What's your strategy for negotiating transparent contracts with content outsourcers?

The top priority is always making sure that your client receives the exact same high standard of work they would receive if I am writing the content. That's the number one goal. How to achieve this? Don't get greedy. I would rather pay top dollar for writers who are at my same level and decrease my profit margin rather than risk filing lower quality work with a client.

Knowing what you want to achieve when outsourcing your content is key to helping you get what you want as this provides direction. Also, setting a budget to help you achieve that goal keeps you in check to avoid exceeding your financial limit when negotiating with content outsourcer.

Research is important, but there's an even more crucial step. Once you've identified your best writers, build a relationship with them. Take a note of their strengths and availabilities so that you save time on the next briefs. I am honestly not a fan of asking for discounts. I expect my rates to be honoured, so I'll do the same for other writers. A writer's rates are reached after careful consideration of the time, effort and expertise required, so there rarely is scope for a discount.

As the heart of every good content professional lies in the ability to Research and it's no different when you need to get a content outsourcer. Much work must be put in here to help you compare and contrast not just offers but quality of work and testimonials of the potential candidates to help you find the perfect one that aligns with your goal and budget.

Never underestimate the importance of personally explaining a content brief. While you may be used to the style and requirements, things are not always as obvious as you may think. I learnt this the hard way, when a writer I was using for the first time said they understood the brief, but we were both on totally different wavelengths. Nowadays I always schedule a 5 minute call with a first time writer so as to explain every aspect of the brief. This avoids me having to send the work back again and paves the way for the next briefs.

In any project, defining the scope and then listing deliverables helps all parties win because everyone knows what they want to achieve and what part they are to deliver at the end of the day. For a content outsourcer, every detail must be listed here to avoid confusion as to what's expected of any party at the end of the day.

I would much rather receive too many messages and questions, than let a writer flounder on their own. Personally I do give out my WhatsApp contact to make it as easy as possible for writers to get in touch. If this doesn't work for you, an app like Skype, Slack or Teams will also work well - just make sure that your notifications are on as you don't want the writer to give up and simply implement their own interpretation of what's needed.

The ideal agreement is mutually acceptable, meaning neither party gets exactly what they want, nobody gets bullied, and everybody in the end gets a deal they can live with.

Keep it simple. A basic Service Agreement specifying the rate and deliverables should be more than enough both for ad hoc briefs and for monthly retainers. Some writers ask for a minimum monthly work load. The industry I work in is very volatile so I usually don't include that in the contract. Instead, I offer an honest estimate of how much work they can accept and make it a point to give advance notice if I see that the volume is dwindling.