This is the second segment of a 2-part series on outsourcing social media.
Step 3: Determine The Best Candidate for The Job
Once you collect a big list of potential candidates for a particular job, then you need to do your due diligence to determine the best candidate. Follow these steps:
- Check the freelancer’s portfolio (samples) to check that he or she does high-quality work.
- Be sure the freelancer has experience with your specific type of job and, where applicable, experience in your specific niche.
You can download a PDF of this post from here, and/or you can download the podcast from here.
- Ask for references. And then be sure to follow up with these references to see what past employers liked and disliked about the freelancer.
- Check the freelancer’s ratings and feedback on freelance sites (applicable to freelancers that you find on sites like Guru.com).
- Run a Google search on the freelancer’s name, business name and website name. Be sure they have a long, established history of providing high-quality work/service.
- Check the freelancer’s price to see if it fits your budget. Don’t shop around based on price alone. Remember the saying, “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.” So compare pricing AFTER you’ve first weeded people out using the above steps.
Once you’ve run through the above steps, then you’ll be left with a short list of reputable freelancers. What you’ll want to do next is create some small projects for your top candidates to complete, just to see how well you work with each of these freelancers. Then you can make your final choice based on whomever provided the best work for you and communicated well with you.
Which brings us to the next step…
Step 4: Define Your Project
One of the keys to getting quality work from your freelancer is to create a detailed brief. In other words, make sure you create a project brief that doesn’t leave any room for misinterpretation or ambiguity.
Let me give you an example. Let’s suppose you’re asking a freelancer to create a short article for you. Here are the sorts of details you’d provide…
- What type of content you’d like the freelancer to create. In this case it’s an article, but in other cases you’d explain exactly what you need.
- Length of the content. Be specific here by stating word counts rather than page numbers. Page numbers vary depending on line spacing, margins, fonts, and formatting. Word counts are more precise.
- Purpose of this content. E.G., in this example it might be to post on social media to establish your expertise. Other purposes include to create a viral campaign, to drive leads to your lead page, to pre-sell an offer, etc.
- What, specifically, you want people to do once they’ve finished reading the content. E.G., share it? Click on a link?
- Audience for this content. Be as detailed as possible about your audience demographics. This includes gender, age, etc.
- Working title for the article. This helps the freelancer know the overall “flavor” for the content.
- Are you looking for something serious? Something humorous? A conversational tone? Something else?
- Outline for the content. Provide your freelancer with all the major topics and points you want included in your content.
Examples. Whenever possible, provide your freelancer with examples of content you like. Be specific regarding what it is that you like about certain pieces of content. For example, “I like the way this article has plenty of tips and examples” or “I like the conversational tone of this article.”
- Encourage questions. Finally, be sure you are completely open and encouraging of questions. If you act like it’s a burden to ask questions, your freelancer may shy away from it. In turn, you won’t get the results you desire.
Once you’ve had a few freelancers do one or two small jobs for you, it will become clear which freelancers you prefer. Hire one or more of the best candidates to do bigger jobs, and then move onto the next step…
Step 5: Develop a Good Relationship
Here are tips for developing and maintaining a good relationship with your freelancers.
Sign Agreements
These agreements should lay out the scope of the project, payment details, and how changes will be handled. An agreement should protect both parties and make each party’s obligations clear.
Detail Expectations
In addition to signing agreements, you should also make your expectations clear. Don’t assume that a freelancer thinks or works in the same way that you do. If you want something done in a certain way, make your wishes clear.
For example, some freelancers may update you once per week. Some may not update you at all until the work is complete. That’s why you’ll want to make your expectations clear about when you’d like to hear updates.
That’s just one example. Be sure to make your other expectations clear as well, as your freelancer isn’t a mind reader.
TIP: While you want to make your important expectations clear, don’t micromanage your freelancer. Your freelancer is an independent business person and a professional, so give him or her the freedom to do the job as they see fit.
Next…
Praise Good Work
While your freelancer is doing the job to make a living, he or she probably also genuinely enjoys the work. And like anyone else, a freelancer enjoys receiving praise on a job well done – so be generous with your praise when it’s deserved. That way your freelancer won’t feel like he or she is taken for granted, and you’ll continue to receive great work.
TIP: Be specific about your praise. E.G, “Great work! I especially liked the way you used analogies and a conversational tone.”
Being specific makes it more likely that your freelancer will work extra hard next time to do the things you like.
Next…
Share Criticisms Professionally
Sometimes a freelancer doesn’t create the exact results that you envisioned. It may be the freelancer’s fault for not following the guidelines, it may be your fault for not being clear, or it may not be anyone’s fault. Whatever the case, be sure to share your criticisms factually and professionally. Whatever you do, don’t get upset and berate your freelancer, as that will create hard feelings (and you may find your freelancer suddenly “unavailable” to take on your work in the future).
TIP: If you can see that it IS your fault, then own up to it. No one likes to get blamed for another person’s mistake.
E.G., “I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear. Here’s what I want in this section [explain in detail]…”
And no matter what your change agreement says, be sure to cover your freelancer’s expense when the mistake is your fault.
Pay Promptly
As soon as you get an invoice from your freelancer, pay it. And if you’re going to be gone at the time that your freelancer is turning in work, let him or her know when you’ll be back (so that he or she knows when to expect payment).
And finally…
Offer Unexpected Bonuses
Surprise your freelancer with unexpected bonuses from time to time. Ideally these should be cash bonuses, but other valuable items such as gift cards to well-known sites like Amazon are also good choices. If you know your freelancer’s favorite store or restaurant, then provide gift cards from those places.
Here are different ways to offer surprise bonuses:
- When a project is done particularly well.
- When a project comes in ahead of schedule.
- During holidays (but be sensitive to cultural and religious differences).
- For no specific reason… just as a general bonus to show your freelancer how much you appreciate him or her.
Again, these sorts of gestures will build goodwill and a good relationship between you and your freelancer, which in turn will motivate your freelancer to do good work for you. When possible, freelancers will prioritize work from their favorite clients and try to accommodate special request, so it’s well worth developing a good relationship so that you can become the favorite client. J
Conclusion
As you can see, it takes a little time upfront to find, hire, and motivate a good freelancer. But all of this time is well worth it. That’s because once you find a good freelancer and develop a good relationship, you’ll soon be able to turn your requirements over with complete trust and get back great work in a timely manner. So go ahead and invest that time upfront, because you’ll be rewarded greatly over the long run!