At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Online content is worth paying for and real writers cost money! If you want to skimp on cost and pay low amounts for an author’s time – especially if they are an expert in their field – then expect poorer results. Here’s why online articles and blogs are worth paying for.
To those who aren’t aware of Boris Johnson, he is the current (as of December 2020) Prime Minister of Great Britain. He holds all the charm of a splintered shin bone; presenting himself with an appearance seemingly inspired by Benny Hill on TCP.
As a representative of the British people, we often flinch with embarrassment as Boris gurns his way through imperative decisions where lies and misinformation are his weapons of choice. He remains well vexed in the art of manipulation – no more so than for the cost of his writing.
It is worth nothing that Boris retains a reputation for rambling and creating some of the most irrelevant articles known to man. Yet, through entertaining turns of phrase and expressive prose, he has crafted an audience for himself and therefore commands a premium for his written work. However, there are other factors beside popularity which justify the cost of a good article or blog post. Even if you are Prime Minister.
Join us as we explore the aspects of why effective, solid digital articles cost money. I also promise not to vent further about Britain’s great-suited shaved prime-ministerial orangutan. Maybe.
Things To Discuss First: Blogging Isn’t A Waste Of Time
There is an ill-sponsored stigma that surrounds writing for online sources. A deep-rooted belief suggests that digital articles don’t hold any value when compared to printed material. As such, paying for a blog article is money wasted in the eyes of those who don’t understand the web’s importance.
It’s just a blog, right? Something for young people to utilize when complaining about how hard the world is. Right?
When looking at certain old-fashioned rules, it certainly used to be the case. However, as the world has changed, digital representation has taken centre-stage. Industry experts, celebrities, politicians, and professionals across all industries who once shied away from digital platforms now embrace the global benefits that online publication offers in terms of reach and revenue.
While promoting your knowledge or business with a website or blog was once seen as a breeding ground for ‘yuppie’ behaviour, a modern-day digital presence is now essential for growth and survival.
As the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) algorithms become increasingly strict and paranoid, one of the best ways to keep your business on Google’s good side (other search engines are available) is to feed the Google Bots (other weapons of mass destruction are available) fresh and relevant content on topics that your new potential customers will search for. Thus, enter the ‘blogs’!
These can take the form of answers to frequently asked questions, or a guide or an (educated) opinion piece. Once you have proven your knowledge on the topic with several well-tuned blog posts, search engines will trust your domain as a valuable and trustworthy source to present to audiences.
Among the various benefits to blogging, digital articles hold longevity in relation to access and readability, whereas printed media is usually shelved or recycled (Greta Thunberg is watching you) after roughly 30 days.
There is a snag though. Writing for digital is very different from simply ‘writing’. Let’s explore the differences and why online content is worth paying for.
Things To Discuss First: The Art Of Writing Online
You may enjoy writing and piecing articles together. That’s great. But are they digital friendly? There is a marked difference between writing for something like a magazine compared to digital-friendly content.
For starters, have you adhered to Google’s word count rules? Have you inserted appropriate H1/H2/H3 headings? Have you ensured that those images are royalty free (if you don’t want to pay for them) and hold appropriate Alt Descriptions?
Is the keyword mentioned often enough, but not so often that you’ve ventured into the realism of keyword stuffing and penalties? What about backlinks and links to external sources?
Before I answer these, although a blog is coming from us soon about this exact subject, take a minute to let all that sink in. There’s a lot of technical jargon that works hand-in-hand with the actual written content. It’s not quite as easy as suspected.
In essence, Google gives preferences to blogs that are fairly lengthy. Old Mother Google won’t get out of bed for anything less than 300 words. To make sure your blog/article is out there working for you, it’s best to aim for more than 1200 words – which is quite a chunk. Especially when you don’t want to add unrelated padding and lose the article’s subject thread. Doing this correctly can become quite the artform.
Your subject headings are also hugely important for the Google Bots to scan, which is why you need to ensure your headings are relevant and mostly contain your keyword; the subject you are writing about.
It’s also imperative to make sure that the blog post doesn’t become an ‘orphaned page’, by means of backlinks and external links. The latter option may seem alien. I mean, why would you want to link out to other websites from your hard crafted work? Well, Google values trust. And by linking out to external sources, you are proving that the trust is genuine.
What about keyword stuffing? That’s where you mention the key term too often. The search engines consider keyword stuffing as spam, or a way to trick the algorithms into fast tracking your page through the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). You will be penalized for this.
If you are farming out your blogs, then the online writer will know all of this already. You aren’t just buying an article. You are buying all of the aforementioned aspects; which are cunningly crafted into the word flow and structure. Still don’t believe that online content is worth paying for?
Why Online Content Costs Money: Time
Following on from the above point, alongside a digital writer’s skillset, you are also paying for their time. And as with any professional’s hourly rate, especially those with a credible and experienced background in healthcare (other specialist sectors are available), the best writers cost more than those who are going to produce a steaming pile of wordy dung.
Also, you need to ask yourself a question: Do you have time to write a weekly/bi-weekly/monthly blog? Producing content used to be a slow and casual affair, but there’s less time in a contemporary world. In order to keep pace, content often has to be researched and written very quickly.
Search engines pick up on the frequency that you post articles. It has been suggested by Google bigwigs that missing a post can affect both user and SEO trust, leading to potential for rank damage.
Even if writing is your thing, if you can’t spare the time to commit to a concrete schedule, then paying for content is now both commonplace and also hugely effective.
Not only do you get provided with a well-heeled and truthful article that sets up your stall online, but the article is out there until the end of time with your company’s credentials. As a way to broadcast your services and knowledge to an audience, a successful blog should yield a healthy return on investment.
We can imagine that you are starting to believe online content is worth paying for…
Online Content Is Worth Paying For: Professionalism
Above all else, paying for a decent writer brings professionalism. You won’t have to wade through lines of spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, or poorly formatted paragraphs.
A good writer plays the written word to elicit a response that can be converted into revenue for your business. Refusing to pay a decent rate will not yield the results you are after. Poor content may even damage your reputation and destroy your bounce rate. Trust us, you don’t want that.
Regardless of who they may be writing for, successful writers are fully up to date within their niche. They know what’s going on and know how to attract a reader. For gaining you that result, they deserve to be paid.
If you haven’t been educated on the value of good and timely writing then it’s impossible to grasp why online content is worth paying for. So let’s boil it down.
A wealth of knowledge to match your own, plus curated content skills, and an ability to position your company in the industry, doesn’t come cheaply. By undervaluing online content, you are effectively undervaluing yourself and your business.
Suddenly, ‘they are just a blogger’ becomes a redundant phrase. As stated at the beginning of this article, there is far more to ‘the cost of an online article’ than only popularity or a celebrity author. Even if you are Boris Johnson (hopefully another Prime Minister will be available soon).
The lesson here? Online content is worth paying for!
Various companies offer blog writing services, including Direct Response PT Websites. If you think we can help your business out, then get in touch with us through our contact page.
Calum Brown
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