Last updated on June 9, 2023

If you’re here, you’ve probably been hearing a lot about “fractional content” and how it is a way to save time and resources for your content marketing team.

But you probably have a lot of questions:

• what exactly is fractional content?
• how can it be helpful for our business? when should I invest in it?
• what’s the difference between fractional vs full-time?
• how do I find fractional content experts?
• how to structure a fractional content contract?

As a Head of Marketing, I was in your place asking the same questions. By the end of reading this guide, all your questions about fractional content will be answered.

What is Fractional Content?

As a founder of a SaaS business, you know that creating content can be a significant investment of time and resources. But did you know that fractional content could be the key to unlocking a new level of efficiency and growth for your business?

Fractional content is a new way to create content for your business. Instead of relying on one individual to create all of your content, fractional content uses a pool of content creators and editors to create various pieces of content. This approach allows you to get more content done quickly and efficiently, and it’s also more cost-effective than traditional content creation.

It works great for small businesses looking to keep their costs low, keep their costs variable and work with a bunch of subject matter experts. Eg – YouTube content creator, content writer for sales topics, content strategist etc

One of the major benefits of fractional content is that it allows you to tap into a wide range of subject-matter experts. Instead of relying on one single full-time writer, you can access multiple writers with different areas of expertise. This means that you can get content written on a wide range of topics simultaneously.

Types of Fractional Content Roles

You can hire fractional content folks for a lot of tasks ranking from content creation to content strategy and channel validation. Generally, you can bucket them into 4 categories:

1. Fractional content strategists
2. Fractional content marketers
3. Fractional content creators
4. Fractional content marketing team (usually provided by agencies)

Here are a few real-world examples of fractional content folks:

• Fractional content marketing strategist to help you manage your content calendar and run the content production process
• Fractional YouTube video marketer to grow your YouTube channel creating 1 video per week.
• Fractional LinkedIn content strategist to book you 2 sales meetings per month through publishing content.
• Fractional content writer to write 2 blog posts for you per week.*
• Fractional podcast producer to publish and promote 1 podcast episode per week.
• Fractional content writer to update and enhance 6 existing articles per month
• Fractional content writer to write 3 AI copywriting tool reviews for you every month
• Fractional email copywriter to craft a monthly newsletter
• Fractional writer to help you write an ebook for you

Related Reading: Descript Review – Easy Video Editing Tool

When To Invest In Fractional Content?

There are a number of good reasons to invest in fractional content. Here are the ones that come most often up:

• You need to publish a lot of content.
• You want to build capacity within your existing content team to take on more work temporarily.
• You want to test a new channel or initiative but don’t have time for trial and error with your own team.
• You don’t have the resources to hire a full time content person, but want to kickstart things.
• You want to experiment with a new content format.
• You want to work with the best content marketing experts without worrying about affording them full-time (which can be expensive at an early stage startup)

Fractional vs Full-Time Content

There are a few major differences between fractional and full-time roles:

• Fractional role costs are variable and can scale up or down as needed, while full-time costs remain constant.
• Fractional roles are often easier to fill and quicker to get started than full-time jobs.
• Fractional assignments allow you to hire the best specialists for focused tasks, such as writing a how-to article or a tool comparison post. Full time hires let you bring on generalists who can tackle multiple projects but won’t be experts in any of them.
• Fractional employees are working for multiple clients, and thus cannot devote as much time to your business. A full-time employee would be dedicating their entire attention towards accomplishing the goals of your organization.
• Fractional workers have a limited understanding of your product and market. Full time means that the person has expertise in your area and can provide more business-driven insights.
• Fractional content creators might be busy with another client’s work and unavailable for yours, which might lead to delays. Delays with never be an issue with a full time person because a full-time content creator is dedicated solely to your project.

It’s important to note that hiring a fractional content marketer is not a replacement for in-house content teams. While fractional content is a great way to produce more content, build capacity and get access to specialized content services from content marketing experts, it isn’t meant to replace the creative input of an in-house team. Instead, you should consider it as a way of supplementing your existing team with additional resources.

How To Find Fractional Content Folks?

There are a few ways to find fractional content marketers that can help you get the best results for your business.

1. Hire me. With years of experience in content marketing, I have helped drive tens of millions in traffic and revenue through content-led programs for many SaaS companies.
2. Find people on Twitter, LinkedIn, content marketing communities or freelance job boards. There are many talented writers, marketers, and strategists out there who are looking to work on a fractional basis. Take some time to search and get to know the pros who could be a good fit for your project.
3. Put out a job ad for your fractional role. Post the job ad in the right channels (esp. remote job boards like WeWorkRemotely or Angelist) and make sure to include all the essential details, such as the job responsibilities, desired qualifications, and expected pay. You’ll be surprised at how many talented professionals will reach out to you.
4. Directly reach existing full-time content marketers that you admire and ask them if they’d be willing to work on a fractional basis. You’d be surprised how many actually accept those opportunities. Many content marketers are looking for ways to diversify their income and working on a fractional basis is an ideal way to do that.

How To Structure a Fractional Contract?

There are a few different ways to structure a fractional contract. Here’s a look at some of the most popular options.

1. Per Word. If you’re looking for a fractional content writer, you may want to consider a per-word contract. This type of contract pays the writer a set rate for each word they write. This is an ideal option for projects like blog posts, white papers, and eBooks.
2. Per Day. Another option is a per-day contract. This type of contract pays the fractional content worker a set daily rate like $4000/month for working 2 days per week with us. This is an ideal option for projects that require a certain amount of time and focus, like creating a content strategy or managing a blog production process.
3. Per Article. If you’re looking to hire a writer to write multiple articles, a per-article contract may be the way to go. With this type of contract, the fractional content writer is paid a set rate for each article they write. For example, for each article, we’ll pay you $700. This can be a great option if you’re looking to write about a topic at length without really worrying about the number of words.
4. Output Based. With this type of contract, the fractional content worker is paid based on a pre-defined assignment being completed. For example – an email onboarding sequence or a SEO audit.
5. Outcome Based. Finally, you may want to consider an outcome-based contract. With this type of contract, the fractional content worker is paid a bonus if they exceed certain goals or criteria. This is an ideal option for projects that require long-term results, like revenue from SEO or email marketing or YouTube.

Now that you know how to structure a fractional contract, you can make an informed decision about which option is best for your project. Each type of contract has its own pros and cons, so it’s important to do your research before making a decision.

Related Reading: How I Create Contracts Using Hello Bonsai

Everybody Benefits With Fractional Content

There are a lot of content marketers looking for fractional roles (instead of full-time) for better job security than ever before. Due to the recession and subsequent layoffs, they want to work with multiple companies so if one lays them off their income isn’t cut off completely.

Companies also benefit by hiring fractional content workers rather than full-time employees because it allows them to scale up or down their workforce at will, while reducing other benefits costs associated with having full-time employees.