Looking to hire a content team? How do you outsource blog content tasks and get epic shit? Here are 5 types of blog content and how to outsource each.
“Content is king” has become one of the most pronounced phrases in the blogosphere.
Whenever I see it mentioned, here’s how I now respond, “Yeah yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”
But the thing is, not all content eventually becomes king. This is because there’s the crappy content, the quality piece of content that’s left to market itself and then there’s the EPIC SHIT.
Crappy content: This is content that’s created with little to no research on the subject, bad editing, and meaningless information. Most of the time, such types are written for SEO. Darn that word!
Quality content that’s left to market itself: Yes it’s quality, but as soon as it is published, it’s given a suicide note saying, “You’ve got 60 days to live on my blog, market yourself while you still can”. This content usually dies a natural death… until a handsome prince (authority blogger) probably notices it and eventually comes to its rescue.
EPIC SHIT: Content that falls in this category has quality written all over. Not only that but they’ve got a knack of going viral (that’s self marketing at work). It’s almost impossible for such content to die easily because a single share to the right place could work wonders. Now that’s king!
And it’s definitely the kind of content you should be creating even if you can’t do it yourself. But it’s not that easy.
So the question is…
How Do You Outsource Content Tasks And Get EPIC SHIT?
Well, the first thing you need to know is the kind of content you need. Not all content is written. In fact, some non text-based content perform better than the written ones. So, here are the 5 kinds of content you can create for your business. Not only that but you’ll also know the tasks involved in creating each one and how to outsource them.
So, let’s get started.
1. Text Based Content
Most of all the content you see on blogs are text based. Why? Well, this is because it’s easier to create and tends to get indexed faster than other forms of content. And the good thing is that there really isn’t much technical knowledge needed to create such content. That’s probably why it’s everywhere.
But the bad thing is that it is often abused.
How to Effectively Outsource Text Based Content Creation
Before creating any piece of content, you first need to know the purpose. Why do you want that blog post written? Is it for traffic from search engines? If it is, then it needs to be really optimized with SEO. That means including a keyword multiple times within the article and creating backlinks to make it work.
If the purpose is for engagement, probably through comments, then the post needs to be interesting and engaging.
If the purpose is to get signups on your list, then the post needs to be copy that speaks the language of your audience, should offer something beyond the content and should have a clear Call-to-Action.
The purpose for which you write content would determine the skills needed for each. This will in turn help you know the tasks you can outsource. When dealing with article writing tasks, there are basically six tasks you can outsource;
“Research and Writing , Editing and Proofreading, Publishing, Marketing”
You can either choose to outsource these tasks to 4 different people (which may become confusing) or just one person, depending on his/her skill set. For example, not everyone that writes a blog post knows how to market it (that’s why there are content marketers).
So, it’s definitely important that you know the “why” (the purpose) of your content before the “who” (who is going to create it?).
Take action: Most freelance writers can do all four tasks. However, if you doubt the skills of your writer, you could divide the tasks between two people- one to handle research, writing and marketing, while an editor or content manager could edit and proofread the content (again) before publishing it. This way, you’ll have chance of creating something epic.
2. Infographics
There’s just something awesome about having infographics on your site — they seem to keep readers glued, especially when designed well. You would agree that creating infographics definitely involves more technical know-how than text based content.
How to Effectively Outsource Tasks Infographic Design
There are two key elements that are important in this type of content — the design and the copy. And as usual, you need to know the purpose for which you’re creating this infographic.
If you plan on using the infographic to increase sales, there are specific words to use and specific colors as well. Infographics contain only key text, so you’ll really need to be careful in writing your copy.
Some colours increase sales. So if this is your purpose, then you need to use these colors in your infographic, while still not deviating entirely from the general theme of your site — you don’t want your readers to get disconnected. This infographic from Kissmetrics outlines the effects of different kinds of colors on sales.
When outsourcing infographics, there are basically thre tasks you can outsource;
Research and Copy, Design, Publishing and Marketing
You can also decide to outsource these tasks to three different people, or just one. It all depends on you and the skill set of your team. There are also infographic design templates you can choose from to make the creation process a lot faster.
Take action: In my opinion, design should be done solely by your graphics designer. The other tasks such as research, copy, publishing and marketing can be done by your writer who is good at writing excellent copy. The research and copy are done first before giving everything to your designer who should create an infographic that converts and then sends it back for publishing and of course, marketing.
3. Podcasts
These are simply audio blog posts created for interviews or tutorials. Most podcasts don’t stand alone but are supported with either a transcription of the podcast or a brief overview of what you’d hear in it. Being that these podcasts have no visual appeal whatsoever, they’ll definitely need the text support.
How to Effectively Outsource Podcast Creation
Design is definitely not a key element here, but the key elements are clarity and length. You don’t want to create a podcast that people would sleep off listening to. So it’s got to be short and to the point.
Clarity, with respect to the production and voice tone, is also important — I don’t want to have to use huge headphones before I hear what you’re saying.
Most podcasts are used for interviews and when this is the case, a brief overview of what to expect in the interview is also published.
When outsourcing podcasts, there are 4 tasks you’ll need to outsource;
“Editing, Transcription, Uploading and Marketing”
Apart from conducting the interview, which would be done by you, you’ll need someone to edit the audio, transcribe it to text, upload the audio content and then market your post. In the case where the podcast is a recycled article, you’ll need someone with a good voice to read it out. Or, you could use the many text to speech engines on the web.
Take action: The audio editing should be done solely by a professional. The other tasks such as transcription, uploading, and marketing can be done by someone else on your team or a group of people.
4. Video Posts
Like infographics, video posts have the ability to keep readers glued. But that is if they’re created well. Like podcasts, videos may not stand alone but are also published with a brief overview of what you should expect to see in the video. However, this doesn’t happen in all cases (it depends on what the video is about).
How to Effectively Outsource Video Creation
A lot of technical know-how is required in creating videos, especially if you want it to be on the lips of your audience. Design is definitely a key element, including clarity and video quality. It’s easier for people to stay glued to a video, so it’s okay for them to stay a bit longer than podcasts, but don’t overdo it.
When outsourcing video creation, there are 6 tasks you’ll need to outsource;
“Design, Copy, Editing, Transcription, Uploading and Marketing”
Of course, these tasks are dependent on the kind of video you’re creating.
There are two kinds of video posts; Animations and Recorded videos (videos that require your physical presence). Animations would require a lower level of skill, depending on the kind of animation and the application employed to create it. Here, the copy and design need to be awesome if the purpose of the video is to be achieved. For videos where you’re physically present, probably conducting an interview, giving a tutorial or selling a product, the recording would be done by you. After which your video editor would apply some effects.
Your video could also be a combination of images or slides with background music to match the subject. Just ensure you don’t produce a mismatch — like using a Beethoven sound track for a video explaining how to market your next rock album. That’s hilarious.
Take action: Get your design and quality right! The video creation and editing should be done solely by a professional. But as I said, this depends on the kind of video.
5. Slideshows
These are not the kinds of posts you see on every blog but are always appreciated when created. Like infographics, slideshows have visual appeal but are more organized. They’re more like a combination of text based content and images.
How to Effectively Outsource Slideshow Creation
Little to no technical know-how is required in creating such posts, except you’re including some smashing designs within. Design can be a key element, depending on the kind of slideshow, but content copy is very much important. Every slide must be connected if the purpose must be achieved — whatever it may be. Here’s a post that shows you how to connect your slides.
When outsourcing slideshow creation, there are 6 tasks you could outsource;
“Research, Design, Copy, Editing, Uploading and Marketing”
If you’re doing little to no design on your slides, all these tasks can be done by one team member. A simple way to remove the headache of designing every single slide is to use design templates that rock.
Creating and uploading slides is pretty simple as you can use simple desktop applications like Microsoft PowerPoint. With your smashing hot templates, you can create appealing slides and then upload to Slideshare.
This list shows some of the best free PowerPoint slide templates you can use to create your next ground-breaking slideshow. Another good resource to get templates from is GraphicRiver, and I’m pretty sure you donn’t require much level of skill to get it done.
Take action: Ensure your copy is EPIC. Your slides must be connected to each other and the design must be really appealing. Get your copy right before going ahead to upload.
Although there are a lot of basic questions you need to answer before creating content, getting EPIC SHIT published can be pretty easy. Guessing what parts of content creation to outsource can do your business, and pocket a lot of harm.
Likewise, knowing how to outsource such tasks (as shown above) definitely gives you an edge over others who don’t have the time but yet still choose to do it all by themselves. How? You get more free time, get more value and save more money. Now that’s lifestyle ;).
So if you’re ready to save yourself some time, make more money and still get results from content, we can work on that together. Simply check my services and if we’re a good fit, fill the form at the end of the page.
Do you outsource content? And how do you do it? Share in the comments below.
while outsourcing work is very difficult and not everyone can afford to handle but the ones mentioned above might outsource content is made easier