Ask a freelance writer what responsibilities are on his or her to-do list, and you'll hear something like this:
Business development.
Marketing.
Podcast appearances.
Client communications.
Project management.
Creating contracts and proposals.
Invoicing.
Taxes.
Payroll.
Researching.
Writing.
Editing.
You get the idea.
For many years, I too felt it was my duty as a freelancer to handle all of these things. On my own.
I thought: “This is what you signed up for. It’s your job to ensure everything’s running smoothly and that nothing falls through the cracks.”
And guess what? I made a martyr of myself. In overloading myself with all of these responsibilities, I became resentful about my never-ending to-do list. Work stopped being enjoyable. I was cranky all the time.
But a few years back, I finally gave myself permission to think about things differently. I wanted to work smarter, not harder…so I had to get strategic about how to make that a reality.
Outsourcing, subcontracting, hiring a Virtual Assistant…these were all things I’d heard people talk about, but always felt like they were out of reach for me. I felt like my business was too small-scale for that to be financially realistic.
But then I thought: “Wait. What if this thinking is holding me back? What if I just started with baby steps and tried it out?”
About that time, I got really sick. My body said, “Haha! Now you have to do something!” (Rude.) So here’s a little story about how this went for me (and what I learned along the way.)
Starting Small
The first tasks I decided to outsource were those I hated.
Hated is not the right word, perhaps. I loathed them. They made me angry. (I am a word person, not a number person. Mmkay?) These were the number-related aspects of my business: Figuring/paying taxes, handling my retirement investing, payroll, and bookkeeping. Yuck!
I found someone locally I could hand all of that work off to, thus removing it from my plate and freeing up some mental bandwidth.
THAT was an investment I would make over and over (for my sanity, if nothing else.) Also: I wasn’t good at those things, so it just made sense to outsource that work to someone who knew what they were doing.
This first instance of outsourcing was eye-opening to me: The fees I incurred in hiring someone else to manage these tasks were small and manageable (and 100% tax-deductible, too.)
So I started thinking: How else could I implement outsourcing to optimize my day-to-day operations?
Experimenting with Expanded Outsourcing
As time went on and my services became more in demand, I often found myself turning away projects I would’ve loved to take on (if only I had more bandwidth!)
Much like before, I started small and tried some experimentation to see if this model could work within the context of my day-to-day business as a writer.
As I raised my rates over time and continued to get a steady flow of work that kept my business growing, I felt secure enough to try this more and study how it impacted my daily workflow.
This process always started with a contract that outlines the expectations I have for my subcontractors, including the processes for draft submission, payment, communication, and rights to the final product.
(Note: I have a brand new template bundle for this! It’s not live yet, but email me if you want early access and a discount in exchange for feedback.)
A few of the things I tested outsourcing
Research. Researching is often a heavy lift in the writing process, so I figured I could scale up my services and free up more time in my workday if I could hand off this piece of the process to a talented researcher. With a solid writing brief, I could provide all the key context the researcher would need to give me a running start with my outline and drafting process.
Task management. I hired a VA to help manage some of the more tedious tasks in my day and was so impressed I eventually hired that person to manage and oversee the team at Content Remix.
Editing. I’ve talked about this in depth before, but again, I felt that outsourcing the editing piece to a specialist with a knack for editorial review would A) Improve the quality of my final products, and, B) Provide a second set of eyes on my writing after I’d become too familiar with a piece to be objective.
Writing. Life happens, and sometimes you need coverage so you don’t miss deadlines or leave clients hanging. Using the apprenticeship model, I found a few solid writers I could trust to handle first drafts when I was out of commission or had overflow projects.
The perks of subcontracting as a freelancer
A few perks of outsourcing I noticed as time went on:
Scaling. The more time you have, the more work you can take on realistically. This is one of the few ways freelance writers can scale up their service-based businesses.
Future planning. With more time to focus on the big picture of the business (rather than being down in the daily details), you can get out of the weeds and focus on future planning/growth activities like sales, nurturing existing client relationships, or creating new services and products.
Coverage. Just because you’re a business of one doesn’t mean everything should fall on you 100% of the time. It’s a game-changer to have coverage when there’s a crisis, sickness, etc.
Better work/life balance. If you know you have several reliable subcontractors on standby, you don’t have to worry about overbooking yourself to the point of burnout. You can always delegate some of those pieces to your subcontractors when your schedule feels too intense.
Mentoring. Aside from subcontracting being great for your business, it can also be a valuable experience for the junior writers you work with. How? You’re giving them a place to learn about the landscape of the freelance writing industry without having to navigate it alone.
One thing I will say: The more you delegate tasks, the more your role shifts into a project manager role. If that’s not a spot you’re comfortable in, this may not be the right move for you. It requires attention to detail, organization, patience, and strong interpersonal communication skills.
You’re managing people here, and with that comes many variables. There will be times when you have to handle giving feedback (positive AND negative), pushing back when there’s a disconnect or miscommunication, and maybe even discontinuing a working relationship if there’s not a good fit.
None of these things are fun, but they’re part of it.
What About Control?
Any fellow Control Freaks™️ here?👋
I won’t say this entire process was easy-peasy. I had a lot of anxiety early on. Much of it came from a fear of relinquishing control over work that would have my name and stamp of approval on it. If I didn’t touch every single aspect of the work, wouldn’t I risk delivering sub-par work?
However, I’ve found that as long as you’re still highly involved with the work along the way and complete a thorough review before the end product is shipped out the door, this isn’t a real concern. Freelance writers can sometimes get stuck behind the ego and the control of their work. It gets wrapped up in identity.
The reality is, however: Your clients want the best quality work they can get. And if that is made possible by outsourcing pieces of the process along the way, then so be it!
