Have you ever wanted to outsource marketing but were scared to try because of all the hiring horror stories out there? Or, have you ever tried to outsource marketing only to find that you weren’t getting the people you really needed? This is a common problem for business owners everywhere, and we’re here to help!
At FreeUp, we have a tried and tested process for hiring remote freelancers. In this post, we’ll share with you the steps in that process and how to apply them to outsource marketing efficiently and painlessly.
Step 1: Outline Your Needs
To get the right people onboard, you must first get clarity on what youvirt need. And, to attract the right candidates, you need to hire using your company culture. This will help you find the people that you need to fit nicely into your organization.
Marketing Needs
Start by outlining your pain points in the area of marketing. Get really clear on what you need help with. This will guide you in pinpointing the specific skills and level of experience that the best candidate needs to have.
For example, if your cart abandonment rate is high, you need someone who knows how to gather and analyze data to find out why, and suggest improvements to fix the issue, like creating urgency at checkout. This is a specialized skill set, so you want an experienced marketer, and not an entry-level virtual assistant.
Gather all the skills into bullet points under the skills section of your role description. Qualify them with terms that speak to the experience level you’re looking for. Using the example above, you could say, “track record of lowering cart abandonment rates through organic techniques.” That highlights the skills of organic marketing with a focus on cart abandonment, and qualifies it by asking for proven experience.
Hiring Needs
Next, outline your pain points in the area of hiring. If you’ve never hired before, then inexperience is what you’re up against. If you’ve tried and failed to hire good marketers, then think about the specifics of that. In what areas did they fail to meet your expectations? What did they do or not do that upset you? What, in your eyes, made them unsuitable for the tasks? Do some research as well into successful marketing campaigns to identify key characteristics.
Think of your values as an organization and use that to guide the language that you use in your description. For instance, if you value honesty and loyalty, you can say that you are looking for people who share feedback openly and are looking to form, a long-term working relationship. Do this for each value that you hold, starting with the most vital, non-negotiable traits. Then list them as bullet points under the qualifications section of your description.
Pro Tip: Repeat the non-negotiable characteristics in a concluding section – just a sentence or two – with a call to action. For example, “If you are [trait 1], [trait 2], and [trait 3], contact [email] to set up an interview.”
Your pet peeves are also important components here. Make sure that you include references to them, but in the positive form. If you can’t stand people who show up late or unprepared. Identify in your description that you are looking for people who are punctual and prepared for meetings and work times.
Step 2: Find a Hiring Partner
To have a great talent pool to choose from, you must partner up with the right freelancer marketplace or agency.
Look for a source of talent that is focused on outsourcing marketing. You must go directly to the experts if you want to take a shortcut and successfully outsource marketing. Otherwise, you will waste a lot of time checking postings all over the internet and interviewing mediocre candidates. The best freelancers are always on the best marketplaces – the ones that are the best fit for their niche.
Post your project or task description there, or send it to the appropriate marketing agency. You can do both if you have no experience and want to test the waters. If you know what type of hiring system you want to work with, then you will know whom you want to hire through. For example, if you want to manage and communicate with freelance hires directly, then you want a marketplace. If you are not hands-on and just want to get the results, then a traditional outsourcing agency is the right fit.
Pro Tip: The best hiring experiences always come for business owners who are hands-on. You can’t attract or retain people who love working with you if you’re distant and detached. You need to maintain a presence to build loyalty. At least have managers in place who can take on the task of engaging with hires on a regular basis if you can’t spare the time yourself.
Step 3: Interview with Purpose
To ensure that you can identify the best candidate for your needs, you must know the right information to share, the right interview questions to ask, and the responses that signal a match.
Go back to your description and formulate questions that will help you confirm the skills, experience level, and other qualifications that you seek in a candidate. Do this before you look at any applications. These questions will help you choose how to rank those applications. Then you can start interviewing the best fits on paper first.
Pro Tip: Don’t schedule too many interviews back to back – this often leads to confusion. You may end up mixing up responses or not focusing well enough because you’re tired. Leave yourself enough time to take detailed notes and to review those notes.
Match candidates’ responses against your list of skills, experience level, and other qualifications. Give each one a score, say, from 1 to 10. This will help you see where each candidate excels and is lacking. Later, you can consider whether the poorer areas can be rectified on the job or if you need to move on to the next candidate for consideration.
Step 4: Hire and Onboard
To make sure your ducks are in a row, you need to be very clear about your expectations.
Discuss the following with the best candidate and make sure you are in agreement on each of them:
- what tasks they are expected to complete
- the timeframe for the tasks
- the outcomes for the work
- what the pay will be for the work
- what their work days and times will be
- when your remote weekly meetings will take place
- and any other important considerations
Fleshing these points out will ensure that there is no miscommunication down the line that can lead to disappointment and lowered productivity.
To set a new hire up for success, you have to properly integrate them into your organization.
Welcome each new hire to the entire organization the first chance you get – usually during an all-hands meeting, or at least to each department during their meetings. Welcome each hire more specifically in the marketing department, and introduce them more intimately to the people they will be working closely with. Tell everyone who they are, what they’ll be doing, and how psyched you are to have them onboard to help with specific tasks. Mention anyone they’ll be working closely with and get them to engage to get to know each other.
Pro tip: It’s vital to foster an atmosphere of rapport from the first day to encourage better cooperation all throughout any freelancer’s stay with your company.
Final Thoughts
To successfully outsource marketing, you need to get crystal clear on your needs, and look for people in the right place who fit into your company culture. Then you need to make sure that you communicate your expectations and come to an agreement on the fine points of your arrangement. Finally, you need to integrate them so that they are comfortably in place to get to work and be productive. Leave nothing to chance and you will have a great hiring experience.
If you need some help finding and setting up the perfect freelancer for your business, let us know!
