Are you outsourcing your work? If so, what did you start with first; website building, article marketing, social network stuff or some other area? I'm hesitant to do any outsourcing yet - I just feel I need to be in control of the whole project; at least for now. I tested the waters by asking a website design company (from India I think) who does outsourcing, how much they would charge to build me a membership site on Wordpress and they said it would be about 12$ an hour. I think eventually I will use them to see what kind of work they do and to get a feel for what is involved in outsourcing. How much outsourcing have you all done and have you been satisfied with the results?
Outsourcing
- Thread starter littlefeather
- Start date
I outsource everything except for posting on WF.
You would first need to write a DETAILED project spec.
and I mean details, everything, make mockups of the interface you have in mind. Everything!
Then post a project on vWorker and sift through them, if your project is 10k+ request a security deposit.
You would first need to write a DETAILED project spec.
and I mean details, everything, make mockups of the interface you have in mind. Everything!
Then post a project on vWorker and sift through them, if your project is 10k+ request a security deposit.
I haven't done much in the way of outsourcing at all; I like to be involved in every aspect of running my site, and if I did outsource I'd probably micromanage the hell out of them so why bother?
About the only thing similar to outsourcing I've done is invited other bloggers to write "guest posts" for my blog, but in that case the only payment is a link back to theirs.
About the only thing similar to outsourcing I've done is invited other bloggers to write "guest posts" for my blog, but in that case the only payment is a link back to theirs.
I haven't outsourced anything yet, but if/when I do I'll probably outsource article writing and social network stuff. I don't mind doing site design and whatever but after a while I get tired of writing crap.
I’ve outsourced content development for three years now. India and the Philippines. Not usually stuff I put on my sites. Here's a few things I've learned along the way about hiring contract labor.
Whether advertising on craiglist, onlinejobs.ph, or whatever I use a detailed job description. Telling them if it’s full time or part time, how many hours, what skill set is needed and a few other details.
ALWAYS put a required subject line in the ad towards the bottom of your ad along with the throw-away email for them to send their resume and required salary to. That way you’ll know if they read the ad in its entirety. It might be “Prefect Candidate Inside”. Emails without that subject line aren’t opened. Unless I’m not getting any qualified applicants. Then I bend the rules.
I’ll easily get 100 to 200 applicants or more. 97% aren’t worth a crap.
ALWAYS have the top applicants prove their skills. In my case I have them do a test writing assignment. I provide the research and ask them to do a 375-425 word article of original content. I give them a couple two three KWs to include. It’s usually on a topic they may not be all that familiar with. Like how to shop for a cordless drill. Reason being lots of what they’ll be writing about they’ll likely have no first hand knowledge of. Can they sift thru the research and pick up the salient points? A good writer can write about anything. No article no consideration.
BTW, one enterprising applicant found my page on the topic they were asked to write about and gave me my content as their article. GONG! We have a zero tolerance for plagiarism. Which is why copyscape is your friend. I also have a desktop ap that compares their effort to the research to see how original it is.
I also give them a deadline when the test work has to be turned in by. Miss the deadline no further consideration.
Look at it this way. If when they’re trying to impress you they screw up, how good are they gonna be when they’re working for you. Fact is however, this test assignment only tells me who can’t do this more so than who can.
ALWAYS chat or SKYPE them. I have a prepared list of questions all are asked. The advantage of chat is you get a transcript. No note taking. Perfect memory. Good idea. My preferred method to “interview” them. Plus with writers I can start to get a feel for their writing skills using online chat.
Having the questions pre set up also means I can copy and paste them into the chat session. They’re the ones typing like fiends not me.
ALWAYS hire them for a week or two paid probationary period. I have a standard set of training guides to get them started. PDFs that I’ve developed that teach them about the types of writing they will be doing, to how to report their work each day, to how to create a PDF invoice. I pay monthly via PayPal.
I know how long it should take to write X number of words. These expectations are laid out upfront. Those that can’t produce don’t last.
Remember they’re only going to do as good as you train them. And will only produce what you ask for. If you’re unable to articulate what you want don’t be surprised if you don’t get it. They’ll also most likely not be as fast as you. And may not ever do it good as you would. But they’ll get it done to a “good enough” standard which should suffice. This isn’t brain surgery.
I ALWAYS try to hire slow and fire fast. Either they can do this or they can't. I can't train them to write "good enough". That's a skill set they should bring to the table. Often you only find this out by having them actually writing on a daily basis.
Finally outsourcing on an everyday basis isn't nearly as easy as some would make it out to be.
Whether advertising on craiglist, onlinejobs.ph, or whatever I use a detailed job description. Telling them if it’s full time or part time, how many hours, what skill set is needed and a few other details.
ALWAYS put a required subject line in the ad towards the bottom of your ad along with the throw-away email for them to send their resume and required salary to. That way you’ll know if they read the ad in its entirety. It might be “Prefect Candidate Inside”. Emails without that subject line aren’t opened. Unless I’m not getting any qualified applicants. Then I bend the rules.
I’ll easily get 100 to 200 applicants or more. 97% aren’t worth a crap.
ALWAYS have the top applicants prove their skills. In my case I have them do a test writing assignment. I provide the research and ask them to do a 375-425 word article of original content. I give them a couple two three KWs to include. It’s usually on a topic they may not be all that familiar with. Like how to shop for a cordless drill. Reason being lots of what they’ll be writing about they’ll likely have no first hand knowledge of. Can they sift thru the research and pick up the salient points? A good writer can write about anything. No article no consideration.
BTW, one enterprising applicant found my page on the topic they were asked to write about and gave me my content as their article. GONG! We have a zero tolerance for plagiarism. Which is why copyscape is your friend. I also have a desktop ap that compares their effort to the research to see how original it is.
I also give them a deadline when the test work has to be turned in by. Miss the deadline no further consideration.
Look at it this way. If when they’re trying to impress you they screw up, how good are they gonna be when they’re working for you. Fact is however, this test assignment only tells me who can’t do this more so than who can.
ALWAYS chat or SKYPE them. I have a prepared list of questions all are asked. The advantage of chat is you get a transcript. No note taking. Perfect memory. Good idea. My preferred method to “interview” them. Plus with writers I can start to get a feel for their writing skills using online chat.
Having the questions pre set up also means I can copy and paste them into the chat session. They’re the ones typing like fiends not me.
ALWAYS hire them for a week or two paid probationary period. I have a standard set of training guides to get them started. PDFs that I’ve developed that teach them about the types of writing they will be doing, to how to report their work each day, to how to create a PDF invoice. I pay monthly via PayPal.
I know how long it should take to write X number of words. These expectations are laid out upfront. Those that can’t produce don’t last.
Remember they’re only going to do as good as you train them. And will only produce what you ask for. If you’re unable to articulate what you want don’t be surprised if you don’t get it. They’ll also most likely not be as fast as you. And may not ever do it good as you would. But they’ll get it done to a “good enough” standard which should suffice. This isn’t brain surgery.
I ALWAYS try to hire slow and fire fast. Either they can do this or they can't. I can't train them to write "good enough". That's a skill set they should bring to the table. Often you only find this out by having them actually writing on a daily basis.
Finally outsourcing on an everyday basis isn't nearly as easy as some would make it out to be.
thanks for telling us the golden nuggets of outsourcing.. specifically articles outsourcing
i am also in the same boat of outsourcing articles but so far unable to find some good article writer who can provide quality articles in reasonable prices...
if you know some good writers then plz pm me their contact details if you dont mind.. and also if possible share with us(me) your training material you use to guide your writers...
once again thanks for this valuable post.
i am also in the same boat of outsourcing articles but so far unable to find some good article writer who can provide quality articles in reasonable prices...
if you know some good writers then plz pm me their contact details if you dont mind.. and also if possible share with us(me) your training material you use to guide your writers...
once again thanks for this valuable post.
If you’re having problems finding good help maybe you aren’t offering enough compensation. I find it better to overcompensate compared to local wage scales which is still a good deal compared to hiring in the US. Especially since the hiring process is time consuming - for me.
Unfortunately sharing any training guide likely won’t help you a lot. Because they are geared toward the specific writing tasks I need done.
But generically speaking I make use of Snag It screen shots to show my crew step by step how to do things. Or how to use online tools I share with them.
My crew works exclusively for me. As you have noted it’s not easy coming up with those that can produce results. So I won’t be able to help you there.
Besides you’re better off mastering a process for finding your own help. Because outsourced labor can quit for any number of (sometimes dumb) reasons as their life circumstances change. One had her housekeeper quit. Another had another kid. Another got married. Our best writer left to pursue her PhD. Not a lot I could do about any of that except find replacements.
Thanks for this info. Very helpful. Can you give any details on the desktop app that compares their work with the research that's available. I think that would be a very valuable tool to have. Thanks again.
I also think that's a neat trick about a required subject line - I always try to read down to the bottom of stuff but it's surprising the number of people who'll just read a few bits and then run with what they think they know. Very smart to test the candidate on that.
Learn how to give orders.
Fix your hiring process.
Fix your firing process.
Fix your instruction sets.
Fix your expectations.
Most people are always going to suck. Learn to deal with it. Its much easier to change your self then a crowd of morons.
Fix your hiring process.
Fix your firing process.
Fix your instruction sets.
Fix your expectations.
Most people are always going to suck. Learn to deal with it. Its much easier to change your self then a crowd of morons.
Sure the app is called Content Checkup. (Search Google. You’ll find it.)
There are two panes. You copy the original text into the left hand one. The text to be tested into the right hand one. (note you have you click the button at the bottom that says “copy from clip board” or something like that. I know. But it’s free and you can always unsubscribe once you get the activation code) The app will highlight anything not original and give you a percentage that is.
This is one reason why I supply the research. Makes it easy to test for originality. Some will copy huge swaths of the original into their article. Plus all are writing from the same starter text. Makes it easier to see the stand out writers, if there are any, in the bunch.