Have you been wanting to outsource blogging?

No one can blame you.

You started a blog because the experts say it’s an excellent way to attract prospects, leads, and eventually, customers. A blog should get more organic traffic to your business website. And besides, what better way to demonstrate your expertise than by showcasing it in blog posts, right?

What they didn’t tell you was how much time and effort it takes to run a great blog.

Blogging isn’t as simple as writing then hitting publish anymore.

Thanks to 600 million blogs in existence today, blogging has become as competitive as Olympic gymnastics.

It’s no longer enough for you to write a good article. That’s just table stakes.

Each blog post also needs to be optimized for the search engines. It needs to be substantial, offering a unique perspective, fresh insights, and in-depth research to be the highest quality possible.

And it has to look good: to have an attractive featured image and compelling supporting visuals and possibly even other media embedded—all aligned with your brand.

Oh and did I mention you also must publish a new blog post frequently? Research has found that the ideal blogging frequency is at least 11 blog posts per month. That’s the type of consistency that brings in the highest traffic and conversions for both B2B and B2C businesses. If you’re going to dabble and publish a new post only when you feel like it, you won’t get the results you want.

To a busy business owner, the prospect of publishing 2-4 high-quality blog posts a week can be daunting, and with good reason. You have many other demands on your time and energy. There’s client work to be completed and business development activities to be done. Those are essential to generate income immediately and keep your business going.

But at the same time, you want to reap the long-term, snowballing rewards of a good business blog. You want posts that help your ideal clients discover you—without paid ads—for years to come. And you want insightful posts that position you as an authority in your field.

Fortunately, you can run a great blog and still have time for high-value business activities, with the help of Acadium apprentices.

Can I Really Outsource My Blog?

Because a blog was originally an online journal or diary, it can feel like an extremely personal medium. So it’s not surprising if you balk at the thought of delegating blogging to someone else.

If that sounds like you, consider this: Running a great blog today involves so many tasks that you can hand off some of them to others (like an apprentice) and still maintain complete creative control of your blog.

You can keep doing those blogging jobs that you enjoy doing, and that only you can do. For example, you can still write your own blog posts from scratch. And then, you can let an apprentice, or several, take care of the rest of the work of blogging.

This frees up your time and energy to focus on other parts of your business (and have a personal life, too!).

Keep reading to see what blogging jobs you can assign to an apprentice.

24 Common Blogging Tasks You Can Outsource

I analyzed dozens of blogging apprenticeships in Acadium to see what blogging jobs business owners and digital marketing agencies are assigning to their apprentices. Take a look at what I found:

Research

  1. Conduct subject matter research
  2. Find relevant and up-to-date statistics and quotes to cite in blog posts
  3. Analyze competitor blogs, so you can create better posts and fill gaps in your industry

Writing, Editing, and Publication

  1. Brainstorm blog post topics
  2. Draft blog posts
  3. Proofread and edit blog posts
  4. Format and schedule blog posts in SquareSpace, WordPress, or other content management system
  5. Repurpose YouTube videos, podcasts, and webinars into blog posts

Search Engine Optimization

  1. Conduct keyword research
  2. Do on-page optimization of each blog post
  3. Create backlinks from other web assets
  4. Reach out to other website owners to request backlinks

Graphic Design

  1. Create images for blog posts
  2. Design infographics based on blog post content
  3. Create graphics to promote blog posts in social media

Social Media & Outreach

  1. Write social media posts about each new blog article
  2. Schedule and publish social media posts
  3. Reach out to connections and influencers to promote posts
  4. Draft email/newsletter about each post
  5. Brainstorm other ways to promote the blog

Data Analysis

  1. Monitor and track blog metrics, such as organic traffic
  2. Complete key performance indicators (KPI) reports
  3. Analyze blog results, from traffic to conversions
  4. Give recommendations based on results, to increase traffic, engagement, and conversion

Can You Afford to Keep Doing Everything Yourself?

As you can see, a blogging apprentice can lighten your load in many ways! Even if you wanted to write 100% of your blog, you’ll still save a ton of time by letting apprentices tackle almost everything else.

You may be wondering, “How much does it cost to outsource blogging?”

Out of the options you have to get blogging help, an Acadium membership is the most cost-effective. You get to work with up to two apprentices at a time, each one devoting 5 to 10 hours per week to your project for three months. In turn, you commit to mentoring each apprentice for at least one hour a week.

It’s the perfect setup for both you and your apprentice to grow together.

And with since Acadium streamlines the process of finding, interviewing, selecting, and work with apprentices—you can save even more time.

Most of all, think of the business benefits of blogging consistently as part of your overall content strategy, such as:

  • higher organic (unpaid) website traffic
  • thought leadership and higher credibility with your audience
  • increased leads and sales
  • interactions with other thought leaders and influencers in your space
  • stronger brand identity

Acadium members have increased their newsletter subscribers, social media followers, and their business income by working with apprentices.

“I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner,” says Vicky Etherington, who has had 12 apprentices in Acadium and doubled her business.

Once you’ve worked with an apprentice to help run your blog, you just might feel the same way.