According to the latest Borrell Associates report, it’s predicted that businesses in the US will spend approximately $19 billion more on advertising than they did last year. Advertising budgets increase each year, so in retrospect, this hike doesn’t come as a surprise. However, a closer read of the report will reveal that digital marketing will become a $65.9 billion industry this year. Let that roll off your tongue one more time, a sixty five point nine billion dollar industry.

Of all the mediums that businesses spend money on, online advertising is predicted to continue to have the greatest growth rate. In 2016, growth is anticipated to be around 36.4%.

A More Competitive Business Landscape

Why is what was considered to be the most affordable means of advertising becoming increasingly competitive? The answer is simple really. The first one through the wall gets bloody. First generation online marketers and copywriters had to price their services at next to nothing initially to sustain. But today, people understand the value of a good online writing service so industry dynamics have changed.
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Good News for Buyers?

There are no two ways about it, content marketing is a must for businesses of today. Even the oldest running business in the world maintains an online presence to attract new customers! Those that recognized the opportunity early established their presence and grew their businesses significantly through low cost digital marketing techniques of yesteryears.

Things have been less low cost in the last few years.

But, the online arena is still not as competitive as it will become in a couple of years. Google is, after all, always working on improving their search engine algorithm.

One thing is for sure though. Quality shall prevail.

The last unnamed update, RankBrain, and Panda 4.2… they all ultimately focus on content that’s relevant, engaging, shared. In a nutshell, Google wants the same thing your website’s users want – high quality copy.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

It is still possible to get a great return on the dollars you spend to boost your brand online. The downside is that it’s gotten pricier because demand is higher. All of this is fine, until you get to the ugly. The downright ugly fact of the matter is that the number of bad service providers has never been higher!

Here’s What You Should Look For

Making the decision to hire a content writing service is a great choice. Reading through this blog is the best thing you can do. Because in all honesty, once you read through, you’ll be able to spot a great writing service provider from one that’s not with ease.

Here’s what you need to look for.

Samples on Different Industries

If a company can’t show you a sample of their writing, then it’s probably best to walk away. But don’t just settle for what they readily showcase on their website.

Ask for samples that are relevant to your industry. Do they already have a sample or two that relates to your industry on their site? That’s a good sign, but request to see more. Make sure you see their most recent post that’s relevant to the industry before you hire.

Your diligence will benefit you in the following ways.

  • For one, writing companies present their best work as their samples. If they don’t have samples, that means they probably don’t have anything worth sharing.
  • If they have samples relevant to your industry on their site, then they probably are confident of their ability on the specific niche. More importantly, that means that someone from their team has knowledge of your industry.
  • Reviewing a recent post will allow you to gauge the quality of writing they usually submit to their clients.

Make sure you read through the samples before you choose to hire a writing service.

Promptness in Customer Service

Does the site have a toll free phone number you can call? What’s the average response time you get when you send them an e-mail? Is your point of contact at the company someone that seems to know what they’re talking about?

Customer service is perhaps the most overlooked factor when people evaluate copywriting service providers. It should be the first.

The time it takes the service provider to respond to your query and the quality of information they provide is an indicator of the service you’re going to get. Chances are your order is going to be delayed if you can’t even get a question you have on keywords answered on time.

Type of Services

Are you looking to hire someone to write blog posts for your company? Make sure they have a dedicated page on their blog post writing service. A lot of contractors online will go on and on about what they can and can’t do. But chances are, they probably haven’t done enough of something if they haven’t put up a dedicated page or section on their site for it.

Similarly, make sure you ask for samples of that particular service. Suppose that you run a bakery and you’d like to hire a company to write a press release about an offer you’re going to launch. The organization or freelancer you’re looking to hire should ideally be able to show you a PR that’s relevant to your industry. Don’t settle for a blog they show you on the industry. Ask to see what the press release you’re hiring them for will look like.

Keyword Research and Images

For best results, you should get content that’s optimized for keywords that are relevant to your industry. Make sure the provider you’re hiring is familiar with SEO, has the ability to suggest keywords, and knows how to incorporate them so that they don’t look forced in the content.

The keywords in the copy should look natural. It’s not done right if it looks forced.

Lastly, find out if the contractor has the ability to offer images with the content they create for you. Do opt for images even if it costs you a little bit more. Just make sure the images you get from the writing company are royalty free!

Content Development Pros has been delivering high quality content to clients from a number of industries for years now. You’re bound to find great samples on our website. But in case you don’t, make sure you start a live chat with one of sales reps and they’ll show you one right away!

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