Ray L. Perry Consulting

7 Signs It’s Time to Hire a Freelance Content Marketer

Free photos of Man

Are you now ready to add to their number and employ a free-lance content marketing specialist?

On this page, we will go over some of the indications that you don’t have the correct content marketing personnel yet – and what to do in those circumstances.

Why it’s worth investing in an expert content marketers

Simply put: the content landscape is competitive. Bringing in an experienced content promoter can assist you in gaining prominence.

Most of the new materials we see today are simply reiterations of what has already been done. Investing in a good content marketing scheme is more expensive and takes longer than simply creating generic blog posts.

Unless you have a plan to make your message stand out and guide prospective customers through the buying process while keeping track of the goals you set out to accomplish, it is unlikely you will see good results.

Many businesses struggle to link content and conversions. Dossetto suggested to MarketerHire that one of the most important steps content marketers should take is to recognize an enterprise’s key concern and create a plan to cope with it throughout every stage of the buyer process.

Every content activity carried out by a business should have a designated aim, according to Dossetto. The goal should be linked to a particular stage in the customer journey, be it creating written material or hosting a webinar.

Using this type of savvy approach can lower the expense of obtaining new customers. The results of a BigCommerce survey carried out in 2019 revealed that the majority (56%) of businesses that allocated resources in crafting and publishing unique material reported a decrease in Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC).

78% of businesses saw an increase in income as a result of investing in content.

How to know you need an expert content marketer

At times, it takes putting in a bit of effort, time, and money into producing content, but it just does not gain visibility. Over 90%+ of it gets no organic search traffic. Why? Many people lack comprehension of the type of material their intended audience desire to read and where they prefer to access it.

You may need to look at getting a freelance content marketer if this is something that fits with you. These are seven more indications that it is necessary to get help from an experienced specialist right away.

You aren’t sure how to measure content marketing (or aren’t measuring at all).

Many content marketing teams frequently assess the success of their material. Consider reflecting regularly, or even often throughout the day, according to the findings of a DataBox analysis.

Firms are not solely evaluating the overall triumph of their blog. Each content published by DataBox receives an individual goal and a set of key performance indicators (KPIs).

Producing content can be made to seem like a cost center if you are not sure how to measure the sessions, signups and leads that have come from it.

You don’t know how to promote your content.

You have produced several explainers, but nobody is viewing them. What to do?

A content marketer will help you maximize the potential of your content by exploring different strategies for delivering it across different mediums. They can assist you in finding the most effective way to spread your message to the intended audience. You could use the information contained within your nurture emails in an explainer form, create a Twitter thread from them, or modify them to work with search engine optimization.

Figure out what communication outlets are most suitable for your business. Lang suggested pondering your brand and figuring out where your potential employees are located prior to searching for new staff.

You aren’t able to commit to consistency.

If you don’t regularly post content during a Monday or are posting in a rush at the end of a month, it may be beneficial to employ a content marketer.

The specialists declared that when they discern that type of discrepant sharing from a company, it is an indication that the internal team is overwhelmed and bearing too many schemes simultaneously.

Many companies have a content marketing team of between zero and five people working full-time, while smaller firms with one or two designated content marketing professionals are attempting to handle everything internally.

When employees who are overextending themselves can’t guarantee regular postings, it’s bad for the company’s reputation. Clark argued that if people fail to show up in people’s news feeds, they will not be the first thing that comes to mind.

A committed content marketer can assist you in creating steady, premium material that will have a positive effect, motivate, as well as inform –– through your blog and in numerous media outlets.

You aren’t able to commit to quality.

It is evident that your content promotion requires enhancement when your material is aimless.

For example, there are companies that create posts related to National Dog Day, National Bungee Jumping Day, and National Hamburger day, despite being completely unrelated to the products they are selling, noted by Clark.

Content like that does not translate into satisfactory results and is a misuse of time and resources.

Clark expressed that content marketers are frequently paid for their work, even when it is not used. Eventually, the firms comprehend that their material isn’t suitable for the image of the firm, and individuals are not engaging with their calls-to-action. Bounce rates are through the roof.

Trying your luck by creating a lot of inadequate content in the hope that something works is not a valid approach. A professional content marketer can assist you in devising one.

You want to invest in organic search growth for your brand’s overall health and profitability.

Without content, it’s impossible to get organic search traffic. The research company SEMRush states that 70 percent of all high-level traffic is sourced from the top of funnel.

Hence the popularity of corporate blogs. The greater the number of blog posts published, the more likely it is that search terms can be attained, thereby increasing the amount of visitors to your website which can then result in leads.

The research of 1,400 consumers conducted by HubSpot unveiled that businesses who have blogs acquire 68% more leads than companies that don’t post blogs. Organizations possessing over 20 pieces on their blogs remarked the most noteworthy increment in lead acquisition.

Creating content that is tailored for search can have positive ramifications in all areas of your process.

You want to support your sales team.

If your representatives are having difficulty answering customer inquiries, it is possible that there is a lack of coordination between the sales and marketing divisions of your organization.

Specialized content marketers are able to assist in altering the sales landscape with sales-enhancing items such as sales displays and documents.

Most likely they’ll begin the imaginative process through thorough discussions with your higher-level management, sales representatives, and a selection of customers. After that, the feedback from the customers will be used to build profiles representing each customer, and the appropriate message will be crafted.

Neumark revealed that, in the course of five customer interviews, usually the same words were employed to discuss a certain brand. “And those words become the foundation of the messaging.”

Sales and marketing are in sync, allowing content marketers to use external content in sales presentations, as well as utilizing insights gained during sales in the creation of content.

You want to optimize your funnel.

Copywriting and CRO are like two pieces of bread brought together with peanut butter and jelly – they’re a perfect combination. An analysis conducted by SEMrush demonstrated that nearly nine in 10 firms rely on content marketing to advance their potential clients through the buyer journey.

The blending of content marketing and CRO is particularly evident when making the move from one phase to the other. Content of superior quality will draw the attention of potential customers and guide them to the next step in their search for a purchase.

That looks different in different layers of the funnel.

Neumark suggested having something more educational at the beginning, or even a blend of education and entertainment. Then I observe a lot of accomplishments after finishing the funnel with example scenarios.

It may be a good idea to employ a content marketer if your material is focused on things like boosting brand awareness or increasing conversions. This person could bridge the gap between the start of the process and when a potential customer reaches the end.

Where to find freelancers

If you have determined that getting a freelance digital marketer is the right choice, the next step is to identify where to hire one. Your initial step would likely be results from a search engine.

Freelance marketplaces

The top search outcomes probably will be e-commerce platforms meant for freelance jobs, like Upwork and Fiverr, that have become popular in recent years.

These locations provide aid to corporations in looking for and employing freelancers for different marketing projects, at various expense levels, with multiple payment choices, and contracts which may be both brief and long-term. Brands are enabled to communicate directly with the marketers and post their particular employment needs.

The fantastic thing about websites like Upwork is the convenience of being able to pick, haggle, communicate, and make payments in one spot. Ratings from past clients decide how trustworthy freelancers are.

Advantages of marketplaces:

It’s important to remember that the trustworthiness of these recruitment websites may not always show the kind of quality you can anticipate. Anyone can call themselves a professional marketing freelancer without any documented evidence of their skills or references beyond customer reviews and endorsements.

Although Upwork clients offer feedback and appraisals, they may not be entirely dependable due to the fact that some customers don’t post reviews, and they are very simple to manufacture.

Challenges with marketplaces:

Social media & referrals

Two other excellent sources of getting new acquaintances are social media networks and word-of-mouth referrals. There are many Facebook forums devoted to recruiting freelancers. they have used. There are some resources which are associated with certain sectors, while other sources suggest companies that have been previously utilized.

Getting a suggestion from a fellow group mate can be more dependable. You can locate individuals who boast extensive experience and a positive track record. Posting a job opening on an online directory is a wiser choice than other alternatives.

Pros of finding a freelancer on social media:

Nevertheless, to have a successful association with an independent marketer (regardless of the source) also relies on the harmony between your needs, your form of communication, and how well the prospective freelancer fits into them. It is possible that the applicant might have all the right qualifications and match the job perfectly, yet only you can decide if there is a compatibility that would work.

Cons of finding a freelancer on social media:

What you should check when hiring a digital marketing freelancer

You should do your own research to make sure that the freelancer you want to hire has a good reputation, and to assess if they are a suitable fit for your needs. Here is a short checklist of things to check:

Ratings

Online platforms like Upwork that facilitate the hiring of freelancers have a system of ratings that is based on customer feedback from previous customers. These sources can be mainly relied on, however, they should not be the sole source of information you use. You could also be overlooking a new entrant to the marketplace who has yet to receive evaluations.

Customer testimonials

This information is generally found on a freelancer’s profile on numerous platforms or may even be visible on their web page. Finding examples of businesses with similar objectives to yours which have achieved success can be beneficial in demonstrating the potential of a good match.

LinkedIn profile

Their background can offer clues about their experience with digital marketing, their education, certifications, and more that may be necessary for them to offer the services necessary for your needs.

Past experience

Here’s how you get this info. You can inquire about their qualifications by either contacting them directly or conducting an online investigation (e.g., via LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, Twitter). Ensure the individual is adequately experienced in your business sector, and that they have the know-how to manage budget and marketing platforms similar to yours.

Proximity

Having the Freelance Content Marketer near enough to communicate easily with is advantageous in the modern market, whereas it isn’t a strict requirement. Therefore, it is wise to ascertain their whereabouts. If you are not within a close distance to each other, having the same or overlapping time zones can help with promptness.

Expected results

Determine what techniques they will utilize to track their progress, and verify that it is in agreement with your KPI’s. You could have predictive indicators (such as the amount of Google ads you will launch) and retrospective indicators (including your attrition rate and sales figures over a certain time frame). Set a timeline for the outcome desired and decide what needs to be done from each side to abide by the agreement.

THE PROBLEM: YOUR BUSINESS ISN’T GROWING AS FAST AS IT SHOULD!

Your sales have stagnated or decreased, and you cannot figure out why. Discover what is holding you back from achieving predictable sales growth in your business.

If you want to grow your business, you need a proven plan and framework. That is what you get with the 2X Your Sales Discovery Session.

Want to learn about a formula for Predictable Growth that will put your business on a 90-day path to 2X Your Sales?

Join our 90-minute one-on-one virtual workshop.