7 Awesome Outsourcing Tools (Post 2 of 3)

If you read my “part 1” post yesterday, you know how excited I am about the new Digital Marketer Lab and why I think it’s essential for businesses using the Internet in ANY way, shape or form…

However there’s one thing “missing” (at least right now) from DMLab: Training on how to outsource everything you’re learning.

Without a doubt, you’ll learn the latest cutting-edge methods and trends, but you’ll want to have OTHER people helping you make it all happen.

That’s where today’s “part 2” comes in!

How do you feel when someone tells you to “just go outsource it”?

If you’re like most marketers, it’s both liberating and frustrating at the same time.

On one hand, it’s awesome.  You don’t have to master anything — you can just have different people work their magic.

But on the other hand, it can be frustrating if you don’t know where to start or exactly where to go. (I’ve been there!)

But have no fear, over the years I’ve become somewhat of a ninja at outsourcing. (I’ve taught sold out LIVE workshops, spoken at Yanik Silver’s Underground, presented at our recent Maverick Business Insider event, hosted outsourcing webinars, etc.)

That’s why I’ve now got 27 different tools/sites I love to use, that help me do everything from automate direct mail, to phone broadcast to hire awesome designers, accomplish super cheap tasks (think $0.10!) and more.

And today I wanted to help shortcut your learning curve a little bit, so you can hit the ground running (no matter if you sign up for Digital Marketer or not!).

First, my quick definition of outsourcing…

It’s anything YOU don’t have to personally do. So whether it’s a hiring a programmer or setting up a new autoresponder sequence, it’s ALL outsourcing for us.

[—-SIDE NOTE—-]
If you arent familiar with eLance.com and vWorker.com (formerly “RentACoder”), they are both EXCELLENT sites to hire out virtually anything you need done.

eLance is better for “creative” projects, and vWorker is generally better for “technical” projects.  These are two sites that should be in every marketer’s aresenal.
[—/SIDE NOTE—-]

So with that in mind, let’s go BEYOND eLance.com and vWorker.com!

Here are 7 Awesome Outsourcing Tools to Help Give you Maximum Leverage (plus a few bonuses thrown in for good measure)…

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#1: TeamworkPM
http://mlmblog.com/twpm
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It’s the ultimate project management solution.  I suggest you head over and set up a free account to see how awesome it is.  I run ALL of our projects, teams, companies through this site.

I think EVERY business should be using this amazing outsourcing tool.  It’s like Basecamp (which I personally hate), but on steroids, and implemented MUCH better.

Quite simply, it ROCKS. (Can you tell I like it?)

——————–
#2: Jing & Camtasia
http://mlmblog.com/jing
http://mlmblog.com/camtasia
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This is by far the easiest way to train your staff.  Just shoot a quick video, upload it, and you never have to teach something again.

You can do the same to create customer videos.  Jing is totally free, Camtasia is paid.

(BONUS TIP: Even with Jing, upload ALL the files to your servers, and archive training as “notebooks” in TeamworkPM above.  I’ve got an extensive library of “how to” videos exclusively for my team because of this.)

——————–
#3: Submit Your Article
http://mlmblog.com/sya
——————–

No matter what you sell, at some point in your online marketing efforts you’ll be writing articles.  And with SYA, you can syndicate your articles to TONS of places online — thousands at the push of a button!

Plus, you can “spin” your articles…and even get them pushed out onto a blog network.  And the great thing is, the owner of the site writes his own kick-butt blog with fresh regular training and some EXCELLENT free advice. Awesome value!

——————–
#4: OptimizePress
http://mlmblog.com/optimize
——————–

Some of the best $$$ I’ve spent in recent years went to this inexpensive WordPress “theme”.  (But it’s SO much more than a simple theme!)

From squeeze pages, to launch funnels, to blogs, to membership sites, this handy-dandy theme can create them ALL. Some of the biggest recent launches you’ve seen actually used OptimizePress to power the pages.

You really have to watch the video as his site to appreciate it. Combine this with the FREE WordPress software, and you have no need for sitebuilders or HTML editors. And no need for webmasters in many cases!

We use Optimize Press EXTENSIVELY in our business now, and have entire sites built with it. LOVE IT.

——————–
#5: Kayako or Zendesk
http://mlmblog.com/kayako
http://mlmblog.com/zendesk
——————–

At some point you’ll need to put customer support systems in place. That way you can outsource time-heavy tasks to others, track all communications with a ticket system, create FAQs/Knowledgebases and more.

Personally, I love Kayako. Pay once and it’s installed on your server.  With a few tweaks…tada!

But if you want super easy (and are willing to pay monthly for it), go with Zendesk.  They’ll host it all for you, with a slick “web 2.0” feel.

——————–
#6: Dropbox
http://mlmblog.com/dropbox
——————–

Chances are you’ve heard of this awesome service.

But if not (or you aren’t using it yet), RUN and get your free account.  You see, they give you 2GB of space to store any files you want “in the cloud”.

“Woopty doo” you might say.

But the super-cool part is you can install it on all your devices (computers, iPad, smart phone, etc.) and access your files from ANYWHERE…and it will also keep files *synced* between your multiple computers.

I use this to share files and folders with my family, my VAs, friends and more.  My assistant puts all our monthly reports in a special folder…and BAM!  They are instantly synced into that same folder on my computer.  Same thing with pictures, videos and more.

Once you use this free service, you’ll fall in love!

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#7: OnlineJobs.ph
http://mlmblog.com/ojph
——————–

While eLance/vWorker are great for one-off project work, this site is cool to find people to actually HIRE directly for your company.  Everyone on this site is from the Phillipines, so $2/hr is actually a good wage.

You’ll need to write a great job description, and interview people, but for long-term team members…this can be a GREAT win-win.

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And now, onto my super-duper exclusive DMLab bonus…
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Like I mentioned earlier, I use over 27 different tools to help outsource and automate in my business.  Plus, I have a few black belt methods to find quality workers, get low prices and make great things happen without having to do it myself.

And I want to give you access to all of it, and more importantly direct 1-on-1 access to ME, to help you master
outsourcing yourself.

You’ll get all of that, and more, when you sign up for “Digital Marketer Lab” through my affiliate link.

But more about that all in the next post. 😉

Talk soon,

Chris 🙂

P.S. – Here’s my special Digital Marketer link again:

http://lifetimemarketingsuccess.com/-digitalmarketer.html

P.P.S. – If you missed my thoughts on DMLab yesterday, check it out right here on my blog:

https://www.mlmblog.com/digital-marketer-lab/