Having trouble keeping up with your social media posts, updating your website or monitoring your Facebook or Google Ads? There’s a freelancer for that. If hiring a full-time digital marketer, copywriter, graphic designer or website developer is out of the question, a freelancer can manage your digital strategy at a fraction of the cost, as much as 40 percent according to freelance site Upwork.com’s Vice President of Communications Shoshana Deutschkron.
“When you hire freelancers, you pay just for the expertise that you need — not for extra overhead such as office rent and supplies.”
Upwork is just one of many freelance sites, but it’s a favorite of Consort Design’s Mat Sanders and Brandon Quattrone, who discussed its benefits in our November issue Retail Road Trip. Here, learn how to get started and post your first job.
How to Post a Job
To sign up for a free account, go to Upwork.com. Once you’re in, follow these steps. Deutschkron says the average time to fill a job is three days, taking into account interviewing different applicants.
1. Choose a name for your job.
2. Write a detailed description of the work you’d like done.
3. Add attachments, such as photos, if necessary.
4. Decide whether you want to hire just one freelancer or several for the same job.
5. Choose to post your job either publicly, so any freelancer can apply, or privately by “invite only,” which means you will select freelancers and invite them to apply.
6. Enter the skills you’d like your freelancer to have.
7. Choose a payment method — hourly or fixed price.
8. Indicate the expertise level — entry, intermediate or expert.
9. Decide on the project duration (a day, a week, a few months, more than six months) or how many hours per week you would like.
10. Add any additional information you require such as cover letters or a number of hours billed on Upwork already.
*Pro Tip: Deutschkron highly suggests trying a test project with a few freelancers before hiring for a full project. “That will allow you to see actual work product and style, then choose the best match for further work together,” she says.
