13 tips to find the best freelancers - and get great solutions

By Carsten Bjerregaard, founder of Marketingcapacity.dk 

It's a good idea to supplement your permanent team with freelancers. You'll have more skills at your disposal and you'll have a flexible capacity that you can scale according to the type and volume of your tasks. Done right, you can even get significantly more work for your money compared to using an agency. Here are my tips on how to find the best freelancers and work optimally with them.

The trend is evident all over the world. More companies are using freelance skills and outsourcing more of their work to freelancers. Not least in marketing, where specialization has increased. Many are establishing a flexible setup with copywriters, graphic designers, digital project managers, SEO specialists, social media consultants, email/automation specialists, illustrators, etc.

I've been working with freelancers for more than 20 years. First as co-owner of an advertising agency, where we often supplemented our staff with freelancers, and now as founder of Marketingcapacity.dk, which helps companies find the right freelancers. My experience is that you can get a lot for your money as a company if you act appropriately. Here are my tips.

1) Draw a picture of the ideal person you are looking for

A good collaboration starts even before the parties find each other. Basically, you need to define the role you want to fill. What tasks does the person need to perform? With which colleagues and in which team? A good place to start is by putting words to the person you want, if that person exists.

It's an area I often spend calories on when helping companies find freelancers. It's almost like the movie business: casting is everything. The better the match between needs and skills, the greater the chance of success. A graphic designer is not just a graphic designer. There can be a big difference in skills, experience and interests.

2) Look at multiple candidates

The first one is not necessarily the best. At Marketingcapacity.dk, we almost always find 3 suitable candidates who are screened, selected and pre-interviewed. So companies in need of freelance skills have qualified profiles to choose from.

Because, as mentioned, there can be differences in freelancers' skills, experience and personality. And these differences are especially apparent when comparing multiple candidates directly. So, if possible, talk to several freelancers - and then choose the one that suits you best.

3) Give the freelancer a space

It's a good idea to offer the freelancer a space that they can use when they're working for you. Yes, if you have enough space, you could offer a fixed space that the freelancer can use freely. This is probably more valuable to you than the costs involved. Physical presence offers some advantages in the collaboration that benefit both parties:

• The freelancer gets a feel for your culture
• Your briefings will resonate when the freelancer meets your employees or sees your products, for example
• It will be easier for you to initiate new tasks
• It becomes easier for the freelancer to ask questions and gain additional knowledge
• You'll get a better sense of how and how efficiently the freelancer works along the way

It's not a prerequisite for a good collaboration that the freelancer sits on your premises. But it can definitely improve processes - especially at the beginning of the collaboration.

4) Sell when you brief

It's easy to fall into a rut when briefing on new tasks. But to bring your heart and soul and extra creativity into the solution, I recommend selling your briefs. Make the task interesting and important. Everyone works better if they are excited about the task.

The more freelancers love your business, your product and your service, the better marketing they will create for you. Because they'll do it with a clear conscience and they'll do it with joy. So feel free to express your own excitement and enthusiasm. It will only make them better.

5) Think in terms of regular collaborations and take your time in the beginning

You will always need to invest in bringing people up to speed. Whether they are permanent employees or freelancers. They need to get to know your business, they need to understand the products, culture and brand personality. Here's why:

• Taking the time to do it thoroughly
• Holding on to the good things you have on board

Even if they're freelancers you don't need full-time, hold on to the good ones. So you can build on the foundation of knowledge and experience you've already created together.

Start by briefing thoroughly on the first task. Follow the process closely, be prepared for misunderstanding and don't judge too early. Look at any mistakes as a natural part of the learning process. And as far as possible, be open to suggestions, even if they are contrary to "we don't usually do that".

6) Make agreements on how to manage time

People feel differently about the process. Some just want a briefing and a date to deliver a piece of work. Others are more comfortable with a process where they show something along the way so they can work with the customer to correct the direction. So talk about how you can best organize your collaboration. After all, you have a common interest in making it as good as possible.

NB! Although it's often an urgent need that prompts you to find a freelancer, be careful not to start the collaboration with 'an urgency'. Partly because you may end up with a solution that is less than ideal due to time constraints.

Partly because circumstances tend to be forgotten, so the freelancer's work is judged unfairly harshly, despite the fact that the freelancer was actually trying to do you a favor by working extra fast. Instead, do yourself a favor and consciously wait to form an 'opinion' until after the first 3-5 tasks have been completed.

7) Let the freelancer correct when corrections are needed

It can't be said clearly enough. Avoid self-correcting creative work. Don't write your own copy. Don't redraw a logo proposal. Don't. Even if you think it might save time. For several reasons:

• You don't get the freelancer's suggestions for a better solution - in relation to your wishes and objections
• The freelancer doesn't learn anything they can use next time
• The more you do it, the less responsibility the freelancer feels
• You won't get the freelancer to honestly criticize your corrections

The right way to correct a text, for example, is to write down your comments and wishes (in relation to the specific text proposal) for yourself. For example, you could say: "In paragraph 2 it says that you can choose the color, but that's not true, we have 15 colors". In a meeting, go through the text with the copywriter and tell them what your problem with the proposal is. WITHOUT REWRITING IT YOURSELF.

The trick with this method is that you tell them what the problem is or what you want. This way, the freelancer learns something about you and your requirements that they can use in future assignments. If you rewrite it yourself, the freelancer won't know why it was rewritten. And then you'll have the same problem again at a later date.

So while it may take a little longer in the short term, it will save time, money and aggravation in the long run. And that's not even the most important thing. The most important thing is that if you go in and fix the solution yourself, you take responsibility and motivation away from the freelancer. In extreme cases, the freelancer ends up delivering 'something or other, because the customer will rewrite it themselves anyway'. No one can be happy with that. It's in your best interest that the freelancer feels that their work is important.

8) Great people go where they are treated with respect

Good freelancers often have plenty of work and many clients want to buy their services. So they choose who they work for as much as their clients choose them. There's a balance in the collaboration, and that's where respect comes in.

Of course, tasks and money are the starting points for collaboration. But if you want to attract and retain talented people - including freelancers - it's almost more important that they feel respected. That they are given reasonable deadlines and that their expertise is listened to.

And an important word in this context is: Why. For example, if a freelancer has been working hard to meet a deadline and the project gets moved, it's good to give an explanation. Just as it's wise to say why a proposal needs to be corrected.

Freelancers, like everyone else, will go the extra mile for people who treat them with human and professional respect.

9) Make sure the freelancer always feels a sense of ownership

Put simply, the ideal collaboration is one where the freelancer:

• Are well equipped with information to get the job done
• Have time to get the job done
• Have space to speak your mind and ask 'stupid' questions
• Get feedback so they can make corrections in their own work

If this collaboration is successful, the freelancer will effectively take on co-responsibility for delivering the best possible result. A freelancer once put it this way: "There are no excuses for not doing good work for this client. The client is fair, he gives good briefings and shows respect for my suggestions." That was a wise customer.

10) Keep track of projects and finances

Even good collaboration can come under pressure if you misunderstand each other about finances. That's why it's important to keep track of projects and expectations along the way.

At Marketingcapacity.dk, the process is such that our candidates report their hourly consumption every Friday. So there is 100% transparency in terms of what is being done, how many hours are spent on given tasks, etc. So you can avoid projects moving in the wrong direction.

When working with freelancers, I would advise you to:

• Make sure you get weekly statements
• When starting larger projects, ask the freelancer for an estimated number of hours
• Accept that it's a range and that, by definition, it's impossible to predict exactly how long a piece of work will take

The more specific the job is, the more accurate an estimate tends to be. So define your requirements as much as possible at the time. You don't want 'a few posts on social media', you want '10 posts of 100 words each with a picture on Facebook every month'. To take just one banal example.

11) Pay on time

If you create the right environment for freelancers, they will love working for your business. You'll get the best freelancers can do because they bring their heart and conscience to their work. But money is still part of the equation. So, while money in itself won't motivate your freelancer, it can demotivate them. That is, if the freelancer has to move to get it.

Most freelancers don't have a finance department that can collect payment. They have to do it themselves. And for many freelancers, it will be awkward if they have to write or call a client to get their money. So avoid putting yourself and the freelancer in that situation. For a business, 60 days credit might be natural, for a freelancer it can be difficult.

Paying bills on time is an inexpensive way to create satisfaction. At Marketingcapacity.dk, we pay the freelancer's work within 14 days after the end of a month. Even if the company using the freelancer may have longer payment terms.

12) Talk about how much work is optimal for both parties

A good working relationship often leads to more work being outsourced to the freelancer. To the benefit of both parties. But it can also lead to a dilemma. While the freelancer is happy to get more work, they may also have an interest in having more clients to spread their risk (typically, freelancers have 2-5 regular clients and ad-hoc tasks).

If the freelancer quietly shuts down other clients and only works for you, he's more vulnerable than good. He'll have to start building his business all over again the day you stop working with him for whatever reason.

Therefore, you can't necessarily assume that 'the more hours you buy, the better'. Because it binds the freelancer. And the same goes for the price. It might be natural to think "we're putting in more hours, so we want a lower hourly rate". But be careful, because this risks the freelancer finding someone else to work with. Where the hours fit and the pay is better. As always, it's the best and brightest who leave first.

My advice is; talk to your freelancer about whether the task volume is appropriate. The freelancer will respect you for bringing it up. So you can make sure you both feel comfortable working together.

Be aware that a freelancer may also receive calls from other clients while they're with you. This can be awkward for both parties, but the more naturally you can handle it, the happier a freelancer will be. No one likes to do anything on the sly, so show your freelancer that you respect their other clients.

13) Sometimes you just have to have each other full-time

Sometimes there is such a solid basis for collaboration that a permanent position can be considered. My estimate is that about 1/3 of all freelancers would like to have a full-time job if there was one that suited them. And at Marketingcapacity.dk, we regularly arrange permanent positions when a freelancer and a company are 'meant to be'. When the workload has just grown and grown so that the freelancer is actually working full-time - or close to it - for the company.

So many words. If you follow these tips, you have a great chance of creating a fruitful collaboration with freelancers.

Enjoy!