While Uber and Lyft have popularized the concept of the gig economy, the truth is that gig, freelance, or contract workers have been around for a long time. In fact, I’ve been one of these since 1981, when I first started writing business articles for a wide range of trade and business publications. I’ve worked remotely with publishers and editors for years—most of them I’ve never physically met! My interest in the gig economy, which traditionally had been referred to as telecommuting, led me to research and write a book on the topic some years ago. Continue reading “Hiring Freelancers and Contractors: Tips and Best Practices”
Tag: hiring freelancers
Best Practices for Hiring Agencies, Contractors, and Freelancers
There comes a point in the life cycle of many businesses when advertising needs outgrow the “homespun” and it’s time to call upon the services of a professional agency or consultant. Even small businesses can benefit from the third-party perspective and marketing savvy that experts can offer. There’s a misconception that agencies are too expensive for small companies. That’s not necessarily true. What you want, though, is to find an agency that focuses specifically on your needs.
Here are some practical considerations that you should take into account when looking for an agency or individual to help you with your advertising and marketing needs. Continue reading “Best Practices for Hiring Agencies, Contractors, and Freelancers”
What You Should Be Looking For When Hiring Freelance Talent
Throughout my career, I have both been a freelancer, and have worked with various freelancers, initially in my role as director of corporate communications/marketing in the education, energy and healthcare industries and, since 2008, as owner of my own content marketing firm, Strategic Communications. I have also researched and written a few blog posts on the topic, including input from other sources who have worked with freelancers:
Continue reading “What You Should Be Looking For When Hiring Freelance Talent”
Best Practices for Finding Freelancers: Top Go-To Sources of Talent
Content is king, as the saying goes, and that’s certainly true in a digital world. Consumer appetite for content is at an all-time high and continuing to grow. That’s great for organizations that have well-oiled content creation teams in place to meet the demand. For others, though, developing content on a regular basis that is high-quality and focused on issues and topics that resonate with their audiences can be a challenge. The gig economy can help. A wide range of freelancers and contract content creators are available to organizations to help produce content for any format. Continue reading “Best Practices for Finding Freelancers: Top Go-To Sources of Talent”
Tips for Hiring Freelancers and Contractors
While Uber and Lyft have popularized the concept of the gig economy, the truth is that gig, freelance, or contract workers have been around for a long time. In fact, I’ve been a contract worker or freelancer since 1981, when I first started writing business articles for a wide range of trade and business publications. I’ve worked remotely with publishers and editors for years — most of them I’ve never physically met. My interest in the gig economy, which traditionally had been referred to as telecommuting, led me to research and write a book on the topic some years ago. Last year I updated that book as the concept of remote work, or telecommuting, really took off during the pandemic. Suddenly employers realize that yes, they can effectively manage remote workers. It’s a trend that is likely to continue long past the pandemic.
Continue reading “Tips for Hiring Freelancers and Contractors”
Building Your Digital Marketing Team
Digital marketing is a key aspect of any organization’s marketing mix. As digital marketing grows to represent a greater proportion of your marketing mix, at some point you’ll need to start thinking about splitting up the digital marketing responsibilities among multiple employees. Below we look at some tips and strategies for putting together an effective digital marketing team for your organization. Continue reading “Building Your Digital Marketing Team”
When You Need a Little Marketing Help
There comes a point in the life cycle of many businesses when advertising needs outgrow the “homespun” and it’s time to call upon the services of a professional agency or consultant. Even small businesses can benefit from the third-party perspective and marketing savvy that experts can offer. There’s a misconception that agencies are too expensive for small companies. That’s not necessarily true. What you want, though, is to find an agency or consultant that focuses specifically on your needs and that has the expertise and insights to generate real results.
Here are some practical considerations that you should take into account when selecting an agency, or contractor, to help you with your advertising and marketing needs. Continue reading “When You Need a Little Marketing Help”
Evaluating and Choosing the Right Content Creator for Your Brand
Nobody would dispute that “content is king” in the 21st century. Marketers are scrambling to create, distribute, and repurpose content in ways that resonate with their audiences. Demand for original content has likely never been higher and continues to climb. That’s good news for the agencies and freelancers who are positioned to provide quality content; their numbers are growing exponentially.
That can be both a good and a bad thing for the companies that need unique, high-quality content to feed consumer demand and stand out from the competition. Continue reading “Evaluating and Choosing the Right Content Creator for Your Brand”
Ideas for Choosing and Working Effectively With Freelancers
According to a recent article in Harvard Business Review, freelancers represent 34 percent of the American workforce. This includes more than fourteen million so-called “moonlighters” who have full-time jobs but use freelancing to supplement their incomes. The good news about this data for freelancers is that there are a lot of opportunities for freelance work. The downside is that there is plenty of competition as well. Continue reading “Ideas for Choosing and Working Effectively With Freelancers”