When it comes to B2B cold outreach, businesses can choose to have in-house teams or outsourcing to help launch a successful campaign—a great source of which are freelancers.

 

 

Freelancers are independent experts who specialize in specific niches. Though they tend to be stigmatized as unprofessional side hustlers, data released in February 2023 shows that the US has an estimated 73.3 million freelancers, and the profession is gaining traction for good reasons.

 

 

Hiring freelancers for your B2B cold email campaigns can save you money, give your teams valuable time for other tasks, and yield great results for your business. But, like everything in life, hiring freelancers comes with certain risks.

 

 

In this article, we’ll give you tips for successfully hiring a freelancer and help you decide whether hiring a freelancer or an agency is the right choice for your B2B cold outreach campaigns.

 

 

5 Things To Consider When Outsourcing For Your Cold Outreach

 

Knowing exactly what you want from a new partner is key. But, deciding how and when to hire a freelancer or an agency can still be tricky. So, here are our tips to help you make an informed decision:

 

 

1. The Complexity of the Project

 

Before you decide whether hiring a freelancer is a good idea for your campaign, consider how complicated your project will be. By complicated, we mean:

 

• What type of data must be collected?
• How often will the outreach happen?
• How long will the campaign last?

 

Freelancers are best for campaigns that require specific tasks needing specialized talents. 

 

 

For example, if your campaign needs a copywriter, you can shortlist freelancers who have spent years perfecting the craft. After all, the more experience your freelancer has in your niche, the more value they offer to your campaigns.

 

 

However, if your campaign requires broad and extensive data collection, list segmentation, and research for an extended period, we recommend outsourcing to an agency with experience handling complex tasks. One person can’t do all that, but a whole team of experts can.

 

 

2. Your Budget for Outsourcing

 

When it comes to cold email campaigns, freelancers are the most cost-effective option for businesses with limited budgets. That’s because freelancers generally have much lower overhead costs compared to professional agencies.

 

 

The average hourly pay for freelancers in the United States is $33.13. In contrast, agencies typically charge between $100 and $250 per hour. This makes freelancers a great option for businesses on a tight budget—as long as the project isn’t too complex (see our first point).

 

 

3. Skills & Experience

 

Regardless of the complexity of your cold campaign, consider the experience and skills necessary for the project and ensure the freelancer you outsource to is fit to work with your team. The saying “there’s no one-size-fits-all solution” is also true in hiring a freelancer. 

 

 

When you create your shortlist, take the time to read through each candidate’s profile and check for references or reviews from past clients. 

 

 

Ask yourself these three questions when considering a freelancer for your cold campaign to ensure your project is in good hands: 

 

• Does this freelancer have the required skills I need for my cold outreach? 
• How much experience do they have in this field? 
• Do they possess a deep understanding of the target audience?

 

If you can’t find a freelancer with the right skill set you need, turning to a reputable agency is your next best bet. They’ll have a whole fleet of experts on hand, which most probably have the skills you’ll need when launching your campaign.

 

 

4. Operational Flexibility

 

Freelancers are best known to be qualified professionals who are flexible enough to build their schedules around your needs and priorities. So, determine whether the freelancer can accommodate your requirements which may include traveling to your office and working outside normal work hours.

 

 

If you’re hiring a foreign freelancer, check if they live within a compatible timezone to ensure collaboration and communication work for you and your in-house teams.

 

 

Operational flexibility might be hard to pin down with a single freelancer, which is where agencies have the upper hand. If you need to scale up quickly or have a project that requires more people, an agency can easily adjust their resources to make sure your campaign runs smoothly and successfully. 

 

 

They are dedicated teams of experts that already have a workflow, can leverage the strengths of each other, and can accurately predict the time needed to accomplish your goals.

 

 

5. Standards for Quality

 

Professional freelancers are experts with a wide range of skills, and they consistently deliver high-quality work. However, some freelancers take a transactional approach to projects, which may meet your minimum requirements without providing quality. 

 

 

Low-quality freelance work can look like missed key project details and simple grammatical errors. To ensure the quality of your campaign, work only with freelancers who uphold excellence in their portfolio. 

 

 

Here are some questions you can ask a freelancer to ensure they work at your team’s standards:

 

• Based on your understanding of our needs, how can you be a helping hand to our team, and what challenges do you foresee for this project?
• How do you measure and communicate results, especially about key performance indicators and milestones you set for yourself?
• Among all your completed projects, which one is the most similar to our project, what were the results of your past similar project, and what similar challenges could we expect?
• What percentage of your projects were delivered on time and before the deadline? (And if there are any that they faltered on, ask what happened and what they learned from it.)

 

Asking the above questions helps you know whether the freelancer is experienced enough to take on the project and clarifies miscommunications about the job before you begin.

 

 

While agencies may charge more than freelancers, they typically offer better-defined process standards and may be a better choice for your team if you’re not on a tight budget. With a process like that, your content will go through multiple pairs of eyes to uphold quality before sending them to you.

 

 

Hiring the Right Experts for Your Campaign

 

Hiring a freelancer for your cold email campaign is the best choice for your team if you’re looking for specialized skills for your campaign without breaking the bank. However, if you need more people on your team to work and perfect your campaign, then an agency is ideal for your business. 

 

 

With an agency, you can work with several professionals and ensure consistent quality throughout your campaign—something which is hard to get if you’re hiring different freelancers.

 

 

Before you decide on hiring your campaign partner, take the time to understand how their experience, operational flexibility, and standards for quality can benefit your campaign. Evaluate your needs and ensure you’re working with someone who can help you achieve your goals. 

 

 

With the right partner, you’ll launch a successful cold email campaign and boost your business.

 

 

Hire professional cold outreach agencies like ScaleUpSales. With us, you’ll have access to a pool of highly talented individuals—experts in launching successful cold email campaigns. Contact us today!