In Tech and SaaS, it’s essential to maximize the potential of every aspect of your business. But some aspects are harder to maximize than others. Luckily, content marketing isn’t one of those.
Whether just stepping into SaaS content marketing or looking for a way to boost your existing content creation, consider outsourcing. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to create quality content quickly and reliably. Especially if you work with the right partner.
In this article, we’ll explore why most successful B2B SaaS businesses outsource some, or all, of their content creation — and how you can follow suit.
What is SaaS Content Marketing?
Software as a service (SaaS) content marketing involves strategies that research, create, and promote relevant content. It helps SaaS businesses establish their authority, build brand awareness, and win the trust of prospective B2B buyers.
Here are examples of content types you can use for SaaS content marketing:
- Video tutorials
- How-to guides
- eBooks
- Comparison posts
- Infographics
- White papers
- Case studies
- Industry reports
- Survey results
- Webinars
Unlike display advertising, influencer marketing, and other types of outbound marketing, content marketing is an inbound marketing strategy that generates long-term traffic.
However, it can take weeks or even months of consistent content production to reap the full benefits of content marketing. And if you manage an in-house content team, you’re looking at tens of thousands of dollars spent on content creator salaries.
The median salary of one content creator based in the U.S. is $79,978 — that’s just for one full-time writer. That also doesn’t include the cost of office supplies and utility expenses. Start adding more full-time creators and it’s easy to see how your overhead can start to balloon.
As a result, a lot of B2B businesses are outsourcing or creating fractional teams to fulfill their content marketing teams. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 57 percent of the most successful content marketers outsource content marketing activities. And 84 percent of these content marketers hire contractors and agencies primarily for content creation.
Why Should You Consider SaaS Content Outsourcing?
The main reason most businesses use SaaS content outsourcing is to cut costs.
With an in-house team of full-time content creators, you’ll not only pay for their work. You’ll also pay office expenses, employee benefits, and taxes. Not to mention the hefty upfront costs of providing office space and recruiting the right team.
With outsourcing, you forego all the overhead costs and jump straight into your Tech and SaaS content creation. It also gives you a lot of flexibility. Depending on your needs and budget, you can choose between freelancers, on-demand content writing services, or full-service content marketing agencies. All in all, it’s a great way to boost impact without increasing full-time staff.
Most content writing service providers also work on a project-based arrangement. You don’t have an obligation to provide them with a steady volume of orders. Instead, they come in, your content gets done, and they get out. With in-house content writers, you pay them full-time regardless of output.
Besides cost-effectiveness, here are four other benefits of outsourcing content:
1. Find subject matter experts
Top-tier content writing agencies have a network of subject matter experts who can write authoritative and insightful content across a wide variety of topics.
B2B SaaS content marketing, in particular, requires knowledgeable, tech-savvy software experts and technical writers who can quickly grasp technical concepts, understand product features, and produce readable content that both users and non-users will understand.
For example, if you offer fleet management software, you need experts in trucking regulations, inventory management, vehicle maintenance, and retail management. These experts will help you craft high-level pieces such as informative guides, white papers, and industry reports related to those subtopics.
The beauty of outsourcing is that you can utilize these SMEs as you need them instead of keeping them as full-time staff.
2. Bring in an outsider’s perspective
In-house writers often produce content that’s heavily influenced by the company’s mission statement, strict branding guidelines (if any), and internal culture. While these factors help establish a consistent and recognizable brand voice, they can lead to the creation of formulaic and bland content.
Saas content outsourcing brings in fresh perspectives and outside-the-box ideas that your in-house team may have missed. The best service providers also use tools for search engine optimization (SEO), visual content creation, and proofreading — elevating your B2B content marketing results.
3. Put more time into high-level tasks
Small SaaS startups sometimes place the responsibility of creating content on the founders, supported by a small team of recruits.
Content Marketing Institute data shows that 32 percent of all B2B organizations don’t have full-time content marketing staff. 26 percent of these organizations only have one person in charge of their content marketing.
While founders and CEOs are capable of creating high-quality content that screams authority, it takes away valuable time they could’ve spent on other high-level tasks like software development, client relationship management, and branding.
Remember, the responsibilities of content marketers — from research to promotions — require a full-time commitment.
Treating it like a part-time job alongside your actual role in your SaaS startup will only cause you to underperform in both. Not to mention that competitors will easily outperform and bury you in the content marketing arena.
Saas content outsourcing frees you from the responsibilities of content creation. Your content agency takes care of the ideation, creation, and distribution while you focus on higher-level, more meaningful tasks that fully utilize your strengths.
4. Scale your content marketing cost-effectively
Full-service content marketing agencies offer more than just content creation.
They can help you build a successful content strategy, grow your social media presence, optimize your content for conversions, and more. Availing of these value-added services is, of course, more affordable than hiring a full-time, in-house team.
Scale your content marketing beyond your website content to reap these benefits:
- Use email content to foster customer loyalty and enhance lead nurturing
- Build an active following on social networks with optimized social media content
- Generate recurring organic traffic with link-building and on-page SEO add-ons
Tips When Outsourcing SaaS Content Creation
Saas content outsourcing isn’t exactly hard, but choosing the right partner can be. Follow this proven, step-by-step outsourcing process to find the right content service provider.
Let’s pull three tips from that article above to supercharge your SaaS content marketing:
1. Have a clearly defined content strategy
Before you craft your content strategy, you must clearly define your content marketing goals. They should also include the topics you’ll cover and the content types you’ll use.
According to Semrush, 80 percent of successful marketers had a documented content strategy. In contrast, 52 percent of marketers who failed in content marketing didn’t have a documented strategy.
For example, if your marketing goal is to increase conversions, some of the content types you need are:
- White papers
- Case studies
- Industry reports
- eBooks
- Client success stories
- In-depth tutorials
- Product comparisons
A good way to vet contractors or content agencies is to show them your marketing goals and ask them to identify the content types you need. If they can’t, then they don’t have the skills or experience you want.
2. Check for content writing samples
When you look at a prospective hire, inspect their website or portfolio or ask them for previous work samples. It’s verifiable proof of their ability to produce top-quality content. Experienced content service providers will be happy to give them to you, especially if they’re confident in the quality of their work.
Be sure to request and compare multiple samples. Ask them to explain the discrepancies or take your business elsewhere if they are inconsistent.
3. Maintain an open line of collaboration
Email communication is not an efficient way to work with outsourced content creators. Consider investing in project management tools on top of live conferencing or chat apps.
It shortens the feedback cycle (considerably) with collaborative solutions that enable task management and instant messaging. You’ll also be able to monitor the progress of assignments more closely. This is especially critical if you’re using remote contractors or teams.
B2B SaaS Content Outsourcing FAQs
What is content outsourcing?
Content outsourcing is the practice of hiring contractors and content writing agencies for content creation. This is typically done for marketing purposes, but it’s also useful in other activities like creating product documentation and novel writing.
How many companies outsource their content marketing?
Numerous studies confirm that over 50 percent of companies outsource their content marketing to third-party providers. The vast majority of these companies do it to fill their content creation needs.
Should you outsource content writing?
Yes, especially if you’re a small-medium SaaS business with a limited budget. Aside from being more cost-effective, outsourcing content writing has a handful of incredible benefits, like time savings, scalability, and higher overall content quality.
Get Experts for Your B2B SaaS Content Creation
B2B SaaS content creation requires specific talent, expertise, and skillset. Whether you need one technical writing piece or an entire Tech and SaaS content campaign, ClearVoice has you covered. Our Talent Network has proven B2B SaaS content creators who know how to produce content that achieves your goals.
Talk to a content specialist today to see how we can match you with the perfect talent for your needs and budget.
