Automate or outsource? A small team’s guide to getting more done.

Digital marketing, Everything, Strategy0 Comments

When you’re part of a small marketing team (or a team of one), your to-do list never ends. Between strategy, content creation, reporting, and everything in between, it can feel like you’re constantly juggling. The question isn’t what to work on, it’s how to get it all done without burning out.

Two of the most effective ways to lighten the load are automation and outsourcing. But when should you automate, and when should you call in outside help? Here’s how I think about it (and how you can too).

When to automate

Automation shines when you’ve got a repeatable process you’re running more than three times in the exact same way.

For me, some of the biggest time savers have been:

Reporting dashboards → I’ve set up automated dashboards for key metrics. They’re emailed to me weekly, so I don’t waste hours pulling numbers, but I can still log in and dig deeper if needed.
Campaign tracking → I created a reusable campaign template that tracks spend and performance in a consistent way. It saves me from reinventing the wheel and makes it easy to delegate data entry while still getting clean, accurate reports.
Email marketing → My onboarding campaigns run automatically, making sure I make the most of those first touchpoints. I’ve also built solution-based sequences that anyone on my team can reuse, keeping our voice consistent without extra work.

>> Quick win for you: look for one task you do more than three times a week. Ask yourself, “Can I automate this or at least document it so I can delegate it?”

When to outsource

Outsourcing is the smarter move when a task requires deep expertise or when someone else can do it better, faster.

Personally, I don’t mess around with PPC anymore. It’s too competitive, and the landscape changes constantly. I know enough to have educated conversations, but partnering with an expert gets me far better results for the same (or less) investment of time and money.

The same goes for UX and UI design. I can do some, but collaborating with specialists produces better outcomes and smoother project delivery once my dev team takes it over.

>> Quick win for you: pick one area where you know you’re stretching yourself thin. Would a freelancer or consultant help you get better results, faster?

My rule of thumb

Automate anything repetitive and rules-based.
Outsource anything that’s highly specialised or would take you years to master.
Delegate anything well-documented that someone more junior could follow.
Keep in-house anything that requires deep brand knowledge or strategic calls.

Automation isn’t always about fancy tools. It could be a recurring reminder linked to a clear, step-by-step guide that frees you up to hand it off.

Mistakes I see small teams make

Being too trusting → especially with content. You know your brand best; don’t fully hand over the wheel.
Not trusting enough → if you’ve chosen an expert for their skills, give them the grace and latitude to actually do their job.

The bottom line

Automation and outsourcing don’t need to be overengineered. Start small, but start somewhere, and don’t spread yourself too thin.

The right mix means you’ll free up your focus for the work only you can do: leading strategy, understanding your audience, and steering the business forward.