Hiring a Mailchimp partner is exciting. It means you’ve decided to invest in your marketing success and add extra hands to your team. But getting top results by hiring a remote freelancer or agency might feel different from managing an in-house staff. Still, by setting out clear targets when it comes to timing, budget and deliverables, as well as collaborating through the process, our experts can do great things for all aspects of your marketing plan. Here, the 3 best ways to ensure your expectations are met when working with a Mailchimp partner.
1. Create a statement of work
In order for a partner to meet your expectations, they have to have a clear sense of your expectations, including your goals, budget and timeline. There is possibly no better way to guarantee clarity here than a statement of work (SOW). Basically, SOWs are like roadmaps. They lay out the key work requirements of each project, including specifics on the scope, deadlines, costs and deliverables. SOWs vary from project to project, but a common element among the most effective is that they are well detailed, leaving little room for interpretation. If ever you or your partner feel lost or unsure about the direction of expectations of a project, you should be able to re-read the SOW to point you back to the path of victory.
2. Build a plan for regular check-ins
By nature, freelancers set their own hours and work where they want to. They might not even be in the same country as your business. Because you won’t see the contractor on a regular basis, setting up regular check-in meetings and establishing consistent lines of communication becomes all the more necessary. Trust us, you never need to micromanage your freelancer. Mailchimp partners are trusted, independent workers for a reason. But setting up a Slack conversation or pre-booking regular catch ups can provide a space to ask questions and review the work that’s been done.
3. Compile a folder for onboarding
To ensure a project gets off to a strong start, it might be worth checking first to ensure the partner has everything they need. Sometimes, schedules are packed and you might have forgotten to hand over some critical assets: a high-res version of your logo, an essential project briefing, a slide deck of your current strategy. It’s common, but it does create a bottleneck. The upshot: these issues are easy to clear up. So pass that info along as soon as possible, all the quicker to help your partner help you.
Now that you know what to expect when hiring a partner, learn how one of marketing experts can help you reach your next business milestone.