Outsourcing Content Creation: How to Keep Control

Here’s the #1 myth about outsourcing content creation: “If you outsource your content development process, you’ll lose control of your content.”

This myth simply isn’t true — and yet, I see it everywhere. I even came across it when doing topic research in Google Gemini:

“Many businesses worry about losing control over the content creation process when they outsource,” the response stated. “They fear that external creators may not fully understand their brand, target audience, or specific requirements.”

Where does this fear come from? Why do so many business owners equate outsourcing content writing with a loss of control or overall quality?

Let’s bust this outsourcing myth — and talk about why content marketing agencies like CopyDash are the best option for scaling content production.

Got 2 minutes? Schedule a complimentary content strategy session with the CopyDash founder!

Outsourcing Content Creation Isn’t a Loss of Control

Business owners don’t lose control when they outsource content creation — in reality, they gain more control over their brand than they previously had.

Think about all the time and money you spend on content marketing. Do you really have the capacity to invest those resources? And do you really want to?

Outsourcing Content Creation Saves Time

Business Dasher reports that entrepreneurs spend 20 hours a week on their own marketing. Our own internal client data finds that business owners with an in-house marketing expert still spend 15-18 hours a month on their own content marketing strategy.

Wouldn’t you rather invest that time in your own core competencies? 

Your time has value. Every hour you spend on content development and oversight is an hour you can’t spend on growing your business — where it ought to be.

Invest your time and energy in your strengths, and let our content marketing agency focus on what we do best. You’ll return to leadership tasks and core competencies — a critical step in the brand scaling process.

Outsourcing Content Creation Saves Money

Outsourcing your content creation to an expert content partner saves money.

It costs $175,000-$200,000 per year to hire 3 junior level in-house content marketers (Perk Copywriting). Those aren’t scalable marketing costs — and they don’t take training and onboarding into account.

“If you don’t have that kind of marketing budget — or you don’t need full-time staff — it makes sense to outsource your marketing needs to an agency,” Perk states.

Besides — would you rather pay $200K for junior level marketing, or spend less to hire content marketing experts on a flexible schedule?

Hiring a content agency allows business owners to adjust their monthly marketing budget according to your current content development strategy. At CopyDash, we also believe you should tailor your spend to analytics-driven performance — let us earn your budget.

5 Reasons Brands Worry About Outsourcing Content Creation

So why do business owners think outsourcing content production equals giving up control of their message? We asked our clients about some of their concerns before working with us.

Here are 5 primary reasons our partner brands were skeptical about hiring a content creation agency:

1. Fear of being misunderstood. “Agencies have other clients,” one brand manager told us. “I want our agency to be crystal clear on our brand identity, strategy and messaging.”
2. Loss of direct oversight. Business owners fear losing direct oversight due to content outsourcing. It’s a natural concern — your business is your baby! A quality content writing agency establishes parameters for oversight and direction.
3. Perceived communication barriers. This fear arises from past bad agency relationships, where communication stops after the retainer is delivered. This is easily overcome with a responsible point of contact within the agency.
4. Concerns about consistency. A central workspace hub and pre-agreed content review meetings are essential to ensure consistent workflow and deliverables.
5. Concerns about quality. “I need engaging content, not copy-paste articles from a freelance writer,” another client told us prior to our partnership. “Give me a quality content writer who cares about my brand like they’re an in-house employee.”

These concerns are easily overcome with CopyDash’s commitment to understanding your brand and its vision. Our 5-step process ensures you retain control over your brand’s message and its overall content strategy.

5 Simple Steps to Control Your Content Outsourcing Process

Ensure your content marketing agency agrees to these 5 simple steps to guarantee you retain total control of your content:

• One direct point of contact
• Final approval of project briefs
• One central workspace hub for all teams
• Defined timelines and deliverable deadlines
• One structured feedback process

Establish One Direct Point of Contact

Assign one direct point of contact within the content agency as your “point person” for all projects. This person is directly responsible for all briefs, scheduling, content development, team coordination and deliverables.

Is it a lot to ask? Yes. But a high quality content agency will be happy to designate a singular contact for your brand — it’s our responsibility to be available and fully cognizant of your content strategy mission, vision and purpose.

Review and Utilize Approved Content Briefs

Create a portfolio of designated project briefs that align with your marketing strategy. Ensure each content brief follows your brand’s tone and style guide (read our tone & style guide tips in this article for help with that!). 

Make it clear to your agency’s point of contact that all content development processes must follow these pre-approved briefs unless otherwise stated. This guarantees project clarity and control without the need for constant check-ins.

Select A Central Workspace Hub For All Content Teams

Designate one central workspace hub for all content marketing activity. If you have in-house and outsourced content creators, gather them into the same hub.

Past clients have directed CopyDash to use workspace hubs like Slack, Airtable, Notion and Clickup. We’re happy to join any platform necessary to create unity among your teams. 

Define Timelines and Deadlines With a Content Calendar

Create a content calendar within your central workspace hub. Ensure your agency partner fully understands and agrees to your standards for every stage of content development:

• Ideation
• Keyword research
• Outline delivery
• Draft content delivery
• Copyediting
• Deliverable deadlines
• Metrics and analytics review

Create a Structured Feedback Process

Create a defined feedback process for your outsourced content. Schedule meetings and discussions at regular intervals to review the following information regarding your overall content marketing strategy:

• Deliverable schedule
• Deliverable quality
• Content marketing analytics
• Internal marketing KPIs and standards
• Workflow feedback and/or concerns
• Future content planning

Keep Control: Hire the Right Outsourcing Partner

Outsourcing content marketing requires trust — and that trust is only earned by agency partners that display full accountability throughout the development process.

I’m proud of CopyDash’s history of content creation accountability. I believe in a culture of ethical content production and full transparency with business owners — and I expect that culture to be embraced by anyone serving you under the CopyDash brand.

We eliminate fears and preconceptions about content outsourcing. Our results are measured with data-driven analytics, and we nurture your brand as if we were your in-house marketing team.

Let’s talk about your content needs, goals and expectations. I’m here to listen.

Schedule a free consultation with our founder about your content marketing strategy — it takes under 2 minutes!