How to Hire Ecommerce Freelancers to Grow Your Online Store

Many entrepreneurs dive head first into their own business with the hopes of gaining freedom of time while generating a steady income. However, as any online store owner knows, it can be tricky trying to manage all of the facets involved in e-commerce.

There’s just too many things you need to juggle every day and if you’ve been doing things by yourself for the longest time, chances are you’ve seen how tasks like answering emails, fulfilling orders, managing inventory, and delivering your goods and services can take up so much of your time. That’s not exactly what you signed up for in the beginning, isn’t it?

The truth is growing your online store can be tough but it can be done. But if you truly want to grow your online store, you shouldn’t be content with doing things by yourself. You’re going to need the help of capable individuals who possess the right skills to help keep your business moving forward. In this blog, we’ll be talking about how you can hire e-commerce freelancers to grow your online store. Let’s get to it!

What is Outsourcing and Do You Need it to Grow Your Online Store?

Outsourcing has been a buzzword in the online business sphere for a few years now and for good reason. It involves contracting third-party providers to supply products and services which are delivered and then paid via the internet as well.

Part of why it is such a popular option these days is because allows business owners to get the help they need form skilled professionals all over the globe for a fraction of the price of hiring full-timers. You can outsource practically anything online so if you have any skills gap in your company, chances are there’s a freelancer who can cover it for you.

With that being said, you might be asking, do you really need a freelancer to grow your online store? There answer is a resounding yes. Here are a few reasons why:

• You can focus on growing your company. There are mundane yet critical tasks that may get the way of your scaling up goals. However, with freelancers backing you up, you don’t have to spend the majority of your time working on things like administrative tasks that may hinder you from pursuing bigger goals for your online store.
• You don’t have to commit to hiring somebody full time if you don’t need it. There are times when you know you need an extra pair of hands but you just can’t afford hiring fulltime. E-commerce freelancers solve this issue for you since you don’t have to make a huge commitment up front. You can hire them on a project basis or per hour. This means you don’t have to worry about overhead costs.
• You can get access to top quality work delivered at competitive price points. Freelancers have built a reputation for getting things done at excellent at an excellent level of quality. This is because they rely on repeat business and referrals so they really make it a point to deliver top-notch work every time.

E-commerce Freelancers at a Glance

Running and growing your online store shouldn’t be a one-man show. Many businesses, both large and small understand this and so they rely on experienced freelancers to keep their companies growing steadily. These days, there are many freelancers who offer services that can benefit e-commerce business owners like you.

E-commerce freelancers specialize in services that can help online store owners like you. Their experience can. They can take care of aspects of your business like product sourcing and listing, inventory management, online arbitrage, conversion optimization, and drop shipping so you can rest assured that things are running smoothly day in and day out. You can hire one freelancer for a specific aspect of your business or you can hire an agency to take over entire business processes for you.

In addition, there are freelancers that specifically focus on different types of online store platforms including Shopify, Walmart, Amazon, Newegg, Sears, Rakuten, and Etsy. This means that no matter what business model you are following, e-commerce freelancer has your back covered.

E-commerce freelancers are also located all over the world. The cool thing about outsourcing to freelancers to grow your e-commerce business is you can get access to outstanding talent from across the globe. This means you’re not bound to contractors in your area. You can find e-commerce freelancers from all over the world who offer their services at competitive prices.

What’s more, even if you end up hiring freelancers from an entirely different time zone than yours, they’re most likely willing to accommodate your preferred working hours. This level of flexibility means your business can run smoothly 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Factors to Consider when Hiring E-commerce Freelancers

As with any important business decision, you need to be smart when it comes to hiring e-commerce freelancers. Here are some things you need to consider:

• Experience and specialization. As mentioned above, freelancers come in a wide range of skill levels. You need to decide whether you need a general freelancer who can help you with smaller tasks like data entry or a specialist who can handle graphic design or content marketing.
• Rate of the freelancer. One of the main reasons why business owners opt to hire freelancers is to save money while getting things done. Determine how much you are willing to pay for the services you need.
• Duration if the contract. Another variable to consider is whether you want to hire a freelancer to complete a quick task or to help you out for long haul.
• When you hire remote e-commerce professionals, there’s a big chance you’ll be finding someone who lives in another continent. This means you need to determine whether or not you need them to be online at the same time as you are or you only need to speak with them once a week over the phone.

Where to Find the Skilled Freelancers Today

In today’s gig economy, arguably the best place to find skilled freelancers is through marketplaces like FreeUp. Sure, you can ask industry colleagues for referrals but sometimes, you need a little bit of extra help from people who have years of experience finding excellent talent worldwide.

At FreeeUp, we recruit and interview hundreds of freelancers every week to get the top 1% into the network. We help you streamline the hiring process so you can hire reliable remote freelancers who are equipped with the right skills and experience to grow your online store.

All you need to do is provide your budget, the details of the project, and the type of freelancer you need and we can connect you to a freelancer that meets your requirements.

The Cost of Hiring Freelancers to Grow Your Business

Hiring a freelancer can save you a lot of money in the long run. Their rates are typically a fraction of the cost that you’d normally pay for full-timers.

Usually, you can pay freelancers hourly or at fixed rates. If you’re using a freelancer marketplace, there will be varying pricing tiers you can choose from. At FreeUp for example, you can get access to these tiers:

• Basic Level. Freelancers at this level are usually from outside of the U.S. they provide basic services and are perfect for a business that has systems and process that are already in place. They usually charge $5 to $10 per hour.
• Mid-Level. These are specialists that can take projects off your plate using their own processes. They usually charge $10 to $30 per hour.
• Expert Level. These are consultants and strategists that can help you organize and expand your business further. They can charge anywhere between $30 and over $75 depending on the services they will provide.

Ways E-commerce Freelancers Grow Your Online Store

Hiring skilled and well-paced freelancers can help you save costs and grow your online store quickly. For many e-commerce business owners, outsourcing plays a significant role in their business strategy. Here are tasks that freelancers can take over for you as you scale up your own company:

Managing Inventory

Inventory is an important aspect of running an online store and you need an inventory manager to keep things running smoothly. Freelancers can keep your product inventory up to date, prevent any issues from coming up, and make sure you’re not over or understocked on any item.

Customer Service

Customer service plays a crucial role in the success of an e-commerce business and the truth is it takes a special set of skills to do this effectively. E-commerce specialists can help you respond to negative reviews and customer complaints, answer questions about your products and services, and take care of issues that might arise so you don’t have to.

Fulfilling Orders

Order fulfillment is an integral part of the e-commerce business model. However, it can be time-consuming if you do it by yourself. With the help of a specialist, you don’t have to worry about shipping logistics and you can be sure that your customers receive their orders on time.

Building and Maintaining Your Website

If you use your own website for your online store, you need to make sure that it is intuitive and easy to navigate for your customers. However, there are business owners who may not be savvy when it comes to building and maintaining an e-commerce website.

If you want to provide a better user experience for your customers, it’s best to work with an e-commerce freelancer who specializes in creating Shopify sites or using WordPress to build online stores.

Content and Copywriting

Killer copywriting can boost your sales. It is an excellent tool that allows you to inform your customers about your products’ features and benefits, persuade visitors to buy from your store, and foster long-term relationships with your customers.

Working with experience content and copywriter will help you reach these goals effectively and efficiently.

Managing Social Media

These days, going viral is one of the key aspects of selling products and services online. The name of the game is generating buzz around your brand so you are at the top of your customer’s minds every time. This is why you need a seasoned social media manager who can build connections with influencers, create engaging content across channels, and generate traffic from social media towards your website.

Digital Marketing

There’s a ton of competition when you’re selling products and services online. This is why it’s imperative that you work with a digital marketing strategist to help you reel in leads and increase your conversion rate.

You can hire a Facebook Ads specialist who can generate marketing collaterals that are best suited for the Facebook Ads platform to generate more revenue. You can also grow your online store by hiring an email marketing manager who can take care of list building, segmentation, email template creation as well as engaging customers through well-crafted emails.

Designing Graphics

If you want your products to stand out from the crowd, you need the help of a graphic designer who can create images that showcase their features and benefits effectively. They can also help you create banners, logos, and infographics that can be used in multiple ways to grow your online store.

Handling Administrative Tasks

Let’s all face it, administrative tasks tend to pile up and eat up a huge chunk of our time every day. This can hinder you from focusing on growth and scalability because by the time you’re done answering emails, balancing your books, and scheduling meetings, you’d already be exhausted physically and mentally to even take on more work.

A personal virtual assistant can take over these tasks for you easily so you can start focusing on bigger things for your business.

The Bottom Line

Hiring e-commerce freelancer can mean a world of a difference when you’re trying to grow your online store. As a business owner, there are so many important tasks you can outsource that will not only help free up your time but can also help you save on hiring costs. By turning over certain tasks to e-commerce freelancers, you can finally have the freedom of time you’ve been pining for since the beginning of your career as an online store owner.

What’s more, you will also have peace of mind that your business is in the right hands with the help of freelance professionals. They can help improve your business processes which can make your business more efficient overall

Start Hiring Today

Are you ready to get more done faster for your e-commerce business? Let the FreeUp marketplace make the hiring process for you. If you sign up now, we’ll introduce you to virtual assistants, freelance specialists, and boutique agencies to help you grow your online store.