What to Outsource? Your Weaknesses!

Debating what to outsource? I like this one: Outsource your weaknesses

Spending hours trying to balance the books when you’re terrible with numbers is a lousy use of your time and it’ll wear you down. 

To be thinking about: Will it move my business forward?

While cost is always a consideration, companies are now outsourcing as a way to develop strategic partnerships and integrate services that they couldn’t provide on their own. For entrepreneurs, outsourcing is a way to propel their startups forward faster and more effectively than they could do it alone or with their in-house teams. 

What to outsource:

1. Content marketing

Content marketing is an outsourcing natural. Content marketing includes your website, newsletter, blog, social media, print collateral and PR. It’s everything that’s external-facing, that touches potential clients. 

Charged with educating your target audience about your brand and generating leads, this role will also nurture and build relationships and trust. Not sure how this will work? Start small. Hire a freelance writer and start with a newsletter or blog. Having a consistent, smart marketing message will pay off. Give it some time.

2. Bookkeeping

What to say about this one except that you really don’t want to make mistakes when you handle the finances for your business. This is the most logical one to outsource. Find a bookkeeper you like and forget about trying to do this yourself. 

3. Payroll

Payroll gets complicated pretty quickly. There are requirements, regulations and tax laws. Payroll goes well beyond simply calculating the hours and salary payouts for employees. One mistake with payroll can trigger tax audits and cost thousands of dollars. Get this: In 2014, the IRS levied more than $2B in fines against small businesses due to mistakes, omissions and improper filings. Find a pro.

4. Conversion optimization

Most businesses generate leads through online marketing, and the content you produce works to convert them into leads. According to Search Engine Land, the average conversion rate across most industries is just over 2%, with the top 25% of sites seeing conversions at 5% or higher. There’s a lot you can do to improve your conversion rate, but it can be an extremely time-consuming process. Even a small lift in conversions can significantly increase annual revenue.

5. Scheduling and administrative tasks

We all know how easy it is to get bogged down in small tasks that eat up our time. I just spent an entire afternoon driving a couple of spreadsheets, trying to synch lists. Probably not the best use of my time. A virtual assistant would have freed me up to focus on more strategic tasks. 

Are you thinking about outsourcing your content marketing in the new year? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing specialists.

If one of your New Year goals is to begin or beef up your content marketing program, here are some tips.

Content marketing propels awareness, builds trust and drives sales

Content is the backbone of the web and includes landing pages, blogs, whitepapers, eBooks and social media posts. Content is what generates organic SEO for your website. Questions surface about whether or not blogs are still important--remember that search-engine ranking starts with keywords—blogs remain the best way to populate your site with quality content.

Images/Photos

Websites have become increasingly visual, and those with images perform better than those without. But think about mixing up visual content.

• Infographics are very effective and easy to create. I’ve been using a free app called Piktochart that’s ridiculously easy to use and I’m finding new ways to use it. 
• Use a quote or testimonial as a pullquote—it becomes a graphic and it’s a great way to draw attention to an important statement while also providing visual appeal.
• Slide presentations. Upload slide presentations as pdf files. Provide an overview and a key image to entice your readers. 
• Animated GIFs have become part of the landscape. 

Videos

Videos have become very popular—especially among younger users. They also boost your SEO value. There are many DIY tools for creating your own videos, but the quality can be marginal. Think about what you want your ideal clients to be viewing. Videos can be:

• How to/instructional 
• Interviews
• Quick tips
• Webinar recordings
• YouTube and Facebook are the most popular channels for publishing video content. YouTube tends to do better with longer-form video.

eBooks

Electronic books—eBooks--have become incredibly popular. They provide significant value by offering long-form topical discussion. Ebooks are typically PDF files and include a mix of text and images.

White papers

White papers are longer-form content used to convey data-driven insights or case studies. Like eBooks, white papers are also great lead magnets. 

Identify keywords

Using keywords correctly will help your content rank higher. Doing keyword research is an important part of every content marketing program. Use free tools such as Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest. 

• Use keywords in the title of your content.
• Mention keywords at least once in the first paragraph of your post.
• Use your keyword in at least one H2 heading.
• Maintain a keyword ratio of 2% of total word count.

Note that search engines are becoming smart and intuitive. They know the difference between natural keyword usage and keyword stuffing. 

Longer blog posts typically perform best

When writing blog posts, longer is usually better--2,000 words is good minimum target for your articles. You’re thinking “Nobody is ever going to read this!” Buzzsumo analyzed 100 million articles, and found that people are more likely to share longer articles. I believe you need at least 300+ words to rank well. Frontload your article, with the most important information in the first couple of paragraphs. 

Need help developing your content marketing program? Contact Top of Mind Marketing to develop your marketing strategy.