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If you're here, chances are you're using or have considered using Fiverr or another similar service to create marketing content.
Perhaps your in-house budget is tight and you need some lower-cost content support to get you through the next month. Or, maybe you're short on time and need to create content as fast as possible to launch a new campaign.
If any of this rings true, I hear you. Content marketing can make you feel like a plate spinner at the circus—constantly spinning and creating while trying to balance fragile resources.
Why You Should Avoid Fiverr & Other Similar Services
A quick Google search for "why should I avoid Fiverr" will result in content focusing simply on cost. As you read, you may spot phrases such as, "lower cost equals lower quality" and "if you pay less, you receive less."
It's true that freelance marketplaces often feature content writers and creators that offer services at a lower cost. In fact, according to Upwork, some content writers can be hired through the platform for as little as $15 an hour.
However, cost isn't always indicative of quality. I've worked with plenty of super talented writers that have charged way less than what their finished product was worth.
What I'm trying to say is this: cost shouldn't be the focus of the conversation. There are many other reasons to avoid these services that are far more important to draw your attention to. Let's dive in, shall we?
Your Target Audience Is an Acquaintance, Not a Friend
"Don't just create content to get credit for being clever—create content that will be helpful, insightful, or interesting for your target audience." —David Ogilvy
Talk about a mic-drop moment. David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, has a point: if you want the content you create to convert, it must deliver value to your potential customers.
How do you develop valuable content? By first knowing your audience.
I've always believed in the simple adage: talk to your reader like they're a close friend. To do that, you must understand their fears, needs, and desires. You must know what keeps them awake at night and what gets them back out of bed each morning.
And the content you create? It must prove to your audience that you know these details too. This is why it's critical to ensure those creating content know your audience like the back of their hands.
Unfortunately, this isn't something you can easily source from a freelance marketplace like Fiverr. While you can try to communicate the details about your audience via message or email, it's not the same as being closer.
Those that develop your content must be able to dig deeper. They must be able to take the time to speak to your sales team about your audience's concerns or conduct interviews with your customers. And going this deep just isn't a common practice on Fiverr and other services like it.
There's Always a Potential for Plagiarism
Not only does plagiarism make us feel icky, but it can also have damaging effects on the content we create.
For example, search engines (like Google) consider the originality of your content as a top ranking factor when determining where to show it in search. That's why plagiarized content will always rank lower than original content. And when rank is critical for successful content strategy, this is a chance you shouldn't take.
Other consequences of plagiarism, such as a loss of audience trust, can also hinder your search marketing efforts. Unfortunately, there's always a potential for plagiarism on platforms like Fiverr where competition is steep and rates low.
SEO Experience Is Limited
Any form of content, regardless of channel, must be optimized for search. SEO is non-negotiable, as it's the only way to ensure the awesome content you put together can be found by those who need it most.
Unfortunately, search optimization experience is often limited when outsourcing to Fiverr and similar services. Sure, many experienced writers understand best practices such as adding keywords to headings and using plenty of whitespace.
However, there's so much more to effective SEO, such as the development of keyword-rich meta descriptions and the addition of image alt text.
Without skilled support, you may find yourself stuck optimizing every piece of content yourself (if you have the know-how), which may end up taking more time in the end. And if you're already struggling with finding the cash or time to develop content, this is far from ideal.
The Big No-No: A Siloed Approach
None of the above reasons may be enough to deter you when deadlines are fast approaching and you can hear the cha-ching of marketing dollars in your sleep.
However, there's another challenge of using Fiverr and similar services that has the potential to be much more detrimental to your content marketing efforts:
Using these services results in a siloed approach to content.
Effective Content Isn't Created in a Silo
It’s a common practice to simply outsource pieces of content, one by one, to freelance marketplaces. Businesses or marketing teams may send a brief and some keywords, then the writer will write the content.
This transactional method of creating content results in a content development silo. Content is simply sourced without regard to search marketing strategy or overarching marketing goals.
How does this happen? Oftentimes, support sourced from these services:
- Is detached from the overall strategy and goals
- Is detached from those building search strategy
- Lacks a full understanding of your target audience
- Often doesn’t have the know-how to approach content with all tactics in mind, such as SEO and SEM
Unfortunately, this one-off, transactional approach can seriously hinder your marketing efforts. Why? Because it leads to:
- Breakdowns in the funnel: Your marketing funnel exists to move potential customers from Point A to B as seamlessly as possible. You must create compelling content for each stage of the funnel, from awareness to conversion. The one-off approach often results in content that hasn't been properly mapped to each stage, leading to breakdowns in the funnel. And broken funnels? They're known to leak.
- Content inconsistencies across channels: Content developed in a silo can easily become inconsistent across channels. For example, SEO content created without SEM input (or vice versa) can result in further inconsistencies between organic (blog posts, articles, etc.) and paid (ad copy, landing pages, etc.). The result is a fractured approach to marketing that sends mixed signals to your audience.
- A wasted investment (in both time and cash): All of the above can result in a wasted investment (on an already tight budget). It's a hamster wheel of sorts—you keep paying for and developing content only to receive zero results, over and over again.
The bottom line is this: simply sourcing and publishing a couple of blog posts a week just to check a box off your to-do list isn't enough.
Every single piece of content, from blog copy to ad copy, must be developed with your entire search marketing strategy in mind. This is the best way to see results and maximize your ROI.
Do This Instead: Trade the Transactional Approach for a Holistic One
At Uproer, we’ve found that the best results come from taking a holistic approach to search marketing and content development. In other words, eliminating silos is the best way forward. Organic (SEO) and paid (SEM) work better together.
In a search marketing strategy, all tactics are being used to reach the same business goal (well, they should be). Whether it's to increase revenue or simply build brand awareness, the goal of your strategy is to Get. It. Done.
So why then do we still treat organic and paid as if they're totally separate departments? We source content to fulfill our need to publish organically, but we don't dig deeper to determine how it serves our paid initiatives.
The reality is, while you may see some organic traffic from content developed this way, you won't see the results you could if you consider paid initiatives too.
Let's take a look at an example of how this works.
Holistic Success Story: The "Wallpaper Effect"
Recently, through the efforts of organic content development and paid ads, we achieved the "wallpaper effect" for one of our clients.
This occurs when both paid and organic results are shared together on the front page of the SERP.
We found that when paid and organic results show up this way, our click-through rate (CTR) increases by 30%.
How did we do it? Through a collaborative and holistic approach. We combined efforts by focusing on a specific set of keywords across SEO and SEM. Both our ads and organic content were optimized for those keywords.
As a result, both organic and paid are now working together. While our organic content is helping potential customers find our client, paid is working to close that audience. Incredible, right?
The Benefits of Working With a Holistic Search Marketing Agency
The above results are only achievable when content, of all kinds, is created to align with your overarching search marketing strategy. And that's not something you can source easily from Fiverr.
But it can be a struggle to eliminate content silos on your own. This is especially true when modern marketing teams still think the separation of SEO and SEM is the way to go.
Luckily, you have the option to partner with a holistic search marketing agency that can do the heavy lifting for you. Partnering with an agency enables you to achieve:
- A cohesive strategy across channels
- Content written by knowledgeable writers who know your strategy and audience
- Consistent content strategy execution
- Transparency about what's working and what's not
"But What About the Cost?"
I hear you, and I won't lie to you: implementing a holistic search strategy is an investment in time and finances. Working with an experienced agency will cost you. But the return you stand to gain from that investment?
It's more than worth it.
Since 2017, we've seen so many incredible successes for both e-commerce and tech companies. Business-changing successes. And it can all be attributed to our dedication to developing strategies tailored to business objectives, no matter what tactic that requires.
- Raw Bistro increased their revenue by 122%.
- Lucy & Co. experienced a 245% increase in revenue with paid media alone.
- Cohley grew organic leads by 300% year over year.
- Thread Logic grew organic users by 658% in eight months.
Take a Holistic, Results-Driven Approach With Uproer
If you're still sourcing and publishing content just for the sake of checking a box, it's time to try something different. A holistic search marketing strategy can maximize your ROI and help you achieve your goals. Learn more about how Uproer can help by reaching out to our team.
