Small business content – you get what you pay for

So, I woke up this morning to news that yet another start-up is basing its business model on delivering cheap small business content online.

Sigh.  Many people already think writing (or any other creative pursuit) is “easy” and that, unlike everyone else in the world, for some reason we don’t need money to survive, just a passion for our art. And when you can buy a generic and unique blog post online for a measly $50 or $60, this just perpetuates this myth.

Blogstock is apparently going to be like the i-stock of blogging. Freelance writers can submit a blog and set their own price and small businesses can pick and choose what to buy. The business then owns the content and it can’t be published anywhere else.

Given that most decent bloggers I know charge up to $300 (sometimes more) for a well-written, researched and optimised blog post,and the most expensive blog post on Blogstock right now is a little under $80, I am guessing that the site is unlikely to attract talented marketing copywriters (who are busy with clients happy to pay a living wage). So instead, inexperienced writers, with little or no understanding of marketing or business will flock to the site. And small businesses who choose to buy generic blogs online will get exactly what they pay for.

Small business content: don’t do yourself a disservice

OK, so you might think the reason for this post is a bit self-serving. Yes, I am a copywriter, and yes, I like to feed and clothe my kids. But I honestly believe that small business owners who purchase generic content are doing themselves a disservice.

And here’s why.

Let’s say you are run an online shop that sells cloth nappies and other natural parenting products. You come across a post about how to get the most use from cloth nappies and you buy it for $50 and whack it on your blog. What you have basically paid for is some pretty words strung together nicely (and at that price point, it may not even be that!).

When you hire a marketing copywriter to produce a post or a series of posts – let’s say at $150 a post for 10 posts – you are getting strategic content that takes into consideration such things as: search engine optimisation; your business and its competitors; your target audience’s pain points; your unique lead generation and sales funnel; your wider marketing tools; and more. You are also getting a writer that can not only write, but that can engage your audience and encourage them to purchase your product or service. A writer that understands the psychology of sales.

I have posted before about how marketing content is an asset not an expense, and this is a perfect example of this way of thinking.

After all, if a post that cost you $50 generates exactly zero sales, your return on investment is pretty crap (non-existent actually).

But if 10 posts for $1500 generates $5000 in sales, you are looking at an ROI of more than 200 per cent.

As a small business operator myself, I know which I would prefer.

So the next time you are considering “cheap” over quality, think about why you are buying the content. If it is just for a few pretty words, then by all means head to Blogstock (or fiverr, or freelancer, or odesk, or elance or upwork or any of the other content mills out there). But if you want the blog posts to generate sales and improve your bottom line, then work with a copywriter who will put in the hours to understand your business needs.

I know one or two that can help 🙂

Till next time,

Nicole