Is it better to hire a freelancer or write blogs yourself?

[cbrookes1]

I'm in the midst of creating a blog for a new website I have a small budget and have been debating on hiring a freelancer to write SEO optimized content. Is it worth the money or should I just go ahead and put in the time and create my own content so its more personal?

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm in the midst of creating a blog for a new website I have a small budget and have been debating on hiring a freelancer to write SEO optimized content. Is it worth the money or should I just go ahead and put in the time and create my own content so its more personal?

Take the time to create your own content. It being personal is second to you being in control of the content, getting used to writing, and learning about content marketing. If you pay someone to kick out a bunch of cheap blog posts (because good writers cost good money), you rob yourself of all of that.

Writing blog posts isn't so hard that you need to outsource it like it's database programming. And flooding your site with content as some kind of SEO trick died a long time ago.

[WarrenD]

I tried to hire someone to write part time for me once - not just blogs per se, but content for my website, printed material etc. Turned out they wrote well but didn't really capture the essence of what my business was all about. It's probably because no outsider can know my business as well as I do or my employees do. Since then we've done this in house. A couple of my guys are my go-to people for doing the writing.

Having said that I realise not everyone can find the time to do the writing themselves. So write on your own if you can. If you need to hire an outsider, make sure they're with you on a long term basis so that they understand the nuances of your operations well enough to give you quality writing.

[Harold Mansfield]

Also, let yourself off the hook. Write when you can. Don't create arbitrary deadlines or schedules that you must blog something every day or every week. When you have something to say, write it. When you don't, don't force it. Trying to keep an unrealistic schedule is how it becomes a chore that you'll dread doing.

You'll quickly understand which things are important or helpful information that you want to get out and published, and which are just filler articles. You'll make time for the important ones. Better to have a few articles published every now and then that are good, informative, entertaining and that people get some use out of, than a slew of quickly written, bad articles that no one needs or reads or do you any good and also junk up your website.

[BizAdvisor]

Whether you hire someone to write your content or do it yourself, there is still a cost involved. The cost of doing it yourself is a cost of opportunity; i.e. the time you spend writing, second guessing yourself, and re-writing again and again may very well be time better spent doing something else more productive.

[cbscreative]

You certainly got some great responses. I especially appreciate Harold's point that good writing isn't cheap (and vice versa) and BizAdvisor's advice to consider the cost of opportunity (or lost opportunity). The latter is the one I would also answer from. You mentioned limited budget but the budget considerations should include the cost of failure which is essentially one of the things BizAdvisor was getting at. If the writing fails to "connect" with the intended audience, you won't get a second chance. A cheap price then becomes very expensive and an "expensive" price can be the real bargain.

Warren's point about a pro writer not "getting" your company culture is a valid concern but a good writer should be able to achieve that. At the risk of a shameless boast, I've had very few issues with that and when I do miss the mark, it's easy enough to make a course correction early and get it right.

Keep in mind that all this advice is very general without knowing your goals and purpose of the blog and your business model. If your blog is for something like the Ford Mustang that has an established following and you're a dedicated Mustang enthusiast, you could probably do well writing your own material. If you're trying to establish yourself as the go to guy for high end custom cabinetry, you'd probably do yourself a great deal of harm not hiring a writer who can attract buyers for your craft.

[jacreative]

It is better if you, or someone at your company writes the content, who understands the business and its goals. Don't forget that SEO is about quality as well, which means that the content is highly related to your business and provides a good qualitative insight to different interesting topics.

[jeffscott]

Its an old thread but i would like to contribute. If you have an experience you can write your own content for your blog post but if you are busy and no time for writing its better to hire a freelancer to do the job for you.

[engage123]

Everyone doesn't possess the talent to write. If you do, I suggest you write your own. If you don't have that ability, I recommend you try a reputable freelancer.

[Lewis-H]

It all depends on your budget. Freelance blogger will charge you for his services and writing a blog is no rocket science.