Maximizing Your Time as a Busy Blogger by Hiring a Virtual Assistant: A Complete Guide
Updated: Jun 5
As a busy blogger, time is of the essence. You have deadlines to meet, emails to respond to, blogs to write, and accounts to manage. If you're drowning, it might be time to delegate some of these tasks to a virtual assistant.
Hi, I'm Natalie! I've been a VA for over 7 years, so I know a thing or two about this industry! No, I didn't start during the pandemic & no, I'm not trying to sell you a course. I'm here to help you maximize your time and focus on what you do best. In this blog, I'll share with you the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant, how to work with one the most efficiently, and how to find the right one for your needs.
Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant
Let's talk about the benefits of having a VA. We can help you with - well, just about anything! Our skills range from research, writing, editing, social media management, business organization, administrative tasks, and lots more.
By delegating some of these tasks to a virtual assistant, you can free up your time to focus on the tasks that mean the most to you. Plus, having a virtual assistant can either help you stay organized or help you get organized & keep you on top of your important deadlines.
Finding a Virtual Assistant
Now, let's talk about how to find the right virtual assistant for your needs. There are many online platforms where you can find virtual assistants, OR (my favorite way) is hiring someone from a VA course database, such as Gina Horkey's VA Finder (AKA, where I got my VA certification!). Doing it this way ensures that the VA you're hiring has been educated, vetted, and verified to be a trusted partner.
When hiring a virtual assistant, it's important to look for someone who has experience in the tasks you need help with. Brand new virtual assistants deserve love too, but you want to hire someone who has industry knowledge, knows what they're doing, and feels confident helping you. You should also consider their availability, rates, and communication skills.
You want to ensure that whoever you're hiring is a skilled professional who can adapt to your needs. There are a LOT of virtual assistants out there today & sadly, some of them are only in it for the money - not to truly help you. So going with a verified VA finder like the one linked above will weed through a lot of the BS!
Another way to help you find the right VA is to create a detailed job description that outlines the tasks you need help with, the skills you're looking for, and the experience you're requiring. You can also include any specific preferences you have, such as "avaliable on eastern time zone hours," or "able to use illustrator." This will help you attract the right candidates and weed out the wrong ones.
What a Virtual Assistant Can Assist With
Let's chat about some specific tasks that a virtual assistant can help you with.
There are thousands & thousands of virtual assistants & each one of them brings a different skillset & background to the table. Whatever niche you're in, there is a VA out there who can help you.
I'm going to use myself as an example here & chat about the services I offer so you can get a better idea of how I work & how a lot of other VA businesses are set up. I offer writing services, social media management services, overall marketing strategy, and website services. Let's break it down:
Writing Services:
I specialize in content writing, copywriting, and editing. Here are some projects I've worked on with clients for writing services:
One of my clients has me write all the blogs on their website, create the accompanying graphics, publish, and market on social media. If it's a personal post, I'll be sent an outline with the important highlights & then I write the rest, adjust for SEO purposes, & publish through WordPress.
A client had numerous important launches come out & had me write all of the website copy to advertise.
Another client had a podcast where they needed show notes published on a weekly basis. I listened in & posted show notes for each episode on their website for their viewers to check out.
Lastly, a client of mine had hundreds of YouTube videos she was publishing but knew that this content could be repurposed into blog content. I gathered transcripts for each of the videos, edited them down, and wrote accompanying blogs to go with them - driving viewers to her website & her YouTube. Win-win!
These are just a few examples of what you can ask for when it comes to writing services. There are so many ways to utilize a writer's time!
Social Media Services:
Next up, I offer social media management services. Here's a breakdown of what some of my social media services have looked like:
Engagement: Ensuring that their social media is performing well by engaging with other accounts, current followers, trending hashtags, comments, DM's, etc.
Graphics: Creating graphics for clients for their social media.
Repurposing: Repurposing the videos they post on Reels & re-posting to Shorts, TikTok, and Pinterest.
Scheduling & Captions: Writing captions & scheduling posts through scheduling platforms based on peak times is a huge task I often take over for clients.
Analytics: Monitoring analytics is a big part of my job to ensure that the content we're publishing is performing well. This gives me a chance to adjust accordingly as well.
These are just a few examples of everything I do for clients. I also offer high-end marketing solutions for my clients & work with them to create the best strategy for their businesses.
You can learn more about my services & my experience in my portfolio!
In conclusion, hiring a virtual assistant can be an absolute game-changer for busy bloggers & in my eyes, it's a must nowadays! Start saving hundreds of hours of time by hiring a VA to work by your side today. Comment below what kinds of services you're looking for!