Starting a blog when you have never have one can be daunting. There are quite a bit to do. we know most ‘how to start a blog’ articles will tell you that it is easy, but once you commit yourself to becoming a blogger, you will realise that there is more than meet the eye. Blogging takes time, even the luckiest blogger with tons of viral content and heaps of knowledge in web development and digital marketing needs time to grow. For those who cannot afford to dedicate long hours to starting, maintaining and growing a blog can, however, work smart and delegate. Here are 9 time consuming tasks you should outsource  to maximise your time spent on bigger and better things.     Web Development This is especially if you have no idea how to build a website. Yes yes, they are basically ‘plug and play‘ nowadays, but you still will have to learn a thing or two about ‘how they actually work’. If you don’t have much time to start off with, this is the perfect task for you to Outsource. Tips: Prior to outsourcing , make sure you spend some time looking through other websites as well as websites of your competitors to see how  ideally you want your layout to be Tips: Make sure you KNOW exactly what you want with your website and let the developer know exactly what and how you want. Being vague and being unsure could end up costing you more money. Tips: If you are not sure of what you want, avoid getting developers that are cheap as they work better under exact instructions. Pay a bit more and go with experienced professionals who are able to give you recommendations and suggestions     Social Media Management Starting up social media accounts, curating content and gaining followers can be time-consuming, especially when you are busy trying to create a website and its content. But at the same, building a base and foundation during this time will be beneficial for once you start promoting your blog. The best thing to do is to outsource this to a Social Media Specialist, who can take over and start promoting your brand. Tips: Depending on the social media you use to grow,  Pinterest and Instagram are so far the best social media to outsource.   Onsite and Offsite SEO Again, while it is worthwhile in the long run to learn about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) , for the time being,  this is another task that can easily be outsourced if you have no time to work on this. An SEO specialist will ensure your content will be optimised for search engines and your website will achieve high search engine ranking. Tips : it is worth getting an SEO plan from your freelancer, to ensure that they are following White Hat SEO strategies, instead of Black Hat SEO Techniques.     Content Writing You may need to start out your blog with 30 articles and daily posts from then on (if you are serious about blogging) , this itself may be an overwhelming and time consuming task for some, so it is a good idea to hire a few content writers to help you out with writing  a few articles. Tips : make sure the article is relevant to your niche and are content optimised     Editing and Proof Reading One of the most time-consuming task when blogging is editing and proofreading. Most bloggers will probably say the same thing – they will spend lots of time editing, down to the time where they push the publish button.  Plus, sometime after looking at the same article for a while, you kind of miss things when proofreading. This is when having a fresh set of eyes help. If you have someone at home to help you out with, great – but if you prefer it professionally edited, there are many freelance editors and proofreaders out there that can do the tasks for you. Tips : While it is important to make sure that your article gets the polished finish – don’t over edit it to the point the article loses your ‘voice’. After all, that  is what’s unique about your blog. Stories and information told from your perspective. Find a happy medium.     Branding Development Outsourcing branding development to a professional will ensure you get your brand strategy right and aligned with your blog niche, personality, and your objectives. You can then use this across all borders – website, social media and products/service packaging (if you are selling something). This includes logo, tagline and how you want to be perceived by your target audience. Tips : Be careful with who you ended up with. A graphic designer may not necessarily be a marketing and branding specialist. If you know what you are doing and only need someone to materialise what you want using a design software, go for a graphic designer (as below). However, if you need someone to recommend the best way to represent your blog and your niche as well as how to market your blog, you need a marketing and branding specialise (who usually have a team or designers or him/herself are able to do design work)       Graphic Design This is a great task to outsource, especially if creativity isn’t your forte.  If you are only creating a minimalist logo, perhaps a graphic design tool website such as Canva can do the job (it only takes minutes to learn and they have templates you can use). However, if you are after something more solid, more professionally done using advanced graphic features,  outsource it! It is much faster and cheaper than having to buy and learn to use Photoshop. Tips : To keep costs down, it is best to be as specific as possible about what you want. Unless if you are happy to let the freelancer’s creativity runs wild. The main thing is,  you must effectively communicate your requirements to the freelancer as they...

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