Chances are you’re at this blog because you’re interested in content. But instead I’d like you to consider, just for a moment, how a utility like water works. When you need water, you just turn on the tap. Want more water? Open it all the way up. Still not enough? Crank open every single faucet you’ve got. And if that doesn’t slake your thirst? Call your local water company, because that’s where the water is and they’re the water experts.
Having one source that can solve all of your water needs is pretty handy.
Along those same lines, it makes sense you source your content exactly the same way: as much or as little as you need, where and when you need it. And that, gentle reader, is why you need a content agency of record.
Stop digging wells
Prior to the advent of modern plumbing, everybody needed a well. The problem with wells is they can run dry, or simply not produce enough water to meet the need. If one well isn’t doing the job, you have to go dig another. It’s a fragmented approach that doesn’t solve your water problem so much as temporarily abate it.
Sound familiar? That’s how organizations are sourcing copy and content today. They find a single source for a single project — a freelancer, an agency, a new hire. But when a project expands in scope or a new one crops up, you find that your source is inadequate.
So you have to dig another well: Finding freelancers, auditioning agencies, interviewing applicants, then onboarding everybody so they’re up to speed… only to have that well run dry again when the next project debuts. Time to drop the shovel and work with a solution that actually meets your needs.
Content as a utility
Here’s the tl;dr about a content agency of record: You hire once, onboard once, and… that’s it. From then on, you just let them know what you need and when you need it. The content agency of record scales your teams up and down to meet each project’s needs, whether that’s a couple of crack writers for a quick email campaign or a platoon of talent to turn around a major product launch in record time.
It’s kinda magic, and odds are you’re already doing this in other areas across your business.
Not convinced? Think about it in terms of cloud storage. If you use cloud storage, your provider is assigning you terabytes of space—on demand. That’s because virtual machines are conjured out of thin air (or rather, data centers) to meet your processing needs in real-time. Do you use Amazon Web Services or Google Drive? You don’t have to issue a purchase order to add a web page or create a new document.
Copy and content don’t have to be any different.
Solving the 2 a.m. crisis
The other great advantage of a content agency of record is it takes away the stress and distraction of having to solve crises at the worst possible time. Let’s face it, if your water heater springs a leak at 2 o’clock on a Sunday morning, finding a plumber isn’t going to be easy, quick, or cheap.
Now imagine your in-house copywriter quits halfway through the most important marketing push of the year. That’s like your water main giving up the ghost.
Better to rely on your content agency of record, who knows how to patch the leak, reroute the supply, and keep the copy flowing without you ever needing to lift a hand. It’s the smart, effective, and efficient way to source quality content.
And it beats the heck out of digging another well.
