Title: Accountability

Hello,

Today we're going to talk about accountability
and why it's so important when managing a team
of freelancers.

In a healthy working relationship, everyone must
be accountable for their work.

With freelancers, one of the best ways to create
accountability is to include delivery milestones
and deadlines within your contract.

Let’s talk about how that can work.

If you’ve got a short-term project, you may simply
decide to give the freelancer a delivery date. 

In writing, that might mean that you’d say:

I’ve added two new blog posts to the CMS. Those are due
on April 21st by 5:00 Eastern Time.

Of course, you can include the due dates in your CMS as
well. 

For long-term projects, you should break down
deliverables into milestones.

For example, if you hire a freelancer to redesign
your website, you might have the following deliverables:

* Design concepts, including themes, colors, and fonts
* Home page mockup
* Full site mockup
* Beta site
* Final site

Each milestone should include a due date and a payment. 

This method allows you maximum control over deliverables
while making it clear what the freelancer’s duties are.

The final element of accountability has to do with the
consequences of not being accountable. It’s important to
spell out what will happen if a freelancer misses a
deadline or milestone.

Your expectations should be spelled out in the contract
and reinforced in every interaction you have with your
team. 

That doesn’t mean you’ll need to mention accountability
and consequences every time you speak. It simply means
that your actions should always be clear and consistent.

If you communicate well, provide freelancers with the
tools they need to excel, and hold yourself and your team
accountable, you’ll be able to get the best possible
work from the freelancers you hire.

In tomorrow’s final email, we'll recap what you need to
pay close attention to in order to build a successful
team that will take your business to the next level.

Do NOT miss it!

Until then, 

{YOUR NAME HERE}
