You’ve probably noticed there are a lot of prices out there when it comes to content marketing.

Why is that?

Well, that’s because there are a lot of variables out there. Small business owners are adopting wildly varying approaches to content marketing.

Like what, you may ask?

Some business owners are posting regularly. Others infrequently. Some are uploading quality articles. Others are just out to meet a word count. Some do all their content marketing in-house. Others delegate to professional writers.

All of this, leads to wildly varying prices.

The axiom is that you get what you pay for. When it comes to content marketing, this is true. The blog Business2Community notes:

“I’ve seen lots of examples of companies working with agencies that price their offerings low and in turn produce this type of low quality, “why bother” content. It’s easy to do. (And here’s where I reveal a dirty little secret of the agency world…) The agencies themselves outsource the content – which in and of itself is not a bad thing – but provide little direction to the writers and no oversight of the finished product.

“This type of outsourced blog might cost the agency $40 and probably takes about 15 minutes of their time to commission. It’s a hands-off approach that requires little time on the agency’s part and that’s why they’re able to charge so little for it. The problem is that these low-quality blogs don’t get results. No one wants to read them and because they’re so generic, they don’t rank well in search engines and they don’t contribute to building a strong brand.”

That’s a potent idea. And, to be honest, sort of a scary one. So, if you’re serious about building a strong brand, then quality is non-negotiable.

So then how can you save money (without putting your brand in jeopardy).

The simple answer is that you can post less. Take a gander at these numbers.

Blogs Posts Per Week

• 1) $2,500- $4,000
• 3) $5,000- $9,000
• 5) $10,000 +

Now these prices are pretty high, but keep in mind this a turn-key solution. That means you have infographics included. Also, SEO (such as meta descriptions, headlines, possibly even plug-in help) should all be included in this price.

If you hire a freelancer who just takes care of the writing, you might be able to whittle that number down a bit.

But regardless, the point is that good content marketing probably costs more than you expected it too.

However, smart businesses are still investing in it, because it brings in customers and at the end of the day makes them money.

What’s vital to remember is that it’s not about the words on the page. It’s all about how the customer feels.

A customer that has confidence in your brand, a customer that feels goodwill toward your company is more likely to buy from you. You’re not going to get goodwill simply by posting articles on the internet.

Find me a person who says, “This company published an article. It’s not very good, but I like them. Time to make a purchase…”

It just doesn’t happen that way. You don’t get extra points just for showing up.

Can my own employees do inbound marketing?

Like everything in life, the answer is it depends.

On the surface, it seems like a natural solution. You can save some money.

But (aside from giving the job to someone who is capable of doing it), you also have another trap to avoid.

And this one trips up many businesses.

The blog Business2Community says:

The one caveat here is that you not only need a staff that is capable of doing the work—they also need to be committed to doing the work. There’s no point in insourcing to save money if your inbound marketing is going to get pushed aside in favor of other company priorities.

Of course, that is one of the benefits of hiring an agency. It gives your company a laser-like focus on content. If the agency doesn’t produce, they won’t get paid.

You also have the option of hiring a freelancer, a person who is usually cheaper than an agency, given they have less overhead. The problem with freelancers is they vary in quality. But if you find a good one, you can end up saving your business a nice chunk of change.

Take a look at these numbers.

We already discussed that a turn-key content marketing solution would cost anywhere from $2,500 to $4,000 a month.

You should be able to hire a good freelancer for 20 cents a word. It could be more (if you are in a very niche industry) or it could be less (if you are in a general industry and/or you find someone who is superb value.

If they write a 2,000 word post a week, which is pretty hefty by the way, that would be 8,000 words a month.

8,000 * 0.20 = 2,000 which (even though this calculation doesn’t account for 4 weeks in the year, which would be an extra $2,000) would provide you with some substantial savings.

Also, it is vital to remember that a 2,000 word post, a quality one, is pretty in-depth and could be more than what you are getting from an agency. You could easily lower the word count, and save even more money.

How much does content marketing cost?

That’s really beside the point. The point is that content marketing is making you money. It’s a good investment.

Make sure to put your customers first.

Much success,

Looking for more great reads? Check out these related articles:

• Content Marketing: Why You Should Write Blog Posts in a Series
• What Does Content Marketing Cost? You Decide.
• The Key to Customer Engagement Through Content Marketing
• 5 Steps for a Successful Content Marketing Campaign
• 100 Essential Articles for Content Marketing 
• 3 Examples of Companies that do Content Marketing Well
• 3 Ways to Integrate Quizzes into Your Content Marketing
• Welcome to the World of Content Marketing
• 5 Free Tools to Enhance Your Content Marketing
• What is Custom Content Marketing?