Outsourcing present participle of out·source(Verb)
Verb
1. Obtain (goods or service) from an outside supplier, esp. in place of an internal source
2. Contract (work) out
If you’re an Internet Marketer, you’re going to outsource.
I’m not talking about just writing or designing, either.
I’m talking about everything to do with your business that you can describe to someone else.
If you can tell someone how you want something done, then it should be outsourced.
If you’re getting scared, or worried, don’t.
I’m not saying that everyone should outsource from day 1.
Hence why I said you need to know what you want and how it should be done before outsourcing.
Now, let’s just go over some of the choices you have when it comes to outsources.
Rock star Outsourcing: This is the perfect scenario where the person you’re outsourcing to knows exactly what to do to give you what you want. Obviously, this is your end-goal. The probability of you finding a person like this is very low, near non-existent. I’ll explain why in a moment.
Method of Communication: Skype/E-mail
Global Outsourcing: This is when you know what you want, exactly how to do it, and what steps the person you’re outsourcing to needs to take to achieve that. Still great, but some guidance from you is needed. Basically, people in this category will eventually become your rock stars.
Method of Communication: Odesk/Fiverr/Elance
Local Outsourcing: Finally, this is the entry level of outsourcing. When you don’t know what you need, don’t know what you want, and have even less of an idea of how anything’s done. To learn, you’ll need to meet up with the people involved, and find out exactly how it’s done. The alternative to that is to Google the crap out of whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve (research), and doing it yourself.
Now, let’s put outsourcing into perspective. If you’re outsourcing, you have a problem (whaaaaat?). Don’t freak out, what I mean is that if you’re outsourcing, you have something important you need done that you can’t do on your own, which is a good problem to have.
People that you outsource to aren’t idiots. However, even then, you’ll want to explain to the person you’re outsourcing to as if they were 5 years old. Below, I’ve pretty much outlined the steps you’ll need to take for effective outsourcing.
1. Background – The introductory step is to ensure the person you’re working with knows who you are and what your company’s about. This gives them context based on their previous employers.
2. Goal – What you’re trying to accomplish with the outsourced work. Basically, you’ll outline to them your plans of HOW you plan to use the work that they’re doing for you.
3. The Problem – This is where you define the problem you’re having. This also falls under what you need the person you’re outsourcing to do for you. One example would be, “I need you to edit this video because I do not know how to remove the background and change the background.”
4. Scenario – How you envision your relationship will work.
Example: What I’m going to do is to record the video with a green screen at the back, send it to you along with the background I want to have in it. Then, when that’s done, you’ll upload it onto YouTube, and send me the link to the video.
5. Call to Action – Doesn’t it always come down to this? Once the questions and examples above are completed, you’ll write a call to action to the people who will be reading the job description.
Example: If you feel you are suited for this position, please email me your portfolio and several samples of your previous work.
