Outsourcing the tasks we can’t (or won’t) do is becoming increasingly popular. Lucy Lucraft debates the pros and cons to outsourcing as a content creator.
Sat in a coffee shop I see two, three, maybe even five bloggers tapping away at their laptops.
So far, so normal. They frenetically type words I assume to be a blog post before I zone in on one, who is hovering over an image and frowning. She flicks to one of the many tabs open; adding an image here, updating a graphic there, creating a video snippet and emailing someone copy of something. She then picks up her phone, styles an image of her coffee (I take a mental note to copy said styling) before filming something and going back to her laptop.
This all happened in what felt like minutes. Clearly, I’m procrastinating heavily, hence my detailed recollection, but you get the picture; bloggers have a LOT of daily tasks.
I’m a blogger too, but as a journalist by trade I’ve never needed to rely on my blog for my income. That puts me in the very privileged camp of being able to do it for fun; picking and choosing the content I create, taking breaks if I need to and not being perfect a lot of the time. Even so, I’ve chosen to outsource a fair amount when it comes to my blog (Lucy Lucraft) and podcast (WhatSheSaid) because, well, I can. And perhaps because of that I’ve become a little bit lazy, too.
In a world where you can find someone to take on any task – from life coaches to Instagram mentors – there’s a glut of online courses covering even the most niche of topics and it’s become normal to outsource aspects of our lives (and businesses) to others.
From Instagram grid-planning and photography presets right through to that quick graphic you mock up in Canva, outsourcing is big business. And it’s helping thousands of us get the job done, so we can crack on with our side- hustle and squeeze more crop from our creative harvest.
Sarah Starrs, who works as a virtual assistant for business owners, has found the bulk of her work falls into two parts.
“People who hire me usually fall into one of two camps: those who need technical help for things they don’t know how to do themselves and those who have grown to the point where they can’t do everything anymore,” she explains.
“I think those are the times when outsourcing can be really successful; it frees you up from some of the day-to-day drudgery of running your business to focus on your zone of genius. There are some people who think hiring someone will be the magic bullet that grows their business. They think I can somehow make them ‘Insta Famous’ but that’s never a recipe for success.”
Doling out the tasks you find mundane is a brilliant way to protect your passion and remain inspired. Because, let’s face it, as content creators – creativity is our currency.
It’s not enough to simply ‘create compelling content’. We need to take beautiful pictures, learn the dark arts of SEO and how to market to our perfect audience; hone our writing voice, our visual eye and test our techy mettle. We need to know the ‘legal stuff’ too, and build our email lists in case ‘Instagram goes under’ and know our #ad from our #gifted’s. We can’t sit idly by while algorithms change and social media platforms shift gear. We need to be on top of the zeitgeist while standing out from the masses.
So, of course, outsourcing is the answer. But, are we losing focus on what’s important? Have we forgotten the role of creativity in content creation as we add yet more to our bulging to-do lists? And is outsourcing everything making us lazy; could we be losing our muscle memory as we gain productivity points?
In recent years the boom of online courses, coaching and retreats has given rise to a whole new set of outsourcing opportunities. Not only can you divvy out the tasks on your to do list you simply can’t (or don’t want to) do yourself, you can even get expert opinion and blueprints on how to sell, how to use your own voice and even how to write better captions.
Business coach Kayte Ferris explains their popularity, “The very nature of operating online leads to two things: comparison and isolation. While e-courses, books, podcasts and blog posts can help with the how to, they can’t combat the thoughts and feelings generated by comparison and isolation. Which is why I think we’re seeing a huge upsurge in workshops and other in-person learning experiences.”
I’m no stranger to this having spent thousands over the years learning new skills, honing old ones and, more often than not, getting validation that I am, in fact, doing everything right after all. Although I’m now at a place where I feel confident I am the secret sauce turning the wheel for my business, I’ve continued to outsource business tasks from logo design, web design, social media management, podcast editing and much, much more.
The pursuit of perfection isn’t lost on me; a recovering perfectionist. I’ve gone through phases of not trusting myself, not trusting my ability to create content about me.
Self doubt coach Sas Petherick believes we often outsource as a way to avoid discomfort. She explains, “We want to get things right. So we outsource things we are frightened of; book keeping if we are worried about money, or sales, for example. “Outsourcing tasks can be a way to free up space for creativity, especially when it comes from a place of intentionality. But so often we do so because we are scared to fail. The trick is knowing the difference!”
So why do I outsource? Well, the bar is set high for influencers these days. Many start out with the intention to earn money and, as such, the pressure to create perfection, grow at a rate akin to others and monestise is high. And that can be stifling.
Philippa Stanton, artist and author of Conscious Creativity says, “There are so many more opportunities for women to create businesses from home that this can lead to shortcuts. The desire for high engagement and followers can be quite dangerous for creativity.”
I think she’s right. Shortcuts are surely the death knell for creativity?
Well, I’m not entirely sure.
On the flipside, the accessibility offered for those working online is a great thing. There are a heap of benefits not offered in more traditional roles, from flexibility to control and there’s a far more diverse community available. And that can only be a good thing, so why not ensure you make the most of it by outsourcing the parts of the job holding you up?
Blogtacular director Kat Molesworth agrees, explaining, “Being stuck in the detail can limit our creativity. What are your skills? Play to those and prioritise your time by outsourcing things that can be done by others more efficiently.”
She cites things like podcast editing and graphic design as things she outsources in order to take on the mammoth task of organising a blogging conference for hundreds of influencers.
However she warns there are some things you should avoid outsourcing, “Don’t use outsourcing as a crutch.
If you like a particular photography editing preset, work backwards and see how you can replicate it in an original way. You must differentiate yourself and work on your critical eye.”
In a noisy world filled with ideas, it’s easy to become deafened by your own genius. Drowning this out is no mean feat but it can, and must be done because as content creators, creativity is our currency.
So how do we block out that noise and start flexing our creative guns once more? Here are my best tips for getting the juices flowing and propagating your creativity once more:
Done is better than perfect The old adage always rings true for me as it’s what separates procrastination from the finished article every time. If you find yourself stuck waiting for the ‘perfect’ time to press publish it’s probably time to be kind to yourself and just do it. After all, you can’t edit a blank page.
Start small It’s so easy to forget when you see the finished article that every blogger started somewhere. And that somewhere was probably a really rubbish blog post filled with typos and crappy images. Don’t start with the intention of only writing top- ranking posts Google will love; just start writing. Honing your voice is the foundation on which your business is built on.
Challenge yourself Challenges and prompts are a great way to get your creative juices flowing and get you well and truly out of your comfort zone. You can join in with others, such as the Instagram Weekend Hashtag Project (#WHP) or start your own. It doesn’t have to be big or complicated, the idea is simply to create and grow.
Do something different When I’m stuck, I know I need to change things up. Whether that’s stopping something or picking something new up I evaluate how everything’s making me feel and go from there. Getting outside of our echo chambers and comfort zone is key to maintaining the energy that fuels creativity. Because there are only so many flatlays of your coffee cup you can take.