Nine years ago, I reached peak burnout. I was stressed over trying to keep up with everything on my plate and I realized I needed help with my business. I had previously decided that outsourcing writing wasn’t something I wanted to do for many reasons. A fellow writer friend told me that she used a Virtual Assistant to help with many of her non-writing tasks. 

A virtual assistant (VA) is a freelancer that you hire as a 1099 contractor to help you with specific tasks that work remotely.  Many VAs work on a retainer model, meaning you hire them for a set number of hours a week and you pay them even if you don’t use those hours. Others sell hours in blocks, so you pay a lump sum upfront and they deduct time used from that balance. You can also find VAs who will take on a special project that is paid straight hourly, such as managing an event. 

I made a list of all the things that I did during the week and realized that a number of those tasks could be handled by someone else without compromising quality, especially research and helping with my blog. I realized I could increase my income through outsourcing because a VA’s hourly rate is lower than mine and it would reduce my stress to have someone else do those tasks. 

Just like with writers, VA rates ranged depending on experience and skills, ranging from $20 to $50 for US-based virtual assistants. However, you are likely going to pay $30 to $40 for a VA who specializes in your niche and can perform tasks beyond basic administration. That said, you should make sure that your hourly rate is high enough to justify getting a Virtual Assistant. When I first got the idea, I wasn’t making enough money to justify it. So I used it as an incentive to increase my rate and it worked. Before long I was making enough to justify hiring a VA.  

Fit Matters with Virtual Assistants 

My first VA was a writer that I knew from a class I took who started her own VA firm. She was a good friend and a great VA. But it didn’t work out. I realized quickly that I needed someone that was comfortable with technical topics and research. I also needed someone that was pretty technically savvy to help me with my blog and social media accounts. She was great at her job, but these weren’t her strengths, so we parted ways. But I realized that finding the right VA would be a huge help to me. 

I went to several VA job boards and emailed a number of VAs with no luck. Some never responded and others just weren’t a match. Then I posted on a Facebook group for writers looking for recommendations for a VA who understood the B2B tech industry and was comfortable with WordPress and social media. I quickly got several recommendations for the same person – my wonderful VA, Cat. She had exactly the background that I needed and was able to put up with my quirky personality and work style. And I’ve worked with her for almost 8 years now. Since she is also a content marketing writer, she really understands what I need, especially in terms of research. But it’s not necessary for your VA to understand content marketing that well in order to be a huge asset to your business.

My biggest advice when looking for a VA is to be very specific with the skills that you need. And if the first one (or three) you try isn’t the right fit, keep looking. I recommend doing a few projects with a VA to see if it’s a fit both ways before committing to a retainer agreement. 

How to Find a Virtual Assistant 

I get this question all the time. I crowd-sourced the answer in my Freelance Content Marketing Writer group on Facebook as well. I also recommend expecting that it will take a bit and not be an overnight process. I thought it would be easy to find a VA and it took longer than I expected. 

Here are some ways to find a VA:

• Personal referrals. This is the best way, in my opinion. If you know another freelancer who uses a VA ask for a recommendation. And if their VA isn’t a fit for you or isn’t taking new clients, then ask if that VA has any referrals. 
• Posting on Facebook groups. I recommend posting on my Facebook group as well as Freelancing Females when looking for a Virtual Assistant. If these groups aren’t a fit, look for Entrepreneur and Solopreneur FB groups and post for recommendations there. If you are wanting to pay lower rates and need only basic help, I’ve heard other writers suggest posting on a local Mom’s Facebook group. 
• LinkedIn. This takes longer, but members of my FB group had luck this way as well. But this may be a great route if you need a VA in a niche field or skill. I’ve also had people have luck on Upwork or Fivver with finding Virtual Assistants.
• A VA Job Board or Matching Service. Both of these companies were recommended to me, but I don’t have personal experience so do your own research as well. Kayla Sloan offers a matchmaking service for $200 with select graduates of her VA course.  Hannah Dixon has two different options to help you find a VA through her Digital Nomad program – either a free job posting or a personalized matchmaking service for $399. My VA recommends Micala Quinn’s hiring board, a no-cost service that connects you with VA candidates.

What Types of Tasks Does My VA Help Me With?

 Here are some of the things that my VA helps me with:

• • Research. If I’m working on a story on a new-to-me topic, I get her to do the initial research. She gives me background articles that I then use as a starting point. 
  • Pitches. I have a few clients to whom I send regular pitches for stories and my VA helps me come up with ideas. She does the research, checks to make sure the site hasn’t recently published on the topic and creates a list of proposed topics with links. I then make some tweaks and send it to my client. 
  • Finding sources. If I need a source on a topic and don’t want to use one of the services, then I will have her look for experts. She provides me their background and contact information – either email or LinkedIn. 
  • Finding statistics. This has been the biggest lifesaver for me. I hate finding stats and my clients LOVE stats, but they are a huge time suck. I send her a list of the stats I need for my stories and any parameters (date range, off-limit sources) and she sends me back possible stats. This alone has been a huge time saver. 
  • Filling out outlines. When I write whitepapers and ebooks, I often have multiple interviews and an approved outline. I have my VA go through the interview transcripts and plugs in the expert quotes into the outline, using color-coded highlighting so I know who said what. I can then sit down and write the draft much faster without having to go through all the interviews. If she has questions about what goes where or if something is important, she flags it and I just have to look at that section not all 30 pages of interviews. 
  • Managing my blog. She proofreads my posts, adds in tags and links, finds the photo and then publishes it. It’s a huge time saving for me and I find I post much more with her help. 
  • Social media. She helps me with my Twitter account as well as my Freelance Content Marketing Writer group on Facebook. She also creates a weekly job listing post in my FB group. 
  • Posting clips to my portfolio. When I get a new clip, I just send it to her and she posts it. I find that I keep my portfolio much more up-to-date if all I have to do is send a quick email not spend 15 minutes updating my site. 
  • Finding potential clients. I don’t use her for this much anymore since most of my clients come to me now, but for many years she helped me identify companies to send my LOI to. I would give her specific direction, such as agencies that specialize in B2B tech or cybersecurity companies and she would come up with a list of companies as well as the best contact person with email or LinkedIn. It was a huge time saver for me. 

• Other special skills. Some VAs offer light graphic design services, transcription, and other things you might already be outsourcing. If you have a high-volume need for a specialized service, it might be worth trying to find a VA who can handle those things for you as well.

Other tasks that a VA could help a writer with:

• Proofreading 
• Managing a newsletter
• Invoicing 
• Managing a CRM 

Getting started with a Virtual Assistant 

Over the past nine years I’ve learned a lot about using a virtual assistant. Here are a few things I’ve learned:

• Use a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). When you hire a VA, get them to sign an NDA saying that they won’t divulge any information from your clients. 
• Check your contract with clients. Some contracts mentioned outsourcing. If your client has this clause, then talk with them and see if using a VA for research with an NDA is acceptable. If a client says no then I don’t use my VA for those projects. 
• Continually look for new tasks. When I feel overwhelmed, I look at my to-do list and ask if this is something I can outsource. This is how I started getting her to find sources as well as fill out outlines. 
• Find a system that works for you and your VA. We use a weekly Google Sheet that tracks both tasks and hours. I email her with tasks and she puts them on the spreadsheet. I can also look to see how many hours she has left for the week. 
• Evaluate the hours. At one point I hired her for 5 hours a week and then I went up to 7. Now I’m back to 5 hours a week with the option to hire her for extra hours if she has availability. Keep an eye on how many hours you are using and if that’s working for you. 

I am positive that my decision to get a VA has been a huge part of my success. It gives me more time and energy to focus on the tasks that only I can do, such as write and work with clients. Many writers are hesitant to spend money on their business. But if you do it right then outsourcing can help you make significantly more money. For me, hiring a VA has been one of the best business decisions that I’ve ever made. 

 

What has your experience been with using a VA? What questions do you have?