I think everyone recognizes the importance of having an outsourcing strategy in place but I don't think that everyone understands that outsourcing is a business investment and as such, you want to get the best return on your investment dollars as possible.
When you pay someone to design a website for you, you want a website that converts.
When you pay someone to write articles for you, you want articles that convert.
Here are 5 tips to help improve your outsourcing strategy.
Define Your Target Audience - When you hire someone to design your website or write your articles, let them know who it is you're trying to attract to your site.
The graphics and written content on your site play a huge role in determining who stays on your site and who clicks away.
For example, if your target audience is young children who want to learn how to cook, you'll get much better results with images of children having fun in the kitchen than you will with pictures of professional chefs working in an institutional setting.
And children aren't going to be interested in reading about the proper way to prepare pate a choux - they're going to want to know how to make Giant Cream Puffs.
Define Your Goal - Let your service provider know what results you expect from them.
Do you want their articles to point toward a specific product or service you're trying to sell or do you want them to provide general information about your niche? If you're trying to sell children's cookbooks then you'll want your site design to convey that message, too.
Provide Examples - Don't expect the person providing your outsourcing service to be able to read your mind - or even your words.
If there's something specific you want for your site, give them examples to look at.
If you've been doing your homework, you've visited your competitors' sites and you seen things you like and don't like.
Give your service provider links to these sites and point out specific examples.
Ask For Advice - Most people who provide outsourcing services have been doing it for a very long time and yours isn't the first children's cooking site they've seen.
They also track the success rates of their services just like you track the success rate of your website.
Ask them for suggestions on what would work better for your site and you may be very surprised at their answers.
Work With Your Provider - If you don't get the expected results the first time out, work with your provider.
It takes time for them to learn your site and your specific needs and it's much better to work at developing a good working relationship with one provider than it is to keep jumping around from one service to another.
Think back to your first day on the job.
I'm sure you didn't give your employer everything he wanted that very first day but, over time, as you continued to work together, you were able to give him exactly what he wanted.
Developing a relationship with your service provider is probably the single most important thing you need to include in your outsourcing strategy.
When you pay someone to design a website for you, you want a website that converts.
When you pay someone to write articles for you, you want articles that convert.
Here are 5 tips to help improve your outsourcing strategy.
Define Your Target Audience - When you hire someone to design your website or write your articles, let them know who it is you're trying to attract to your site.
The graphics and written content on your site play a huge role in determining who stays on your site and who clicks away.
For example, if your target audience is young children who want to learn how to cook, you'll get much better results with images of children having fun in the kitchen than you will with pictures of professional chefs working in an institutional setting.
And children aren't going to be interested in reading about the proper way to prepare pate a choux - they're going to want to know how to make Giant Cream Puffs.
Define Your Goal - Let your service provider know what results you expect from them.
Do you want their articles to point toward a specific product or service you're trying to sell or do you want them to provide general information about your niche? If you're trying to sell children's cookbooks then you'll want your site design to convey that message, too.
Provide Examples - Don't expect the person providing your outsourcing service to be able to read your mind - or even your words.
If there's something specific you want for your site, give them examples to look at.
If you've been doing your homework, you've visited your competitors' sites and you seen things you like and don't like.
Give your service provider links to these sites and point out specific examples.
Ask For Advice - Most people who provide outsourcing services have been doing it for a very long time and yours isn't the first children's cooking site they've seen.
They also track the success rates of their services just like you track the success rate of your website.
Ask them for suggestions on what would work better for your site and you may be very surprised at their answers.
Work With Your Provider - If you don't get the expected results the first time out, work with your provider.
It takes time for them to learn your site and your specific needs and it's much better to work at developing a good working relationship with one provider than it is to keep jumping around from one service to another.
Think back to your first day on the job.
I'm sure you didn't give your employer everything he wanted that very first day but, over time, as you continued to work together, you were able to give him exactly what he wanted.
Developing a relationship with your service provider is probably the single most important thing you need to include in your outsourcing strategy.
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