I’m sure you’ve heard that “content is king”, and you probably realize that most “content” is going to come in the form of blog posts or articles. Unfortunately for some of you, your writing skills are not the greatest in the world. Or maybe they just plain suck. Either way, if you’re one of those bad writers then it’s going to be hard for you to be viewed as an “authority” by your readers.

Does that mean you are out of luck? Absolutely not! Here are 5 solid options for people that are bad writers.

1) Hire an editor or ghostwriter.

Start by writing your content the best that you can, but then hire an editor or ghostwriter to come in and do a little magic, making your content sing. This is the perfect marriage between your expertise in your industry, and their expertise in the written word.

I would start by looking at Fiverr. You won’t necessarily find the very best talent there, but it will be VERY cost-effective. If you do have a bit more of a budget, then head on over to Upwork and post a job there. It will be more expensive but the talent is likely to be first class.

2) Make videos.

It is expected that by 2019 80% of the traffic on the internet will be video-based. Plus, with smart phones now shooting all the way up to 4K video, there is no reason why you can’t start a YouTube channel and turn your blog into a vlog (video-blog).

This works especially well if you are substantially better at talking than you are at writing.

And it doesn’t hurt that YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world.

Once you’ve made your video, I recommend that you send the video over to Rev and they will transcribe it for $1/minute. So a 5-minute video will cost you $5 to transcribe.

Why should you transcribe it? Because search engines can’t watch videos. So embed your video in your post and then add the transcription underneath it. Not only does this allow search engines to review your content, but people that prefer to read over watching a video can have their cake and eat it too. Plus, if you are labeling it as a “transcription” (and you ABSOLUTELY should), then people have no expectation of good writing because they know it’s a transcription and not a post.

If you want to get really fancy you can combine this with option #1. Once you have your transcription, send it to an editor or ghostwriter and have them convert it into a full article for you using their quality writing skills. If you do this, then don’t label it as a transcription.

3) Do a podcast.

It’s true… Podcasts are growing. In 2016 it is estimated that 57 million people listened to a podcast, and most listened to around 5 every week. If you can’t write, and being in front of a camera isn’t your thing, then just get a decent microphone and some free software and create your content by just talking.

That said, have structure to what you are saying. It’s way too easy for most of us to ramble on, so have an outline of what you want to talk about stick to it like glue.

Once you’ve recorded your podcast, consider heading back to Fiverr or Upwork to have some spice added to it (intros, music, etc.).

Also, just like with videos, head to Rev and get the podcast transcribed for your blog post.

4) Get a business partner.

When all else fails, you can consider bringing in a business partner that is better at creating content. You can take care of the part of the business that your skill set applies to, and they can handle all of the content creation.

You may wish to do this as a partnership or just offer them a percentage of revenue generated by their content. Just be open with the person about your expectations and I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with a great plan for both of you.

5) Hire a writer.

Look… Not everyone is cut out for creating content and many people don’t want to bring in a business partner. So that really leaves just one option: Hire a pro.

Again, head over to Fiverr or Upwork and look for a talented writer. Most writers will want some kind of direction from you, but they will often take it from there. Just know that the more steps you ask them to do (conceptualize, research, verification, writing, etc.) the more they will charge you.

I made this the last option because I think it’s the worst one from a financial standpoint. Many people will charge upwards of $200 for a single article, so you really need to have a budget if you are going to go with this option.

They also offer a support plugin, which is pretty unique. This plugin allows them to access your site to find problems without actually giving them full access. Because… You know… Trust nobody.

CONCLUSION

There you have it… 5 options to get great blog content even if you’re a bad writer.

And don’t forget: Going 1 for 5 is better than going 0 for 0. Having NO content is infinitely worse than content that is a bit bruised and ugly.