When it comes to B2B content creation, it becomes a bit difficult for businesses to choose between an in-house writer and a freelancer. Both of them come with their own pro and cons, but the choice mainly depends on your specific goals, needs and budget.
Here in this article, we will try to understand who are in-house writers and freelancers, the key benefits of hiring in-house writers vs freelancers and much more. Read along!
Who are the In-house Writers?
In-house content writers are the employee who works directly for a particular company or organisation. They are responsible for creating written content that perfectly aligns with the company’s values and objectives. As these writers are integrated into the company’s team, it allows them to closely collaborate with other departments. This enables them to seamlessly portray the USPs and values of the organisation through high-quality content.
Who are Freelance Content Writers?
A freelance content writer is someone who works independently, providing writing services for different brands as and when needed. They are not permanent employees of any company but offer skills and expertise to multiple businesses. Moreover, they are hired through online platforms that connect freelancers with brands or businesses.
Additionally, freelancers manage their own schedules, choose the projects they want to work on, and are typically compensated on a per-project basis.
Key Benefits of In-House Writers
In-house writers ensure consistency and seamless collaboration by deeply understanding the brand’s values and culture. Here are some of the key benefits of hiring an in-house writing team:
Brand Alignment
- Thorough Understanding of Brand Value:
As In-house writers are employees of the company hence they possess a thorough understanding of your company’s goals, values and culture. A deep integration with the company helps in content personalisation and consistently produce content that perfectly aligns with your band’s voice.
- Seamless Collaboration:
In-house writers, as part of the internal team, can effortlessly collaborate with other departments and teams, ensuring a seamless content strategy that delivers the most effective content marketing approach, aligned with the overall business goals.
Availability and Responsiveness
- Immediate Access:
They are readily available for team meetings, brainstorming sessions or any other urgent discussions. This immediate accessibility can significantly boost your content development process.
- Adaptability:
In-house writers have the capability of changing priorities and urgent projects offering flexibility which often becomes challenging for freelancers.
Long-Term Investment
- Skill Development:
Investing in an in-house writing team is a long-term investment as it helps you to develop their skill over time and customise their expertise to meet your specific requirements.
- Loyalty and Commitment:
An in-house writing team is more likely to be committed to the company’s long-term growth and success. This enables a sense of dedication and loyalty among them which is absent in freelancers.
Key Benefits of Freelancers
Freelancers offer a flexible solution for businesses that are looking for specialised skills cost-effectively. Here are several benefits of hiring freelance content writers:
Cost-Effectiveness
- Lower Overhead Costs:
Hiring freelancers is one of the most cost-effective means to avoid expenses on salaries, office spaces and other perks associated with an in-house team.
- Pay Per Project:
Freelancers work based on pay per project model, hence you can pay for the work you need. This makes things easier to scale up content production and manage the budget based on the demand.
Access to Diverse Expertise
- Fresh Perspectives:
Working with a freelancer can help you to get new ideas or approaches making your content engaging and innovative.
- Specialised Knowledge:
Often there are times when a specific marketing project calls for expertise, this is something that is necessary but is not at all negotiable. In such a situation, a freelancer can cover the gap perfectly. They are specialised in a specific field or domain along with industry-specific knowledge which can enhance the content quality.
Flexibility and Scalability
- On-Demand Talent:
They are available on flexible schedules, accommodating multiple time zones as per demand. Therefore, hiring freelancers allows the flexibility of scaling your content in a short time span without any long-term commitments of hiring full-time employees.
- Global Talent Pool:
Hiring freelancers allows the opportunity to tap into the global network of writers. It offers the opportunity of finding out the best resource irrespective of the location.
In-House Writers vs Freelancers: Key Difference
Here are some of the key differences between in-house writers and freelancers shown in a tabular format:
| Point of difference | In-house Writers | Freelancers |
| Brand Alignment | Deep understanding of brand voice | May need time to align with the brand |
| Availability | Immediate access and quick adaptability | Variable availability |
| Cost | Higher overhead costs | Pay per project, lower overhead |
| Expertise | Expertise is limited to in-house skills | Access to specialised knowledge |
| Flexibility | Fixed team size | Easy to scale up or down as per demand and budget |
In-House Writers vs Freelancers: Which is Better?
Now that you have clarity on both In-House Writers vs Freelancers, you might be wondering which one can be a better choice for you. Well, to determine which one can be a better option for you will have to ask yourself several questions which are as follows:
What is Your Budget?
Consider your budget and try to figure out whether hiring an in-house writer is feasible or a freelancer. If you can afford an in-house writer including his/her salary, superannuation and other benefits, else you can hire a freelancer to cover the gap.
Does Your Workload Vary?
If you are into a business where the workload varies seasonally or on a project basis then hiring a freelancer can be the best option. Hiring a full-time employee would not make much sense if they have to sit ideal for a prolonged period.
What Is Your Location?
The location of your business also plays a crucial role when it comes to hiring. If the location of your business is in a remote location with limited access to skilled content writers and content developers, then a freelancer would be a better option for you.
Are There Any Conflicts of Interest?
It is quite obvious that there can be a conflict of interest within a freelancer as they are dealing with multiple clients. Therefore, if you think that this conflict of interest may hamper your content quality leading to lower conversions then you can hire dedicated writers. This is because an in-house writer offers undivided attention and poses more control over creating quality content as compared to a freelancer.
These questions will enable you to make informed and effective decisions that can maximize your business ROI.
Conclusion
To sum up, both in-house writers and freelancers come with their pros and cons. An in-house team can be perfect for you if your prime focus is on consistency and seamless collaboration by deeply understanding the brand’s values and culture.
On the other hand, a freelancer offers cost-effectiveness, flexibility and a fresh perspective which are beneficial for brands with variable content needs with a low budget. The decision between in-house writers vs freelancers ultimately depends on what best suits your brand’s goals and resources.