When doing keyword research for my muse, I was stunned by the amount of searchers looking for ‘free outsourcing’, as if there were ranks of people hanging out online, just waiting to perform menial tasks for fun!
This did get me thinking, though. How would free outsourcing work? How could a free outsourcing system be built?
If we assume a conservative definition of free, then free outsourcing would involve outsourcing at no monetary cost (rather than getting something for nothing). Considering a lack of funds is the key reason why individuals and businesses might not outsource, no cost outsourcing could be very useful.
My freesourcing concept doesn’t involve exploitation. Instead, it would involve trading value for value.
It hinges on one question: what do you need and what can you give?
Let’s say you need a new logo for your website. You want something custom designed by a talented freelancer. You could start by picking a freelancer you like and asking: “What could I do to get you to do _______ for free?” If their normal rate for a logo design is $250, you can generally assume that their answer will be equivalent to or above $250 of value to them, if they provide an answer at all. Not everyone will have particular needs and not everyone will be open to the idea.
You can increase your chances of uptake by listing your skills and what you can offer. Let’s say that I want to use this new logo on my SEO blog. Perhaps I can offer a free SEO consultation for the designer’s portfolio, to the value of $250? Maybe I can refer them to a friend I know who needs a logo designed for her company and is willing to pay big bucks? Perhaps I can help one of his portfolio blog posts reach the front page of Digg?
As you can see, my concept of freesourcing relies on an equal exchange of favors utilizing time or unique skills. Another name for it might be favesourcing, and its successful operation hinges on finding someone with a skill you need and being able to provide them with something worthwhile in return.
I can see it operating in a few ways:
Skilled work exchanged for time-consuming work. For example: a two-hour marketing consultation valued at $500 exchanged for one massive linkbait article.
Skilled work exchanged for a different kind of skilled work. For example: ghost writing an eBook report in exchange for a website redesign.
Time consuming work exchanged for time consuming work probably wouldn’t work, unless your skills or tools allow you to complete a certain type of (usually) time consuming work very quickly.
Wait a second — outsourcing is supposed to save time!
Outsourcing actually means getting a third party to work for you, and it can save time or money. I think freesourcing has the potential to do both.
It allows you to get something for free by offering your skills and resources in exchange.
It can also help you to save time by offering skilled, high-value work in exchange for menial tasks. It works as long as the task you’re performing takes less time than the work you’re looking to outsource in exchange.
How to start freesourcing
Think of all the things you would do to boost your business/online income efforts if you had more funds — things you may never have allowed yourself to think about before.
Search for people who can give you one of these things and ask them: what would it take for you to do _________ for free? Ankesh Kothari was able to ask this question of a designer and get a free website design in return for the unique favor he was able to provide.
List your skills and resources and some example services you might be able to provide in return. Leave your offer open so the person you’re approaching can also propose their own repayment ideas.
Expect resistance
Not everyone will want something you can provide them. Freesourcing is an untraditional idea and some of those you ask won’t be open to accepting anything other than money for their work. And that’s completely fine, and totally within the spirit of freesourcing: it’s about both parties feeling like they have attained something of equal value. If you want something badly but can’t afford it or don’t have the time, keep trying until you find someone who sees value in what you have to offer them.
A likely objection: “I don’t believe I have skills or resources to compensate someone for what I need. I don’t think anyone will be interested in what I have to offer.”
I have two answers to that objection:
If you can’t return someone’s favor with skills or resources, you may be able to return it with time. In fact, the time to do a simple task may be all someone could ask for. Whether it’s moderating comments, researching articles, gathering links or summarizing news, certain favors may have only one requirement to fulfil: a bit of time.
My second answer is this: never presume you know what is valuable to another person. You won’t know until you ask.
- Think about your professional skills.
- Think about your hobbies.
- Think about your areas of interest.
- Think about areas you have been educated in.
- Think about how you use your time.
Each one of those parts of a whole has the potential to be insanely valuable to someone.
Why it’s important
I think the freesourcing idea has very real potential. It could allow both parties to use their skills or time to gain something they may always have wanted but could never afford.
How it could work
On an individual scale, freesourcing is simple — you contact someone and ask what you could do for someone in return for their time/skill.
It’s a concept that I think would flourish on a grander scale, though. I can easily imagine a Freesourcing forum, where users make threads based on what they want and what they can offer in return. If anyone sees an idea in this (or even a Muse idea) feel free to use it any way you like.
