The Amazon Seller’s Guide to Outsourcing Work Without Losing Quality

If you feel overwhelmed with the work needed to start and grow an Amazon business, it is wise to consider outsourcing some of the work. Have you heard entrepreneurs mention the expression, “you have to spend money to make money”?

It is important that you never let the impulse of saving a few dollars get in the way of long term success. While investing in inventory might seem to be a good idea, it is equally as important to invest in outsourcing so you can focus on the business development aspect.

You don’t need to spend a fortune and hire full-time employees, but you can invest in freelancers that can help you on a project-by-project basis. Combining outsourcing with ZonGuru’s online tools will let you feel as though there is a team of dedicated people working for you.

Keep reading to learn how to outsource your Amazon tasks without losing quality.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

When you first start to sell on Amazon, it is advised to do as much of the launch process yourself as possible to familiarize yourself with all the steps. Once you start selling, you should consider outsourcing some heavy lifting such as advertising and marketing.

Here are some of the pros and cons of outsourcing work to freelancers:

Pros

You Have More Time to Focus on What Matters to You

Many sellers started an Amazon business to create a life of freedom. For instance, spending more time with people who matter to you or have the freedom to travel while working on your business.

Focus on What You Do Best and Outsource the Rest

You can outsource work that you are weak in or don’t enjoy doing. If you lack the skills in Amazon PPC or running ads, chances are there is someone out there who can do a better job at it.

You Have a Team of Experts Working for You

Hiring freelancers who are experts in specific fields of Amazon business on a project-by-project basis allows you to manage your budget without spending a fortune.

You Get Things Done Fast by Outsourcing Work That Is Time-Consuming

If you are working by yourself, you can get things done a lot quicker by passing time-consuming work to freelancers.

You Work Around the Clock

When you hire freelancers in a different timezone, your business is running while you are asleep. An overnight working time where you live means daytime work to someone working overseas.

Cons

You Lose Some Control of the Work Involved and the Quality of Work Delivered

When you outsource work to freelancers, you are losing control of how the work is being monitored and performed. Hence, it is important that you prequalify freelancers that you hire. Luckily, freelancers on FreeUp are pre-vetted. That reduces your risk of low quality work delivered.

You Need to Spend Time Putting a System in Place in the Beginning

Before hiring freelancers, you need to create a list of good interview questions to make sure both of you are the right fit. Also, you need to create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for freelancers for quality assurance.

You Need to Spend Money Investing in Freelancers

Hiring freelancers is considerably cheap for less complicated tasks but it can get expensive when you are searching for top-notch quality work.

How Much Should You Expect to Pay?

There are three levels of freelancers that are available in the FreeUp network for hire: entry, mid, and expert level. The cost of hiring is dependent on where these freelancers are based.

For instance, hiring freelancers in the Philippines is cheaper than someone in the US. However, the quality differs due to the level of proficiency and potential language barriers.

This pricing chart gives you a basic idea of how much you need to pay for freelancers based in US/UK/CA and non-US depending on their Amazon skillsets.

Which Tasks Should You Outsource?

Now that you understand the pros & cons and the cost of outsourcing work, it is time to learn about which tasks you should outsource.

Ask yourself this question: “Which tasks do I need help with in order to grow my Amazon business?”

Customer Service

Although Amazon has a dedicated support team to assist sellers, there are times when sellers do receive emails and messages from Amazon and other social media platforms.

You don’t want to spend your time dealing with customer requests as they come in. Leave these tasks to freelancers so you can focus on growing your business.

Pro Tip: Interview candidates with strong customer support qualities such as patience, attentiveness, calm, and a positive attitude towards problem-solving.

Advertising

You already have a great line of products and a list of loyal customers, so what comes next? Amazon and other social media advertising of course!

Keep in mind that this is not something you enjoy or feel confident with, then you should find a Pay-per-click (PPC) expert to help manage your campaigns. PPC marketing is tedious work as it requires consistent monitoring and optimization.

Ask yourself these questions so you can set clear and precise goals: “how much am I willing to pay for each click?”, “what ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) should I aim for without making a loss?”, and “what is my daily advertising budget?”.

Be sure to communicate and give clear instructions to freelancers so you don’t waste money on both advertising and hiring.

Graphic Design

A set of high-quality images is key to converting visitors into customers. High-quality and compelling images that customers can relate to are great for your social media posts. Customers want to see products in action before they make a purchase, so remember to highlight all key features and benefits in your images.

How-to and testimonial videos work like magic and give your brand personality. These videos build trust and credibility, thus boosting conversion rates.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Ranking products is an art as well as a science involving keyword research, listing optimization, product sales, reviews, advertising, and seller authority (i.e. brand registered). It is an ongoing analysis. Optimization is work that every seller needs to put in in order to maintain a healthy Amazon SERP (Search Engine Results Pages).

Hiring a freelancer to keep an eye and continuously optimize your product listings will help increase sales conversions, thus improving your Amazon SEO.

Copywriting

Writing winning product titles, bullet points and descriptions is time-consuming, especially if writing isn’t your strength. This is an important task that you can outsource to experts, especially when you are expanding to multiple marketplaces that speak a different language.

It is important that you hire freelancers that have vast experience in copywriting. If you expand to other marketplaces, a copywriter that speaks the native language is necessary.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that not all tasks mentioned above need to be outsourced. It depends on which stage your business is in as well as its size. Now that you have learned more about outsourcing work, create an SOP for work that you want to outsource and a list of pre-qualifying interview questions to ensure you maintain a high standard for your Amazon business.

For sellers who want to gain an upper hand in beating their competitors, ZonGuru has a Product Tracking Sheet (for Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets) to help you keep track of important product research data.

If you have yet to outsource work, don’t let it intimidate you. Take a leap of faith and give it a go. If you are already outsourcing in your Amazon business, share your successes and failures with us!