59 Digital Marketing Tasks that Are Stupid-Simple to Outsource
Less work, same pay.
I want it. You want it. We all want it.
Because honestly, most jobs aren’t 100% enjoyable all the time *feign shocked face*.
Even for business owners that are following their dream.
Admin work, accounting, IT, customer support—they’re all part of the job and come with the territory.
But when you compare them to achieving this quarter’s sales goals, developing a new product line, and scaling your business, those other tasks just seem like a distraction.
That’s where outsourcing (or delegating) your marketing tasks come in.
Outsourcing lets you get all the expertise and advantages of working with a specialist without all the hiring, firing drama.
But…
Most consultants, agencies, freelancers, online marketplaces—they just aren’t good!
They can be pricey, unreliable, and cause more hassle than they’re worth.
So the question is, how do you outsource your online marketing tasks effectively? And which tasks should you start with?
That’s what I’m covering today. In this article you’ll learn:
- Why outsourcing is the key to growing your business without wasting time and money on hiring.
- 19 time-tested tips for getting the absolute most out of your outsourcing relationship.
- The 59 online marketing tasks you need to start outsourcing today to start scaling your business.
All right, let’s dive in.
In a rush? Want to download this article as a PDF so you can easily take action on it later? Click here to download this article as a PDF guide.
Why Outsource At All? Can’t I Just Handle Everything Myself?
Good question!
And the thing is, you can do it all yourself.
But as an entrepreneur, you shouldn’t.
Here’s why.
1. Outsourcing saves you $$$. How? Two ways specifically. First, it costs less to outsource a task than to hire your own team member. Besides not having to pay all those extra benefits, you’re also typically working with someone who has already built up expertise in the field. And that means in all likelihood, they’re going to be much more efficient at performing the task you assign them. And second, there’s far less involved in interviewing, hiring, and onboarding. That means you can put them to work quicker and start seeing the benefits of a skilled employee sooner. And that (of course) means more dollar bills lining your pockets.
2. It saves you time. Loads of time. By tapping a trained professional to handle your digital marketing for you, you don’t have to keep devoting all that time to strategizing, launching, and maintaining your digital marketing assets because someone else does that for you. Time, then, is definitely on your side. And as you well know, extra time for an entrepreneur is like a side of guacamole: there never seems to be enough of it and no matter how much you think you don’t need it right now, you’re always glad you paid extra for it afterwards.
3. It lets you grow your business. Not “in a few years.” Not “when the markets take a better turn.” And not on that magical day when all of those barriers holding you back have vanished all at once and forever (which will never, ever happen). Instead of continually waiting for that goldilocks moment, outsourcing lets you expand now. Because with the right professionals on your side and almost none of the time and cost downsides of hiring an in-house team member, you can skip the growing pains and get straight to the growing.
So to review: yes! Of course, you don’t have to outsource parts of your business.
But in light of all the benefits pointed out above, I guess the question is… why wouldn’t you?
Which Tasks You Absolutely Should Start Outsourcing (And Which Ones You Absolutely Should NOT)
The tricky part when it comes to outsourcing is figuring out which tasks should be tossed to another team and which you should keep in-house.
First of all, digital marketing as a whole should definitely be outsourced if at all possible. In fact, doing so is so common today that more than 1 out of 3 businesses outsource their digital marketing.
In general, you should begin by outsourcing any tasks that your business does not have specialization in but needs in order to function.
For example, digital marketing, accounting, IT services, and all the areas listed above are great places to start.
Additionally, tasks that can be done remotely are also prime candidates for being outsourced.
That being said, you’ll want to keep your core components in-house.
Company strategy, manufacturing, brand development, and more are all vital to your business running smoothly. And if for some reason your ties with outsourced vendors of these areas are severed, your business will be crippled as a result.
Now, let’s take a closer look at which online marketing tasks you can begin outsourcing immediately to help scale your business.
Web Design & Graphic Design Tasks to Outsource
“If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you're putting yourself out of business.” – Lee Kuan Yew
Lack of great in-house design is one area where outsourcing is the perfect solution.
Most design projects have a clearly definable scope and many designers actually get most of their business through freelancing.
And when you start outsourcing your design work, you can reap all the benefits of having gorgeous design without all the pitfalls of hiring and onboarding an in-house team member.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
1. Creating blog post header images
2. Developing PPC ad images
3. Compiling lead magnets into downloadable PDFs
4. Redesigning individual pages or your entire website
5. Creating ad banners
6. Sharpening and optimizing images on your pages
Tips for Doing It Right
- Hire to Design, Not Code – In the early stages of your business, you may need a designer that knows a bit of coding or a coder that knows a bit of design. And that’s okay. But when you’re scaling, it’s important that you separate the two positions so that your marketing assets are both eye-catching and functional. Otherwise, you may end up with a gorgeous website that doesn’t always display properly or a smooth UX that’s god-awful on the eyes—both of which can be crippling for your business.
- Get a Sense of Style with a Small Project – Designer is one of those roles that has a strong undercurrent of personal style. While a professional designer with plenty of experience should be able to achieve the right kind of look to match your business’ personality, you’ll still want to evaluate prospective outsourced designers with a small upfront project. Ask them to develop a Google Ads image or maybe a new logo design. Start small to establish trust and get a sense of their unique personal style.
Development & Maintenance Tasks Ripe for Outsourcing
IT functions are a huge source of outsourced work according to BDO Digital.
For many, finding a talented developer can be tough, especially in areas where the local culture doesn’t cater to the industry.
But luckily, outsourcing your development needs can connect you with great talent at a fraction of the cost of hiring.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
7. Regular testing of site loading speeds
8. Identifying and fixing dead links and errors
9. Testing browser compatibility
10. Consistent website backups
11. New app feature development
12. Creating and maintaining software documentation
13. Work with your designers to match visual design intent
Tips for Doing It Right
- Consider Using Project Management Tools – When it comes to development and maintenance tasks especially, the nature of projects and the slew of tasks involved in each can quickly become quite complex. And a project management system can help you and your outsourced partner stay up-to-date on what needs to be completed and when. A small investment now is well-worth a project completed on time and according to your specifications.
- Don’t Neglect Communication Skills – As development outsourcing becomes more and more common, many highly talented developers you run into in the interview process are going to be located in other countries. And if that’s the case, you may run into language barriers along the way. In cases like these, it’s important to remember that effective communications is key, especially when it comes to highly complex tasks like web or app development and maintenance. As such, be sure to weigh communication skills against raw talent.
SEO Tasks You Should Be Outsourcing
With the right SEO expert on your side, you can navigate the labyrinthian maze of Google updates so you can score that oh-so-sweet organic traffic.
And with the right talent, you can climb the rankings to massively improve your CTR.
How much does CTR depend on your search engine ranking position (SERP) you ask?
Let’s take a quick look.
Backlinko analyzed 5 million Google search results and found the following info.
To sum up, the higher your organic search ranking is, the better off your website will be in terms of bringing in new visitors.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
14. Keyword research
15. Competition analysis
16. Link building
17. Search engine update optimization
18. Meta tag analysis and optimization
19. Directory listings and aggregator submission
Tips for Doing It Right
- Establish Measurable KPIs – Gone are the days of praying to the almighty Google algorithm for a miracle of higher rankings. Because now, SEO has transcended from the realm of voodoo and guesswork to that of a factual, proven science. And like any good science, you need to be able to actually measure results if you want to test effectiveness. That’s why it’s crucial for you to establish measurable KPIs for your outsourced SEO work. Without them, you’ll never know if your outsourced expert is mastering the complexities of the search engine for your benefit or… just selling you snake oil.
- It Helps to Have a (Light) Background – Outsourcing, in general, requires either substantial trust or a basic understanding of what constitutes a quality job or a crap one. With SEO, the latter is more important than ever. Part of that is because SEO has gotten much more complex over the years. Metadata, image optimization, keyword research, link building—these are all basics for a solid SEO strategy. And the more you understand what’s going on here (and how to master SEO), the better you can judge if your outsourced SEO partner is actually performing what they promised.
Ads Management Tasks You Should Be Outsourcing
“In the long run, outsourcing is another form of trade that benefits the U.S. economy by giving us cheaper ways to do things.” – Janet Yellen
While content marketing is on the rise these days, PPC advertising has (and has always had) a place in any digital marketing strategy.
The fact of the matter is, PPC allows for immediate return on investment.
No waiting for Google’s web crawlers to start pushing you up the search engine ranks. No sitting around and just speculating about your ROI.
Instead, PPC is instantly associated with results. And for many businesses, that benefit outweighs any upfront costs.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
20. PPC ads cost and ROI projections
21. Demographics research
22. Platform analysis (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
23. Copy and image optimization suggestions
24. Budget planning
25.Keyword research
Tips for Doing It Right
- Prioritize Audience Research – Effective marketing is all about audience research. The better you understand your target customer, the better you’ll be at selling to them. That’s Marketing 101. And if you start outsourcing your ads management (which you should), then you’ll want to work with a professional that has a long history of market research and audience targeting through Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other paid advertising channels.
- Tools Are King with PPC – While this one bleeds over a little into the analytics category, the truth is that any ads manager is going to need a firm grasp on a variety of data analytics tools in order to measure the effectiveness of their efforts. SEMRush, Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Invoka, BuzzSumo—there are tons of options out there to choose from. And the more your outsourced ads manager knows about each, the better they’ll be at getting you the click rate you’re aiming for.
Quality Assurance Tasks You Should Be Outsourcing
“The other part of outsourcing is this: it simply says where the work can be done outside better than it can be done inside, we should do it.” – Alphonso Jackson
While it may not be the first type of task that companies imagine when thinking about outsourcing, it certainly is one of the most important.
That’s because Quality Assurance is basically your brand’s safety net when it comes time to launch. They’re the ones that catch all the little (or big) errors. They pore over the finer details while other members of your team move on to the next marketing task.
And without a Quality Assurance specialist, you’re playing with fire.
Because even the tiniest missed detail can end up being a crushing zero multiplier for your business.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
26. Check copy for grammatical errors, clarity, and readability
27. Evaluate design for errors, browser incompatibility, mobile optimization, integration with the brand, etc.
28. Testing functionality of links, CTA buttons, and opt-in forms testing
29. Checking for stylistic and spacing consistency across assets (Law of Alignment)
30. Monitoring the right flow of a sales funnel
31. Ensuring project meets high-quality standards
Tips for Doing It Right
- Don’t Underestimate QA – Quality Assurance is one of those positions that you don’t really think about until the mistake has already been made. You launched a new funnel you spent a month building but the links don’t work? That’s a devastating zero multiplier. Your new lead magnet is riddled with grammatical errors and design flaws? You’re crippling your brand’s trust factor. And without the right kind of oversight to pay attention to these fine details (*cough* Quality Assurance specialists *cough*), you’re throwing away time, money, and irreplaceable customer trust.
- Define the Scope Right Off the Bat – The thing about QA is it can be a bit broad of a field. And while every part of your funnel or marketing strategy should be checked and double-checked, you’ll want to be sure you’re outsourcing QA just for the tasks that you or your team can’t or don’t have time to perform yourselves. As such, be sure to define the scope of the QA’s processes early on. Are they checking for design consistency and marketability? Putting the exact areas they’ll be focusing on into writing is key to getting the absolute most out of your QA specialist.
Social Media Marketing Tasks You Should Be Outsourcing
There was a time where only businesses on the cutting edge used social media in their marketing strategy.
But those days are long, long gone. And now, it isn’t just smart to be active on social media as a business—it’s downright expected.
In fact, a whopping 38% of consumers use social media as inspiration for their purchasing decisions.
And that means if you want to start bringing in more leads that are ready to buy, you’ve got to have someone with the social media marketing chops behind you to help make it happen.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
32. Monitoring brand reputation
33. Responding to prospect inquiries
34. Regularly posting relevant content
35. Reaching out to and engaging with potential leads
36. Analyzing visitor metrics
37. Monitoring competitors
38. Developing new outreach strategies
Tips for Doing It Right
- Hire an Actual Expert, Not Just a Marketer – As social media marketing has shifted from obscurity to necessity, the ins and outs of doing it effectively have gotten more complicated. And if you want to start killing it on social media, you’re going to want to get an actual social media expert, not just a digital marketer. They’re the ones that’ll be able to translate traditional marketing knowledge (audience research, traffic analytics, promotion techniques, etc.) into actionable strategies that are able to be used effectively on social media channels.
- Monitor Your Published Content – As with almost any other outsourced task, you don’t want to fork over complete control to your social media marketer. And if you do, you’ll need to dedicate a fair amount of time to monitoring the content they’re publishing. The tricky thing about social media is that in order for it to be effective at building up your brand presence, posting needs to be frequent and consistent. And sometimes, that can make it hard to find a topic to talk about. But even still, you’ll want to be sure your marketer is staying on-brand. Because God knows you don’t want to find out they’ve been posting nothing but cat memes and fail videos for weeks.
Content Marketing & Content Promotion Tasks You Should Outsource
“No outsourcing the ‘soul’ of the company - let's all agree to that. But most companies are more body than soul.” – Steven Pearlstein
When it comes to content marketing and content promotion, it takes a dedicated marketer to strategize and execute profitable campaigns as quickly as possible.
But when done right, it can lead to massive returns and a hefty chunk of qualified leads that trust your brand.
However, in order to do that, you’ve got to find someone who knows their stuff. And that’s where outsourcing comes in.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
39. Development of copy for blogs, videos, lead magnets, and any other content marketing assets
40. Development of design for content marketing assets
41. Creating a content calendar
42. Monitoring engagement goals and adjusting strategies accordingly
Tips for Doing It Right
- Keep a Detailed Brand Style Guide – For many companies these days, content marketing is the main source of organic traffic. And there are plenty of lessons to learn when it comes to developing a robust content marketing strategy. One of the most important is that when you are outsourcing, you need to develop a brand style guide for your outsourced team to follow. Each and every piece of content you publish needs to follow a cohesive pattern, whether it be based on topics, style, personality, or all 3. In fact, according to Lucipress, brands portrayed consistently are 3 to 4 times more likely to experience brand visibility.
Save Time & Money by Outsourcing These Analytics Tasks
“The important thing about outsourcing or global sourcing is that it becomes a very powerful tool to leverage talent, improve productivity and reduce work cycles.” – Azim Premji
The old saying goes that only that which is measured can be improved.
Well, that’s where analytics comes in.
Working with a professional analytics expert lets you measure the performance of your site, your marketing assets, and ultimately, your ability to attract and retain customers.
And with the right analytics expert on your side, you can develop new strategies for improving your digital marketing and scaling your business.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
43. Monitoring engagement metrics with your marketing assets
44. Recording and analyzing visitor trends
45. Creating detailed and regular reports
46. Using data insights to brainstorm new strategies
Tips for Doing It Right
- Develop Your Own Strategy & Outsource the Execution – In the beginning, building up your data analytics chops with outside strategy from consultants is fine. After all, how else are you supposed to learn without the help of an expert? But in the long-run, it’s important that your organization keeps analytics strategy in-house. Outsource the execution, but don’t phase yourself out of the foundational strategy. Because if your outsourced expert were to up and vanish one day, you’d be left with a lot of information and zero ideas on how to use it.
- Make Sure You’re in Control – This almost goes without saying but be sure that you, the company, are in charge of and in ownership of all assets created in the relationship. That includes analytics logic, unique coding, and all knowledge of the strategy and execution of analytics tasks. And of course, upon the termination of the working relationship, all of this should be transferred immediately to you.
Email Marketing, Automation, & Apps Management Tasks to Outsource
Email marketing is king in terms of ROI.
In fact, the most common stat used in the industry is that email marketing has a 4000% ROI. That means for every dollar spent, you make $40 back.
So the sooner you learn how to start outsourcing your email marketing the right way, the sooner you can cash in on all the benefits.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
47. Database updating and maintenance
48. Email campaign copywriting
49. Email campaign design
50. Automation programming
51. Engagement monitoring
52. Creating new strategies
53. Template creation
Tips for Doing It Right
- Hire a Professional (or Professionals) – Many business owners may be tempted to handle their email marketing and automation on their own. And with all the user-friendly marketing tools out there today, it’s more appealing than ever. However, it’s important that you understand that just because doing it is easy, that doesn’t mean doing it right is a walk in the park. As such, be sure to hire out a professional writer who can capture the voice of your brand and an automation expert to fine-tune your email marketing strategy.
- Get Work Samples Early On – Similar to design, copywriting is a bit more stylistic than other outsourcing tasks. Two writers can create copy that’s a world apart when working off of the exact same prompt due to their personal style. And while the most experienced and professional ones will surely be able to mimic the style their client is after, it’s nevertheless important for you to pore over work samples before hiring them on. Because if a writer can’t capture your brand’s unique style, then the time savings they provide won’t be worth the loss in company identity or customer alienation.
And… Should You Outsource Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Tasks? Yes, 100%.
“Outsourcing American jobs will prove to be a plus for the economy in the long run. It's simply a new way of doing international trade.” – Greg Mankiw
Last but certainly not least, there’s conversion rate optimization or CRO.
CRO is a vital responsibility for any business looking to benefit from digital marketing.
And when you do it correctly and well, it can lead to substantial increases in lifetime customer value, conversion rates, and overall revenue for your business.
Tasks to Start Outsourcing
54. Developing an A/B testing calendar
55. Recording and maintaining an A/B testing history database
56. Coming up with new A/B testing hypotheses
57. Evaluating testability of hypotheses
58. Testing and optimizing site load speeds
59. Regularly researching industry best practices
Tips for Doing It Right
- Invest in A/B Testing Experience – A/B testing should be at the core of any CRO expert’s strategy. With A/B testing, you can get real definitive data for why one approach to converting works better than another. And with consistent and dedicated A/B testing (one of the best techniques for recession-proofing your business), you can continually refine your strategies and create incremental improvements again and again. As such, you need a CRO expert that has plenty of experience in A/B testing. Because if they don’t, then how the heck are they optimizing conversions in the first place?
- Hire Based on Your Industry – The techniques for boosting CRO depend largely on which industry you’re in. For instance, optimizing an e-commerce store for better conversions might include heavy cross-selling, cart abandonment prevention techniques, and promoting online reviews. But for companies that use their online marketing to generate leads and a sales team to close on them (like high-ticket products or services), optimization might mean building trust with case studies, addressing objections with FAQs, and heavy price anchoring. So be sure that when you’re outsourcing, you’re using an industry expert, not just a CRO expert.
Conclusion
Download the “59 Digital Marketing Tasks that Are Stupid-Simple to Outsource” so you won’t forget to take action on it later. Click here to download it now.
So there you have it!
Now you should fully understand which types of tasks you need to outsource so you can start scaling your business.
And best of all, you’ve got 21 excellent tips to ensure that your outsourcing experience is the best possible.
So let me ask you, which of these tips did you and your team get the most out of? What other kinds of tasks have you had great experience outsourcing? And where would you recommend other business owners start?
Let us know in the comments below!
And as always,
Keep convertin’, stay focused.
