Why Blog Factories Are Bad For Inbound Marketing

We’ve all gotten those emails. The ones that say “Hello first.name, my name is Carol and I create SEO-optimized blog posts for companies just like YOURS!”

If you’ve been thinking that you need to get a company blog going, or you’ve tried to get one off the ground and you just can’t find the time, this might seem like a great option. These services are usually fairly inexpensive, and they seem like an easy way to check a big item off your to-do list.

If these thoughts sound familiar, I’d like to ask you to think about why you believe you need a blog in the first place. I’m not saying you don’t; in fact, the odds are good that you do. But what is your reason for needing one?

If your answer is “Well, don’t most companies do this sort of thing now?” or “I heard somewhere that keeping ‘fresh content on my website’ will help my site rank well on Google,” then go on ahead and respond to that blog factory’s email.

However, if you’re serious about wanting to use your online presence to generate serious, qualified leads and ultimately grow your business, then take a look at the following reasons why engaging a blog factory is not going to be in line with your goals.

They Don’t Give You Unique Content

Oh sure, what they produce for you will pass Copyscape, and Google won’t flag you for duplicate content. The problem is, you’re not really saying anything new.

These companies don’t have teams of experts in your industry writing content for them — they have decent writers and maybe an editor or 2. The information they’re putting together for you is the same thing that everyone else on the internet is saying, because that’s where they got it.

You cannot present your audience with the same content everyone else is putting out there and expect to stand out — this is what we call “me-too” marketing. Your marketing messaging simply says “Hey, we’re here too!”

If you are the best at what you do, if you genuinely believe that the service or product that you offer is better than that of your competitors, if you know deep down in your soul that your prospects will be better off for choosing you, then your content also needs to stand head and shoulders above the rest!

They Don’t Establish You As An Industry Expert

Almost every website has the inherent job of establishing credibility, and this is not happening for you if the content being produced on your behalf is the same basic content that everyone else has. Not only is the content these companies create not unique, it doesn’t establish any authority for you — it doesn’t convince your audience of your expertise.

You know your industry, and you know how good you are at your job. You know the ins and outs, what works, what mistakes are common for people with less experience than you, what the earmarks of lazy or substandard work are, what questions people frequently ask, and what information prospective buyers want in order to feel secure about their buying decision.

If you hire a company whose business model consists of churning out 100 articles a day, the person who gets handed your assignment is going to spend 30 minutes scraping a blog together based on generic internet information. They can’t possibly represent you as an expert because they can’t afford the time it takes to learn your industry.

They Don’t Offer Any Real Strategy

The biggest problem with these companies is that there is no overarching marketing strategy. There’s no big picture. Sure, they may want to know what your keywords are, and they’ll work them in [at a 10% density rating because they still operate like it’s 2007], but they’re still relying on you for those keywords. For them, each blog topic you request is a one-off assignment.

You’re in the big leagues now, though. You’re looking to truly engage with your user, participate in their buying decision, and generate solid, qualified leads from your online marketing.

In order to accomplish that, you have to have a whole, cohesive, big-picture marketing strategy… and the content you produce is the cornerstone of that strategy! It is the spring from which all else flows!

Blogs are not the only content you need to be creating. You need videos and whitepapers and e-books and infographics and all kinds of different formats. Often, you need to present the same information in different formats. Your content needs to cross-link and cross-reference.

Your blog content isn’t simply a to-do item that needs to be checked off, so why would you want to work with a company who treats it like it is?

What You Need Is A True Inbound Marketing Partner

Now, you might be reading this post and feel like I’m suggesting that no one can possibly handle producing content on your behalf; in fact, that’s not what I’m saying at all.

What I’m suggesting is that a company who simply produces “SEO Optimized Content” isn’t the solution that you’re looking for. You’re serious about business growth, and you know marketing online is the way to accomplish it. You’re considering a service like this because you’ve realized that digital marketing is overwhelming and you need someone to help you out with it.

What you want to do, then, is to outsource your marketing department. This way, you can work alongside a real partner — someone who is invested in your business growth and success, and can dedicate the resources to learn your industry and represent you accurately.

An inbound marketing agency like Waypost can not only create a strategy that aligns with your business goals, they can fill in those knowledge gaps that you get when you’re trying to handle all your marketing in house… after all, we are experts in our industry too!