Outsourcing websites are a great asset to any small business owner offering a cost effective way to get necessary work done. They are especially useful for finding freelancers to do quick jobs, where hiring a full or part time employee would just not be viable. According to Inc, more and more businesses are getting in on the trend with $50 million spent on freelancers in 2012 according to its report, entitled “Why Hiring Freelancers Works”.

For example, if you find yourself super busy with listings and paperwork, a temporary virtual assistant could be a godsend, likewise if your site could do with a brush up to capitalize on your growing business, a website programmer would come in handy. When times are quiet or if you simply don’t have the time or inclination, outsourcing your social media marketing is invaluable. All of these tasks can be accomplished quickly, easily and at a competitive price using an outsourcing website.

Outsourcing remains a popular way for businesses to remain competitive, control costs and get the work done with a fast turnaround. Paying freelancers by outsourcing work means no worries about long term overheads and salaries. In its global survey of 1500 businesses, the freelancing site Elance found that a massive 84% of managers considered hiring online a competitive advantage over rivals with most citing three key factors as the primary benefits: cost saving, speed of hiring and better access to specialist expertise.

For small businesses and budding realtors, outsourcing can keep the full time team small without compromising on knowledge or capability while business booms. According to author Stephen Fishman, independent contractors give businesses a range of benefits from money saving to staffing flexibility.

The good news if your business finds itself in need of a helping hand is that there are a variety of sites on the web specializing in outsourcing, some are for general freelancers and others are more specific to industries.

Read on for our top picks.

1. Odesk

More than 1 million companies worldwide use Odesk to outsource, including big names such as Pinterest and NBC. It features a huge pool of talent spanning all ends of the globe, helping to meet the outsourcing needs of every size and style of business.

2. Freelancer

Freelancer is the world’s largest outsourcing platform, boasting over 10 million users. Thousands of businesses worldwide tap into the marketplace of skilled freelancers, who specialize in an abundance of projects from website development to data entry.

3. Elance

Elance is another outsourcing website in the burgeoning internet freelancing jobs sector. With an array of highly skilled designers, writers, marketers and programmers, businesses can assemble an online workforce with ease.

4. People Per Hour

This UK freelancer platform is a great way to connect outworkers with businesses who need a skilled individual. Freelancers can create hourlies which are one off tasks such as designing a brochure or writing a press release so buyers in need of that service can click to buy without having to wade through dozens of proposals.

5. Basecamp

While not strictly a freelancing site, Basecamp is an invaluable resource for anyone with a team of freelancers to manage. It acts as an online tool for monitoring and managing a remote team, making it easy to link together an entire network of freelancers. Use it to set tasks, manage calendars and keep everyone on the same page.

Here at CityBlast  we have taken the concept of outsourcing assistants and refined it to be the most efficient source for real estate and social media marketing. Used by thousands of realtors across North America every day, CityBlast gives realtors access to a social expert who will update their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn channels every day exactly how they choose (so they don’t have to) without ever needing to go through the hassle of finding a capable freelancer. There is no need to sign up to a site such as Elance, no need to post a job ad and no need to sift through hundreds of resumes and proposals. Just a guaranteed social media expert added to your team at a fraction of the cost of a full time hire.

Interested? Click here to sign up for a FREE 14-day trial and kick start your social media marketing today!

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March 7 2014