Life as a tour and activity operator is fast-paced and busy, so you may not have enough time to really dive into your writing, marketing, photography, and public relations initiatives. 

Enter the freelance worker. 

Rather than setting extra time to create marketing materials yourself or hiring a full-time employee, you can outsource your writing, ads, marketing, and publicity needs to a freelancer!

This guide will cover everything you need to know about finding and vetting your freelance candidates.

How can freelancers support your business?

New Photos

The images of your tours and activities may be outdated. Hire a freelance photographer to take photos for a day and get fresh new images for all of your marketing needs. 

Blogs

Not everyone can easily write compelling copy. If you want your business to shine through your blog — and help with your SEO — it may be worth hiring someone to write your monthly blogs. 

Google Ads

If you do not have the time to spend creating your Google Ads campaigns or staying up to date with how they are doing, it may be in your best interest to outsource. An expert freelancer will know the keywords that will make your ads successful. 

Local Public Relations (PR)

PR is a time consuming project. You can hire a freelance publicist to help you capitalize on your local market and potentially get featured in magazines, news articles, and more.

These are just a few initiatives you could use a freelancer for — of course, the possibilities are endless!

Where should you start the search for freelancers?

In the age of the internet, finding a freelancer is easier than ever!

Freelance Job Sites

There are several freelance websites to assist you in finding your candidate. Two popular general-freelancing sites are CloudPeeps and UpWork. Just add in your criteria and see who is available.

You can also find industry-specific websites that will direct you to find people for a specific role. We recommend searching online to find the site that works best for you.

Finally, freelancers also add their portfolios to sites like Dribbble or Behance. If you want to peruse profiles, you can reach out to someone that you think would be a good fit. 

Freelance Communities

The power of social media can also help in your search for a freelancer. There are Facebook freelancer groups, industry-specific networking groups, and location-based job groups you can join and post your job description.  

Although this approach may take more time, your reach can be greater. If you post your job, even if a person looking at it does not fit, they can tag their friend who may be interested. 

Pro Tip: A lot of this work can be done remotely. If you do not mind meeting over the computer or by phone, you can hire the right candidate who perhaps does not live in the “right” place. 

How to find and vet potential freelancers

Decide on your job description and ideal candidate

Before you begin the search for any type of candidate, having a detailed job description is arguably the most important part. This is the same for freelancers as well!

You will need to come up with candidate requirements, their duties and goals, the scope of the project, hours needed per week, and the length of the job. 

More importantly, you should list the number of years of experience your ideal candidate should have as well as which industry they typically work in.

You wouldn’t want a food blogger writing about your hot air balloon ride, right?

Know your budget

Freelancers are able to set their own prices. Experience level and the type of job will often depict their cost. Know what your monthly budget is for freelance work before you begin your search. This will help you weed out too expensive candidates.

Search for candidates

Now it’s time to start your search! Head over to one of the above recommendations and post your job description. 

If you are not getting many good applicants, assess your job description. Be sure to have a competitive rate or change up where you are posting if it’s not performing how you would like.

Start the conversation 

Once you have your candidates, you can start reaching out for interviews. Having a good line of communication is almost as important as having the right experience. You will want to make sure this person’s work or writing style matches your company’s culture and the person is reliable. 

A great place to start is to see if your freelancer has reviews. Many people have a website that showcases their work along with a few testimonials. 

You can also ask questions like:

• Do you have reviews or references of past and current companies you are working with? Can I reach out to them directly?
• Can I have examples of tourism specific content or ads you have worked on?
• How many years of experience do you have working in the tourism industry?
• How do you handle feedback?
• Will you be willing to sign a contract?
• How will we communicate throughout this process?
• What are your fees?

The list can go on, but hopefully this sparks some interview question inspiration! 

Choose your freelancer

If you find a candidate that fills all of the boxes you are looking for, it’s time to make that leap. 

Pro Tip: Once you choose your freelancer, invite them onsite to your business. Show them how your company works, your team culture, and send them on one of your tours and activities. This will help the freelancer get a better understanding of your brand which will produce better results. 

Hiring a freelancer is a great way to stay on top of your marketing and public relations initiatives — and typically is a lower cost than hiring someone in-house. Give it a try to see if it’s right for your business.