Is It Wrong to Do All the Writing Myself?

[JOoa0ky]

Hey everyone, I'm new here... Read some random twitter thread that mentioned SEO Avalanche Technique and found this place. A lot of great information here by the way.

I'm very new at SEO, literally took a dive into it around mid-March of this year but I'm making pretty good progress and learning a LOT everyday. Solely using Ahrefs to guide me along the journey.

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Anyway what I've noticed is that a lot of you guys hire writers to create content. I understand that in order to seriously scale up to size you do need multiple bodies working...

But what's wrong with or is there anything wrong with, me writing and creating content all on my own? In my particular niche which skews strongly towards YMYL (health), I feel like the edge for my website comes solely from the fact that I, myself write all of the content.

Am I just going to run into problems with scaling it in the future? What should I look out for? Etc...
Or is worst case scenario that I just grow slower than I possibly could?

 

[wikibum]

But what's wrong with or is there anything wrong with, me writing and creating content all on my own?

You are doing it correct! I used to love to write content but it got to a point where it was too much for me to do on my own, so I had to hire writers to help me. Seems like you are enthusiastic and love to write, so keep doing it.

Am I just going to run into problems with scaling it in the future? What should I look out for? Etc...
Or is worst case scenario that I just grow slower than I possibly could?

If you are going to do everything yourself, then it might take you longer to grow but THAT IS OK! There is no one following you with a baseball bat (or at least I hope not) so there is no rush. Just do it proper and on your own timeline.

 

[JOoa0ky]

@wikibum Thank you!

I'm chasing after some of the industry giants like Healthline, although they more broadly cover the health niche. Mine is a particular industry within healthcare.

I get the feeling that I can do it. I see an opportunity but I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that I can compete with them. David vs Goliath style ya know.

Or is it just impossible since they are like MEGA YUUUUUUUUUGE haha

 

[Ryuzaki]

You will need help, period, to compete with anyone else that is serious, let alone a giant brand in the health vertical. Maybe you DO do all the writing yourself. That’s not going to leave a lot of time for other important activities.

Keyword research, web design, content formatting, image sourcing and editing, social media promotion, other forms of marketing, link building, email responding, newsletter writing and sending, paid advertising campaign management…

My point is that if you just want to be the writer, you’ll still be accepting help elsewhere or you won’t be competing. And if you remain the writer (one of the lowest men on the totem pole of your own business) you’ll end up essentially answering to someone else in your own business. Because you’ll have to hire someone who knows what they’re doing and who’s job is to do it, which is to oversee all the other things you won’t have time for and including overseeing you as the writer.

That’s not a horrible spot to be in (having a knowledgeable manager or CEO above you) if your goal is to work your way out of the business while being the owner. But your mindset right now is saying you don’t even want to let go of the bottom-barrel task of writing, let alone acting as CEO.

Whatever works for you is fine but just remember that time is literally if the essence and of the algorithm. And you’re up against monsters and killers. No rinky-dink one man operation is going to beat Healthline and barely has a chance in any YMYL niche.

 

[secretagentdad]

If you can do all the writing yourself.
Shut up and do it.
You will crush all the posers.
Voicing and character don’t edit in well.

 

[JOoa0ky]

@secretagentdad ROGER THAT.

@Ryuzaki I admire what you've done and I hope to achieve what you have done some day.

This is just my personal opinion but when I first looked at the content by Healthline and others, I thought that I could out-write them. I don't think I'm wrong even though its been less than 4 months since I've started publishing content.

My domain is actually just shy of 4 years and 3 months... prior to taking a dive into SEO, the Ahrefs traffic never broke through 300. However in the last <4 months I've managed to increase the Ahrefs traffic to 91.7k as of this very moment and 179 articles.

• I'm holding quite a few #1 spots for some keywords
• I did get lucky with 2 articles that each have 27k and 25k, although one of them is only 1% related to my niche... surprised I even ranked that one.

I understand what you mean by prioritizing where to use my time... but I'm ok with working practically 24/7 or close to it with every waking moment of my day. I've been doing that for the past 5 years anyway.

What I don't understand is why I would need someone to oversee a lot of other extraneous things such as my writing? Shouldn't the content writer be the best at what they do? If the person overseeing is better at content then they should be writing it. At least that's how I understand it.

• What I picture bringing on help with is having someone maximize the monetization for me, while I continue to produce content.

Also, I guess it may help if I clarify my situation. I'm actually a local business and I started looking into SEO because I was trying to displace a competitor who has an iron grip on the #1 spot for all three prominent local keywords. I managed to climb from rank #6 to #2 but haven't been able to budge him yet. Reason is because he has some very powerful local links but the possibility of building those by copying him have been closed off. I've tried and sank quite a bit of money into doing it but it didn't work. Complete loss there...

Current situation is my DA, DR, and traffic way out ranks my competitor... His Ahrefs traffic is 700.

I guess I'm hoping at some point Google recognizes that I'm more authoritative and I'll move past him lol? Regardless, I do still believe that I'm onto something and I want to grow the website separate from the actual local business.

 

[CCarter]

Shouldn't the content writer be the best at what they do?

No. Think about an actor versus director. The director gives direction while the actor performs and gets feedback from the director.

In fact I had a whole analogy about how you can be a "Producer" for a movie, and the director (editor) works for you, and the actors (writers) work for you. On a movie set you can't do everything, you hire people to do jobs, and as for the director you give them the blueprint and they take your vision and execute on.

That's the real position of what you guy should be doing. Not wasting time writing each article yourself. That's a time sink you can't get back. You give direction to the editor or writers, give them outlines and they come back. Then give them feedback and eventually you can let them run on their own when they get in the groove.

Otherwise, man you'll be in for a LONG LONG road ahead writing all the content yourself. That would be like an executive producer of a movie playing all the parts, editing everything, ordering catering, and doing everything required and that's BEFORE advertising and marketing the damn movie. (Which a lot of you SEOs don't do).

some very powerful local links but the possibility of building those by copying him have been closed off.

If your competitors is #1 for local, he's getting local businesses, websites, and entities to link to him locally. Writing better isn't the solution, its "niching down" within your city so to speak. Making an impression so local newspapers and other recognized local entities start talking and linking to you.

Even if there are things closed off you can create opportunities.

Example: sponsor a local high school football team. Or get into church newsletter bulletins and on their website. Hold local events or sponsor them for the community or the businesses in that community.

Another: Join the chamber of commerce and get to know other local business owners - which allows you to come up with ideas to co-sponsor events or cross-promote each other (as long as they are not direct competitors). Example a tire store holding a "[City] anniversary party" with the local car dealership.

These events get talked about socially, within the news, and therefore the digital signal that you are a prominent business gets created.

 

[Ryuzaki]

@JOoa0ky, it does seem that you're doing okay and writing your butt off. Congrats on your success, especially in such a competitive niche.

I typed what I typed because you were talking about taking on Healthline, and I assumed you meant dominating them, not beating them on a few keywords here and there. In which case they have about 365,000 results in the index right now. That's a lot of writing for one person to do. And to get that level of output, you'll not only need a team but an organized one which will require your typical business structure and hierarchy.

And what I was trying to point out is, you'd assume that manager person that eventually hires managers under him and becomes CEO would be you, the owner of the business. It doesn't have to be that way though.

I'm of the mindset, probably because I'm getting older, that I want to be the writer and document how I like it done and how to do it, and then hire people. Then I'll become the person that creates images until I document and hire that out. Then I'll become the marketing guy, and so forth. Until finally I hire people to oversee it all and I'm not doing anything but collecting money because I own the thing. And then I'll sell it once it's the right size. Rinse and repeat (except for building out operating procedures again).

The reason I'm of that mindset is because I'm keenly aware that we don't have as much time as we think we do, and that I've already spent a decade in the trenches doing the hard labor myself. And to stack onto the reasons, I want to reach scale, not only in one businesses/website, but in multiple businesses at once. I'm chasing money at this point in life in a way that can't be done if I'm doing it all myself. One person can't run one business, let alone 5 of them.

What I don't understand is why I would need someone to oversee a lot of other extraneous things such as my writing? Shouldn't the content writer be the best at what they do? If the person overseeing is better at content then they should be writing it. At least that's how I understand it.

Because if you're the best writer, you'll be writing and you won't have time to be doing other things. And as an operation grows, there's a lot of "paper pushing" in the sense of keeping the workflow organized and moving. The overseer would be managing all of that, plus hiring/firing, training, etc.

The best writer can spend all his time writing and creating the output of one writer, or he can train 10 writers to be 90% as good as he is and multiply his output by 10x. The best person should be working their way up the hierarchy (until they lose competency, which is the danger of what's called the Peter Principle where someone is promoted in roles until they reach a role they suck at, then they stay there and the company suffers).

But take even keyword research. Every time you have to stop to do keyword research and decide what the next topic to write about is, you aren't spending that time writing. It's fine and I'm not trying to break your balls or anything. Solopreneurship rules, I did it forever and it got me to where I am today.

I always had a big hungry vision of who I was going to take on and defeat and I always went for it. I never succeeded but I shot for the stars and landed on the moon, which was more than good enough. But to actually defeat the big boys, I simply can't do it alone.

Current situation is my DA, DR, and traffic way out ranks my competitor... His Ahrefs traffic is 700.

I'm getting mixed signals. The reason I was talking about the BIG BIG picture of C-suite organization is because I thought you wanted to take down Healthline. That's what you said.

But now you're talking about a local competitor with 700 traffic who's beating you for the #1 slot.

If he's your true target then you probably need to be looking into some local SEO methods if you haven't. We have an Local SEO overview for beginners/intermediates in the Digital Strategy Crash Course if you're not familiar with all that.

 

[zak]

Shouldn't the content writer be the best at what they do? If the person overseeing is better at content then they should be writing it.

You'll likely always be the best content writer for your company. You'll also be the best link builder. The best strategist. The best at sourcing affiliate deals. The best at developing partnerships. I could go on.

What you can't be, is all of those at once. Take what makes your articles better and turn them into systems and SOPs. That's the magic you can provide to your business.

For a longer explanation, read The E-Myth Revisited.
Or don't, and just try this out yourself.

Which is better:
You writing 1 A+ article per day
- or -
10 employees each writing 1 A- article per day.

I guarantee that second option makes more money.

 

[JOoa0ky]

@CCarter Thank you, I sponsored the annual 5k in our neighborhood which my competitor did and he got links for. However, didn't get any links for it and spent 3 grand on it heh. I think i may just let it marinade for a few months and see what happens.

@Ryuzaki

I'm getting mixed signals. The reason I was talking about the BIG BIG picture of C-suite organization is because I thought you wanted to take down Healthline. That's what you said.

But now you're talking about a local competitor with 700 traffic who's beating you for the #1 slot.

If he's your true target then you probably need to be looking into some local SEO methods if you haven't. We have an Local SEO overview for beginners/intermediates in the Digital Strategy Crash Course if you're not familiar with all that.

Beating the local competitor was what I had originally set out to do, however I kind of want to do BOTH things right now. I mean why not?

I'll definitely take a look into the Local SEO, I think I'm definitely missing some pieces over there. The actual local business is where my primary source of income comes from. However, I get the feeling that I may be able to outdo it with the website, given enough time.

@zak I understand what you're saying, however the opportunity that I specifically see in the health niche is that the vast majority of content out there are written by a content writer and then reviewed by a medical professional. Doing the same thing wouldn't really offer any competitive advantage IMO.

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Nonetheless, what drives me isn't really about the potential money that I may be able to earn from the website. I mean of course that would be nice but I can always just grind it out at the brick and mortar business.

It's more so that I get this feeling that I can out do the Juggernauts in the industry and I just want to see if its true.

I think this will make for an interesting case study at the end.

 

[secretagentdad]

If you gave them 3k go buy drinks for some execs and bring up you didn’t get any links and you want links.

 

[JOoa0ky]

@secretagentdad haha, its a non-profit that is hosting it... they did give links in some of the previous years but seem to have been inconsistent since then...

 

[wikibum]

its a non-profit that is hosting it... they did give links in some of the previous years but seem to have been inconsistent since then...

If you ever sponsor something else - make sure you make a page on your site about that sponsorship. For example: website.com/5k-eventname.

Then you tell people that they will get a gift (maybe a coupon or special offer) if they go to that link. You would obviously tell the event managers to include that link/gift in their promotions, ads, etc.. for the event. That way, you might get some users to visit your site directly, build up your brand name and the chances of you getting a link will be much much higher - since you are not just sponsoring but also providing an additional benefit.

 

[milkandhoney]

Am I just going to run into problems with scaling it in the future?

I relate to wanting to write it all myself and I don't see any problem with doing it yourself, until you reach your ceiling and then if you want to grow bigger, outsourcing more work to writers.

But keep the momentum going with you just and learn all the nuts and bolts and outsource if and when you feel it's the right time

 

[JOoa0ky]

I relate to wanting to write it all myself and I don't see any problem with doing it yourself, until you reach your ceiling and then if you want to grow bigger, outsourcing more work to writers.

But keep the momentum going with you just and learn all the nuts and bolts and outsource if and when you feel it's the right time

Unfortunately, I've come to the conclusion that I can't outsource the writing. I guess I can but it'll be incredibly expensive to do so. Not that it can't be done... but that won't happen until I scale up to a certain size to be able to afford it.

I'm in the healthcare space and I am directly competing with the giants of the industry, Healthline and WebMD.

Their weakness is due to the fact that their content is written by content writers and then medically reviewed by doctors. Consequently that is where my competitive edge arises from... my content is not written by content writers.

Their response
Sure you may argue that they can just imitate and follow suit but I'm fairly confident that my colleagues have better things to do with their time than "write". They make significantly more money actually practicing in comparison.

Also, these giants are all owned by PE firms and if they switched their content production model it would severely impact their bottomline. That is simply unacceptable in the private equity space.

Although that IS possible because historically Healthline use to license content but then made an investment and shifted into producing their own content.

My prediction
What I anticipate will happen is that I'll either force a change in the entire industry or they'll simply slap an overly generous buyout offer to boot me out of the space.

It'll be far less expensive for them to do the latter. Although if they're smart they should also give me a job offer because there is nothing stopping me from going into a different health vertical and doing it all over again.


Am I crazy? Yes, yes I am and definitively so (:
Honestly, I don't really care that much about the money. I just want to know if I'm wrong or not.

 

[milkandhoney]

Am I crazy? Yes, yes I am and definitively so (:
Honestly, I don't really care that much about the money. I just want to know if I'm wrong or not.

Dare to dream, my friend. It's thinkers like you that move the world forward. A thought is only crazy, until it becomes a reality...

My prediction
What I anticipate will happen is that I'll either force a change in the entire industry or they'll simply slap an overly generous buyout offer to boot me out of the space.

It'll be far less expensive for them to do the latter. Although if they're smart they should also give me a job offer because there is nothing stopping me from going into a different health vertical and doing it all over again.

I admire your bravery for going up against these big dogs and I agree that they will probably buy you out to shut you up. And would also not be surprised if they hire you to make sure you are on their team. Best of luck!