The Pros and Cons of Developing Content In-House
Date: August 25, 2022
The task of beginning to develop content for your law firm’s website can feel daunting. What’s more, you’re presented with what feels like a large and defining choice: should you write your content in-house, or should you outsource your writing to a freelance writer or firm? Both options, or a combination of the two, are all viable options with their own benefits and disadvantages, all of which can be explored further with the help of your marketing team or SEO partner. Let’s explore some of the pros and cons of writing in-house versus outsourcing, so that you can make the most informed choice for your law firm’s website.
Pro of Writing In-House: In-Depth Industry Knowledge
Nobody knows your legal niche like you do. The members of your firm spent years in school to understand the intricacies of what you do, and you live in that sphere every day of your career, reinforcing that knowledge and learning new facts and methods as they develop in real time. While you might find a freelance writer with experience writing in the legal sphere, or even who have had law experience, they don’t know the inner workings of your firm and its work the way you do. You also deeply understand your client base on a personal level, and through your work with them, have a firm grasp on what they most want and need to know. This knowledge can lead members of your firm to produce strong, consistent content from your law firm’s website.
Con of Writing In-House: Time-Consuming to Produce
The client-facing, billable work that your team does at your law firm is important, and understandably, takes a majority of your time. While you might have some hours to spare considering your website’s content, brainstorming, researching, writing, and optimizing your law firm’s content may take more time than you’d expect. Your bandwidth might not allow for the consideration that your content deserves. This can especially be true if you find that your law firm needs multiple types of content created, from blogs and guest pieces to permanent pages and FAQs on your website. If you only have one or two team members to spare to produce content, they may lose even more time researching and developing different skill sets for different types of pieces.
Pro of Outsourcing Your Writing: Consistency and Professionality
While the members of your law firm are surely experienced and knowledgeable in their field, they may not be experienced and knowledgeable about what it takes to craft and optimize a high quality piece of content. You know your niche best – and professional writers know theirs. By engaging a professional freelance writer, content marketing agency or SEO company, you’re working with someone who understands the necessary components of successful blogging and can produce appropriate content on a consistent, regular basis. Their skill set is rooted in being able to take your digital marketing to the next level. While the quality of your in-house content may vary based on workloads and blog topics, a professional writer won’t be tripped up by external factors; this is what they do every day, and they will produce it in a timely, professional manner.
Con of Outsourcing Your Writing: Additional Cost
The most obvious downfall of outsourcing your writing, and likely the first thought that crossed your mind, is the additional cost of employing someone outside of your firm. While content is always going to create an additional cost, whether in money or in time, it can feel wasteful or unnecessary to pay someone outside of your organization. It may be time-consuming for members of your firm to find the right person or organization, and once you find the right fit, their prices might be higher than you expect. Like most industries, often the higher-quality writers will come with a higher price per hour or word. It’s critical to determine what is most important to your firm – to spend more of your company’s time to have your current employees create content in-house, or to spend more of your company’s money to outsource your writing. The cost-benefit analysis of the value of a billable hour spent developing content by your attorneys compared to spending what is likely a smaller hourly sum for an outsourced writer is central to this decision-making process.
Pro of Outsourcing Your Writing: New Perspectives and Different Experiences
When your workplace is comprised of professionals of similar backgrounds and experiences, the exchange of ideas can sometimes become an echo chamber. Similarly, when surrounded by coworkers who all have an in-depth understanding and extensive experience with the subject matter, it can become easy to forget what knowledge a layman might have about your legal niche. An outsourced writer is entering your familiar sphere with entirely new perspectives and experiences. They will be able to translate your niche into more consumable language, making it appeal to potential clients from all walks of life. They might even be able to suggest new spins on ideas for a blog post that you or someone else in your industry might not have considered, making your law firm stand out for all the right reasons.
Con of Outsourcing Your Writing: Loss of Control
There’s no doubt that even if you’ve chosen the best outsourced writer for your firm, having someone outside your organization write your content means giving up the reins. It can feel scary to know that something that will represent your business will come from someone who exists outside of it. You also know the goal for the voice of your brand, and without the right tools, that can be difficult to convey to someone new.
Determining What’s Best for Your Business
There are benefits and disadvantages to both outsourcing your writing and writing your content in-house. There are a number of factors to consider, and there will be compromises with whichever direction you choose. Only you can decide what’s most important to your firm, and that will help determine what the right choice is. Is it important to you to free up the time and bandwidth of your team members by taking content production off their plates? Are you concerned about additional costs or loss of control? No matter which direction you choose, remember that the end goal is to produce high-quality content for your law firm for the long term – whichever direction you choose, do so with the confidence that it’s going to give your law firm its best shot at improving its digital marketing through content production.
Do You Have a Trusted SEO Team to Aid in Your Content Creation?
Whether you choose to write in-house or outsource, 9Sail can help you optimize your law firm’s online content. At 9Sail, we specialize in helping attorneys like you with their SEO marketing and content creation. We know how to optimize your blog so it’s seen by potential clients.
We encourage you to set up a free consultation with our team of experts to start the content creation process. You can make your appointment by calling or submitting your contact information through our online form. We look forward to hearing from you!
