Marketing teams have always sought help from freelance writers, and this trend seems to be on the upswing these days. In fact, blog writing made the list of the top five freelance jobs seeing demand spike in Q3 of 2022.
Yet, for tech and data companies, writers who have the right expertise and know how to translate complex ideas into marketing benefits are in short supply. That makes it especially difficult to find freelancers who grasp your business well enough to write about it and who are capable of producing copy that matches your tone, style, voice, and messaging.
Partnering with a content agency can help overcome these issues. A key advantage of an agency is the team approach. Instead of a single writer, your content team will include several specialists who can immerse themselves in your strategy and messaging. When that team is comprised of writers, editors, marketers, and proofreaders, the advantages multiply. This approach creates a long-lasting relationship that’s productive, efficient, and successful.
Going It Alone
We’ve been on both sides of the freelance writing equation. Everyone on the team has worked alone as a freelancer. We’ve also worked in-house, creating content as part of a corporate team. As former marketing executives, we know what it’s like to hire freelance writers to help meet content needs.
This has given us a unique perspective and insight into the typical struggles on both sides of the arrangement.
What we’ve learned in our own experience as solo freelancers is how difficult it is to produce publication-ready copy. When you’re on your own, you don’t have the benefit of having a team leader who can provide guidance and expertise. You don’t have an editor who can improve your copy or a fact-checker to verify your sources. Without the ability to tap into the expertise of others, it often takes longer to come up to speed on a client’s overall marketing strategy and messaging to hit the mark on assignments.
What does this mean for you, the client? You assume the roles of teacher, editor, fact-checker, and proofreader. That’s why you may find yourself spending time you don’t have to rewrite the copy. Sometimes you may even find yourself thinking it would have been easier and faster to have done it yourself from the start.
Strength in Numbers
A team approach built on a deep partnership is a better, more productive, alternative. Among the benefits include:
- A shorter learning curve: A team can come up to speed faster on your products and services, messaging, and marketing strategy. They can conduct deep research, share it with each other, and remove some of the burden from you when it comes to education and developing a foundation of understanding.
- Higher-quality content: When copy is reviewed by more than one person before it comes to you for review, you’re more likely to get something you can use right away, with little to no revisions. Some companies, like Version A, have a rigorous editorial process for each piece of content to make sure it’s accurate, well-written, and on-message:
- Assignment: After the assignment details are gathered, the project is assigned to the most qualified writer for the job.
- Writing: The writer performs any necessary research and completes a first draft.
- Copyediting: The editor makes sure the piece meets all of the requirements; matches the client’s style, tone, and voice; and checks all facts for accuracy.
- Revising: If needed, the writer may complete a second draft to make sure the piece is the best it can be.
- Copyediting: The editor takes another look to make sure all revisions are accurate.
- Proofreading: A final pair of eyes on the piece can catch any grammatical or punctuation errors.
- Happier writers: When writers are able to work with a team, they can ask questions and bounce ideas off of each other. Feedback received during the editorial process also makes future pieces easier to write and of higher quality.
- Happier clients: When clients receive copy that’s well-polished and on-point, they spend little to no time making changes. They can focus their time and energy where it should be – on strategy and getting results.
- Faster turnaround times: When a team of writers and editors is immersed in your messaging, tone, style, and long-term strategy, you have a pool of resources you can trust when something needs a fast turnaround. At Version A, for example, we’re able to help out with tight deadlines for bylined articles and other time-sensitive copy that may be tied to larger events. When you can’t afford to miss an opportunity for exposure, having a team you can trust is invaluable.
All of the above benefits can be boiled down to one word: Partnership.
When you form a strong partnership with an agency, you gain a team of content marketing experts – and, as the client, YOU don’t have to go it alone. Instead, you achieve results that are anything but typical.
We’ve worked so hard to build a cohesive team and editorial process within our own company, and it’s actually what inspired our name Version A. With our team approach, our clients rarely need a Version B. What’s more, we’re the partners you need to hit your content marketing goals.
