Let’s talk about money. Specifically, the money you’re spending on content marketing. Are you paying too much for content creation? Too little? Are you not paying anything at all? Maybe you’re just getting started or have been producing content regularly for years. Regardless, at some point, you have asked (or are still asking), “Exactly what should I be spending on content marketing?”
It’s a difficult question to answer for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it’s exceptionally rare to find exact pricing information. It’s easy to find general stats and estimated figures that allude to the true costs, but that doesn’t help you, specifically, know what you need to spend.
It is difficult to find concrete numbers because there are so many variables in play. Often, a brand isn’t even sure to what extent it needs content creation, which makes it pretty hard to estimate costs. Needs, methods, quality of work, depth of the material, campaign strategies, and other factors all drastically influence how much content creation will cost.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these variables.
Varying Needs
Some companies have a fully budgeted, extensive in-house content team to implement their strategy. Some rely solely on outsourcing to freelancers or an agency specializing in content marketing. Still, others utilize a hybrid approach, with a minimal in-house team that manages content created by an agency or freelance writers.
The point is that every company and brand does it differently. What percentage of your campaign will be created in-house – versus the amount that will be created by an outsourced agency – will drastically affect your budget allocations. Since it is very difficult (impossible, really) to know what a particular company requires for content creation without speaking to them, any estimated monthly price a content agency could publish would not likely be very helpful.
Varying Quality
In-house writers, freelancers, and agencies come with all levels of skill and expertise. Like anything, you get what you pay for. Sure, there are methods to finding freelance writers for 2 cents a word, but the writing quality will reflect that. Even if there are certain times when that may be sufficient, there are plenty of times when it will not be. Understanding when you need a higher level of writing is crucial, but it also makes it very difficult to slap a monthly price tag on your campaign.
Furthermore, what is the depth and scope of your particular brand? Some are more conversational and built around common topics that many writers will easily be able to create content for, while others are highly technical or specialized. These things also greatly impact the overall cost, as experts are not cheap… That’s just our two cents.
Varying Strategies
Blogs, whitepapers, ebooks, email, web copy, social media, and case studies – are still just a portion of the deliverables a brand is likely to need during a content marketing campaign. The way all of these different pieces of content interrelate and connect to each other is extremely important; it is fairly unlikely you will be able to manage a successful campaign utilizing only a portion of them. However, some campaigns may rely heavily on blogs, while others are more social media-driven. Blogs and smaller articles will have different price tags than longer-form content like whitepapers and eBooks.
Know Yourself as a Brand
Understanding your particular brand, content strategy, and goals will give you the edge in determining “how much should I spend on content marketing?” Unfortunately, any particular agency will still typically need to discuss a plan and then quote a price based on your specific needs. Having a precise idea of what you want to accomplish from month to month in your content efforts will greatly help you in those discussions.
However, what if it didn’t necessarily have to be that way? What if, instead, you were able to quickly see and evaluate whether or not an agency’s pricing would fit your specific needs? You could research and have an understanding of pricing structures specific to your campaign before even speaking with the agency.
Interested? We thought you might be. Read on…
nDash Marketing Pricing Model
We here at nDash feel your pain. We know how difficult it is to try to estimate and set a budget for content marketing. That is why we decided to sit down and reevaluate our entire pricing model. Sure, we used to encourage a meeting where we could advise on your content strategy, determine your goals, and then quote a price. But, we wanted to give more to our prospective clients. We wanted transparency. We wanted you, as a brand, to be able to take a look at our model and not only quickly understand what a contract may entail but also to craft and calculate (using specific numbers) a plan without even speaking to us.
And that is exactly what we made happen. Our model lets you download our pricing guide to determine exactly what we can do for your brand — and at what cost. Of course, we also encourage you to speak to us – and we are happy to answer questions or advise on strategies to help accomplish your goals. This way, by the time you talk with us, you can already have numbers in your head about what our services will cost. Too good to be true? Download our nDash Marketing Pricing Guide, and take a look for yourself!