When Is It Worth Hiring a Writer Vs. Doing It Yourself?
Hiring a writer costs money. ChatGPT is free, and most of us know somebody who will write content for no charge. Good deal, right?
It’s natural to wonder when it’s worth the cash expenditure of hiring a writer instead of just getting it done yourself.
Because I’m somebody who sells writing services, you might think I’d always recommend hiring a professional. Sometimes, though, you really are fine on your own.
When DIY writing works
- You’re cranking out emails and messages within your company. They aren’t fancy but just need to get the point across.
- You genuinely enjoy writing, have skills for it, and have the time it takes to be done right.
- You’re okay with simple, straightforward content. It might not always be pretty, but it gets the job done.
- Your free help is actually good at writing—and meets deadlines.
If one or more of these conditions are met, you probably don’t need to hire anybody.
Signs that you might need to hire a writer
- Writing is draining a significant amount of your time or energy, that you know should be focused on other things.
- Your spouse/friend/colleague, who also isn’t a writer, gives you a polite “it’s good” no matter what you’ve written.
- You’re using AI, and it sounds like AI.
- Projects keep getting stuck at the writing phase longer than you’d like.
- The “free help” is not providing the quality you need, is not consistently available, or is slow.
- People keep asking clarifying questions about things you thought were clear.
If one or more of these things sound a little too familiar, you’ll most likely benefit from hiring someone to sling words for you.
When deciding what to do, the question isn’t whether you can write your own content. You almost certainly can. It’s whether you benefit from doing it yourself.
What’s your experience been so far?
If you’re working on something that needs writing, contact me. I’m here to help.