Yes! Outsourcing your content writing to the best content writing agency is a brilliant choice and a complete game-changer!
Now, don’t worry—we will not bore you with a long list of agencies. (In fact, a list of agencies won’t get you what you want.)
Instead, you need something much better: a guide that will direct you to the ideal agency for your needs.
In this article, we are breaking it down with five powerful tips for hiring the best content writing agency out there!
Are you set? Let’s both discover your content dream team!
Why Hire A Content Writing Agency?
Let’s be frank: Working with a content writing agency with many professional writers is a blessing to your organization.
More than gaining access to better and faster content, you can position your firm to generate more revenue as you increase traffic and boost consumer engagement.
These will help you establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
You will be excited to learn that content writing services can solve your company’s time and scale problems.
Outsourcing your content needs to a writing agency can also offer accurate results, and it’s better than training and setting up an in-house content team.
And with the content service provider, you can improve your team’s capacity.
Guide to Hiring the Best Content Writing Agency
The tips below will help you shortlist the best content writing agency:
#1. Client’s Reviews
There is a popular saying that “reviews don’t lie!” That expression still rings true today.
It’s not unpopular for a content writing company to say many good things about its services.
They can claim to be the best. In fact, they can display so many sweet reviews about themselves on their websites.
Well, that isn’t bad. After all, we also do that at The Exquisite Writers.
However, if you rely completely on those reviews, you might make a poor decision.
Okay, let’s be clear: It’s not bad to market one’s ‘good’ product. After all, who will not be excited to speak about their strength?
So, don’t be overly critical once you see a company speak well about its services. Just pay attention to the comments they receive.
After reading their own “self-praise.” The next is to go on your way to getting an accurate picture of what they do.
You have to explore how other customer feels about their services. You can make this search on third-party websites.
If they can control what they say about themselves, they have little control over what others say.
Explore sites like Trustpilot, G2, UpCity, Clutch, and Good Reviews. They will give you a very clear picture of what to expect!
Now, once you get to the website, look for their rating. An average rating should be over 80%. That is 4 out of 5 stars.
A writing agency that meets these criteria presents a good indicator that, for the most part, offers high-quality services.
On the other hand, if the rating is far below 80%, it indicates that their service quality isn’t reliable.
If the company is farther from 100%, be wary. If it is closer to 100%, you can work with them.
Finally, keep your eye on the specific reviews being dropped: People’s pain points and what excites them about the company.
A company with a 3.5 rating can be the ideal agency if you pay attention to the specific comments from customers who have used their services. It might just be what you are looking for.
What if a company is not listed on any of these websites? Pay attention to the specific comments dropped by their customers.
What excites a customer might not excite you. Check if the comments that excite a customer align with your need.
In summary, the key points are:
- Check reviews and carefully read a handful of them
- Check their ratings
#2. Do They Have Industry-Specific Experience?
What exactly are you searching a content writing agency for?
For example, do you need them to write your blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, product descriptions, emails, social media posts, landing pages, technical writing, copywriting, press releases, or sales and ad writing?
What exactly do you want to do, and what content do you want?
Your answers to these questions will decide the type of agency you want.
Surprisingly, an agency could tell you they do all general writing services. If that is the case, think well.
Ask yourself: Is the writing agency saying, “We are not specialized in any of the writing?” Or do they mean that they have varying professionals dedicated to a specific writing type?
If it is the former, we’d recommend that you should not partner with them. However, if it is the latter, you might have the best writer to get your job done.
Working with a company with in-depth industry experience will ensure you get the best content that matches your company’s needs.
For example, a creative writer would likely not perform well with technical content. Similarly, a technical writer might not perform well with creative writing.
The great idea about hiring the best content writing agency is outsourcing your content to an agency that will allow your content to be crafted by an in-house writer with in-depth knowledge.
Do you need medical content?
It would be nice to work with a medical writing agency. Alternatively, you can work with those in a relevant field or partner with an agency that has writers with medical experience.
These “subject-matter experts” understand all the subject’s nuances and will get you content that speaks directly to your audience.
Therefore, the content writing agency should be assessed based on their expertise in the project.
But here is another factor: A service agency might not have a specific writer for a subject matter.
But do they have an expert who can help them review the content? If they do, you might be selecting a good pick.
To be clear: A content might be duly researched by a writer working with a wiring agency. They might not been trained for that specific niche. However, after researching and writing, an agency might have experts with whom they partner with to review it.
These experts will verify the relevance and authenticity of what they have written. A company that goes a step further to do that will get you quality work.
It might be a win-win if you settle with a writing agency like that—affordability and quality!
#3. Ask for Samples
This is another important step to help you handpick a qualified content writing agency.
A reliable writing agency will not shield itself from presenting a sample that fits what you want to create.
Well, you should take this step after the two previous steps. Nonetheless, there is no hard and fast rule about this. You can also save some stress by seeking the sample first.
Bear in mind that you can request samples in two ways:
Ask the company to present projects they have handled before that relate to your project, or present the offer for a paid or free sample.
A paid sample can be a powerful incentive to provide quality. So, offer a little commitment in exchange for value. It will be worth your while.
Also, you can check content writing samples on their company’s page. This is especially important when you need blog posts or article writing.
Apart from verifying quality, you can also use a company’s sample to verify whether the price advertised is reasonable for the quality they will deliver.
What if you need SEO (Search Engine Optimized) content? Easy breezy! Check if most of their content is on search engine results pages (SERPs).
If you can find more, you are partnering with the best writing agency.
You can even go a step further and ask about their approach to SEO. It can be insightful.
Asking for a sample, in this case, could also mean that you wanted to know companies they have partnered with or worked with.
It’s more like asking for case studies. You can go a step further and request other content marketing KPIs, such as conversions.
Requesting an agency’s sample offers so much insight. But remember that this should be explored along with other quality metrics.
You cannot solely depend on this!
#4. Think About Pricing
I’m sure you have been waiting for this part! It’s a little bit tricky, but you can do it easily.
So, let’s start with the important questions you should ask:
- Do I aim to resell the content?
- Am I just willing to keep content on my website to maintain my brand’s relevance?
- Am I planning on monetizing my blog’s content?
Answers to these questions can help you narrow your budget and pricing.
Regarding the budget, it is important to consider whether you will be doing any of the points highlighted above.
If you aim to resell the content, you should have a specific profit margin to aim at.
Your expenses for content writing must not outweigh your profit. If that ever happens, there’s no way you can keep up with a highly-priced agency, irrespective of their quality.
Simply put, an agency might be highly priced and still offer quality, but it would not make financial sense if the expenses outweigh your profit!
Does that mean that pricing isn’t a big factor? No. But here is the point:
After using all the metrics above to confirm a company’s reliability, the conversation could end at pricing—not from you—but from the content writing agency.
However, do not go so low in the quest for profit that you sacrifice quality! That will have a devastating impact on brand building.
Strike a balance—a beautiful one you won’t regret in a few years’ time!
At The Exquisite Writers, we have fixed rates on our homepage. Nonetheless, we allow first-time customers to explain their goals and find pricing matching their needs. We are not rigid; we are flexible!
Let’s imagine this:
A content writing agency’s service costs 30% more than a competing agency, but their content sample is twice as great and good. What should you do? It would be nice to partner with the agency, despite the 30% increase, provided it is within your profit margin.
If your profit margins are stretched, it would be wise to check other agencies. They can assure you of quality while charging less, especially if they are new.
Mind you, there are times when content would provide a higher ROI than expected, which can even shoot up your profit margins. So, when should you make that type of investment? Trust me, no one can tell!
Here are some pointers: When writing quality long-form content, take calculated risks.
You could also try it once every two months and check its performance, especially if you target Google and other search engines.
The bottom line: Pricing is an essential factor, but do not neglect quality and other services that can increase your revenue. Approach it with great care.
Price is great, but it should not be the ultimate deciding factor.
When your company can afford it, take calculated risks. After all, business is about taking risks.
#5. Start Small
While compiling these practical approaches to hiring the best content writing agency, we felt like calling this point “test first.”
But after careful deliberation, we stuck with “Start small.” We’ll tell you why:
Sometimes, it’s best to give a company a shot and trust all the metrics you have checked. That is often the best way to give a comprehensive and factual verdict about their services.
While this is a test, you should not go too big. Yes, that is why you should “start small.”
It could be with just one or two articles. If they come out fine, you can scale up from there.
But how many writing agencies will you keep testing before settling? Here is a rule we are confident will work:
Read reviews of a few agencies, check their stance on expert-focused content, request samples, and consider the pricing. Use these analyses to shortlist likely writing agencies to work with.
After careful analysis, pick just three. And give them a shot. Mind you: Only scale up once you are confident of their abilities.
Okay, let’s give you some insights:
- Some companies offer free samples
- Some companies offer only paid samples.
- Some companies offer discounts on the first order
- Others maintain the same pricing
But regardless of the style of the company you want to partner with, start small.
It is also beautiful that most content writing services do not require a long-term commitment and can offer potential customers the ability to request small orders.
This flexibility can allow you to test several agencies without breaking the bank, helping you make the best decision you won’t regret.
Some Features of the Best Agencies
How about a sneak peek into the best features you can get from a qualified content writing agency? Let’s get to it:
- Offers hands-on services for all content writing needs
- Have qualifications in several fields
- Can optimize content for search engines
- Content will be edited, proofread, and formatted.
- Offer more than two revisions or unlimited revisions
- Enterprise pricing
- Has easy-to-use websites
- Connects with experts
- Excellent and high-level customer service
- Writers are vetted
- Offer a satisfaction guarantee for all orders
- Fixed and transparent prices
- Has a pool of qualified writers
- Offer bulk discount
- An in-house editor
- Can integrate business tools like Google Workspace
- Working with an experienced team
- Writer is rated
- Dedicated customer service system
A content writing agency you are looking to partner with must not be significantly lacking in any of these points. You can ask them any of these questions to confirm their reliability.
Final Thoughts
You can find the right content writing agency that fits your content needs!
It must be about your preparedness, the level of quality you want to achieve, and the relationship you desire with the company.
Realistically, though, the more you pay, the higher the quality you will get. And in the long run, you will be able to fine-tune your content marketing strategy. Therefore, be ready to make some sacrifices to increase your value in the long run.
No doubt, we have given you in-depth insight into how to hire the best content writing agency in this article.
Therefore, you should not have a problem getting answer to your need for the “content writing agency near me.”
Are you ready to kickstart? Hold on a second—let’s get real!
Do you find all the detailed information a good pointer to getting the best writing agency? Should this transparency not move you to want to start here? But wait…. Did I just nudge you to start here? Yes, I sure did!
Why? It is because The Exquisite Writer isn’t just another content writing agency; it’s the one! We tick all the boxes outlined in this article and some more.
You can bank on our exceptional customer service, and we thought it’d be nice to start from here.
We offer services that companies around swear by! This isn’t soothsaying—it’s what we do.
Still unsure? Take a few moments to explore our website. Go on now—we’ll wait!