Tag Archives: outsourcing

3 Ways To Use Outsourcing To Grow Your Business & Free Up Your Time

Outsourcing a host of specific tasks and activities is an incredible opportunity for you to grow your business while you perform only your most valuable work you love to do.

That’s because if you try to do everything in your business all by yourself, you’re going to run out of time every day to do what you need to do.

Sure, your business will still grow if you try to do everything yourself… but very slowly.  However a set of tasks you have and may take you months to complete may only take a few days or a week to complete when you hire professionals to do them for you.

But this doesn’t mean you can just willy-nilly toss your money at freelancers and expect your business to grow automagically. Truth is, you need to be smart about outsourcing.

Your business is full of hundreds of tasks, so you need to invest your resources in the tasks that will accelerate your business growth. These essential tasks fall into three categories:

  1. Identifying Gaps. These are the gaps in where your business is now versus where you want it to be.
  2. Creating or Upgrading Assets. These are items like products which generate profits.
  3. Improvements & Upgrades. These are the tasks you outsource which allow you to make better use of your own time.

Let’s look at each of these categories in more detail…

Outsourcing Category #1: Gaps

I don’t know a single business owner that doesn’t have gaps in their business, which is the distance between where they are and where they want or need to be. I’m sure you have gaps too, such as:

  • Places where you’re stuck and can’t move forward. For example, you can’t finish the copy for a product until the product is finished. You can’t put the sales copy on a site until the website is up and running.
  • Things you don’t know how to do. For example, perhaps you don’t know how to set up a WordPress blog or write sales copy
  • Places where you face a deadline that you can’t meet. For example, perhaps you promised your partners a specific date for a product launch, but now you know your deadline was overly optimistic and you won’t be able to meet it.
  • When life gets in the way. Perhaps something has happened in your personal life, such as a death in the family, illness or a new baby. Outsourcing can keep your business running and profitable while you deal with personal issues.
  • When you face an unexpected crisis. Perhaps your website got hacked or your computer crashed. Outsourcing can help you get back up and running.

So as you can see, there are quite a few things you can outsource in this category, depending on your wants, needs and your business goals.Product Launch Formula Quiz

Let me give you some specific examples of tasks you can outsource that will help you fill in the gaps in your business:

  • Set up a website. This includes designing the site and installing any necessary scripts.
  • Manage the technical details of your website on an ongoing basis. For example, you could hire someone to manage your databases and update your scripts.
  • Create an autoresponder series. You could have this person create a five-part mini course designed to promote a specific product.
  • Plan a pay per click advertising strategy. This person could also manage your PPC advertising campaigns on an ongoing basis.
  • Plan a social media marketing strategy. You might have someone plan one aspect (such as Facebook marketing), or help you plan and integrate all major social media platforms into your overall marketing plan.
  • Find and recruit affiliates. This person could also manage your affiliate program on an ongoing basis, such as by running contests, sending out motivational emails to affiliates, sending payments (if you’re using a self hosting affiliate program), and other management tasks.
  • Create content for your blog. This includes ongoing how to articles, tips articles, product reviews and other content.
  • Write content for guest blogging. You can also hire someone to locate these sorts of lucrative guest blogging opportunities, and contact the blog owners on your behalf.
  • Create a sales letter for your site. Your copywriter can also create other sales materials to support the sales letter, such as a video sales letter script, solo emails and pay per click ads.
  • Write a report. This could be a freebie to get people into your sales funnel, a paid product, or a bonus product to go along with your main offers.
  • Design an infographic. You can hire someone to put together the design only, or you can hire someone to do all the research as well.
  • Develop an app. This could be a lead magnet or a paid product. It might even be a web-based app you offer to members of your membership site.
  • Improve conversions. This person could test, track and tweak your sales letters, ads and overall marketing campaigns.
  • Scout out lucrative advertising opportunities. This person can find ad venues and report back to you about the cost, the site’s demographics, as well as their impressions of the overall quality of the site. 
  • Arrange interviews and other publicity opportunities for you. For example, your person can land interview spots with local media, as well as national outlets such as talk radio. This person can also create and submit regular press releases.
  • Convert your text products into other formats. For example, this person could convert a book into an audio, video or even a Kindle book.
  • Optimize your website for the search engines (SEO). Your SEO specialist can optimize your site’s structure and content, as well as do a link-building campaign.
  • Plan a viral marketing campaign. Your consultant can help you design content and campaigns that are likely to go viral. Some freelancers even have connections or networks to help kick start the initial viral effect.
  • Plan a sales funnel. If you tend to get caught up in the small details and not see the big picture, you may want to hire someone to help you plan your entire sales funnel.
  • Do market research. This will help you identify profitable niches and products.

Think of it this way:  outsourcing in this way allows you to reach a place where you make money that you would otherwise miss out on.  Why not spend $25, $100, or $500 in order to make two, five, or ten times more?

Example: Perhaps you pay someone to create a report that costs you $300. Over the next couple of weeks you sell a couple of hundred copies of this report for $10 a pop ($2000 total), which builds your customer list and nets you a profit of $1700. That’s a good way to grow your business.

Now let’s look at the next category:

Category #2: Assets

These are the aspects of your business that directly turn a profit for you today as well as over the long term. If you were to sell your business, you’d be able to sell these assets as part of the business.

Your assets include things such as:

  • Reports
  • Ebooks
  • Videos
  • Audios
  • Apps
  • Websites
  • Your mailing lists (customers, prospects and joint venture/affiliate lists)

… and any other products or properties you own.

This category is all about your return on your investment (ROI). You pay $X for a particular asset, and then you make $Y in profit.  Let me give you specific examples:

Example 1: A Video Product

Let’s suppose you’re creating a step-by-step “how to” video product in your niche. Let’s suppose you get someone to create the script for you for $500, and you get someone else to create the video for $1500. That’s a $2000 investment.

Now let’s suppose you sell this product for $40. Once you hit 50 customers, you’ve recouped your investment. Every customer thereafter is a $40 frontend profit, and everything you make on the backend is yours to keep.

Example 2: A PLR Package

There are two ways to go with this example.

·      The first way is to create a PLR package that you sell to others. For example, perhaps you get a product created for $1000, and then you charge $100 for the PLR (private label rights) license fees. After the 10th license you’ve recouped your investment, and every sale after that is profit.

·      The second example is to purchase PLR content and then hire someone to tweak the content. This example has a bigger potential for long-term profits, since you can sell the content for as long as you want. (E.G., there are no license limits.)

For example, you purchase the content and license for $100. You pay someone else another $100 to tweak the product so it’s more unique. That’s a $200 investment. Now you sell this product for $15. By the time you’ve made your 14th sale, you’ve already more than recouped your investment.

Example 3: An App, Plugin or Other Software

Software products tend to be among the most expensive to outsource, due to both the skill involved and the time it takes to code and develop this sort of project.  However, you can often charge a premium price for these products as well.

For example, let’s suppose you get a piece of software developed for $5000, and you charge $197 for the end product. It just takes 26 sales before you’ve recouped your investment and you’re starting to pocket a profit.

Example 4: A Turnkey Package

Let’s suppose you want to sell a new product and outsource the whole enchilada. Below you’ll find an example of the cost for each piece of this package:

·      The main product (an ebook), $1000

·      Two bonuses, $700

·      A freebie report to get people onto the prospect mailing list, $300

·      The sales letter to sell this package, $1000

·      Someone to set up the website (such as installing WordPress), $200 

That’s $3200 total.

Let’s suppose you sell the product and bonuses for $50. You just need 64 sales to recoup your investment. But the cool thing is you’ll have all these assets that you can profit from for years to come, including the product, two bonuses, the freebie, the customer mailing list and the prospect mailing list. Together, this collection is darn near priceless.

Do you see how this works?

So now let’s have a look at the final important category…

Outsourcing Category #3: Upgrades

The idea here is that you outsource so that you can “upgrade” the use of your own time.

For example, you can outsource:

  • Things you don’t know how to do. Sometimes your time is better spent working on high-value tasks as opposed to learning how to do certain other tasks.

For example, maybe outsourcing an infographic is smarter than taking the time to learn how to do it yourself. Or perhaps you’d rather hire someone to develop your site as opposed to learning the coding language yourself.

  • Things you don’t want to do. If you really just hate a task, you may find yourself procrastinating on it, or you may find yourself rushing through it and not getting a very good end result. This is the sort of stuff you can outsource.

For example, if writing a blog posts is worse than pulling teeth for you, then outsource it to someone else. Or if you hate messing with the accounting and tax end of your business, then get yourself an accountant to keep the books.

  • Things you’re not very good at. Maybe you know a certain task just doesn’t fall in your skill set, in which case you should outsource.

For example, you can hire someone else to create the graphics for your site. Or perhaps you find that your sales copy couldn’t sell shoes to Imelda Marcos, in which case you can hire a good copywriter to do this work for you.

  • Low-value tasks. Even if there are certain things you know how to do, your time would simply be better spent elsewhere.

For example, hiring someone else to deal with the day-to-day customer service inquiries frees your time to focus on a high-value task, such as finding joint venture partners.

So, the bottom line is that you can outsource many tasks to grow your business. However, be smart about it, because your business will grow even faster if you focus on Gaps, Assets and Upgrades.

I’d love to hear how from you in the comments below on how you are outsourcing tasks and activities in your business.

Talk soon,

Rocky

P.S. Outsourcing your list building activities are are great way build your email list, but as we’ve discussed in other posts, running a Product launch is one of the fastest ways to not only build your list, but generate Social Proof and make a large number of sales quickly. To learn how to launch your product successfully, check out Jeff Walker’s free Product Launch Masterclass here.

PLUS: When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to grow your business using product launches:

1. How To Build A Profitable Launch List.
Building an email list is critical if you plan on doing a launch for your product, service or business. List Warrior will show you a proven way to use free software to build a responsive list of prospects who are ready to buy from you during your launch. Click Here.

2. How To Create The Perfect Product 
Creating a product that is perfect for your audience does not need to be difficult. How To Create The Perfect Product shows you how to build high value products your audience will love one after the other. Click Here.

3. How To Attract Buyers To Join Your Launch List So They Can Purchase Your Perfect Product.
Once you have created your Product Launch List and your Perfect Product is ready to go, you need to attract people into your world so they can buy from you. One Minute Free Traffic gives you a proven way to attract buyers with ‘Automated Traffic Machines’ so you can send those people to your optin page, your sales page, your Facebook Group or anywhere else you choose.    To learn more Click Here.

And don’t forget to check this out 🙂

How to Earn $20 in 20 Minutes With Any Topic, Niche or Hobby

Disclaimer: If you purchase PLF through my affiliate link I may receive a referral fee from Jeff Walker, however you will pay no more to purchase the program through me than if you went directly to the Product Launch Formula website. If you would like my personal help as you create your first launch using the PLF process, check out my PLF Bonus offer here.

Product Launch Outsourcing – Managing Your Outsourcing Projects

So far in this series on getting help with your product launch, we’ve covered…

…knowing when and what to outsource, how to write a compelling ad to attract the most qualified people, and how to recruit the best person for your needs.

In this message, we’re going to look at Step Four: Managing Your Product Launch Outsourcing Projects

Once you hire one or more people to complete a job, it’s up to you to manage the project.

Here’s what you need to know to make everything go more smoothly:

• Make your expectations clear. Same as when you’re writing a project ad, you need to be clear about your expectations.

For example, if you prefer files to be delivered in a Zip file, let your freelancer know.

If you want them uploaded to DropBox, be clear about it.

Your freelancer isn’t a mind reader, and you’ll get better results when you are very clear about what you want.

• Explain what you like and want more of. When your freelancer does something the right way, let them know you’re really happy with the work and that you want more work in that style.

For example, if you hire a video producer who adds a “doodle style” demo to a video that you really like, let them know what you liked about it and that you want more videos like that.

• Let them know how often you want updates/communication. Some people prefer daily updates, some prefer every other day, some are fine with weekly or twice-monthly updates.

You need to be clear upfront about what you want.

TIP: You may ask for more frequent updates in the beginning, and then request less frequent communication once you and your freelancer have established a good relationship.

Be sure your freelancer knows you’re always available for questions, and let them know to alert you immediately whenever there is a problem or potential problem.

• Provide the required resources and information. In other words, give your freelancer the tools he or she needs to complete the job.

For example, if you’re asking your freelancer to write an article, provide resources with the facts and other information needed to complete that article.

• Consider giving a bonus for exceptional work. This bonus might come in the form of a direct financial reward on top of the regular payment, which is the preferred bonus for most freelancers.

However, in some cases you might give your freelancer a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or another surprise reward for exceptional work.

• Praise good work along the way. Obviously, your freelancer is doing the work in exchange for money.

However, frequent praise for good work can make the project feel much more rewarding for your freelancer.

TIP: Praise for good work helps build a good relationship between you and your freelancer.

In turn, a freelancer may make special accommodations for you in the future, such as scheduling your projects first or giving you an unexpected discount.

• Be cordial and specific when tweaks are needed. From time to time your freelancer may not complete the work exactly as you envisioned.

Your first step is to go back to your brief and written communications to check if you were clear about what was needed.

Then politely let the freelancer know what specific tweaks you need to complete the project.

TIP: If the fault rests with your communication, then take responsibility for not being more clear, pay for the necessary corrections, and vow to do better in the future.

• Be aware of time zone differences. In addition, ask your freelancer their preferred hours for conference calls and other communications.

For example, someone may have a six-hour time difference from you, but they may be night owls or early risers who work much the same hours as you do.

TIP: If you’re hiring someone from another country, be aware of holidays, power outages and other circumstances that may affect your freelancer’s regular work days.

Also, if you’re in the United States and you hire someone from a country like Australia, take note that while you’re right in the middle of your Friday, they’re already into Saturday (and thus they may not be working).

• Complete the project with appropriate feedback. Here you should mention both the good things, and the things you want changed for the future.

Then be sure to follow up with a prompt payment to close out the project. (In other words, once your freelancer has delivered the final project, review it quickly so that you can make the final payment promptly.)

One last tip: if you’re using an outsourcing site, then communicate through the channels provided on the site.

This offers you some degree of protection in case there is a problem, plus it helps ensure that you’re not sending emails back and forth that may end up in a bulk email folder or otherwise get lost.

Now let’s wrap things up…

Closing Thoughts

Now that you know the four-step process for finding, hiring and managing people to help you with your product launch or with ongoing business activities, you too can start enjoying the results soon!

While the entire process can take some time upfront to comb through candidates to find the ones most suited for your needs, it’s time well spent.

So get started on the process today, and start reaping the rewards of hands-free outsourcing!

Warm regards,

Rocky

PLUS: When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to grow your business using product launches:

1. How To Build A Profitable Launch List.
Building an email list is critical if you plan on doing a launch for your product, service or business. My 1-2-3 List Building Cheat Sheet will show you how to build a responsive list of prospects who are ready to buy from you during your launch. Click Here.

2. How To Create A Signature Product Out Of Thin Air In 72 Hours Or Less
Creating your product does not need to take weeks or months. My 72 Hour Product Creation Guide shows you how to build high value products or bonuses one after the other in 72 hours or less. Click Here.

3. How To Outsource Your Product Creation And Make It Hands Free.
Outsourcing the creation of some or all of your products and bonuses is a great way to save your time for the more important (and more fun) things you’d rather be doing. Grab my Hands Free Outsourcing Cheat Sheet to learn more. Click Here.

And don’t forget to check this out 🙂

Jeff Walker’s free Product Launch Formula training.

Product Launch Outsourcing – Evaluating And Hiring Freelancers

In this previous post, we looked at how to create a compelling advertisement that will attract the most qualified outsourcing candidates to help you with your product launch outsourcing.

Today we’re going to look at Step Three: Evaluating And Hiring Freelancers.

Because you’ve crafted such a good ad, you’re probably going to attract plenty of people offering you a variety of bids and turnaround times for your project.

So here’s how to evaluate your options…

Step 1: Check the Freelancers’ Feedback

If you’re hiring through a freelancing platform like Upwork.com, then you’ll have access to his or her ratings and feedback.

The key is to look for multiple good ratings from multiple people over an extended period of time.

That last part is important.

Sometimes freelancers who are new to a site can gather a lot of great ratings in a short period of time, such as a month or so.

They look like stellar candidates. But then, for a variety of reasons, the quality of their work can start to suffer, and/or and their delivery times can blow out substantially.

That’s why you want to look for someone who has a long, established history of providing great work, which demonstrates their professionalism and attention to detail.

TIP: Plug the freelancer’s name and/or company name into Google to uncover still more information about his business history, professionalism and quality of work.

Next…

Step 2: Browse the Freelancers’ Portfolios

Next, you want to make sure the freelancer does good work.

Take a look at samples of their work, and see if they matche your expectations.

If you don’t see a sample in the portfolio that is similar to what you’re doing, ask for one.

Step 3: Ask These Key Questions

As you evaluate freelancers, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Did the freelancer send a personal reply along with his bid?

Many freelancers bid on every project without even really understanding the project, and then they send generic responses along with their bid.

If a freelancer sends a personalized response that includes details about the project, that shows you they’ve read and understood the project.

2. Have they completed projects similar to the one you’re proposing?

f there is a certain type of skill set required to complete your project, then be sure your freelancer has experience.

For example, if you’re creating an games app for iPhones, then make sure your developer has experience creating both iPhone apps AND game apps.

3. Are there any red flags warranting choosing a different person instead?

For example, if your Google search reveals that a freelancer has complaints from his business partners, that’s a red flag that he may eventually get complaints from customers too.

Go with your gut. If it’s telling you something isn’t right, believe it.

Next…

Step 4: Review the Candidate’s Rates

You don’t want to shop around based on cost alone, which is why this is not the first step of this process.

Once you’ve created a smaller list of the highest-qualified candidates, then review their pricing to see which of these people fall into your budgeted range.

You can then hire the most qualified candidate within that range.

So now you know how to evaluate and choose the most qualified outsourcers.

But there’s one more critical thing you’ll need to know if you want to get the best results, and that’s how to manage your projects without taking up too much of your time.

And that’s what we’ll be covering for you in the next post.

Warm regards,

Rocky

PLUS: When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to grow your business using product launches:

1. How To Build A Profitable Launch List.
Building an email list is critical if you plan on doing a launch for your product, service or business. My 1-2-3 List Building Cheat Sheet will show you how to build a responsive list of prospects who are ready to buy from you during your launch. Click Here.

2. How To Create A Signature Product Out Of Thin Air In 72 Hours Or Less
Creating your product does not need to take weeks or months. My 72 Hour Product Creation Guide shows you how to build high value products or bonuses one after the other in 72 hours or less. Click Here.

3. How To Outsource Your Product Creation And Make It Hands Free.
Outsourcing the creation of some or all of your products and bonuses is a great way to save your time for the more important (and more fun) things you’d rather be doing. Grab my Hands Free Outsourcing Cheat Sheet to learn more. Click Here.

And don’t forget to check this out 🙂

Jeff Walker’s free Product Launch Formula training.

Product Launch Outsourcing – How To Advertise For The Best Candidates

In this previous post, we looked at how to know if you should be using outsourcing some of your product launch projects, and what tasks and jobs you should be handing off to other people.

Today, we’re going to cover Step Two: Advertising To Attract The Best Candidate

Let’s get started…

If you want to attract the perfect, qualified people to your position, while repelling those who are unlikely to be a good fit, then you need to create a specific and detailed project description (or what’s called a brief) if you want to get the best results.

Here are the sorts of details to provide when you post parts of your product launch outsourcing project on a freelancing site:

• The scope of the project. Be specific about what the job entails. For example, list exactly how many words you need for a report, or how many minutes of video footage you want.

• Deadline. You can list your preferred project-delivery deadline in your ad. If you have some flexibility, then mention that as well. Later you and the freelancer sign an agreement that includes a deadline you both agree on.

• Project milestones and goals. If this is a big project, then you’ll want to outline when you expect to receive certain pieces of the project. Many people tie their payment terms into these project milestones so they don’t pay up-front for work that is never completed, or is of substandard quality.

• Delivery format. For example, if you’re hiring some to write articles, then let the freelancers know if you want them in a .txt file, .doc, .pdf or something else. (Note: It helps to be flexible, because you may miss working with a really great freelancer simply because they’re not using your preferred tools.)

• Usage of the completed project. If your freelancer knows how you’ll use the work, that may affect how they create it. For example, freelancers will create Search Engine Optimised  articles differently than pre-selling articles if that’s what you specify.

• Specific expectations. For example, do you expect your freelancer to give you a daily update via email? Or do you need him or her to jump on a once-a-week phone call? If you have these sorts of expectations and requirements, let the freelancer know upfront.

• Exclusive rights for a completed project. You should be very clear (and it should be in the contract) that you get exclusive rights to the project once your final payment has cleared. You don’t want stuff you paid for turning up all over the internet after the outsourcer sells it to other people.

• Encouragement to ask questions. Sometimes freelancers don’t want to “bother” you with questions. Be sure your freelancers know they can and should reach out any time with questions and clarifications.

• Payment terms. Here’s where you list how much you’ll pay for the project, how you’ll pay (e.g., with PayPal) and when you’ll pay. Generally, most freelancers prefer to work on a 50% down, 50% on delivery for smaller projects. For larger projects, you may create milestones tied to payments.

• Examples to use as a role model. It’s helpful to show your freelancer specific examples – not for copying purposes, but to show your freelancer the “flavor” you want. For example, you might show your content writer an example of two or three articles you really like.

• Company mission, vision and philosophy. This helps your freelancer create work that matches the company mission. For example, a customer service rep can answer inquiries in a way that matches your company’s philosophy.

• Preferred skills and abilities. This is particularly important if you’re hiring an assistant for a variety of tasks. Be very clear about they need to be able to do, what types of software they must be comfortable using, and so on.

It’s a good idea to look at other projects posted on freelancing sites to get a feel as for what types of ads get the best results.

Let me give you an example. Let’s suppose you’re posting a very simple job for five blog articles.

Here’s an example…

———SAMPLE AD———

Wanted: Skilled writer to create five blog articles about organic gardening.

You should have experience writing about gardening topics, and be able to produce samples in this niche. I’m looking for someone who can create entertaining yet educational articles that will engage readers. Some sales or copywriting experience is a plus, but not required.

Length of articles: 1000 words each (so this project is 5000 words total). I’ll provide you with titles, outlines and three to five research resources for each article. Here are the five topics: [insert topics and descriptions of each of the five articles].

Examples: Please see my blog at [yourblog.com] for examples of the style and quality of work I’m looking for. If you can meet or exceed this quality, then please bid on this job.

Style: Please check my company’s mission statement to understand how we operate. You’ll need to write articles that reflect this mission, when appropriate. [Insert mission statement or link.]

Deadline: Prefer to have these articles within three weeks, but I will make an exception for the right person.

Payment: Full payment upfront through the site’s escrow service, which you’ll receive once I approve the final work. Exclusive and full rights to the work will transfer to me once final payment is received.

Expectations: Once you begin the project, please send me daily updates to let me know how things are progressing. I prefer if the project is delivered in a .doc file.

Budget: [insert a budget range here]

If this sounds like something you can do, send me a link to your portfolio along with your bid. I look forward to hearing from you!
__________________

If you write a good ad or project description, you’ll get lots of really good people wanting the job…

So, now you know how to write a compelling ad, to attract qualified outsourcers to help you create some or all of your product launch content, or content or tasks for your general business needs.

But before you can choose the right person for your job, you’ll need to know how to evaluate and hire best candidate.

And that’s what we’ll be covering for you in the next post in this series.

Warm regards,

Rocky Tapscott

PLUS: When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to grow your business using product launches:

1. How To Build A Profitable Launch List.
Building an email list is critical if you plan on doing a launch for your product, service or business. My 1-2-3 List Building Cheat Sheet will show you how to build a responsive list of prospects who are ready to buy from you during your launch. Click Here.

2. How To Create A Signature Product Out Of Thin Air In 72 Hours Or Less
Creating your product does not need to take weeks or months. My 72 Hour Product Creation Guide shows you how to build high value products or bonuses one after the other in 72 hours or less. Click Here.

3. How To Outsource Your Product Creation And Make It Hands Free.
Outsourcing the creation of some or all of your products and bonuses is a great way to save your time for the more important (and more fun) things you’d rather be doing. Grab my Hands Free Outsourcing Cheat Sheet to learn more. Click Here.

And don’t forget to check this out 🙂

Jeff Walker’s free Product Launch Formula training.

How To Outsource The Product Launch Stuff You Don’t Want To Do

If you are considering using a product launch to quickly grow your business, one of the best things you can do for your sanity is to learn how to make it as hands-free as possible.

In fact, this goes for everything you do in your business.

If you can outsource the stuff you don’t want to do, the stuff you don’t like to do, and the stuff you don’t know how to do, you can focus on the more important stuff that helps you to grow and prosper.

Now if you’ve never done any outsourcing before, you might be scratching your head.

How, exactly, do you go about figuring out what to outsource, and then finding a good freelancer to complete the tasks?

That’s what this series of posts is about.

Over the next 4 posts, you’ll discover a four-step process which includes:

1. Determining Your Needs.  In this first post I’ll be explaining where, what, and when to outsource for your business.

2. Advertising Jobs.  Then in the next post, you’ll learn how to write a good job description to make sure you get what you are paying for.

3. Evaluating And Hiring Freelancers. In the 3rd post in this series, you’ll learn how to screen candidates and pick the best freelancer for your project.

4. Managing Projects.  And in the forth post, I’ll give you some battle-tested insights into making sure your projects go smoothly.

OK, now let’s walk through the first of these four parts of the process…

____________________

Step One: How To Determine Your Product Launch Outsourcing Needs

There are three questions to ask yourself to help you determine needs.

Question 1: When should you outsource?

Here are three good times when you should consider outsourcing a task:

• When you don’t have time to do the task yourself. Perhaps you have other work, family and social obligations. Or perhaps this is a low-value task, and you need to free up your time to focus on high-value tasks. These are good times to outsource.

• When you don’t know how to do the task yourself. Maybe you don’t know anything about it, so it would take too long and there would be a big learning curve. Or perhaps you just don’t know how to do it well, meaning a freelancer would be able to offer a better end result.

• When you don’t want to do the task yourself. Ever notice that you procrastinate on things you really don’t want to do? Don’t force yourself – just outsource the task to someone who’ll cheerfully produce a great end result for you.

In other words, if you’re stuck and not moving forward very quickly, then outsource the task.

Which brings us to the next question…

Question 2: What should you outsource?

The sky is the limit when it comes to outsourcing.

Let’s look at a quick list of common tasks:

• Content creation. This may your product launch content (including pre-launch content and email sequences, and even the product itself), ongoing newsletters for both prospects and customers, blog posts, social media posts, PDF reports, ebooks, video scripts, and more.

• Social media management. Your freelancer may create and post traffic generation content on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. They may also help you develop an overall social media launch strategy, depending on their skills and experience.

• Graphic design. This includes web graphics, video presentation graphics, product graphics and more.

• Planning. Here you can hire an expert to help you plan and strategize various parts of your launch and/or other parts of your business, such as marketing or your launch sales funnel.

• Data entry. This sort of task is a great one to outsource, as it’s a low-value task (which frees up your time to focus on high-value tasks), and it requires very minimal skills to complete.

• Customer support. You can hire people to both answer phones and deal with inquiries sent through your help desk. This may be a permanent position, or you may hire people temporarily during expected influxes (such as during your product launch).

• Video editing and production. Most product launches are video based these days, so unless you have skills and experience with video production, this is a task that’s best left to someone else.

• Administrative assistance. You can hire someone to help you with a myriad of day to day jobs, from research to content creation to data entry and more.

• Research. A competent freelancer can help you do market research, product research and more. Your freelancer might give you a report of their findings with links and data, or they may find the resources and let you interpret the data. It all depends on their skill set.

• Traffic generation. Generally, this involves hiring multiple experts to focus on their area of specialty (such as media buys, affiliate marketing, SEO, pay per click, etc).

• Copywriting. A sales letter or ad can make or break the success of your product launch, which is why it’s a good idea to hire a professional copywriter to create these materials for you.

• Legal services. Here’s one area where you should absolutely hire a professional. This includes creating policy documents for your site, reviewing agreements, helping you incorporate, and other legal issues that come up.

• Transcription. If you plan to include videos, audios or webinars as part of your product, you can pay somebody to transcribe them into text very inexpensively through Rev.com.

• Order fulfilment. If you’re shipping physical products, or you need to manually deliver digital bonuses for an affiliate promotion, you can hire someone else to take care of fulfilment.

• PowerPoint® presentation. If you do slide-share presentations for webinars, videos or conferences, you can hire a professional to make your presentation look great.

• Lead generation. This person can help you set up your lead page, tweak it for good conversions, and drive traffic to it.

• Installations and set up. A good freelancer can help you with everything from installing a WordPress blog, to installing complex ecommerce systems.

• Email marketing. You can hire someone to help you create your launch email sequence, as well as better autoresponder sequences that boost your open and click-through rates, meaning you’ll sell more through email.

• Accounting. A good accountant can save you money by ferreting out tax deductions that you didn’t even know about.

• Public relations. A good PR person can send out compelling press releases and land media interviews during your launch so you get additional publicity and exposure.

• Blogging. You can hire someone to create content for your blog, handle blog comments, and publish content on a regular basis.

• Document formatting. You can hire someone to format your Kindle book, ebooks or other documents, which will give your readers a great first impression.

• Affiliate recruiting. You can hire an affiliate manager to find, recruit and motivate affiliates.

• Search engine marketing. This includes SEO (search engine optimisation) as well as PPC (pay per click) marketing using platforms such as AdWords.

Next question…

Question 3: Where you should outsource?

You can cast a wide net by using one or more of the following methods:

1. Post a project to a freelancing site. This includes sites such as Guru.com, UpWork.com, and  Fiverr.com

This is the method I recommend in this report, since you get access to freelancer ratings, as well as some amount of protection through most freelancing sites.

For example, some sites run an escrow service, which protects both you and the freelancer.

2. Search Google. For example, you might search for “ghostwriter” or “software developer.”

Be sure to check the organic results as well as the sponsored results (ads).

3. Ask for recommendations from trusted sources.

This includes your colleagues, mentors, and other associates.

You can also ask on business and marketing forums or Facebook groups.

So now we’ve covered the first step in getting started with outsourcing, your head might be spinning with all of the possibilities 🙂

But before you race out and start hiring, you’ll need to know how to create a specific and detailed project description (AKA a brief) in order to find the most qualified person for the job and to get the best results.

And that’s what we’ll be covering for you in the next post.

Warm regards,

Rocky

PLUS: When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to grow your business using product launches:

1. How To Build A Profitable Launch List.
Building an email list is critical if you plan on doing a launch for your product, service or business. My 1-2-3 List Building Cheat Sheet will show you how to build a responsive list of prospects who are ready to buy from you during your launch. Click Here.

2. How To Create A Signature Product Out Of Thin Air In 72 Hours Or Less
Creating your product does not need to take weeks or months. My 72 Hour Product Creation Guide shows you how to build high value products or bonuses one after the other in 72 hours or less. Click Here.

3. How To Outsource Your Product Creation And Make It Hands Free.
Outsourcing the creation of some or all of your products and bonuses is a great way to save your time for the more important (and more fun) things you’d rather be doing. Grab my Hands Free Outsourcing Cheat Sheet to learn more. Click Here.

And don’t forget to check this out 🙂

Jeff Walker’s free Product Launch Formula training.

Disclaimer: If you purchase PLF through my affiliate link I may receive a referral fee from Jeff Walker, however you will pay no more to purchase the program through me than if you went directly to the Product Launch Formula website. If you would like my personal help as you create your first launch using the PLF process, check out my PLF Bonus offer here.