Jeff Harrison weighs DIY versus outsourced digital marketing for local business owners. He argues for outsourcing when the cost frees you to do higher-value work, and doing it yourself only if you'll use the skill repeatedly or actually enjoy it.
Have you ever taken your computer to someone because it was acting up and you tried everything you knew how to do to get it back on track and in like five minutes it was fixed and it's like 100 bucks. And for a moment in your mind you think, 100 bucks for five minutes work. Geez, maybe I could have done it myself if I just tried a little harder. What is the difference of a do it yourself versus a done for you investment and which is right for you? Today on 5 Minute Marketing Friday, we're going to find out.
Welcome back to the five Minute Marketing Friday. I'm Jeff Harrison. The question comes up, should I do it myself diy or should I have it done for me? Dfy. Let's go back to the computer repair person who fixed our computer in under five minutes and then hand us a bill for a hundred bucks. Is it just me or. When we see something like this happen, we might think 100 bucks for five minutes. That was a little pricey, wasn't it? Or was it? Take a second and think about a skill you possess that when you do it, you can do it quickly and it gives the impression to others that looked easy. In fact, when you do it and someone says, I don't want to bother you, but can you help? And you say something like, it's no problem, it's an easy fix. Have you accidentally devalued your superpower? Now, do me a favor, let's unpack this in your mind. How long did it take you to acquire the knowledge to do this task and then be able to do it in such a way of speed and competency? It looks easy to others, maybe even giving them the feeling or thoughts. Wow, that looked easy. I'll bet I could do it myself. I want to share with you a personal aha. Example. I have the ability to come up with headlines which are incredibly important and valuable as we create and publish content. If your video as an example is well done, yet the headline or title used on YouTube is poor, chances are it will perform poorly because it fails to catch the attention of the person searching for the answers to their question. The answer your video holds, plus the searching mechanism referred to as the algorithm and in their scoring process to determine search results finds headlines weigh heavily as to whether your video will show up or not. For me, this has taken years to develop this skill, writing headlines in what seems easy and quick fashion. It also takes ongoing time, sometimes weekly, to stay current with the demands of each platform's search algorithms, ensuring the content we create or is Created by our clients ranks highly. Now, when I do this and sometimes like the computer repair person and you with your skill sets you too have, we make it look easy and we can do it in seconds or minutes. This in our minds and the minds of our customers tend to make us think, I'll just do it myself. I ask you now, is doing it yourself the highest and best use of your time? DIY or dfy both require an investment. You and I must decide which is best. Recently I had a need for some legal services without all the details. My attorney said something to me that I knew was right, but her reminder was like a little kick in the pants. In a good way. She said in this specific situation, the money I was potentially going to pay to get something done would allow me to free up my time to do what I'm good at. What she reminded me was way more valuable. I elected, after some kicking and screaming to go with the DFY investment. By the way, she was so right. She took care of something that would have been very challenging for me because I really would have had to invest a ton of time compressed into a small window taking me away from running and growing my business. The financial trade off was was so worth it. During the time she was doing her special skill, we added several new clients. I think you get it. Your skill or those of others who make it look easy. Took time and money to get to the easy and fast button. Now do not be afraid to pay for speed closing today. The question is, should you DIY or dfy? If you're going to do this once and you can afford it, meaning free you up to be the money making machine you are, then go the done for you route. If it's something you are going to do over and over and over again and you love it and it's a skill you want to acquire, then maybe you should do it yourself. Here's a third thought. The DFY method. What is the return on the investment? If the investment as an example is $100 but the value of the finished product is worth more, DFY it and you go do something else that makes your company grow. This is like duplicating you, except you're only doing what you are already good or great at. Whichever way you decide. Do the math. What are you worth per hour? How many hours will it take you to acquire the skill and knowledge to do it yourself? Because in retrospect, the $100 to the computer repair expert was a bargain. If I had spent any more time on trying to fix it myself. Well, I could have purchased a brand new computer. So it saved me a ton of money and allowed me to get back to doing what I'm good at and get paid for. If you're challenged with trying to DIY your digital marketing and you realize you're trying to do the work that takes us a fraction of the time it does you and we, no offense, are better at and you'd love some help. This is what we do for our customers at Swingpoint Media. Give us a call. My contact information is on the screen. Until next time, I'm Jeff Harrison. Have a great weekend.
