Improve Your Internet Marketing

There are two classes of skills for every Internet Marketer: The skills we possess, and the skills we don’t possess. Nobody is great at everything. On the one hand, money is usually tight when we’re first starting out, and one of the obvious ways to limit our spending is to do as much as we can ourselves. On the other hand, our greatest and most valuable resource is our time, and it shouldn’t be squandered on things we can automate or have others do faster and better. The key to maximizing returns on our efforts is to outsource anything someone else can do more efficiently: faster, better, sometimes even cheaper.

Three areas that most of us will benefit from outsourcing are landing pages, writing copy, and ’setup’ (auto-responders, opt-in forms, server configuration, etc.)

Where do you go to outsource, how much do you pay, and what do you ask?

Two of the most popular general online outsourcing services are Rentacoder and Elance. Despite their names, Rentacoder is far more than programming, and Elance is much more than freelance writing. The services work similarly:

1. You describe your “project”, including a range you are willing to pay;
2. You receive bids and select a “Coder” (Rentacoder) or “Professional” (Elance);
3. You track your project through status reports and updates;
4. You “Accept” and pay for your finished project (Rentacoder requires you to escrow your payment the first few times you use them).

Both sites act as middlemen, and in the case of a problem or dispute, act as arbitraters. The ‘Coders’ and ‘Professionals’ are rated, and you are able to review each bidders record as you decide. The sites also provide a great deal of ‘protection’ in the way of built-in non-disclosure and contract agreements.

A third alternative is Craigslist. Each area’s board has a “gigs” section where you can post projects for outsourcing. Craigslist lacks any of the protections offered by the dedicated sites, and you must use care when describing, accepting, and paying for work, but you can often find quality local talent that you can communicate directly with. I continue to work directly with a freelance writer I found through Craigslist two years ago.

Both Rentacoder and Elance help you to create your bid by providing a multiple-choice selection, offer good ‘tips’, and let you browse other bids to see how they are structured.

Outsourcing ‘fixed’ projects such as setting up an auto-responder, or installing a script on a server, are fairly easy to describe: “Need opt-in form set up on my Wordpress blog, using Aweber” for instance. Copy and landing pages are a little more involved.

Whenever I outsource a landing page, I spend some time searching to find similar pages that I like so that I can use them to describe what I want: “Need landing page for ebook sales, something similar to http://cool-ebook-sales-page.com…” I also make sure to specify what I am using it for, and any ‘features’ I want incorporated: “The site will be used as a PPC landing page to sell a DVD language course. The site will be a single page, and will include a pop-up opt-in form (squeeze page), and a ‘buy’ button linked to my 1shoppingcart product page. Site should include have a header graphic using supplied logo. Page text will be provided.”

An easy way to price your bid range is to browse through the site and look at similar bids. You will find plenty. As a guideline, I generally pay between $40 & $60 for a single-page site. This includes the design, including header graphics and opt-in form. For that price, you should expect back a polished, professionally produced page.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of ’saving money’ by trying to do everything yourself; the truth is even if you have more time than money to begin with, none of us is expert in every area, and in today’s competitive marketplace, anything less than a great landing page with excellent copy will cost you far more in lost sales than anything you can possibly save.