Best thing to outsource to the Philippines - $250 Budget

34 replies
Okay so I'll provide a bit of background first:

I've just set up a niche blog in the fitness niche, focused on leading a healthy lifestyle for people with serious time constraints i.e new parents/people who work long hours, it also has a squeeze page w/ an opt-in box. By the end of the day the blog should be connected to it's own facebook & twitter pages. An RSS Feed has been set up as well.

here's a link to my blog:
http:/blog.podgebegone.com

Now, my "job" for the next couple of weeks will be to produce as much high value content on the blog as possible. Along with this I plan on driving traffic to the blog via Yahoo Answers, Blog commenting, befriending people in similar niches on facebook/twitter, maybe try for a guest post (possibly not established enough yet)

My biggest 'hinderance' is a lack of tech skills. My blog is set up with Wordpress & Bluehost.

I plan on monetizing the blog mainly through affiliate marketing but also through some small banner ads.

I've just recently paid someone to set up the blog/squeeze page for me using Wordpress, so that is done and dusted.

Now, my situation:
- I have roughly $250 that I can comfortably put aside to speed up the process. I've been thinking of outsourcing some of the work to the Philippines, is this a good idea? I was thinking of hiring someone to optimize the blog for mobile devices, and spend the rest on link building/traffic generation?

My aim is to be earning $135 pw within 3 weeks, is this achievable with what I've said?

Thanks dearly for any replies!
- Ben
#$250 #budget #outsource #philippines #thing
  • Profile picture of the author humbledmarket
    Banned
    Content...really depends though. Basic stuff such as social bookmarks and directories also work well.

    Try finding someone who writes well (not very hard for Philippines) and that way you can outsource multiple tasks to them.

    You won't find someone as well verse or trained in internet marketing or technical aspects though (there are but most aren't freelancing we find) Very few developers compared to places like south asia.
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  • You can easily hire a VA for $250/month to do some writing and article submissions, linkbuilding and traffic generation. But for VA with technical skills like web development or programming, you'll need to pay a bit more.

    If you really want to optimize your website for mobile, there are plugin and themes on Wordpress that could create and optimize mobile sites for you. There's also this start-up (pagesnapp.com) that claims that they can develop mobile apps for your website automatically from your FB fanpage. Haven't tried it yet but I have signed up to try their beta version to see if it will work for the sites I'm working on.
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  • Profile picture of the author magicmarcus
    hi ben,

    i have found the key to outsourcing to be "do your research first"

    outsourcing can be awesome IF you give them clear cut directions.

    you need to remember a few things...

    1. treat your people well and pay them well
    2. if they are making content for you pick good keywords and give them good direction
    3. don't expect them to make you rich... if they could do that they wouldn't need you :-)

    other than that just be sure you are clear cut on what you want and what keywords or theme you want them to write on.

    also... listen to john above... his stuff rocks :0)
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  • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
    I'd recommend finding an experienced copywriter to create a relationship building email sequence for your list. It'll improve your relationship greatly, increase your open rates and actually put more money in your pockets.

    Where they live should matter less than the skills they have.

    If you have much of a budget left over, I'd search for someone to help with whatever consumes most of your time.

    Finding the right person to outsource to can be a difficult task, not everyone will put in the effort you need them to, and some people are just downright scammers, so be cautious of who you choose and research them well before you hire them.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Originally Posted by 06blawton View Post

    I've been thinking of outsourcing some of the work to the Philippines, is this a good idea?
    Only start outsourcing when you have developed solid systems and routines. Its obvious you have no idea what you're doing.

    You're nowhere near ready to start hiring. Forget it.

    1. Learn, understand
    2. Develop systems, procedures
    3. Hire
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    • Profile picture of the author TryBPO
      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      Only start outsourcing when you have developed solid systems and routines. Its obvious you have no idea what you're doing.

      You're nowhere near ready to start hiring. Forget it.

      1. Learn, understand
      2. Develop systems, procedures
      3. Hire
      John's a bit harsh, but I think he's spot-on here.

      I think you're MUCH better off doing the work on this site yourself. Nobody cares about your business/sites as much as you do - you might as well put your best foot forward and give yourself the best chance of success to make this work.

      Once you've built a system that works and is profitable, document that process and then start handing pieces off to other people.
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    • Profile picture of the author malcsimm
      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      Only start outsourcing when you have developed solid systems and routines. Its obvious you have no idea what you're doing.

      You're nowhere near ready to start hiring. Forget it.

      1. Learn, understand
      2. Develop systems, procedures
      3. Hire
      06blawton - listen to John Romaine: he speaks the truth. You haven't got a chance in hell getting good, comprehensive outsourcing with a $250 budget. Extensive testing and measuring is essential - and you will have to sort through the heap of crap to find one good person.

      John's 1-2-3 bullet points are spot on. You are running before you can walk.

      Hiring outsourcers is very time-consuming – because you have to systemise your work, and then you have to check that they're doing it properly. Which they probably aren't

      So, after giving them another chance, you probably ditch them and find somebody else. Then you start all over again.

      As for earning $150 a week or a month or whatever it was in 3 weeks you've got as much chance of earning $150 million: no chance.

      Sorry, but that's the harsh fact of it.

      My strong advice is, you need to rethink your plan. Certainly, use outsourcing at some point but at your level I think you're better off trying to find a needle in a haystack on Fiverr – which is certainly possible – rather than going the John Jonas type of route, where I am sure you are doomed for pain.

      Best wishes - and keep asking questions - just don't mind hearing the answers from those who've been there

      Malc
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  • Profile picture of the author razorz18
    I watch some John Jonas video about oustourcing. I would say it very useful to have Filipino VAs. Only for starter like us, we want experience VAs that can help us to make profitable comission on sales or other thing. Feel free to go to onlinejobs.ph .
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  • Profile picture of the author Veo
    Ben,

    It looks to me that you are at the beginning of your biz, and on restricted budget.
    Said that, I'd suggest you to first recognize your biggest weakness regarding skills/knowledge, and then to look to outsource/out task that one weakness, and then second, and so on, as the money comes. It'll keep you from unnecessary over spending.
    And apply some of the tips from guys above about research, organizing and developing easy to follow procedures and systems.

    You need to think in "just in time" way, rather then "just in case".

    Cheers,

    Veo
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    • Profile picture of the author mguy
      In regards to outsourcing in the Philippines, the reality is that a lot of the workers aren't that great of writers. However, there are bargains to be found you just follow some simple guidelines.

      Here are some of the things to consider when hiring someone from over there for writing.

      1.) Make sure they are university grads - yes, make sure to read the profiles. A university degree offers some protection to the quality of the writers. The majority of the writers will belong to a public university which means they were selected from competition from the local pool.

      2.) Choose someone from Manila -- the capital is abound with the more ambitious and the opportunities for them there are plentiful. A worker from here will usually be involved in the BPO scene. Someone from Manila the capital also has the best English skills above anyone from the province.

      3.) Conduct a skype interview first -- you will notice an accent but keep in mind that accent does not imply writing ability.

      4.) Ask for a writing sample -- or get a reduced rate to try out the content from the writer. I have found that some are writers for US magazine publishers, yup!!

      5.) You really need to define the scope of the article and style that is needed. Give them as much information as possible.

      6.) I would only use odesk or other established site. Any site that has outsourcing services but does not provide all the way payment transfers are to be avoided.

      7.) Do not NOT ever go through a third party contract that is outside the platform of your choice. If you are not satisfied with the end result, it makes it hard to materialize your claim as no contract is generated.

      8.) Never go by the pictures in the profile. I know some are quite attractive (lol), but seriously you should be looking for someone more professional instead of looks. This applies to VA's.

      If you choose the right writer, then you will reduce the time needed correcting simple grammatical mistakes and restructuring. If you are not a writer yourself, this will be hard to correct. Either way -- good luck in your search. PM me if you need to evaluate your writer.

      Wow should I make this my niche??? lol
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      • Profile picture of the author razorz18
        Originally Posted by mguy View Post

        In regards to outsourcing in the Philippines, the reality is that a lot of the workers aren't that great of writers. However, there are bargains to be found you just follow some simple guidelines.

        Here are some of the things to consider when hiring someone from over there for writing.

        1.) Make sure they are university grads - yes, make sure to read the profiles. A university degree offers some protection to the quality of the writers. The majority of the writers will belong to a public university which means they were selected from competition from the local pool.

        2.) Choose someone from Manila -- the capital is abound with the more ambitious and the opportunities for them there are plentiful. A worker from here will usually be involved in the BPO scene. Someone from Manila the capital also has the best English skills above anyone from the province.

        3.) Conduct a skype interview first -- you will notice an accent but keep in mind that accent does not imply writing ability.

        4.) Ask for a writing sample -- or get a reduced rate to try out the content from the writer. I have found that some are writers for US magazine publishers, yup!!

        5.) You really need to define the scope of the article and style that is needed. Give them as much information as possible.

        6.) I would only use odesk or other established site. Any site that has outsourcing services but does not provide all the way payment transfers are to be avoided.

        7.) Do not NOT ever go through a third party contract that is outside the platform of your choice. If you are not satisfied with the end result, it makes it hard to materialize your claim as no contract is generated.

        8.) Never go by the pictures in the profile. I know some are quite attractive (lol), but seriously you should be looking for someone more professional instead of looks. This applies to VA's.

        If you choose the right writer, then you will reduce the time needed correcting simple grammatical mistakes and restructuring. If you are not a writer yourself, this will be hard to correct. Either way -- good luck in your search. PM me if you need to evaluate your writer.

        Wow should I make this my niche??? lol
        Great info man
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      • Profile picture of the author rickdangelo
        Originally Posted by mguy View Post

        In regards to outsourcing in the Philippines, the reality is that a lot of the workers aren't that great of writers. However, there are bargains to be found you just follow some simple guidelines.

        Here are some of the things to consider when hiring someone from over there for writing.

        1.) Make sure they are university grads - yes, make sure to read the profiles. A university degree offers some protection to the quality of the writers. The majority of the writers will belong to a public university which means they were selected from competition from the local pool.

        2.) Choose someone from Manila -- the capital is abound with the more ambitious and the opportunities for them there are plentiful. A worker from here will usually be involved in the BPO scene. Someone from Manila the capital also has the best English skills above anyone from the province.

        3.) Conduct a skype interview first -- you will notice an accent but keep in mind that accent does not imply writing ability.

        4.) Ask for a writing sample -- or get a reduced rate to try out the content from the writer. I have found that some are writers for US magazine publishers, yup!!

        5.) You really need to define the scope of the article and style that is needed. Give them as much information as possible.

        6.) I would only use odesk or other established site. Any site that has outsourcing services but does not provide all the way payment transfers are to be avoided.

        7.) Do not NOT ever go through a third party contract that is outside the platform of your choice. If you are not satisfied with the end result, it makes it hard to materialize your claim as no contract is generated.

        8.) Never go by the pictures in the profile. I know some are quite attractive (lol), but seriously you should be looking for someone more professional instead of looks. This applies to VA's.

        If you choose the right writer, then you will reduce the time needed correcting simple grammatical mistakes and restructuring. If you are not a writer yourself, this will be hard to correct. Either way -- good luck in your search. PM me if you need to evaluate your writer.

        Wow should I make this my niche??? lol
        You should write an ebook about outsourcing in the Philippines, man! lol But seriously, great stuff. And seriously, why not write an ebook about it. Looks like a legit opportunity to me.
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        • Profile picture of the author Simon Farmer
          John Reese released a course called Outsource Force not too long ago and a lot of it was based on outsourcing to the Philippines.

          He said that's where he gets a lot of his guys and for really cheap too.

          I seem to remember him mentioning outsourcing SEO to the Philippines.
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  • Profile picture of the author muffty
    Hi Ben,

    I agree with John above - you really need to have a clear plan - and put systems into place and put that plan into Action.

    You would be far better off to spend some time learning a few techie skills - WP is very easy to use and why not spend some of that Money you have put aside and splash out on Optimize Press which is a WP Theme and is so easy to use you will soon get the hang of it!!!

    Optimize Press will do all sorts for you - Create Great Squeeze Pages - Sales Pages - Sales Funnels - and more! New Version coming out next week - you can't go wrong with it and you won't have to rely on other people doing these tasks for you.

    Good Luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie123
    I agree with muffty. There are things you can learn to do for yourself or at least become exposed to them. You should go to video sites (i.e., Youtube) and search for the tech skill you need. People provide great tutorials on alot of the "techie" stuff. I know I have learned plenty from them for free. As for outsourcing to the Philippines, truth is, outsource to anyone that is within your price range and has an excellent feedback rating.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mormo
      I'm wishing I could outsource an e-book I could sell on amazon.

      If I had money that's what I would do.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    For $250, you can get 50,000 words. As long as you are clear as to what you want, you should have no problems. Make sure your project parameters are clear from the get go.
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  • Profile picture of the author razorz18
    Can you suggest for newbie how much we need money in hand before deciding to go for outsourcing fulltime
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  • Profile picture of the author NicheService
    Content is king. I would concentrate on finding someone who can create quality content. I have seen many simple HTML sites rank due solely to highly interesting, helpful, quality articles. They easily beat blogs with expensive themes and fancy plugins. In your case, if you have an SEO-friendly blog along with quality content, you may do even better. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author RoseHunt
    Banned
    For that budget you can find freelancers that will offer you some quality content, like in any other country.
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  • Profile picture of the author ToryBorysewicz
    Banned
    I don't think that $250 is enough to get any decent earnings. Because you want to get a writer, SEOptimizer and other tasks, even at Phil rates, not possible. I would say pick a good copy writer and build a list. And then the remaining amount get quality content written. With that said though, this cannot be done in $250. Especially if you want a good copywriter who goes for anything aboe $500+
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    With the USD getting stronger than the PHP, you can easily get a quality VA for that amount per month. Some people here working 8 hours a day 6 days a week and even earning $200/month. Just make sure to interview the applicants and make sure you pick someone who you think capable of doing what you required.
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    • Profile picture of the author EllenMoore
      Hi Ben,
      I agree with what Victor said above: where they live matters less than their skills.
      So, why don't you try using an online freelancing platform (like Elance, oDesk etc.) to find professionals worldwide? I saw many SEO and site/blog administrators available.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Rosmer
    You're way ahead of yourself with some of the ideas. Let's talk link building for a moment. What keywords are you targeting? How much effort will it be to compete for those keywords? Can you get that kind of result for $250? I really doubt if it will amount to much in terms of traffic and financial return.

    Do you have a strong funnel and have you split tested your sales process? Make sure you get that up and running, next paying someone to help you do a lot of the work related to creating alliances within the space that will drive some traffic would be very valuable but have you ever managed virtual workers before because there's a learning curve with that.
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  • Profile picture of the author RestlessBlaze
    I think $250 is too low to find any good freelancer. You will waste moretime in managing and editing his work rather than putting anything worthwhile on your blog.
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    • Profile picture of the author EllenMoore
      And, I forgot to mention: $135 for the next three weeks, with just $250 investment sounds a little too ambitious.
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  • Profile picture of the author Geri Richmond
    Hi,
    I think that John's stuff rocks, too. Very solid. I am outsourcing. No time to give anything justice. Good luck with your plan.

    I have a plug in on my site for mobile. It seems to be causing some trouble, though.

    Geri Richmond
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    You can outsource web design too. I have found designers that can produce good wuality web elements for as low as $1
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  • Profile picture of the author Des Lau
    $250 can get you a full time Philippine outsourcer working for a month, focusing completely on your needs. You'd be surprised at who you can find out there.
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  • Profile picture of the author theseoproz
    If I were you, I would take that money and buy a few aged domains at auction, register them, add some content and setup a small private network of sites. This would speed along your rankings and will continue to give back so long as you build them out properly.




    Originally Posted by 06blawton View Post

    Okay so I'll provide a bit of background first:

    I've just set up a niche blog in the fitness niche, focused on leading a healthy lifestyle for people with serious time constraints i.e new parents/people who work long hours, it also has a squeeze page w/ an opt-in box. By the end of the day the blog should be connected to it's own facebook & twitter pages. An RSS Feed has been set up as well.

    here's a link to my blog:
    http:/blog.podgebegone.com

    Now, my "job" for the next couple of weeks will be to produce as much high value content on the blog as possible. Along with this I plan on driving traffic to the blog via Yahoo Answers, Blog commenting, befriending people in similar niches on facebook/twitter, maybe try for a guest post (possibly not established enough yet)

    My biggest 'hinderance' is a lack of tech skills. My blog is set up with Wordpress & Bluehost.

    I plan on monetizing the blog mainly through affiliate marketing but also through some small banner ads.

    I've just recently paid someone to set up the blog/squeeze page for me using Wordpress, so that is done and dusted.

    Now, my situation:
    - I have roughly $250 that I can comfortably put aside to speed up the process. I've been thinking of outsourcing some of the work to the Philippines, is this a good idea? I was thinking of hiring someone to optimize the blog for mobile devices, and spend the rest on link building/traffic generation?

    My aim is to be earning $135 pw within 3 weeks, is this achievable with what I've said?

    Thanks dearly for any replies!
    - Ben
    Signature

    Kicking A** over at Stellar SEO in St Louis.

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  • Profile picture of the author lowelly
    Outsourcing sounds like a great plan, but be careful who you outsource to. I'm not sure Philippines is such a great idea, at least not without editing the content afterwards and checking previous projects for the technical part first. To my surprise, I found very good US writers willing to work for as little as 0.50$/100 words. You may find similar offers for the rest as well.
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