Should You ‘Outsource’ Your Marketing? (Part 1)

Got a message last week from a subscriber named Aziz.

Aziz runs a website selling “learn to program” courses. The site is starting to hit its stride—he’s making a small but steady stream of sales and starting to see some reliable income.

Now he’s starting to feel antsy about taking things up a notch.

He wanted to know:

I am actively searching to hire a Marketing Manager, someone who can lead the marketing communication of [website].

Can you suggest:
– How can I go about looking for the right candidate?
– What should I compensate them?
– What metrics should I hold them to?

I have a job expectation written out.

There’s a common tendency I’ve noticed among entrepreneurs, and it goes like this:

One day you get an idea for a promising business.

You work like crazy for months on end, doing everything you can think of to try to push the business forward.

Blogging, tweeting, podcasting, YouTubing.

Eventually you pull your nose away from the grindstone for a minute and look around, and go, “Hey, whaddaya know, I’m actually getting some traction here!”

You have a few customers, bringing in a maybe couple of grand a month.

Success feels good, doesn’t it?

Then a sneaky little thought creeps in:

“You know, I’m spending like 80% of my time on this marketing stuff.

“If I could find someone to take that off my hands, I could focus in and REALLY get this business growing.”

Aziz is at this crossroads right now.

It’s a DANGEROUS place.

The roadside is littered with the burnt-out shells of businesses who took a wrong turn at this junction.

I was determined to try steer Aziz clear.

Would he listen though?

To be continued…

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