This month I was going to write about the pros and cons of a CRM (customer relationship manager) system, then sign off with an offer of an extended trial of Pipedrive, which we use. Then, I reread Dan’s murder mystery colour palette post. I need to up my game… there is no way I could make CRM that engaging!

I did think about getting Dan to write this blog post for me, as of course, we’re advocates of outsourcing. Which got me thinking – why wouldn’t you outsource your blog content?

So, perhaps counterproductively coming from the pages of this website, here are five reasons why you wouldn’t outsource your content marketing!

1. You don’t have the budget

There are three things to consider here:

• The actual cost
• The perceived value
• The return on investment

If you don’t have the budget for content marketing, I’d wager it’s because it’s not on your radar, rather than a financial limitation. It’s unlikely you can’t afford it. In the grand scheme of running a business, the cost really is negligible.

Like demonstrating the value of financial advice, there are non-tangible benefits to regular blog content. It:

• Demonstrates your knowledge and expertise
• Shows you’re happy to share that knowledge without a fee
• Adds value to those who read it, helping them to make better financial decisions
• Can help improve your search engine rankings

And, as well as saving you time, done properly, there is a very tangible benefit.

Take a look at our recent Google review from Charles Mosley. After Chas’ first newsletter he has very happy clients, a few referrals and has written enough new business to pay for a years’ Yardstick Membership. All as a direct result of the campaign.

Think of content marketing as an investment to nurture your clients and prospects, not a cost, and you’ll quickly find some budget!

2. An agency will never know your business as well as you

It’s true, we can’t. Any agency that tells you otherwise is telling fibs or is very naïve.

We do have numerous ‘getting to know you’ processes. We use Pipedrive to build a profile of you and your business in the first instance. Then, when it comes to writing bespoke content, we invest a lot of time discussing blog ideas, your preferred writing style and understanding your audience.

We like our clients to be looked after by the same copywriter every month too. While we won’t know every single minute detail from day one, we absolutely build up a relationship over time.

What we do know is financial planning. We’re specialists, it’s all we do! Every member of our content team is an experienced financial services copywriter. They are also skilled in making the complex simple, something that’s vital if your clients are to engage with your content.

3. You prefer to be in control

Trusting someone else to help you present your brand can be a leap of faith. But, when outsourcing content, the reality is you are still very much in control. It’s your article, it can be your topic suggestions, and it will be in your tone of voice. You have the final say.

All you are relinquishing is the legwork, the implementation, the time-consuming bit. Yes, you could write it yourself, but you need to offset that with the cost of taking time out of your diary.

4. People might think you’re a fraud

Some of our clients prefer to sign off their blog posts and newsletter personally, others like it to be from the business as a whole. Either way, if a client or prospect somehow finds out you haven’t personally written it and takes offence with that, the first question has to be, why?

Throughout the financial planning process, you might rely on other people to help you. It could be a paraplanner or a fund manager – having a dedicated professional to fulfil a specialist part of the process makes perfect sense. It’s exactly the same with marketing, of any kind.

5. You don’t want to be tied into a contract

This is going to be a short one. With us, at least, the notice period, if you don’t like what we do, is zero. We want you to be a client because you like what we do, not because you have a twelve-month rolling contract.

And finally, no. Sadly Dan didn’t write this, otherwise, it would be funny – sorry!