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How to Work With a Content Creation Firm

CopySmiths June 1, 2022

Are you wondering how to work with a content creation firm in a way that’ll lead to a long-term and mutually profitable partnership?

An alliance in which your partner remotely posts timely SEO content onto your website?

High-quality content that steadily moves the needle?

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you achieve this goal. Besides guiding you through the ins and outs of working with a content creation firm, we’ve also ensured that you don’t miss:

How to do your due diligence before stepping out in search of a content creation firm.
Hacks to lead you to the right content creation firm.
How to set the terms of engagement like a boss.

Step 1: Do Your Due Diligence

You want to work with the best content creation firm out there, right? It may sound like wishful thinking, but it is achievable.

However, this depends on your preparation.

Begin by creating an actionable content strategy that factors in outsourcing. This involves:

Allocating a content marketing budget.
Determining the type of content needed.
Establishing ROI measurement parameters.
Appointing a contact or content lead person.
Creating scalable and communicable goals.

At this point, you also need to decide the content creation company’s specific role and scope in your content marketing picture. In addition, you’ll need to determine the extent of your company’s involvement in the whole content issue.

Having set the above fundamentals in place, you can now move on to searching for the right content firm.

Step 2: Pick the Best Content Firm

Now, this is easier said than done. That’s why it’s important to do thorough vetting to filter out the inept from the bona fide content creation firms.

Begin with a simple Google search.

Then, on all the pages you find, look at the “Our Work” or “Our Services” sections. This is how you’ll know whether or not the potential firm is aligned with your business needs.

Also, don’t leave without checking what current and past clients are saying on the testimonials or success stories page. This is called social proof. However, remember that some of these colorful litanies may turn out to be mere propaganda. So, if possible, talk to real people.

Admittedly, this is no easy task. But another way to determine a content firm’s authority within your niche is by reading their own blog posts.

A content firm’s experience in an industry is reflected in its own publications.

There’s really no end to what can be said at this stage. But for now, only settle on a content firm if it:

Is transparent about payments
Has a workflow befitting your calendar
Is willing to submit a draft or two before proceeding
Is committed to open and continuous correspondence
Employs effective and sound content creation techniques

Now you’re ready to move on and…

Source: pinterest.com

Step 3: Establish Performance Guidelines Together

Now that you’ve established contact with the top finalist, the onboarding is finally underway. This is the time to create the modus operandi of your collaboration. You’re essentially adding your signature on the dotted line, so take your time to ensure everything is crystal clear.

Expect the content company to present you with a set of terms and conditions. But be assured they also expect the same from you. So, be sure to point out conflicting sections and offer tallying propositions.

For example, you can explore ways of merging your content calendar to the content creation firm’s content schedule without causing friction.

Let the firm’s scope of involvement be clear. What exactly will they do? How will you work together as a team and produce the best results?

Determine the channel and frequency of updates. For example, will you collaborate in-app or via email? What will be the verification and confirmation process?

How about the calendar? Will the content firm create and deliver individual assignments? Will they publish your entire content at once? Or will they appoint an account manager who’ll publish content regularly?

Frequent content postings are great for SEO.

Lastly, it’s time to talk about the cost. It’s more sustainable to pay for the work done than consenting to pay the content firm a retainer fee.

Here at CopySmiths, our clients have come to appreciate our give-and-take model. Please check out our pricing here.

Here are some of the typical services to expect from a quality content firm:

Offering content strategy advice
Helping you with creating article briefs
Systematically uploading content to CMS
Writing in your company’s tone and vocabulary
Keyword research and blog post title creation
Collaborating with your marketing office
Understanding your target audience
Generating fresh content ideas

CopySmiths is a tightly-knit content shop comprising professional writers, quality controllers, editors, publishers, and SEO experts. Please contact us and we’ll help you experience the full power of content marketing in your online business.

In the table below, we look at the benefits of enlisting a content creation firm such as CopySmiths in comparison to self-publishing:

Using a Content Firm	Self-published Content
Frees you and your employees to concentrate on other aspects of the business	May lead to a disruption of other business services due to the time it takes to create enough high-quality web content
Deeply researched, therefore more educational	May lack depth, making it of less educational value
Brings ROI through conversions because it’s more engaging	May incur a higher bounce rate if it doesn’t resonate with the audience
Quality-controlled and multi-level-verified content boosts your EAT	May impact your EAT negatively if it fails the credibility test
Optimised for search engines and formatted attractively and professionally	May fail to be ranked by search engines, rendering it unavailable to people

See what our clients are saying:

“After reading many positive testimonials online, we contacted CopySmiths to assist us with creating numerous pages of supporting content for our websites. Communication with them from day one was fantastic and they delivered above and beyond our expectations. Their thorough process for creating engaging content with SEO best practices in mind is very impressive and certainly makes them stand out.” – Miskawaan Health Group

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of content marketing?

The cost of content marketing depends on the type, volume, and frequency of content you want to be delivered. At CopySmiths, we offer you pricing batches from which you can make the most economically convenient choice.

Will I be supplying the content firm with blog post titles?

You can generate titles or task your content firm to do it. However, credible writers are well able to do keyword research, create valuable content and organize it into industry-relevant clusters.

At CopySmiths, we’re open to both options. You can furnish us with titles for all or some of the articles, and we’ll still write about them exhaustively. You can also let us craft thematic, search intent-friendly titles for all your articles.

When looking for a content creation firm, are there red flags to watch out for?

Yes. For instance, if a firm assures you of instant success without asking about your audience, that’s a red flag.

Another booby trap is the lack of fee transparency. Don’t bother asking if you can’t see a detailed price list on a firm’s website. Just move on.

Lastly, beware of a content firm whose officials are often reluctant to give you advice. This may indicate that either they are inept or are afraid to enable you to compare notes.

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I'm Katrina McKinnon, founder of CopySmiths and Small Revolution. In my 20 years of experience, I have helped online businesses create high-performing content specifically on an eCommerce store's blog. Find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.