5 Ways to Tell if You Need a Good Writer or an Industry Expert
When outsourcing content, there's always a question of whether you need a good writer or an industry expert. Find out how to choose the best writer for your next blog here.
Each day content marketers up their game - which means your content needs to stay authoritative, relevant, and specific to your audience to stay at the top of search-engine result pages (or SERPS). Many companies outsource a percentage of their content to alleviate some of the pressure from their in-house team (at Scripted, we outsource about 80% of our content to our freelance writers).
Read more: Using Expert Interviews to Develop New Content
When outsourcing content, there's always a question of whether you need a good writer or an industry expert. A good writer can spin a beautiful, relatable story with smooth transitions, whereas an industry expert can write authoritative content.
So how do you decide which is best for your content? Here, we dive into the 5 main factors you should consider when selecting a writer on Scripted:
1. What's an Expert?
For the purpose of content generation, an expert is someone who has many years of experience in a particular field or industry. Studies show that it takes 10 years to develop expertise in a niche, and there are no shortcuts. Only this experience yields true insider knowledge of how a niche works.
2. When Do You Need a Content Expert?
According to new Google guidelines, expertise comes into play on pages that deal with "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL). For example, if you're giving financial advice, you should probably have professional experience in the field. Health-related information should come from medical professionals. Legal advice needs a glance from a legal professional. The more regulated the industry, the more important it is to get an expert content provider. After all, misinformation in one of these industries could severely impact a reader's financial or physical well-being.
3. When Do You Need a Good Writer?
A good writer doesn't necessarily know your niche like the back of your hand, but they do bring expertise in creating polished and publication-ready writing. A good writer understands how to research an assignment and produce content that meets your needs. They also produce all sorts of content, from blog posts to press releases. They can even keep your social-media accounts active. A good writer has years of experience writing engaging and entertaining content.
4. The Pros and Cons of Content Experts
Industry experts offer you a more authoritative voice for your content. They help generate a sense of trust from your readers and helps establish your business as an industry thought leader. However, asking attorneys to produce blog posts can wrack up a considerable invoice over time. Even medical doctors can make a lot more per hour than most businesses can afford to pay for content marketing. Finding a compromise is often necessary to meet the demands of a tight marketing budget and increasingly strict search-engine protocols.
5. Blending Content Expertise with Good Writing
Before searching for someone with more than a decade of professional experience in your industry, consider your expertise. You have the necessary industry knowledge to create expert content. What you may not have is the time to put together regular blog posts and create new content.
A good writer might be the answer. You bring the industry expertise, and they bring the time and writing experience. You can also bring the occasional expert to add authority and value. Combining both gives you the ability to produce regular, high-quality content.
In summary, when you need an industry leader and don't have the time to relay your own expertise to a writer, work with a content expert. When you need a general update, or you already have the research in hand, a good writer can give it a good spit and polish before publishing.
Find your new favorite writer on Scripted today:
Each day content marketers up their game - which means your content needs to stay authoritative, relevant, and specific to your audience to stay at the top of search-engine result pages (or SERPS). Many companies outsource a percentage of their content to alleviate some of the pressure from their in-house team (at Scripted, we outsource about 80% of our content to our freelance writers).
Read more: Using Expert Interviews to Develop New Content
When outsourcing content, there's always a question of whether you need a good writer or an industry expert. A good writer can spin a beautiful, relatable story with smooth transitions, whereas an industry expert can write authoritative content.
So how do you decide which is best for your content? Here, we dive into the 5 main factors you should consider when selecting a writer on Scripted:
1. What's an Expert?
For the purpose of content generation, an expert is someone who has many years of experience in a particular field or industry. Studies show that it takes 10 years to develop expertise in a niche, and there are no shortcuts. Only this experience yields true insider knowledge of how a niche works.
2. When Do You Need a Content Expert?
According to new Google guidelines, expertise comes into play on pages that deal with "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL). For example, if you're giving financial advice, you should probably have professional experience in the field. Health-related information should come from medical professionals. Legal advice needs a glance from a legal professional. The more regulated the industry, the more important it is to get an expert content provider. After all, misinformation in one of these industries could severely impact a reader's financial or physical well-being.
3. When Do You Need a Good Writer?
A good writer doesn't necessarily know your niche like the back of your hand, but they do bring expertise in creating polished and publication-ready writing. A good writer understands how to research an assignment and produce content that meets your needs. They also produce all sorts of content, from blog posts to press releases. They can even keep your social-media accounts active. A good writer has years of experience writing engaging and entertaining content.
4. The Pros and Cons of Content Experts
Industry experts offer you a more authoritative voice for your content. They help generate a sense of trust from your readers and helps establish your business as an industry thought leader. However, asking attorneys to produce blog posts can wrack up a considerable invoice over time. Even medical doctors can make a lot more per hour than most businesses can afford to pay for content marketing. Finding a compromise is often necessary to meet the demands of a tight marketing budget and increasingly strict search-engine protocols.
5. Blending Content Expertise with Good Writing
Before searching for someone with more than a decade of professional experience in your industry, consider your expertise. You have the necessary industry knowledge to create expert content. What you may not have is the time to put together regular blog posts and create new content.
A good writer might be the answer. You bring the industry expertise, and they bring the time and writing experience. You can also bring the occasional expert to add authority and value. Combining both gives you the ability to produce regular, high-quality content.
In summary, when you need an industry leader and don't have the time to relay your own expertise to a writer, work with a content expert. When you need a general update, or you already have the research in hand, a good writer can give it a good spit and polish before publishing.
Find your new favorite writer on Scripted today:
Published by Tasia Potasinski on Monday, February 22, 2016 in Content Marketing, Content, Marketing, Researcher, Writer.