Just like the eyes are the window to a person’s soul, a copywriting agency’s blog is the window to their services.
The type of content that an agency posts online can be very telling. In fact, just from browsing through blog post titles and skimming some of their posts, you can glean insight into the copywriting agency’s day-to-day operations, their writing style and even their ability to write about a variety of topics and industries, which should be an important consideration for your business.
So before outsourcing your content marketing and giving any writing services the green light, look over the company’s blog to get the real story. You need to make sure they can actually deliver the expert writers, SEO and high-quality, personalized content that they’re promising. Think of their blog posts as a preview for what’s to come.
As you browse the writing agency’s blog, here are 10 things to look for that can ultimately help you determine whether or not the professional relationship is going to be a good fit.
1. Missing in Action. Wait a minute – the copywriting agency I’m looking at doesn’t seem to have a blog at all. What does this mean? Copywriting agencies that don’t have an internal blog are waving a huge red flag.
Out of all the industries out there that should have a blog, it’s the writing industry, right? Not having a blog is a missed opportunity for them to showcase their talent and services. And for you, the customer, it’s almost like trying to buy artwork online without even seeing a picture of the piece first.
2. The Writers Don’t Follow Their Own Advice. As you’ll see, most of an agency’s blog posts will be about writing technique and best practices. Things like keywords, word count, formatting, blog calendars and title construction will probably come up often. This is a good thing. But there’s a caveat here. Are they actually implementing those best practices that they spend so much time writing about?
3. Is Their Content Current? You want to make sure the company’s blog posts are reflective of the most up-to-date trends and innovations. For example, if there’s been any major news in the digital marketing world recently, they should be writing about it and covering it on social media. You want to hire a copywriting agency that has their finger on the pulse of industry news.
4. Topic Versatility. Are they knowledgeable about a range of topics and industries, or do they only write about the same few things again and again? You should feel confident in their ability to write for your specific company and industry after reading their blog.
5. Helpful Content vs. Not-So-Helpful Content. Some copywriters like to mix up the blog posts with fun, more tantalizing pieces, such as commenting on current events or tying digital marketing strategies back to celebrities and pop culture. This type of lifestyle content is good in small doses, but it’s important that you see a balance. In addition to these light, Friday afternoon reads, they should have a sizeable amount of professional, educational content designed to help strengthen your own strategy.
6. Demonstrated Expertise. Did you learn something new from reading the copywriting agency’s blog posts? If you already know everything they write about, then they may not be able to bring anything beneficial to the table.
7. Company Culture. If you don’t see anything related to employee engagement or community involvement on their blog, it could be a sign that their company culture is lacking – which can actually affect the quality of their services.
8. Graphic Design Elements. Are the blog posts legible? If the font is too small or the text is bogged down by graphics, you might want to reconsider hiring them. Copywriting agencies should have a keen eye for visual storytelling and know how to promote digital content effectively.
9. Consistent Activity. How many blog posts do they have? A good copywriting agency should be maintaining an active blog with regular posts, complete with a large bank of older posts. If they can’t even maintain their own blog, can they really maintain yours?
10. Who’s Writing Their Blog Posts? Take note of who the author of each blog post is. You want to make sure it’s not just the same person doing all the writing. If so, this might indicate that the company uses freelancers to create content for clients, instead of a professionally trained, in-house creative team.
Piecing It All Together
Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. You don’t have to dig through a writing company’s blog with a fine-toothed comb; just a little bit of research can go a long way.
One final tip: Try comparing copywriting agencies’ blogs to each other. This helps make it easier to spot those red flags mentioned above. If one blog is more robust and informative than another, you’ll have a better idea of the standard you should be holding your writers to before making that final purchase decision.
For more help figuring out which writing services are the best fit for your business, contact Virtucom Group. We’re a copywriting agency based in Syracuse, NY with a team of experienced content marketers on standby to answer any questions you might have. Looking for more immediate answers to your questions? Download our ebook, Outsourcing Content Creation: 6 Essential Questions for Choosing the Right Partner, today.
