Sure, it's worth a try. But more often than not, this solution doesn't work in the long term.
At some point, did your organization decide to add the responsibility of content writing to your "non-writer" employees (that is, people who were hired for jobs other than writing)?
And since then, you've been churning out content with zero purpose and zero positive gain?
To be fair, I've seen some organizations do just fine by asking their non-writer employees to produce content once in a while.
But more often than not, this solution doesn't work out very well. At least, not in the long term.
Here's why ... and what you should do about it.
No time = lower quality content
First off, your non-writer employees very likely don't have time to write.
Even for trained and skilled writers (yes, even those of us with 20+ years of expertise), writing can take hours upon hours upon hours of our time!
Unfortunately, by asking non-writer employees to become "the writers" of the company, the end result for organizations usually ends up being one or more of the following:
Your employees have to move their usual responsibilities to the back burner — creating a backlog of things getting done; and/or
Your employees put writing duties last — leading to a significantly less steady flow of content (if any) coming from your organization; and/or
Because of time constraints on your non-writer employees, the written content your organization publishes is shoddy, non-strategic, and makes zero impact on your business. (Or worse: the written content you publish forever repels your target audience from you.)
The criticality of nuance in language
It should be obvious, but not everyone recognizes that writing is both an art and a science.
It isn't just about stringing a few sentences together. To do it right and ensure it meets your business goals, that requires a ton of strategic thinking.
Employees who can technically write but who are not strategic writers will likely not understand or factor in the nuances of language, like:
How one little, seemingly innocuous word can turn your audience toward or even against you; or
How to differentiate messaging for prospective vs. current vs. lapsed customers (and anyone in between); or
Determining what end users NEED to know vs. what you want them to know — while also acknowledging customers' attention spans, previous history with your business, and the specific media you're using.
And that's just a shortlist! There are just so many variables — far too many to list — that can make or break your written content.
The point is this: if you want high-quality content, you need someone who does more than the literal action of writing.
High-quality content requires an investment
Ultimately, if you want a sustainable arsenal of high-quality written content that actually motivates, educates, and drives people to action, you need to make an investment.
This could mean:
Hiring a full-time or part-time in-house writer, and/or
Bringing in a freelancer for occasional projects (small shameless plug!), and/or
Making a regular investment in training your current employees on marketing-communications writing.
There is no one "right" solution. That said, you still need a solution if you want to produce and publish quality content.
Want to talk about your content writing options?
The challenge in finding a solution is determining which one is right for you: one that fits within your budget, your expectations for skill-set, and team workload capacity.
As a freelance writer, editor and content strategist, I have:
Managed entire writing projects that encompass all content writing activities, and
Provided occasional assistance to some clients, when they need a special piece of content produced, and
Edited and proofread content that businesses write - to ensure they are strategic as well as letter-perfect.
If you need high-quality content and are looking for a solution for your business, let's talk. Book your FREE 30-minute consultation with me today.