Even if your new to internet marketing, just starting out you’ll have probably come across the idea of outsourcing some of your internet marketing activity and what I want to tell you today is yes outsourcing is a great way of having an extra pair of hands just when you need them, so in this article we’ll cover the basics of outsourcing.
Naturally if you are interested in outsourcing portions of your work and you’ve never done this before, it can be quite overwhelming. Relying on someone who you don’t know, is probably the other side of the world, you’ll probably never meet face to face may not feel right to you at first. The hesitation on whether to outsource or not comes from your lack of knowledge about the process of outsourcing I guess if you’ve never done anything similar in the past. But don’t worry. What you are going to learn here is on how to select qualified people, set project requirements and establish a deadline for project completion, read on for my Top 3 Steps ….
Step 1. -Choosing your authors and writers carefully
To make the process of outsourcing easy, what you need to do is to pay careful attention to the prospective writers you intend to use. The importance of this point is that when outsourcing a project to an individual you need to make absolutely sure that they have the skills, ability and command of in this case the English language to ensure that he or she is not only motivated but most importantly capable of doing the job, you need the security of knowing the success of the project is assured.
To commence a search for the right person or people, you need to go onto sites such as Elance but also Google outsourcing, check out the forums as well. You then need to post and describe the requirements or preferences of what you want. Whenever an application is submitted, review the application carefully in order to find the one that is most ideal. You can start by selecting the most promising ones. These ones will further be narrowed down to 3 or 2 from which you can make a final choice.
During the process of screening, you would have come up with a final list of a few choices candidates that meet most of your criteria. You should ensure that you are very comfortable with the quality of their work – see samples preferably in the niche you want them to write in, consider interviewing them over Skype if possible, verify their references and see their client testimonials from past work experiences.
If after you have interviewed and reviewed the final people, do not be discouraged if none of them fail to satisfy your standard required, It just means you still have to continue the search but I tell you from our past experiences there’s always a number in the frame towards the end.
Step 2. -Determine Your Exact Requirement
Determine your exact requirements so that it will be clear for the contractor to do the required job. Assuming that the job requirement would be understood without giving a clear brief in writing could turn out fatal if the eventual outcome of the job does not meet your requirements, believe me we have been there, believed we’d cut the right deal, spoke over Skype, didn’t supply a detailed written brief and the end result – terrible and in our case it did and most certainly could lead to extra expenses and waste. And if it is a job that’s time sensitive it can end up a nightmare.
However on the other hand if having supplied a detailed brief and the contractor fails to follow instructions and the outcome of the job turns out wrong because of this, then at least you are covered and have the ability to refuse payment. Note all the top freelance sites have a method to overcome disputes that’s why you need to do a brief and use reputable outsourcing sites.
Step 3 -Set a deadline & Stick To It
Another element to outsourcing is establishing a definite deadline for the completion of the project. This expedites the job, as the contractor knows what time frame to work with. It also will prevent misunderstanding and late submission of work. When time lines have been set, you can better evaluate the progress of the work. If after a certain period nothing tangible has been done, this can cause some concern about the contractor’s ability to meet the deadline and you are well within your rights to push for a resolution of either produce to agreed date or cancel the project & go with another writer.
It is better to set a deadline before the contractor is hired. This is because the ability to meet with the deadline would form a core requirement during the hiring process. If the candidate shows any sign of inability to work with the deadline, he can be replaced or at worst case, you have an idea of what his work speed will be, then you can make a valued judgment.
Ok so there you have it, the 3 basic rules for making your outsourcing activity as hassle free as possible. Now its always scary first time out but this is a process that you need to use and master if you’re really serious about making it online so take the plunge and try it its not half as scary or difficult as it looks believe me.
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Tony Phelps
