Outsourcing can be one of the best ways that you can manage your podcast without overworking yourself. However, not everyone’s experience with freelancers or agencies is positive. But that is generally because podcast hosts don’t avoid some of the common pitfalls of hiring these companies. So here are some of the hidden challenges and how you can overcome them.
Using Too Many in the Mix
One of the advantages of using a single agency is that you can gain access to a wide range of skills with only one point person. You don’t get this when working with a range of freelancers who all have their strategies, ideas, experience, schedules, and communication channels. Too many freelancers can do more harm to your schedule than working with an agency.
An agency might be more costly on the face of it, but at the same time, they will save time and improve the consistency/alignment of all the podcast output. Therefore, costs are recoupled relatively easily. And the stress and time of managing many moving parts is removed, so you can enjoy the podcast experience much better.
When working with Produce Your Podcast, you can have several different services with us, but you have a single point of contact. Therefore, you know exactly who to talk to and will get a report from them. Therefore, you can save time by not having to manage everyone, which saves time, allowing you to focus on other business matters, or ensuring that you have a good work-life balance.
Get a Reasonable Payment Schedule
Agencies will have streamlined billing compared to multiple freelancers who might all bill differently and at different times. It’s important to also consider the payment schedule that you’re going to have with the outsourcing team. You need to have a transparent cost schedule. The company should provide these upfront, without any ambiguity. To get this, insist on a written copy of the costs, when they’re expected to be paid, and how they should be paid.
Listening to Sales Promises
Salespeople are very good at promising actions and results without really being able to offer guarantees. For instance, many SEO providers will promise top-3 positioning on Google and lots more traffic. But there is very little guarantee of that. Google controls the rankings, the system, and more – and they don’t tell anyone how to manipulate a website to improve rankings. Most SEO experts use tactics they’ve learned and are constantly adjusting this. Plus, SEO experts can predict what your competitors are going to do.
Therefore, it’s always important to talk to those who will talk about realistic expectations. Some might be able to draw on previous clients or current clients who they work with and demonstrate how they’ve made an impact. They will use data and demonstrate power.
The problem with many salespeople is that they tend to sell a rather prestigious result, such as being ranked top of something (podcast listing, Google search results, etc.). Instead talk to people about what they’ve done previously, not what they think they can do.
Talking to Cold Calling Sales People
Whether it is via a call or an email, cold calling is often a pressurized environment that often means that you could make an ill-informed decision. Many cold callers often play on tactics that sensationalize the issues, such as a poor-performing website, poor number of subscribers, competitors doing better, etc. Or they can exaggerate their success with your competitors.
Either way, you feel compelled to take action because they create a FOMO response from you. But cold callers are very rarely in front of the true statistics. While they might claim to have listened to your show, looked over your show’s website, and analyzed your social media output, they rarely have. And this can be evident in further conversations with you, but only when they’ve spoken a few times to them.
Instead of dealing with cold callers, reach out to agencies and freelancers who you contact. These people are going to be less knowledgeable of your situation in the first contact, but are going to be willing to put in some research to help you make more out of the opportunity.
Cold callers are there about the numbers. They know that only 3-5% of the people they speak to are going to be willing to speak to them and only about 1% will convert. So they’re always about the big numbers. Those that take inbound sales are going to be more focused on making every contact work. Therefore, they’ve got more invested interest and time to listen to you.
Another thing to consider is to look out for cold emails that are from non-branded email addresses. Companies that use Gmail and Hotmail addresses are more likely to be less professional and able to serve you best.
Not Sticking to the Needs
When you work with providers, be sure that you’re getting what you need and not what the company wants to sell you. You might contact someone about social media and they might offer you a package for five social media profiles or using X, TikTok, and Instagram. But if your audience is on Facebook and LinkedIn, those services aren’t going to be of use.
Or they might try to upsell so you spend more with them. We all know that upselling is important, but you don’t want to be wasting time on efforts that aren’t going to be long-term beneficial. Therefore, you need to stick to your specific needs.
That doesn’t mean that you don’t listen to the agency. They might have some ideas/services that could be beneficial. But you have to know why they’re a good option, with statistics and data to back up the added services. How will the additional services add to the listener experience, improve subscriptions, increase sponsorship revenue, etc?
Not Aligning Ethical Approach
When you work with someone make sure that they share the same working ethical approach to you. Some companies have more hard sales than others, and some prefer to work in a different way. While getting a diverse set of experiences and skills is important to the success of any venture, for your podcast you need to be sure that everyone has the same outlook to their working style.
Talking to the freelancer or agency is important. It will reveal what their goals are, what their ethical approach to work is, and how you will get along with you.
And if you feel that they’re a good fit with you and your brand, then you can build a relationship with them.
FAQs
How long can it take to recruit an agency/freelancer to help?
Take your time in the process to recruit help for what services you need. It can take a few days or weeks to negotiate a deal that is beneficial for you and the service provider.
Is it better to work with a podcast production agency?
There are numerous benefits of working with an agency, such as access to lots of talents, experience in the niche, and improved access to resources.
Can you negotiate with a supplier for the best price?
Some suppliers might be able to offer you a lower cost, but this isn’t always the case. And some will offer you their best deal from the start. And by trying to negotiate a better deal you can sometimes get a worse service from the supplier.
Final Word: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing and How to Avoid Them
The hidden costs of outsourcing can be hard to uncover in the beginning unless you know what to look out for. Above are some of the mistakes that podcast hosts can sometimes make when searching for suppliers to help them with areas in which they need help.
Produce Your Podcast is a full-service podcast production, editing, and marketing agency specializing in helping brands launch, grow, and monetize successful podcasts that impact their bottom line. With 30+ years of experience in broadcasting and business development brought to every project we work on, our team of experts is a reliable partner to help you achieve your goals with your show.
Click here to schedule a conversation with our team today and let’s bring your show to life!
