Sifting through the best article-writing services to find quality content is a challenging affair. In fact, it’s not that unrealistic to consider this opinion as putting it mildly.
Understatements aside, there’s one incontrovertible truth that offers up plenty of reasons for your brand to get in gear when it comes to this search; you need a team of content marketing experts on your side, and you need them there now.
To help expedite the process, and safeguard your future content operations from substandard practices, let’s spend a few minutes talking about what you need to look for in terms of finding the right content marketing fit for your brand.
There are so many options available on the market that it’s hard to know which one is best for your company or brand. This blog post will provide tips on finding the best article-writing service for your specific needs and objectives.
Is It Really Worth the Effort?
If you’re still on the fence about finding an article writing service providing article content writers that fit your future operations, look no farther than this quote regarding the need for the right content partner from Inc. magazine’s Jon Gelberg.
“When the content a brand creates is mediocre or worse, it makes a negative statement about such brand. Creating compelling content requires a specific skill set and most small companies don’t have that internal capacity.” Jon Gelberg, Inc. magazine
Today’s digital landscape is all about making a splash with your target audience – something that you can’t afford to put on the backburner. For those that fail on this front, don’t be surprised when you miss out on the following benefits that come with proper content marketing operations:
- Increased inbound traffic.
- Boosts in viewership that reach into the 90th percentile.
- Double the amount of leads you currently generate.
- Major jumps in conversion rates and sales.
- Organic growth and brand awareness.
To put it simply, no modern brand that’s truly serious about optimizing its online presence wants to watch any of these benefits of having a blog for your business slip through the cracks.
Google Your Potential Partner
So now that you know that you need the best article writing service possible on your side for any future blogging and content creation endeavors by article content writers, where should the search start? Jumping back to Gelberg’s look at the subject, it’s hard to go wrong with a quick search of your prospective matches. By “Googling” the organization in question, you’re able to get a bit of a look at what’s going on under the hood.
Researching is one of the most important steps in choosing an article writing service. You’ll want to read as much as you can about each company, from customer reviews to employee profiles.
Look for patterns in customer feedback, such as responsiveness, quality of work, whether deadlines were met and if customer service was up to par. Also consider reading industry-specific articles and blogs that discuss different article writing services.
This will give you a better understanding of what kind of services they offer and their track record in delivering quality work.
Social media followings, reach into other sectors of the marketplace, and postings on thought leadership websites, are all signs of a healthy, successful, and capable content marketing organization.
Abandoned domains, broken links, and general inactivity are usually cause for some serious concern.
Free SEO Audit
Before you dive into the world of blogging and start crafting your content, it’s a wise idea to take an SEO audit.
What does this mean? Essentially, you need to make sure your website is primed and ready for a boost in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) by making sure that all your content is optimized for search engine robots.
Don’t worry if this sounds confusing – after a good audit you’ll gain much more clarity on what you need to do in order to place highly. Think of it like taking a car to the shop before a long road trip: while it may not be essential before leaving, you know having peace of mind down the line will be worth it.
Struggling to produce desirable results with your content marketing strategy? Finding it hard to define what should come next? Not sure of the way forward? Then don’t miss out on your free SEO audit and join the others who are reassessing their content marketing strategies.
This fantastic offer will help you better understand how to shape your content efforts with best practices and improve your overall return on investment.
So don’t delay, click the link today and discover a world of new possibilities for a successful content marketing strategy.
Critique Any Available Work
Aside from doing a little digital detective work, Econsultancy’s Doug Kessler suggests spending some time critiquing any work from the service that you can get your hands on. A few key things to look for in these pieces of finished content include:
- Perspective – Is the content bland, or does it take a stance on an issue or topic?
- Authenticity – The article or post in question should leave you with a sense of certainty that the person on the other side of the screen is an expert on the subject in question.
- Professional Approach – Does the content come off as professional, or are you staring down grammar, syntax, and spelling errors?
- Designed with Promotion in Mind – At the end of day, this content should have strong ties to relevant products and services, all while avoiding the dreaded “salesy” tone and style.
Regardless of whether you come across this content in an openly available setting, or you ask for examples and excerpts during the initial discussions surrounding a potential collaboration, you’ll be happy you took the time now to ensure that the work of this service lives up to the hype.
Define Your Requirements
When looking for an article writing service, it’s important to define what your requirements are so that you can narrow down your search.
- Are you looking for someone who specializes in SEO content?
- Do you need someone who is knowledgeable about specific industries?
- Or do you need help with copywriting?
Knowing exactly what kind of help you need will make it much easier to find the right service provider for your brand’s specific needs.
Set Clear Expectations
Once you’ve found the right article writing service for your brand, it’s important to set clear expectations regarding deadlines, payment terms, communication methods and other details before signing a contract or working agreement.
Be sure to discuss these topics with the potential writer or agency ahead of time so that everyone is on the same page from the start.
This will ensure that both parties understand what is expected from them during the project and avoid any misunderstandings down the line.
Ask about Content Strategy
“…success really does depend on a sound strategy that takes into account things like personas, buying triggers and buying stages. If you know exactly where you’re aiming, your chances of hitting the target tend to increase.” – Doug Kessler, Econsultancy
Once the conversation is rolling, it’s imperative that you talk strategy with this potential content marketing expert. As both Kessler in the above quote and Craig Hodges of the Content Marketing Institute explain, having a game plan in mind is one of, if not the biggest keys to your content marketing success.
Nebulous ideas and loose viewpoints sound great coming from a trained salesman, but forcing the discussion into the particulars of the process can help ensure that you end up with the best article writing service on your side going forward.
Should this team lay out a well-reasoned, strategically sound plan at your request that covers everything from development and promotion to feedback and optimization, then you’ll have another piece of evidence pointing you in the right direction.
Place an Emphasis on Data
The Internet is awash in data, so there’s no reason why your team of content marketing experts shouldn’t be leveraging this resource during each phase of the content creation process.
As the team of experts over at Business 2 Community explain in a report on the subject, everything from audience trends, demographics, social activity, and purchasing habits are all fair game.
Naturally, there is such a thing as “data overload,” but pinpointing the pieces that help tell your audience’s story and following in the footsteps of this information needs to be on your future team’s agenda.
Don’t Discount the “Feel” of the Situation
Finally, in another piece for the Content Marketing Institute, Craig Hodges suggests giving some credence to the “feel” of the arrangement.
As subjective as it sounds, there’s definitely something to be said for a smooth working relationship. Simply put, being on different wavelengths in terms of content direction, poor communications, and other areas of friction can sink your content operation before it ever starts.
However, if you can find the right fit on this front, and you’ve spent some time putting the rest of what you’ve learned here to good use, then chances are you’re ready to truly capture the power held within content marketing.
For any brand, this kind of outlook is well worth the time and effort that goes into properly vetting your content marketing options.
Conclusion
Finding the best article writing service for your brand doesn’t have to be difficult if you know what to look out for beforehand. With just a bit of research, careful consideration of your requirements, and setting clear expectations with potential writers or agencies, you can rest assured knowing that your brand’s content needs are being taken care of by a reliable source who knows exactly what they’re doing! Good luck!
David is the Founder and Director of article-writing.co, the fastest-growing content creation agency in North America. He has transformed companies by offering high-quality content that has impacted their SEO ranking, revitalized websites with engaging and industry-relevant blogs and website copy, and championed successful email campaign copy.
