If you’ve never worked with an outsourced company before, you might be apprehensive about the experience of outsourcing content. How can an outside company understand your industry and business? How time consuming will the process be? And will you even get a worthwhile product at the end?
As the Production Director of Active Blogs, I’ve guided many clients through our process to create high-quality newsletters and blogs that flow seamlessly with their other marketing efforts — with minimal investment of work and time on their part! It is natural to have questions and concerns when considering outsourcing content and transparency into our production process can give you a better idea of what the experience is like.
Here’s what you can expect when working with an outsourced content marketer.
Step 1: Developing content
Content development always begins with the client in mind. I work closely with our clients to review content timeframes and topics, and to make sure we are writing about subjects their readers will be interested in. Clients keep us informed of important news or updates, and sometimes even connect us with industry experts for interviews and first-hand knowledge. Together we review well-thought-out topics and outlines, and make sure everything is on track before we proceed.
Step 2: Writing and programming
From here, the team really gets to work. We coordinate any necessary interviews, and our writers craft top-notch articles with the guidance of our experienced content manager. When the copy is complete, several rounds of edits are done throughout our content and quality control department, and our programmers and designers convert it to a responsive HTML format, styled to match our client’s website. Throughout this stage, I monitor our entire production team to ensure everything is getting done on schedule.
Step 3: Reviewing and editing
At this stage, the client reviews all the content we’ve produced, as well as our design work, and can offer feedback or request changes. I work as a liaison between the client and the rest of the team as these edits are made, and the step repeats until everything reaches the client’s approval.
Step 4: Testing
Once the client is completely happy with the final product, we get to work testing our newsletter and eFlier sends, taking the time to make sure each link works and every email displays perfectly no matter the platform or device. We will continue to test and adjust until we are convinced that it meets our high-quality standards.
Step 5: Review and repeat
After the articles are distributed, we analyze the number of views, clicks, bounces, and more so we understand how readers are interacting with the content. From there, we will make any necessary changes to ensure that our client is seeing great results from every send.
Is outsourcing content for you?
The content production process takes a great deal of time, skill, and effort that you may not be able to find in-house. That’s why so many clients turn to us to help them continuously produce the valuable content their readers expect. And just like you, we value clear communication and a streamlined process — we’ll tackle the hard stuff so you can get back to focusing on building your business.
Our success is our clients’ success! When I come to work each day, it’s great to know that I’ve helped someone accomplish what they’ve needed to for a long time — and that I made it simple and fun!
Ready to learn more? Contact Active Blogs for a free consultation.
