How to Start a Content Writing Agency?

The Internet exists due to content, and even with the popularity of AI, naturally-written content is still one of the more popular services that you can find that is on demand online.

Many people can make a decent living through content writing. Many work as freelance content writers or are even employed to create written content.

Also, there are others who can turn content writing into a very lucrative business, whether by themselves or with a team.

What we are going to talk about now is how to create a content writing agency. This involves boosting your input of content writing jobs and making sure that work comes to you, not just the other way around.

This also ensures that your business can be properly run and that you have ample resources to still be able to produce quality yet timely content.

If you are interested in creating and running your own content writing agency, here are the steps that you should take.

Steps to Start Your Content Writing Agency

Starting your content writing agency can be easy, but without proper planning, there is a higher chance of failing before you can truly get it off the ground.

As such, here’s a checklist of all the milestones that you need to accomplish before you even start closing your first contract.

Select Your Niche

Content writing is a very broad industry. There are several niches that fall under this wide category. It is important to determine which of these niches you can handle, and which ones you cannot.

Determine what type of writing and topics you will be accepting as jobs. Will you be accepting website content? How about research papers? Blogs? Ghostwriting?

Will you be able to handle complicated topics such as finance, cryptocurrency, medicine, or technology? Will you be amenable to provide partial or fully AI-generated content?

Will you be able to handle jobs that require SEO-optimized content? Will you also be able to provide graphics that will go along with your writing?

Knowing your limitations will determine the type of manpower that you will need. This can also help set expectations with your potential clients and prevent you from getting jobs that you cannot handle or accommodate properly.

Determine Tools Required

You might think that a simple word-processing program or app is enough to get started with content writing. While this might be true at the start, things can get pretty complicated as your services diversify, as your jobs multiply, and as your company grows.

Many companies utilize some form of project management software to keep track of projects, delegated tasks, deadlines, and other variables that you would need to be on top of.

You may also need software or subscriptions to SEO tools, web publishing services, accounting software, plagiarism checkers, AI-content detection tools, and the like.

Not only will you need to know how these tools work, but you should also set aside a budget for these as part of your operational costs.

Determine Your Fee Structure

Determining how much you will be paid is very integral, especially as customers do not want just quality output but reasonable rates as well.

You need to set up your fee structure such as the amount per hundred or thousand words. Your fees can have inclusive services like free x number of revisions, SEO optimization, and the like.

Alternatively, you can charge extra for any add-ons such as extra revisions, graphics, or other services that would entail additional manhours or costs for you.

Be very transparent when it comes to your rates so as to prevent any miscommunication between your agency and your client.

Build Your Network

Building your network does not just mean finding clients. This also means getting the necessary manpower to actually help you create content.

There is a huge pool of content writers that you can hire online. Get people who are responsive and can deliver quality work. You can even hire specialists who are experts in a specific niche if you want to handle certain content outside of your own knowledge base.

It is important to have just the right number of writers on call to handle the projects coming in. You should also communicate clearly about the fees that you will be paying, as well as your terms when it comes to deadlines.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so make sure that you are able to build a reliable group of writers that you can call upon as the need arises.

Set Up Your Marketing

Once you have everything ready, you can now start to market your services. While a website is still the most recommended channel, many are now using social media for marketing purposes.

Develop your website and your social media pages. Show some of your works whenever applicable and highlight your main selling points, such as the quality of your output, fast turnaround times, cheap rates, and the like.

SEO and boosting are important to get your brand known. Allocate some budget for these tasks so that you can reach a lot of potential clients.

Of course, you can actively search for clients online through freelancing sites. This can provide you with a lot of work as well as precious referrals and good reviews.

Things to Consider

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to content writing is handling difficult clients. You cannot prevent having clients that are not satisfied with your work despite numerous revisions, or even those who outright refuse to pay once the work is done.

As an agency, you still have to pay for your writers despite these problems. Aside from requesting upfront payments or partial fees per milestone, there is really no way to control these instances.

You would also need to treat your agency as a company, especially if you already have several contracts and writers under you. This would be the time to think of making your agency legitimate.

This means registering your company with the government, paying taxes, and putting your writers under your regular payroll.

Conclusion

Content writing can be a very lucrative business. However, it is not without its risks. Also, proper planning is absolutely necessary to make sure that you can turn a profit from this endeavor.

By checking off the steps mentioned above, you can have a high chance of earning it big in the content writing industry. All you have to do is keep at it and be patient, and soon the contracts will start rolling in.