Discover Some Tips In Helping You Choose the Best Freelancers

Tips to Separate the Best Freelancers from the Rest Outsourcing at least some of your work can be one of the most beneficial things that you ever undertake to do.

However, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that even this seemingly simple act of outsourcing can provide a lot of obstacles that need to be dealt with. From these obstacles stem the flow of horror stories regarding outsourcing.

With all these horror stories, it is no surprise that many beginners choose not to outsource, having heard of the bad experiences of others.

While sure, you could carry on doing things yourself pretty indefinitely, the reality is that if you do try to do everything yourself, your business is not going to be able to grow in the way that it should.

After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and once you’ve filled all those hours with ‘stuff to do’, you’re going to reach a plateau in terms of what you can do with your business.

From there on out, you’re bound to stagnate.

In short, unless you want your business ending up hitting a huge brick wall, you need to start considering outsourcing.

Bearing this in mind, there is going to be a real need for you to actually be able to evaluate your outsourcing. It isn’t going to be enough to just go out there and advertise, because that’s the mistake that everyone ends up making.

Basically, it’s a bad assumption to assume that just because you advertise well, you’re going to end up only having people who are fully qualified applying.

Invariably, among all the people who express interest in your outsourcing advertisement, there are bound to be some who are not up to scratch. Worse, they may be some who appear to be exactly the type of person you’re looking for, but turn out to just be a sham.

Think of it this way: You’re going to have to weed out the ‘good’ freelancers, from the ‘bad’ ones.

And doing so can be tricky. It can take time, effort, and if you don’t go about it the right way, you could still end up getting it all wrong.

But if you do know how to separate the good from the bad, and end up with a reliable and trustworthy freelancer that is going to deliver you the goods that you desire, well, then and only then can you truly tap into the power of outsourcing.

Over the course of this guide, we’re going to be looking at how you can ensure that the freelancer you end up with is the right one for you.

More importantly, we’re going to look at some of the simple yet effective things you can do so that your outsourcing will not end up being the next ‘horror story’ to add to the collection of ones that are already out there.

By the time you’re done with this guide, you should have no problem getting exactly what you want out of your outsourcing.

Think you’re ready to begin?

Contrary to what you might expect, we’re not going to jump straight into the ‘how to hire a freelancer’ part of the guide. No – so that you’re able to best understand what you’re dealing with, let’s start from the beginning.

And that means that we should have a little chat about the problems that you may face, and have to overcome.

Pitfalls of Hiring Freelancers Have you ever actually tried to hire a freelancer before? Maybe you went to a freelancing hub and posted an advertisement? Or maybe you used some other advertising service?

Did you get what you were looking for?

Chances are, you didn’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading these words. As we mentioned previously though, you’re not alone in facing problems when outsourcing, so there’s no need to be bashful about it.

Truth is, with all the problems faced when hiring freelancers; it is tough to find a marketer that hasn’t faced some issue or other, at some point in their career.

But the big question that we’re interested in is: What are these ‘problems’ exactly?

Frankly speaking, there are too many problems to categorically go through them one by one, but most fall under a few broad umbrellas: 1. Delivered a finished product of inferior quality

2. Delivered a finished product that did not fit the specifications 3. Did not deliver on time (i.e. delivered late) 4. Did not deliver at all At some point or other, you may have faced one, two, or all of these problems. Mainly though, the first three are the ones that are most often faced.

Why? Well, the truth about outsourcing online is that promises are easily made and not kept.

Just because the freelancer you appear to be hiring seems to understand what you’re saying, know what you want, and be able to deliver exactly that – this still is not a good enough indication of whether or not he or she actually will deliver.

In some cases, you may even find that the freelancer you appear to be hiring actually is merely part of a larger outsourcing organization that is going to take your job, and outsource it in turn for a fraction of the cost.

Such cases normally can compromise the quality quite a bit – and we’ll deal with this later.

However, for now, let’s just say that with all these problems occurring on a day in, day out basis, you need to be able to really distinguish between the best and the rest.

After all, imagine that you had an extremely time-sensitive product which you needed to be in your hands by a certain time. So you hired a freelancer, and when you got the finished product, it was not up to scratch and would need to be redesigned.

Or worse, it was delayed.

Or even worse, the freelancer simply vanished mid-project.

As you can probably well appreciate, you’d basically be in one very annoying fix. And the worst part is, once things reach that point in time, you’d have very little options in terms of how you can solve the matter.

Due to this, it is much better to solve these kinds of problems before they ever take place.

Sure, it might not be ‘ideal’ to have to check and ensure that every freelancer you hire is going to be up to the standards you expect. But in the long run, it’s worth spending the time doing just that, and avoiding being put in a situation where your business is adversely impacted by your choice of freelancer.

That should give you enough motivation to really want to learn what we’re about to get into.

Yes, now it’s time to move on and start looking at the actual things you can do to select the best possible freelancer for your outsourcing needs. And you may be surprised at how early on in the outsourcing process this starts…

Defining Requirements in a Clear and Precise Fashion Although you may have a very good idea of what it is that you desire – chances are, no matter how good a freelancer is, he or she won’t unless you can somehow explain it well.

Bear in mind that this is especially true when you’re outsourcing some task that you’ve been performing yourself for a long time. In such situations, many tend to make the mistake of oversimplifying the task, or not explaining it enough.

Of course this is only natural. After spending a lot of time performing any task, we all kind of tend to get used to it. However, when you’re hiring a freelancer for the first time, chances are that he or she will not be used to it.

Or at least, not used to performing the task exactly the way you normally do.

Even for tasks that are totally new, the onus is on you, as the ‘boss’, to somehow define what you want in a way that can be understood.

And you should do this before you even think about hiring a freelancer, just so that everything is ready long before the point at which you’re going to need it. Matter of fact, if you know what task you intend to outsource, you could sit down and define it, right here, right now.

Truthfully speaking, there isn’t much that is too difficult about defining a task, and if you follow the outline below, you should do fine: 1. Explain the overall goal and end result of the task Sometimes the best way to begin is by beginning at the end.

If you were to explain, right from the start, what exactly you expect the end result of your outsourcing to be, then from the very first part of your explanation, the project itself will be clearly defined.

So if you, for example, want an eBook on blogging to make money – well, that’s the final result right there. Or, if you want a piece of software designed to help automate social bookmarking – once again, that’s your end result.

Be clear, but more importantly, be sure to state what it is you expect to have in your hands at the end of the day. Don’t be too worried about specifics yet, that will come next.

2. List down an in depth set of requirements In the last step, we looked at the frame of the entire project. Now, it’s time to get down and dirty with the itty bitty details.

This is where you really need to pay as close an eye to detail as possible. Essentially, the idea is to list down a set of requirements that describe the project from start to finish, including everything that falls in between.

Precise details are going to be needed. If you can provide as many details as possible, your chances of getting exactly what you expect out of outsourcing are going to be greatly increased.

Go over the project in your mind. If it is something that you’ve done before, try to describe exactly how you would do it, and what you’re trying to achieve when you perform the task.

For tasks that aren’t really the kind of things that you’ve performed in the past, just list your expectations, and what you desire the final product to fulfill.

Remember: This is going to be what your product is based on, so make it count!

Armed with this set of requirements, you’re one step closer to finding the right kind of freelancer. Sure, it may seem right now as though all you’re doing is helping any freelancer fulfill your needs, but as you’ll soon notice – there’s more to it than that.

Once you’re done defining the project that you wish to outsource, you’re going to rely on it to be your base.

With any project that you undertake, this should be the irreplaceable first step. Nothing else is more important than being able to fully detail the specifics of what you desire, and nothing else will get you closer to achieving it.

For now, since we’re done with this stage, it’s time to move on and look at actually selecting a freelancer from all of those that applied.

Initial Short-Listing of Freelancers

Perhaps you don’t realize this yet, but your initial short-listing of freelancers is not just about going over applications. In fact, the process begins before you actually post your advertisement to various places.

In essence, the purpose of this initial short-listing is to separate the candidates that blatantly cannot deliver, from the rest.

So in many ways this short-listing is somewhat like a filter, weeding out the really bad parts from the rest. Of course, to do so, you need to be able to rest assured that the applications you receive tell you enough about the candidates so that you can reliably filter out the bad ones.

Some argue against this, saying that a really good candidate will definitely stand out anyway, but the truth is that this isn’t always the case.

Thus, it is better to be safe than sorry, and due to the fact that you’ve already clearly defined the project that you’re undertaking, properly designing your advertisement could be as easy as snapping your fingers…

Designing an Advertisement for a Freelancer Frankly speaking there is no one surefire way to design an advertisement for a freelancer, and largely, you should suit it to your needs at the time.

Needless to say, that clear description of your project could come in handy at this stage – but should you use it? Sometimes the best way to initially gain applicants is to advertise in a more open way.

For example, instead of advertising for an eBook that you need written, advertise for a writer with eBook writing experience in… whatever niche the eBook is in.

So instead of providing the entire scope of the project, you only need to advertise for those skills that you need and expect in the freelancers that you’re hiring.

And in order to get the information that you require, well, you could simply request it. Some of the common things to consider include: 1.

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Task-related past experience Niche-related past experience Other past experience Testimonials from previous customers Samples of work Samples of past work related to the niche Any other skills that may be relevant

Don’t sweat it just yet if you can’t figure out why some of these would be relevant. Honestly, they are all highly relevant, and you’ll see as much in the next section.

Right now it’s enough to just know that they’re the kind of thing that you should be looking at.

When all is said and done, your advertisement for a freelancer should be geared towards not only helping you get applicants, but also ensuring that you have enough information from which to at least make an initial decision.

And that’s exactly what is next on our plate…

Going Through and Short-Listing Candidates Having received applications that, hopefully, have the information on them that will enable you to at least get to know each candidate and his or her abilities, you’re going to have to make some decisions.

Just a while ago, we talked about 6 specific points that should be asked for in any advertisement for a freelancer. At the time, we didn’t specify the reasons for those 6 points though – and that’s what we’re going to correct.

As you’re about to see, each of the 6 carries its own weight in gold…

1. Task-related past experience

Nothing is quite as good in a freelancer as specific experience in the task. In a nutshell, it means that they have performed something similar in the past, and therefore, would have a rough idea of what to expect.

2. Niche-related past experience Next up is actual experience with the niche that you’re in. If a freelancer has done work in that niche before, chances are that they would have at least some understanding of it, and be able to apply this to their work.

If they have extensive experience, all the better!

3. Other past experience Any and all other experience comes under this category. Without a doubt, the more relevant the experience to the task at hand, the better. Still, you might be able to glean a few nuggets of valuable information about the freelancer by simply looking at what they’ve done in the past.

4. Testimonials from previous customers Of course, no matter how good the records of a freelancer’s past experience appears to be, you want some form of proof as to it being genuine. Mainly, this would come in the form of testimonials from previous customers.

Most freelancers make a habit of collecting testimonials, so if a freelancer has none, it should instantly raise a warning flag.

That said, it could just be that the freelancer is new to working online, so this must be taken into account in tandem with the claimed past experience.

5. Samples of work Yet another nice form of ‘proof’, samples of work, especially in areas related to the freelancers past experience, are very much to be desired.

Frankly, the best forms of samples are those that can be checked or validated and tied in with the freelancer. Sometimes, such samples aren’t available, but if they are, it should definitely be given extra marks.

6. Samples of past work related to the niche All that this really consists of is a more specific kind of sample, and one that speaks towards the claims of past experience that the freelancer may or may not have provided.

7. Any other skills that may be relevant Last, but certainly not least, comes all other miscellaneous skills that could possibly prove to be an asset.

Let’s face it – chances are that you’re going to have many freelancers applying with similar past experience, and perhaps even some decent proof to back to claims up. So how do you decide between them?

Well, granted, there are other steps to take that will help, but knowing about any other skills they might have that could help you – that should definitely be taken into account too.

Now that you know the significance of each aspect that we’ve discussed, you should be able to short-list your applicants with ease.

Focus on the positive to start off with. Any candidates that seem to have great experience, and the proof to back it up, well, they should definitely be on the shortlist. Similarly, you can afford to also put in anyone who is borderline, unless of course your shortlist is already pretty long.

Remember that a lack of proof should be an instant red flag, but weigh that against the claims of past experience, and also whether or not the samples provided are of a high enough standard.

If they are, it might be worth investigating further.

Anyway, once you’re through with the shortlist, it’s time to take the next step, and that is to actually talk to your potential future freelancers, and find out if they have what you need to make your outsourcing effort a success!

Incidentally, this is where things start to get interesting.

Interviewing Candidates and Picking a Freelancer To put it in simple terms, the idea behind interview a candidate is to make the final selection call with all the information that you need. Naturally, this interview doesn’t necessarily have to be the face-to-face variety – using IM services, or email, can achieve the same goal.

With this in mind, it should be obvious that there are two key areas at work here that you should be concerned about: 1. Asking the right questions of the candidate 2. Evaluating the answers Although this, for the most part, ends up being a judgment call, there are several ways in which you can steer the interview towards providing you with the vital information that you need.

Also, you could get a better idea of whether or not your candidate is ‘right’ for you.

For a start, this interview is the perfect time to present your project requirements to the candidates. Not only will it allow them to get a better idea of what you desire, but it will also prove an invaluable talking point.

How about we get started by taking a look at some of the questions that you should be querying all your candidates about?

Key Areas to Question during Interviews In a nutshell, each and every question that you ask candidates during your interviews should be geared towards finding out just how well suited they are to your project.

Based on what you know about them, you can tailor your questions accordingly to find out more about what they put in their application. However, the true test of determining whether or not a candidate is the right freelancer for you is to incorporate your project requirements itself into the equation.

Assuming the candidate has had time to go over your project requirements you should: 1. Ask the candidate to describe the project using their own words By doing so, you’ll be able to see just how much of the project they’ve grasped, and whether or not it is in line with your expectations. If it isn’t, then you’ll be able to correct this immediately, or simply choose a candidate with a better understanding of the project.

Also, it helps expose more glaring faults in a candidate if they’re not able to properly grasp the project despite having prior experience (supposedly!) in it.

2. Question regarding any improvements that the candidate might suggest to the project scope Really, this is up to you, but if you decide to do so, you could learn some valuable information about your future freelancer.

If your candidate claims to have past experience in the task and niche, then chances are that he or she should be able to provide you with some valuable insights towards improving your project.

Should they not be able to, despite claiming such experience, this would be an obvious sign that something may be amiss.

By going over these details, you’ll have a greater insight into what the freelancer that you’re interviewing is able to do for you and your business.

Armed with that insight, you can then choose to explore it further, or, if you’re satisfied, just leave it at that. Chances are, among all your candidates, one or more should stand out in this regard, so exploration might be a way to differentiate between them.

As for the rest of the interview, it should mainly be a matter of determining whether or not the freelancer is skilled enough, experienced enough, and trustworthy enough. Also, you should bear in mind that keeping to deadlines is something that every freelancer should have.

So be sure to slip in a question regarding how the freelancer manages his or her deadlines.

Another issue that is bound to crop up, and rightfully so, during the interview is the question of payment. Naturally, you probably already have a good idea regarding what you’re willing to pay, and we’ll be discussing this in the next part of this guide.

For now, just be aware that it is a talking point that should be discussed.

Apart from what we’ve been talking about, you could even ‘test’ the freelancer during this interview by asking him to carry out a ‘sample task’. For some tasks, this is easy, but for others it might be trickier.

Still, it is worth considering, as an option for gauging how good a given freelancer it.

Furthermore, it will provide you with yet another yardstick to use to measure one freelancer against the others.

One other question worth asking is whether or not the freelancer works individually, or as part of a team or outsource service. Remember how we previously had mentioned the downsides of outsource services?

Well, determining whether or not the person you’re interviewing is going to be personally handling your outsourced jobs, or simply passing them on to someone else, is crucial.

Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with hiring outsource services, provided they’re able to attest to delivering the goods and ensuring that they’re exactly up to specifications, with no sacrifice in terms of quality, or deadline.

Once you have all your answers, all that is left is to evaluate them…

Determining the Best Freelancer for the Job Throughout this guide, we’ve so far covered all the many ways in which you can mine information regarding the freelancers that you’re considering. But now, it is time for that final decision.

Equipped as you are with pretty much every vital piece of information in connection with the freelancers that you’re considering, this shouldn’t be too tough to do now.

What you’re looking for is a candidate that you can trust. Of course, this doesn’t mean someone that you can trust with your life, but rather, someone who you trust to: 1. Deliver on his or her promises regarding the quality of the final product 2. Follow the requirements and specifications that you provide 3. Meet deadlines that are set

These are the three crucial qualities that you need to have. Apart from that however it would also be of benefit if the freelancer you’re hiring is able to: 1. Provide valuable advice related to the task set 2. Use his or her additional skills to your benefit 3. Over-delivers (i.e. delivers more than what is expected) Take into account these criteria, sit back, and go over the candidates that you’ve interviewed.

Consider everything, and narrow down your list of candidates until, finally, you’re able to select the right freelancer to outsource to.

Then, go ahead and the freelancer that they’re about to be hired!

Hang on though, there’s one area that we promised to discuss, but haven’t yet, so let’s go over that before you rush into things…

Paying Top Dollar for the Very Best of Freelancers Generally speaking, payment is an issue that many people like to dodge around instead of confronting head on.

But, seeing as you’re interesting in hiring a freelancer, and you’re already near (or really, pretty much at) the stage where you would do so, it is imperative that you start to decide what you’re willing to pay.

Although there are no hard and fast rules regarding payment, there is one oft-quoted phrase that springs to mind, “To get the best, you have to pay for the best.”

Okay, this doesn’t mean that you should break the bank trying to hire the absolute best freelancer in the world, but it does provide a valuable insight into how pricings amongst freelancers can vary.

While it is true that you can find very cheap freelancers, chances are that they’re cheap for a reason.

Likewise, most good freelancers know their own worth, and would rarely accept, or even express interest, in jobs that are paying below their acceptable rates.

Sure, you may have heard about how this or that marketer found an amazing freelancer from a third world country that was willing to work for a fraction of the going rate. And truth be told, such scenarios have definitely cropped up every now and then.

But trying to locate a good freelancer that is dirt cheap too is almost as tough as looking for a needle in a haystack.

In short, it generally isn’t worth the time to do so, and you could spend months and still not find such a rare thing.

Instead, consider this: Outsourcing is an investment, and your choice ends up being to invest more, and be able to appreciate the greater quality of result, or invest less and have to face the fact that you won’t be attracting the ‘better’ freelancers.

One of the best ways to approach this issue is to be willing to pay a good rate but not one that is ridiculously high. Sure, you might not attract the ‘best’ freelancer in the world, but you’ll definitely attract many of the good ones.

Gauge what others are paying for similar jobs, and see the type of freelancers that they’re attracting too. Then, decide what you’re willing to pay and advertise based on that.

Not too complicated, right?

Now, having gone through all this trouble to locate a great freelancer, you should definitely do all that you can so that he or she sticks around – especially if you’re going to have other similar jobs in the future, and are satisfied with the work that he provides.

Speaking of which…

Establishing a Relationship that Lasts a Lifetime Last on our order of business for the day is dealing with the question of relationships.

Naturally, no one is suggesting that you marry your freelancer, but a good freelancer is, as you have probably surmised from the depth of this guide, a great asset to have, but notoriously difficult to find.

Therefore, once you do find a freelancer who you work well with, and who works well with you, it is important to build on that relationship.

And the fact of the matter is, most freelancers are more than happy to build relationships with their clients too. As much as you may have heard the horror stories regarding outsourcers hiring freelancers, the flipside is just as true.

That is to say, freelancers themselves find that they face many problematic clients who provide them with a host of problems that range from being late with payments, to not paying at all, or just being generally unreasonable.

Due to this, on both sides of the divide there exists the genuine desire to find and build strong relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Needless to say, this makes the task of building the relationship itself a lot easier.

If you follow the advice that we’re about to outline below, you’ll find that in no time at all, you and your freelancer are really hitting it off, and starting to gel. Who knows what you could accomplish from that point on…

1. Provide the freelancer with constant work One of the biggest problems that freelancers face is the fact that they often end up going through ‘slow’ periods when they have little or no work to do. As such, most freelancers are more than happy with the promise of constant work to come.

Don’t be surprised, but some would even be willing to discount their regular rates at the prospect of a continuous supply of work.

If you are willing to take on a freelancer and guarantee him or her a steady stream of tasks, then you’ll find that you’ve already taken the first step towards building a firm relationship.

With each and every job that your freelancer completes, that relationship will invariably strengthen.

Also, it goes without saying that a happy freelancer is more likely to perform at a much higher level than one that is unhappy!

2. Showing appreciation and rewarding work done well Although you are paying freelancers for the jobs that they do for you, there’s still no harm in showing appreciation, or rewarding them, for jobs that really are done well.

Of course, this by no means needs to be a regular thing, but occasionally giving the freelancer an additional ‘bonus’ would go a very, very long way towards strengthening the relationship that you have with them.

Everyone likes to feel appreciated, and it is no different with freelancers.

3. Question, and not accuse Invariably, even the best of freelancers may end up getting something wrong at times.

While it is only natural to be annoyed, consider for a moment the fact that the

freelancer in question is one that has been with you for a while, and hasn’t gotten much wrong in the past.

Bearing this in mind, try to question him or her regarding where things went wrong, instead of accusing.

Sometimes, a firm hand is required, but be careful to balance this against the risk of ruining an otherwise good relationship.

Each of these three simple approaches should help you to build, and maintain, a good relationship with your freelancer.

Basically, by doing so, you’ll end up saving yourself a lot of the time and effort that is involved with finding a new freelancer, and at the same time you’ll be able to count on someone who is willing to go that extra mile when necessary, purely because he or she views you as a valued client.

And with that, you now know pretty much everything that there is to know about separating the good freelancers from the rest!

Final Say on Locating the Right Freelancer Right – you’re now all set and ready to go. Everything that you’ve learnt in this guide should have supplied you with the knowledge that you need to really locate a freelancer that is able to perform up to the standards that you require.

So why wait a second longer than you have to?

We’ve gone over everything, including: 1.

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Some of the common problems faced with hiring freelancers How to define your requirements, and why you should do so Short-listing the initial candidates that you receive Interviewing and determining the best freelancer for your requirements Briefly discussing how payment normally works Looking at building a long term and mutually beneficial relationship

All of that sound familiar?

Well, that pretty much is what we’ve been talking about throughout this guide, so if any of it doesn’t, you should flip back and look it up before you get out there and start to put what you’ve learnt to use.

Good luck!