Find the Best Freelance Help with an Outstanding Job Post

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Is your business growing? Do you need expertise that is outside the wheelhouse of your current staff? Is your team stretched too thin to handle your new project? No matter the reason for seeking help, there are a few simple steps you can take to help ensure that you are set up for success when searching for a freelance professional. This article looks at creating a job post on Upwork, and will link you to the right resources, right when you need them.

Set up your profile

To get started on Upwork, you must create a client profile. Fill out your company name, tagline, description, and website URL, then upload your company logo. You will also be asked to add and verify your payment method. Though you will be able to post a job without a verified payment method, typically the best freelancers will not submit proposals for your job until this step has been completed. You also will not be able to complete the hiring process without it.

Should you look for a single freelancer or an agency?

First, consider what you want to accomplish and the skills that might be necessary to complete the project successfully. Does your project require a large skill set? Or a narrow one? This can help you determine whether working with an agency or individual freelancers is the better choice.

If you work with an agency, you’ll typically communicate with just one person: The agency owner. An agency is a group of freelancers with different skills who can work on different aspects of your project. The agency owner allocates project pieces to the freelancers in the agency, then delivers the work to you.

If you are in the market for a website, for example, an agency might be an ideal choice. You might need someone to design the site so it will be user-friendly for your customers, code the site into a workable entity, write the copy, choose imagery, and ensure you are following best practices so search engines like Google will rank you well in search results. An agency can help coordinate the flow of all these pieces between freelancers.

If your project is narrow in scope, such as an article or a design project, or if you prefer to communicate directly with service providers, working with individual freelancers might be the best fit.

Learn more about why you might work with a Single Freelancer vs Agency >>

If your needs are large, or you’d prefer to have someone start the vetting process for you, you may also wish to consider looking into Upwork’s Pro or Enterprise solutions.

Determine the best pricing structure for your project

When setting up your job post, you will be prompted to create a fixed-price project or an hourly project. How do you choose?

A fixed-price project is one that has a set price. It is often best used for projects with finite deliverables and a clearly defined scope that can be split into one or more milestones. Writing and graphic design projects often fit well into this category. For example, if you are looking for an ebook that contains 10 chapters of 1,000 words each, it’s easy to create a milestone for each chapter. Or if you are looking for a business card, you can set it up as one payment.

For hourly projects, you are invoiced by the hour. These are often best suited for projects that are longer term or if you and the freelancer are unsure how long it will take.

Let’s say, for example, you are looking for help answering customer support queries that come to your company via email or through your social media channels. Some weeks this could take five hours while other weeks it could take up to 10. You can create an hourly project with a cap of 10 hours. The freelancer can then track time using the Upwork desktop app, and you’ll be billed for the number of hours they spend on your project each week.

Learn more about fixed price vs hourly projects >>

Set your budget

Before posting your project, do some research into how much it is realistically going to cost. Think about how much experience a freelancer should have to get the project done to your specifications. As with more traditional methods of finding service professionals, the more experienced an individual, the higher their rate will be.Research the going rate for similar projects at a similar level of experience. One way to do this is to search on Upwork for freelancers with the skills and experience level you are looking for; review their hourly rates and work history for an indication of what you should expect.

Research the going rate for similar projects at a similar level of experience. One way to do this is to search on Upwork for freelancers with the skills and experience level you are looking for; review their hourly rates and work history for an indication of what you should expect.At the end of this

At the end of this post, you will find a list of rates and cost factors for some of the more in-demand skills our clients are often looking for.

Post the job: Public vs private

On the Upwork site, you have the option to post your job publically—so every freelancer can see it—or to post it privately and invite specific freelancers to submit proposals.

If you post your job publicly, it will appear in search results; interested freelancers will be able to search, view, and submit proposals. For public posts, you can also search for and invite freelancers you think would be a good fit. However, private jobs are only visible to those freelancers you personally invite.

Write the job title, description, and invitation

The job title and description will be the first impression a freelancer will have of you and your project, and will likely be a deciding factor for those considering submitting a proposal.

When preparing a job post, think about the terms a freelancer might search for when looking for projects that match their skills. Accurately describing the project in the title and description will help the right freelancers find you and will be more appealing to the best talent. A detailed description will also allow freelancers to accurately assess and quote their proposals.

Title: Define the nature of the work. What kind of professional are you looking for? For example, you might use: Need blog writer for fitness niche; Seeking accountant for income tax filing; Need help developing a PowerPoint presentation for a corporate event.

Description: Include a project overview, the deliverables, and the deadline. Define what you need done, the skills you think are needed, and and the experience level you are looking for. Describe the project terms clearly, including what you expect to receive once the project wraps up and when you expect to receive it.

Invitation: On the Upwork website, you can invite specific freelancers to check out your job post. In your invitation, introduce yourself, your company, and your project. Keep in mind, the freelancers you invite will be vetting you as much as you are vetting them. When sending an invite, take the time to make a good first impression. Address the freelancer by name and let them know why you chose to invite them.

There’s a lot of information available to help

For more detailed information, check out our Hiring Guides. We’ve identified some of the most commonly sought skills and provided steps to writing great project descriptions to find freelancers who fit the bill. This resource also contains ideas for interview questions, tips and best practices, and common mistakes.

Prefer video? See our client course with real-world best practices for finding and working with great freelancers. You can take the modules anytime, anywhere it’s convenient for you.

Ready to get started? Create an awesome job post that attracts the freelancers and skills you need.

Learn more about rates and cost factors for freelance experts in the following areas:

Business
Accountant | Customer Service Representative | Virtual Assistant

Sales and Marketing
Copywriter | Graphic Designer | Sales Representative | SEO Specialist | Social Media Manager

The post Find the Best Freelance Help with an Outstanding Job Post appeared first on Upwork Blog.

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Russell L. George Blog

Monday, June 12, 2017

Find the Best Freelance Help with an Outstanding Job Post