation service, or custom landscaping business. We’ve meticulously designed our SEO content development process to improve your reach and engage the right potential client, no matter the industry.
But our experience in technology-focused writing is crucial for clients in that industry. They’re confident we already have the best information, contacts, and frame of reference to craft relevant, complete, and correct content.
More generalized agencies are likely to charge less but unlikely to produce the best content for your audience.
4. Pricing That Delivers Value
Budget is an understandable consideration. But whatever you spend will be wasted if the agency you hire fails to deliver the type of content you need.
The Blogsmith has pricing that starts at 50 cents per word. We’re not the priciest option, but we don’t offer a bargain bin product either. And we’re not the type to pad out your invoice with add-ons and fees.
In addition to these critical inclusions, there’s a lot of value baked into every article. Our clients get access to content creation tools which would cost $714 per month for the lowest-priced plans.
These professional services and tools include:
- Design Pickle for custom imagery ($400 per month)
- Ahrefs for keyword research ($99 per month)
- Frase for content research ($45 per month)
- Clearscope for content optimization ($170 per month)
When you price out content writing agencies, be sure you factor in the complete value of the product they will deliver — and the quality of the data they use to make decisions.
5. Long-Term Vision for Your Partnership
You can hire a content writing agency to create a few blog posts — but you’ll be missing out on one of the major advantages of a content creation team, rather than an independent contractor. With an agency, it’s possible to build a relationship over time that will lead to a better understanding of your business.
If you’re an entrepreneur with far-reaching goals, you need to think about your content marketing strategy in the long term. If you just started, we offer content strategy consulting. I’ll use my expertise and experience to help you develop an effective plan to boost your website on SERPs and draw in the right potential customers.
Organizations with an established path will still benefit from a content writing agency that approaches your collaboration as a long-term partnership. At The Blogsmith, we take the time to learn about your company’s voice, products, and goals.
We offer multiple add-ons to help us dig deeper and make your content even more personalized, including:
- Content interview: We’ll connect directly via Zoom with a subject matter expert on your team or in your network to develop the topic and ask questions.
- Product demo: We’ll speak with your team to learn how your products work (and grab relevant screenshots).
- Expert roundup: We’ll reach out to experts to get their input on the topic.
Final Thoughts: What to Expect Working With a Great Content Writing Agency
If you want a content strategy that delivers, a professional content writing agency could be your ace in the hole — depending on the agency.
Set yourself up for success. Look for a company with experience in your field that you can work with for the long haul. Make sure they deliver engaging content and expert SEO.
And if you want a company that can give you all that along with outstanding value, get in touch with The Blogsmith.
