Is your SaaS business ready to step into content marketing? Consider SaaS content outsourcing first if you need effective content created fast, reliably, and on a budget — don’t build an in-house content team just yet.
This post explores why most successful businesses outsource 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 will provide you with long-term traffic.
However, it can take weeks or even months of relentless 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 $41,405 — that’s just for one full-time writer. That also doesn’t include the cost of office supplies and utility expenses.
As a result, many B2B businesses considering SaaS content outsourcing in order to fulfill their content marketing needs.
Statistics show that 57 percent of the most successful content marketers outsource content marketing activities, according to the Content Marketing Institute. 84 percent of these content marketers hire contractors and agencies primarily for content creation.
Why should you consider SaaS content outsourcing?
Most B2B SaaS businesses use SaaS content outsourcing 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.
You forego all the overhead costs with outsourcing and jump straight to content creation.
Depending on your needs and budget, you can choose between freelancers, on-demand content writing services, or full-service content marketing agencies.
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 — they come in, your content gets done, and they get out. If you have in-house content writers, you must pay them full-time salaries regardless of their output.
Apart from cost-effectiveness, here are four other benefits of outsourcing content marketing for SaaS businesses:
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 who can quickly grasp technical concepts, understand product features and produce readable content that non-users will understand.
SaaS companies also need subject matter experts in the industries their product serves.
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.
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.
But Saas content outsourcing brings in fresh perspectives and topic 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 one of the founders, supported by a small team of new 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 they’re capable of creating high-quality content that screams authority, it takes away valuable time they could’ve spent on other high-level tasks. This includes 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, including research, writing, and proofreading. This will enable you to 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 recruiting an 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 is incredibly costly. Ensure you follow a proven, step-by-step outsourcing process that will help you find the right content service provider.
Here are three tips for outsourcing content and supercharging your SaaS content marketing strategy:
1. Have a clearly-defined content strategy
Craft your content strategy by clearly defining your content marketing goals. This 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, 81 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
Seasoned contractors and content writing agencies should be able to identify the content types you need for your marketing goals. They’re not a good fit if they have neither the skills nor the experience needed to produce the content you need.
2. Check for content writing samples
Inspect your prospective hire’s website for a portfolio or ask them directly for previous work samples when inquiring about Saas content outsourcing services. These are verifiable proof of a contractor’s or agency’s ability to produce top-quality content. Experienced content service providers should 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. If they’re inconsistent, you could give them a chance to explain the discrepancies or take your business elsewhere.
3. Maintain an open line of collaboration
Consider investing in project management tools on top of live conferencing or chat apps. Communicating via email is not an efficient way to work with outsourced content creators.
You shorten 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.
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 content experts on board your B2B SaaS business
ClearVoice’s network of content experts can provide you with the sparkling content SaaS businesses need to excel in the content marketing space.
Have blog posts, ebooks, pages, and thought leadership pieces created and polished for you. You will also get an expertly crafted content strategy tailored to your needs. Learn more and talk to a content specialist.
