Let’s set the stage. Pick your character:
- A SaaS startup that just launched a new website, but is struggling to get visitors to it without dumping a bunch of money into CPC ads.
- A new dental practice and want to be more visible online to customers in your area.
- A contractor looking to expand where they offer services and need to be able to reach customers in a wide geographical area.
Even if none of these examples describes your business or industry, one thing holds true: whatever your industry, being visible online these days is paramount to your business’s success.
Back in the day, people flipped through the pages of phone books to find businesses. These days, people are flipping through the pages of Google instead. And for Google to rank your website, you need content. Effective copywriting (that’s the words on the different pages on your website) helps, but there’s something that allows more: blog writing.
Maybe you’re thinking, “ok, I can write a few articles for my website” and call it a day, but while that won’t hurt anything, unless you’re familiar with SEO writing, then it’s probably better to hire a blog writing expert instead.
If you do a quick Google search (throw away that phone book, already!) you’ll find hundreds of blog writing services results. So how do you know which one to choose? We’ll get into that in this post, but first, baby steps.
Let’s start with what exactly an SEO blog writing service is, what types of content they can write for you, and get into a bit more detail about what you can expect from your experience, as well as some red flags you should watch out for.
Ready? Let’s get started.
Definition of SEO Blog Writing Service
To effectively write SEO blogs requires knowledge of how search engines work, what people typically type into those search engines to find results, and, of course, keyword and topic research. SEO blog writing services — whether it's an agency or a freelancer — will use their expertise on these factors to craft articles that both show up in search results and provide the reader with the information they are looking for.
What is Keyword and Topic Research?
We could go on for days about the nuances of keyword and topic research, but let’s stick with the quick and dirty definition for simplicity’s sake:
- Keyword research is the process of finding the relevant and highly-searched keywords that your audience types into search engines, and using that information to determine what words to use in an article.
- While conducting keyword research, highly searched and relevant terms will come up that are broad enough to write an entire article about, but also specific enough to keep the article focused on one overall point. This is often referred to as a core keyword, or topic keyword, and is the basis for the entire article.
- Alongside the core keyword or topic keyword, the writer will often have a list of related keywords or variations — these are essentially synonyms of the core keyword, but aren’t as highly searched or as relevant compared to the core keyword. The writer will often use some or all of these variants throughout the article to capture any differences in audience search queries.
Types of Blog Content Writing Services
Type of Blog Content Writing Service |
Description |
Articles |
SEO-focused pieces of writing that provide rich information on a specific topic, using keywords and good post structure (headings, lists, bullets, tables, etc.) |
Guest Blogging |
Content written by another writer, usually an expert, to add diversity in perspectives and showcase authority on your website’s blog |
Lead Magnets |
Free, useful content that is given away to a reader (reports, white papers, ebooks, etc.) in exchange for their contact details, with the aim of gathering leads for sales |
White Papers |
A concise document that focuses on a customer pain point or complex problem and outlines the organization’s solution |
Social Media Posts |
Engaging and pithy pieces of content, often including images or video alongside the text, that serve the organization’s audience on social networks |
Case Studies |
Compiles in-depth information about an organization, event, group, or person, presenting the problem, proposed solution, and the result |
Blog Posts Writing Service Key Industries
There are tons of writers out there in the world, and they all come from different backgrounds. Some have degrees in writing, and some have developed their skills over time writing professionally for various organizations.
What this means is that different writers are going to have different experiences writing content for different industries and types of businesses. Ideally, you’d want to hire a blog writing service ripe with writers that know your industry inside and out, but that’s not always possible.
At the end of the day, whether the writer knows about your industry or not, they should at least be able to understand the nuances of what makes writing for your industry different from writing for other industries.
Here are some examples of how blog writing can differ depending on the industry:
Financial Advisor Blog Writing Services
The world of finance is complex. Financial advisors spend years navigating this world, becoming experts on topics such as managing investments, taxes, estate planning, insurance, and more. People trust financial advisors to manage their money, which is often tied to their livelihood — so it’s important that a financial content writer can accurately and effectively convey the financial advisor’s expertise and professionalism in every post.
This means that when writing a blog post for a financial advisor, a writer should be able to:
- Discuss complex financial topics using clear, concise, and plain language that can be understood by a large audience
- Discuss sensitive financial topics, such as bankruptcy, credit issues, and personal finance in a professional, tactful, and sensitive way
- Conduct effective and accurate research, which may mean reaching out to subject matter experts
Business Blog Writing Service
Business blog writing services might seem more straightforward and general than the other types of blog writing in this section, but in reality, business blog writers have to not only inform their readers of a business’s product or service but also educate and convince them that the business’s solution is the right choice — all without seeming too pushy or salesy in their writing.
Aside from being able to write not-too-salesy blog posts, business blog writers should also be able to:
- Differentiate between a B2C (business to consumer, which means they sell directly to the public) and B2B (business to business, which means a business selling to another business) audience by understanding the differences in writing for each (B2B copywriting needs to appeal to multiple decision-makers, while B2C is often just appealing to one decision-maker)
- Understand how to write content that appeals to a wide audience, or a very specific one, depending on the business that they are writing for
- Match a brand’s tone and voice within the writing
Technical Blog Writing Service
The intricacies of technology, in general, can be overwhelming for a lot of people, but that can get compounded when say, you’re a decision-maker at a business looking for a new piece of software to increase efficiency with a task, or a professional that is looking for a software solution that they can rely on to execute a deliverable.
This means that a technology content writer needs to be able to:
- Break down complex technology concepts into manageable explanations, while at the same time being able to convey them in plain language
- Not get too bogged down with details (like the inner-working of the software) and instead focus on how the technology solves a common customer problem or problems
- Fully understand the goals and motivations of their target audience, and craft a well-researched article that appeals to those goals and motivations
Automotive Blog Writing Services
Writing for automotive can mean a variety of things, from writing for a mom-and-pop mechanic shop business (think your typical small-town auto mechanic), a car dealership, or a chain of businesses that provide a specific automotive service (e.g. Mr. Lube, Fountain Tire, Part source, etc.). The automotive industry is huge and extremely competitive, so writers in this space should at least have a basic knowledge of vehicles before diving into writing.
In addition to knowing about cars, an automotive content writer should be able to:
- Analyze current automotive industry trends and make connections between them
- Effectively research and write accurate articles on a wide range of automotive topics, from car repair to how to change a tire, to advice on driving in different weather conditions (e.g. snow, rain)
- Compile and draw conclusions from a variety of authentic review sources for different vehicles, and craft that information in a way that both educates and drives the customer towards a buying decision
Benefits of Blog Writing Services
We’ve talked about what blog writing services are, what types of content a blog writer can write for you, and how blog writers approach writing for different industries, but what exactly are the specific benefits that blog writing can bring to your business? Let’s explore them below:
1. Directs Traffic to Your Website
Organic content writing services, like blogging, are proven to be effective at bringing long-term growth to your website’s traffic. Blogs that are written to cater to your target audience(s) and serve their search queries drive visitors to your website, helping to nurture them through your lead magnets (free trials, newsletter sign-ups, etc.) and ultimately win you more qualified leads that can be passed on to your sales team.
Even if a prospect doesn’t buy on their first visit, if you continue to write quality, actionable content, chances are they’ll be landing on your website again and again — giving you more chances to showcase your brand’s reputation, knowledge, and ability to educate, and increasing the chances that they’ll turn into a paying customer.
2. Helps Create Long-Term Exposure
Many content writers focus on crafting evergreen content, which is content that follows a few specific principles:
- Is always relevant. Content like how-to articles, recipes, definitions, and more are always relevant to readers — regardless of whether they were written yesterday or five years ago. This means that the content is always relevant and always has a chance to rank for the topic it’s about in search engines.
- Doesn’t refer to specific times or dates, except in a historical context. Writers that are trying to craft evergreen content pieces will avoid referring to current events or viral content that could date their article unless it’s referring to a well-known historical event that helps illustrate a point or concept.
- Helps achieve regular organic traffic. By always being able to serve the search intent of readers, evergreen content can achieve regular organic traffic to your website for a certain topic.
In a nutshell, evergreen content helps create long-term organic traffic to your website, by always providing a relevant answer to your audience’s common questions and education on topics that your audience is interested in. Content writers conduct keyword and topic research to zero in on what exactly your audience wants to know and use that information to write evergreen articles.
3. Increases Audience Engagement
When you’re consistently publishing actionable, relevant content on your website, chances are that you’ll get a steady stream of readers month after month. These might be mainly returning users or completely new ones, but a good content writing strategy should target both. This often means writing articles that provide high-level education on a topic that’s relevant to your business, in addition to more targeted and nuanced content to appeal to more savvy, experienced readers.
For example, Let’s say you’re a SaaS company that sells a project management software solution. Articles like “How to Schedule Multiple Experts on a Project for Maximum Efficiency” or “How to Level-Up Cross-Team Collaboration” would be good for attracting a more general audience, while more specific articles that focus on using your software, like “Understanding our New Embedded Task Feature” cater to your existing users.
4. Generates and Nurtures Leads
Just like blog writing services can craft content that keeps your audience engaged, these services can also craft content that both generates and nurtures leads.
- For generating leads, organic blog content is one example. Articles written with actionable, relevant content help drive new visitors to your website, and when combined with strategies like CTAs (call to actions) to keep them on your website, can help you generate new leads for your sales team.
- For nurturing leads, a good content example is white papers. White papers are one or two-page content pieces that take a common problem that your audience faces, and offer up your product or service as the solution. White papers are written concisely, are filled with facts, and present the problem vs solution in a clear way. This content if often sent to a customer via email once they’ve filled out an online form as a way to keep them interested and entice them into contacting a salesperson for more information. That being said, organic blog content can also nurture leads by providing education. Educational content helps build trust with your audience as well as answer questions, which can ease them forward in the sales funnel.
5. Helps Develop your Brand’s Voice
Every company, and subsequently every brand, should have a brand voice. This voice is your business’s personality and should be reflected in all your communications. Do you want to come across as very formal and professional to your audience, or would you rather be seen as more casual and friendly, or in-between the two? If you don’t have a brand voice already, developing one that you like and represents your business well can sometimes take time.
Blog writing is an effective way to develop your brand voice, as you can adjust nuances in the writing to see what appeals to your audience and what conveys your business’s personality in the best way.
At Roketto, we ask our clients to indicate the writing tone they would like our writers to target for blogs. This helps ensure that we match your established brand voice with the blog articles we write for you, but also can help businesses that don’t have a brand voice develop one over time. Want us to cut back on the gif usage, or increase it? No problem. The writing tone isn’t set in stone and can change over time.
Here’s an example of the writing tone chart that Roketto would get a client to fill out:
Writing Style |
Ex. American-English spelling, geared toward a North American audience (Canada/USA) |
||
Writing Tone Check one per row |
Yes |
With Moderation |
No |
Formal This tone focuses on being thorough and direct, yet respectful. It uses full words, rather than contractions, and emphasizes facts and grammatical correctness. |
☑ |
||
Conversational A more informal, conversational, and expressive tone similar to how you’d speak to a friend. It uses contractions, colloquial phrases, and more emotion. |
☑ |
||
Entertaining / Witty Colourful narration for the purposes of drawing engagement through relatable industry stories or examples. Use of quotes and puns are encouraged. |
☑ |
||
Current / Popular Events Use of popular media/events for the purposes of humour, relatability, and engagement. |
☑ |
||
Gifs / Memes In addition to the use of photos, there can be a maximum of 3 gifs/memes (Giphy.com) per post relating to marketing personas. |
☑ |
||
Additional Context on Tone |
What to Expect from Blog Writing Companies
Not every blog writing company is going to have the same approach to writing articles. Of course, different companies will have different processes, timelines, workflows, and opinions on what works and what doesn’t as it relates to organic SEO and content writing.
With that being said, there are also general things that you can expect to encounter when working with blog writing companies, including:
- Having to fill out a business discovery worksheet or other documents that give a general overview of your business, including your customers, your audience, the product or service that you offer, what industry you’re in, your competitors, and more. This helps writers gain a better understanding of your business before they dive into writing.
- Having to sign an agreement or contract that outlines the scope of work, such as frequency and amount of published articles in a given period of time, as well as costs and any other details specific to your project.
- Regular contact with a writer or project manager to discuss timelines, deliverables, small changes to articles or writing processes, and more.
- Having to approve or disapprove article outlines or briefs prior to being sent to a writer.
Blog Writing Agency vs Freelance Writer vs In-House Writer
Blog Writing Agency |
Freelance Writer |
In-House Writer |
Content production is more scalable due to multiple writers |
Not as scalable as an in-house writer or blog writing agency |
Content production can be scaled up, but at the expense of other tasks |
Content diversity is increased due to access to multiple writers |
No diversity in content since there’s only one writer |
No diversity in content unless multiple in-house writers are hired |
Typically follows a strict process for editing and fact-checking content, which often includes multiple writers and/or editors |
Either you or the writer is responsible for fact-checking and editing content |
Typically has access to subject matter experts and others that can assist with editing and fact-checking content |
Typically less expensive than hiring an in-house writer |
Costs less than an agency or in-house writer |
Can cost more than an agency or freelancer, but the writer can |
Tips to Hire Blog Writing Services
Before you hire blog writing services, it’s important to vet the company to ensure that you’re getting the service you’re expecting. Here are some tips you can follow:
1. Check How Well They Know Your Industry
Whether it's a blog writing company or a freelancer, be sure to check their website to see whether they’ve written for your industry before. Many bloggers or content agencies will specialize in a particular industry or a few industries to differentiate themselves in the market and ensure they are a good fit for their target audience. That doesn’t necessarily mean that if you go with an agency or freelancer that has little or no experience writing for your industry that you’ll get a low-quality article, but the chances are higher. Think about it: would you rather hire a writer for your law firm’s blog that doesn’t know anything about the legal industry, and will likely need more time for research, or someone with experience blogging for lawyers that can write high-quality articles in a shorter amount of time?
2. Look for Evidence that They Can Deliver Results
Be sure to take the time to browse through the website and social media platforms of any blog writing services you’re thinking of going with, and take note of any reviews (positive and negative), testimonials, case studies, and other information that’s going to help you determine if they can deliver the results that you want. Review websites like Upcity, Google, Upwork, and more are also great sources to find reviews from past clients.
3. Be Aware of Red Flags
Blogging is a very competitive industry, which means it can be hard to stand out among the crowd and earn someone’s business. This means that writers and agencies have to spend a lot of time developing effective content writing strategies that help them stand out from the crowd, like specializing in a particular type of industry vertical (e.g. SaaS, healthcare, real estate). But just like with any other industry, you might encounter those who are trying to take shortcuts to earn business by overpromising and underdelivering.
Before you hire a blog writing service, it’s important to be aware of potential red flags that could mean wasted money, time, and resources, all while leaving you further away from meeting your business goals than you were before.
Here are some examples of red flags to look for with a blog writing service:
- Promise immediate results. The truth is that organic SEO takes time. A typical SEO-focused article can take anywhere from 4-12 months to rank, and in some cases, even longer. If any blog writing company or freelancer is promising you immediate results, like saying that the blog post will rank on the first page of Google in two weeks, then run for the hills.
- Trying to sell a one-size-fits-all approach rather than a customized solution. Every business is different, even if they are in the same industry. While some elements of a content strategy will likely remain static across different clients, the best blog writing companies will try to get as much information as possible about your business and your audience by asking targeted questions and doing research, and developing a personalized content strategy from there.
- Saying they can do it all. While it’s possible that a full-fledged marketing agency would be able to offer multiple services, sometimes the temptation to earn extra business might cause a blog writing agency to uh, maybe fib a little bit on what services they can deliver. To avoid this, look for transparency. A blog writing agency worth its salt should be able to clearly explain what services they offer at the beginning. If that changes over time to suddenly include a laundry list of other services, that’s a clear sign that you need to look elsewhere.
Conclusion
There you have it. If you’re looking for a scalable solution to increasing organic traffic to your website, gaining more leads, and helping to build a positive online reputation with your target audience, then blog writing services can help you get there.
Blog writing experts craft SEO-focused articles by gaining an understanding of your audience and your business, and using keyword research to hone in on the topics that will resonate the most with your current and prospective customers.
Looking for a blog writing service that checks all the boxes? Psst. Hey. Over here! That’s right, it’s us, Roketto. Give us a shout, we look forward to hearing from you!
Lisa Hoffart
Lisa Hoffart is a professional writer with several years of experience crafting well-researched content for a wide variety of industries, from legal, real estate, technology, and more. Lisa is a huge technology geek that loves video games and computers. In her free time, Lisa enjoys sewing, crafting, and hanging out with her cat.