Working with Creative Freelancers: Part 1—Find your perfect freelancer

In this article, I’ll discuss how to find qualified and dependable freelance help for your marketing and communications projects. In my second article, I’ll discuss how to work effectively with those freelancers to get the best possible results with the least stress.

Why use freelancers?
More and more, in-house teams are looking for outside specialists to take on projects they don’t have the time or expertise for. Anything from a social media campaign to a total rebrand can be outsourced, or contractors can work in tandem with your in-house team to accelerate your schedule.

Many creative professionals offering their services on contract have years (or decades) of experience. Some have moved away from staff roles to give them more flexibility. Others have decided to explore their entrepreneurial side or follow their passion. Being self-employed is not a sign that someone is unemployable or hard to work with—in fact, working on contract requires great people skills and a strong work ethic. Self-employment is a career path that a growing number of creative professionals are choosing. 

The good news for you is that you can pick and choose the perfect creative specialist for every project, rather than trying to hire someone full-time who can do a bit of everything. This approach will give you better results, more flexibility, and lower costs than adding another staff member.

Where can you find great freelancers?
Referrals: The best source of freelancers is always direct referrals or “word of mouth.” Ask your colleagues and business network whether they’ve worked with anyone who has the skills you’re after. A first-hand recommendation gives you the chance to ask questions about what the person did and what they were like to work with, even before you decide whether to contact them.

Directories: If you can’t find a referral, many professional associations for different types of creative work have online directories.* Their members can create a listing that describes their services and areas of expertise. If someone joins a professional association, they consider the field to be their career, not just a way to make a few bucks on the side. The people listed in these targeted directories are much more likely to be pros than the ones you’ll find on general freelancing websites like Upwork or Fivrr. 

Agencies: There are also employment agencies that specialize in creative contractors.** They have pre-screened everyone on their roster, so you know you’ll get someone qualified. This saves you the trouble of meeting several prospective freelancers and checking their histories, portfolios, and references. The downside is that you’ll be paying a premium price compared to hiring directly, since the agency will add their percentage to the freelancer’s rate.

"You can hire someone with exactly the skills you need for exactly as long as you need them."

How do you choose the right freelancer?
The best thing about bringing in freelance help is that you can hire someone with exactly the skills you need for exactly as long as you need them. Want a new logo? Hire a graphic designer. Need to improve your website stats? Bring in an SEO specialist. Got a blog that’s languishing? Put a content writer on a monthly retainer to keep the posts rolling in.

The first step is to define in detail what you want a freelancer to do. Be as precise as possible. Here are some of the details to decide before your search:

• The project(s) to be worked on
• What the freelancer will do (will they be involved in planning or just execution?)
• Your timeline for finishing the project
• Your budget
• The chain of command (who will be freelancer be working with and who needs to approve the final product?)
• Your ideal style

The more you know about what you need, the easier it will be to determine whether you’ve found the right contractor. 

When you look into candidates who have been recommended, or seem like a possible match from directories or agencies, get a feel for their work by looking at their:

• website
• portfolio
• testimonials and reviews
• lists of previous clients (is their brand similar to yours?)
• availability

When you contact the freelancer, ask for relevant samples of their work. Once you explain your project, they should be able to point you to examples of the kind of look/tone/style you would get from them. When you find someone who seems like a good match, you can move forward with negotiations.

How should you contract and pay freelancers?
You should always use a written agreement with your freelancers that includes the following details:

• the fact that they are a contractor and not an employee
• the scope of work they will do (the process)
• the deliverables they will provide (the product)
• the start and end dates (and any important milestones)
• who will own the completed work (intellectual property/copyright)
• the rate of pay
• what happens if either of you wants to terminate the agreement (because you are unhappy  or because the project is cancelled or postponed)
• what happens if the work is unacceptable or unreasonably late
• when you will pay the freelancer (including any deposits or instalments)

Your company may have a standard contractor agreement. Often, these are designed by lawyers for full-time contract work carried out at your premises, and they contain clauses that are not appropriate for a freelancer working from their home. If your HR or legal department says you must use it anyway, try to be flexible about clauses that can be struck out because they do not apply in this situation—for example, a requirement for workplace liability insurance.

Finding the best freelancer for the job, and communicating your needs and expectations up front, will give you a great start to your project. To keep things running smoothly throughout the project and get the best results, be sure to read the second post on this topic: Working with Creative Freelancers: Part 2—Getting the best results.

*Canadian associations include:
Canadian Freelance Guild
Editors Canada
Association of Registered Graphic Designers

**Creative agencies operating in Canada include:
Creative Circle 
Creative Niche 
Vitamin T 
​