3 Reasons You Shouldn't Hire a Content Marketing Agency

Hiring an outside company to produce content for your business can seem like a waste.
You know your industry. You know what your clients want. You’ve researched and discovered how to get them through your doors. You have the time and personnel needed to develop your online presence.
Why would you hire someone like us to do that for you?
Instead of explaining why you should hire us (or any other content marketing agency for that matter), we're going to tell you why you shouldn't.

1) You don't want to leverage the experience that an agency has across multiple industries.

Agencies develop content for companies in a wide range of industries.
Nonprofits, real estate, CAD software companies, home builders, retail outlets, churches...you name it, and a content marketing agency has probably done it.
The experience that an agency team has for one industry gives them an edge writing for your industry.
Think about it—the tactics that an agency would use to be creative and stand out in the home building industry can work in the nonprofit realm as well. The specifics will be different, but the method of reaching and gaining people’s attention works across multiple industries.
So how can agencies write great content for so many industries...without being an expert in any of them?
It's simple, really. We don't write for industries. We write for people. [Tweet "Don't write for an industry. Write for people."]

2) You want to trust an intern with your digital footprint.

Who doesn’t love interns?
You get an extra set of hands helping you grow your business at a fraction of the cost (or even free!) of hiring another employee.
They get valuable life experience. You get free or cheap labor. It’s a win-win.
What better task is there for a young, digital-savvy, social media-loving intern than developing your digital footprint? Let them build your website, social media accounts, online advertising, email campaigns, and write all your blog posts.
They know this stuff, right?

Don’t mistake an avid use of social media with expertise. [Tweet "Don't mistake an avid use of social media with expertise."]
While a 20-something may be active in the digital realm, it doesn’t mean they know the most effective tactics for reaching your audience online.

3) You have loads of extra time to dedicate to your online presence.

Developing your online presence takes time. Lots of time.
Creating and maintaining social media accounts with at least 3-5 (or more) posts a day. Optimizing your website to rank well in Google. Producing consumable content customers want (in the form of blog posts, videos, infographics, and images). Reading over analytics to determine what is and isn’t working.
"But I have tons of extra time on my hands" - said no small business owner ever.
Taking 3-4 hours each day to write a blog post (this one took over 2 hours to write), format it in Wordpress, set up multiple social media blasts for it—you have extra hours in your day to do that, right?

Conclusion

If you’re ok with your business doing the same thing as your competition, comfortable with trusting an intern to deliver a top-notch digital footprint, and have hours each day to build your online presence, you definitely don't need a content marketing agency.
But if you’re like any other small business (with time, experience, and financial constraints), a content marketing agency can help your business stand out from the crowd -- and provide your customers with sought-after content that keeps them coming back to your website over and over again.

If you're still not convinced that hiring a content marketing agency is best for your business, then we have a special treat for you.
We created a free 5-part email course that will show you exactly how you can start turning your blog into a sales machine -- without hiring an agency.
Enjoy!