Should I hire a freelancer or an in-house media person?
The answer is simple.

As someone who has worked as both a freelancer and an in-house media person, I have lots of experience to share about this topic. I don’t think that there is a right choice, but in some circumstances there may be a wrong one.

If you’re an artist trying to figure out this path for yourself, check out this article, as it will likely be more helpful to you.

The Main Problem

The main problem with either option is that all people have strengths and weaknesses. While this seems very rudimentary, it is often the most overlooked factor in making the right choice for you and your business. Hiring photographers, videographers, graphic designers, and content managers is a really good investment. To be able to get high quality and consistency for a good price, it is important to provide collaborative space, appropriate resources and tools, as well as clear direction. There is no one person who can keep up with idea generation, planning, creating, and publishing by themselves. This will always lead to burnout, cutting corners, and brand inconsistency.

When Should I Hire An In-House Creator?

If your business can offer collaboration for ideas to be generated and a small budget for outsourcing weak points, then you have a great set up for the in-house media person. Creating a manageable workload is key for a great partnership with your talented media creator! Let me encourage you to really consider the culture and expectations that this position will have. It will likely help you to write a compelling and honest job description.

Creating a team culture around an in-house media position will lead to greater chances of consistency, quality, and brand development (trust).

When Should I Hire A Freelancer?

There are two reasons you would consider hiring a freelancer for your online presence. The first is that your business doesn’t need much artistic expression or collaboration. Being able to hire a professional to accomplish exactly what you want has it’s value. For instance, I serve a local heating, air conditioning, and ducting company (HVAC) in this exact way. The owner loves their business, but is quite busy keeping the business running. For this company is was important to have someone who can take photos, create and schedule posts, manage their website, and most importantly not have to think about their online presence.

The second reason to hire a freelancer is that some specific projects need quick turnarounds, more time invested, or expertise that your team may not have. This is a great way to combine the best of both worlds by having someone on your team who really knows your values, but can hire out help to create a sustainable product for your company. When I was an in-house media person, having a budget for projects was life-giving. This may also keep special projects, like launching a new service or product, from overwhelming your team. When I worked as an in-house media person, it was frequently the big projects that caused the routined stuff to get missed.

Freelancers often have a network of creatives to offer quality results for every project. This is a newly developing model of a media and production company. Freelancers collaborate with other creatives on their own dime. Which means that your business is benefitting without additional costs.

Let’s Talk Money

Money doesn’t have to be tricky.

With freelancers, create clear expectations. I’m talking more than just deadlines and final invoices. Be clear about who is responsible for all the different parts of the project. If you’re bringing a freelancer in on a monthly basis, you may consider creating a “retainer” document that outlines the expectations for work and the compensation agreed upon for a set amount of time. This can be a really great way to create some loyalty and have quarterly or monthly check-ins on the working relationship. In addition, it offers both parties a way out of the agreement without burning any bridges.

With in-house media positions, creating clear expectations is also key (clear communication makes the world go round). The “set cost” model is a very appealing model to most business owners and managers. If you find yourself thinking this way, be sure to create a feedback system that allows the employee to express when their plate is full or when they may desire a challenge for the sake of growth. If they create really great content, they will likely be getting offers from other businesses, so creating an enjoyable work culture should lead to trust and openness when other companies start to make offers. This is a whole blog in itself, so we’ll just move on for now.

If you are curious about finding appropriate rates for different kinds of work, feel free to ask around, send me an email, or decide your budget and be willing to shape expectations as you go.

Final Thoughts

Never be afraid to create a custom plan for your wonderfully unique business.

What questions, thoughts, or opinions do you have to share? Share them below in the comments.