Getting Virtual Help With Your Business; Hiring a Virtual Assistant
A number of our readers continue to raise questions about hiring someone to do some of the work with their websites or blogs. They want help with writing, setting up their blogs or websites, driving traffic and a number of other time-consuming, but necessary tasks to make their businesses successful.
So Savvy Marketing Secrets directed some of your questions to Staci Jansma, owner of Your Online 24/7 Virtual Assistant.
Savvy: What types of tasks will virtual assistants perform?
Staci: Virtual Assistants can literally do anything. Graphic design, web programming, create brochures and promotional material for both online and offline events, record webinars for future products to sell, setup shopping carts so you can be selling while you sleep, schedule blog posts to increase traffic to your website and gain more awareness to what you have to say. You can hire a writer or copyeditor to write new content for your webpages, blog posts, press releases, articles or even for your next info-product.
Savvy: What are their (virtual assistants) typical fees?
Staci: Most sources will say Virtual Assistants currently charge $10 to $50 per service hour.
Savvy: How do you find a great virtual assistant?
Staci: I think a “great” virtual assistant is someone that you connect with and you can write emails back and forth with little confusion where both parties understand. I have one client that I have been working with for over a year and as of today – we still haven’t had one single conversation via phone. We have always exchanged emails and it has worked exceptional for us – so I do believe that we have a great connection and created a bond where we understand each other. Of course I do have clients that want to talk via phone (or Skype) and sometimes the conversation requires a phone call – so we can get our thoughts out there and see what ideas the other person is thinking of – we use this for our “strategy” planning moments.
Savvy: Before I ask you to respond to some of the more specific questions our readers have asked, please tell us about your business.
Staci: I am the owner of Your Online 24/7 Virtual Assistant helping you when you need me! I launched StaciJansma.com in June 2009. Through clients and my 2 business coaches i have learned what I needed to do to advance my business in the right direction. Not only have I seen what others have done but I took action and implemented. There is so much you can learn and do and the main thing I have been doing is “Just Do It!” I needed a blog because that will help drive more traffic to my website – especially organic traffic so I just did it – Started blogging and haven’t looked back since. I launched my blog on December 1st, 2009 and I usually blog at least daily Monday through Friday and sometimes on Saturday and Sunday. If there is something that comes up that I want to add during the month also you may see more than one blog post in a day – that just means it was a social day! Lots to share. My business coach told me – blog about it – people will find you and I agree, people do find you.
Savvy: Can you hire someone to setup your business (or website) for you?
Staci: Yes. But as the business owner – yoou need to have a vision or a plan for your business and your website. If you don’t know what you want then it is hard for a virtual assistant to do the work for you. Yes your virtual assistant may have an idea of what can be done – but keep in mind it is still your business. If you are not getting traffic, you are not happy with the design of the website and if you don’t know how to do this – then this is when you outsource the task or project and hire someone to help you.
Savvy: What about hiring someone to build a Facebook business page?
Staci: Yes – if you don’t have the time or don’t know how – then by all means yess!! they are not really that hard to do – just time consuming and you have to understand HTML or FBML.
Savvy: Can you hire people to build backlinks for you?
Staci: Yes you can definitely outsource this task to build backlinks for your business. Backlinks will only help you – they really can’t hurt you. Recently I had a client tell me she wanted to drop a domain because she is no longer using the domain – however the domain had over 300+ links which means over 300+ websites are linked to that domain. I told her I would keep paying for it because of those 300+ could bring you some traffic that you would lose. Or I said you could look up who is connected to you and ask them to change it – the easiest and most affordable way is to keep the domain name.
Savvy: If I am not a good writer, should I hire someone to write my website?
Staci: Yes – you can find people through your current contacts or put out a request through forums, twitter, facebook, etc.
Savvy: Which of these activities can virtual assistants perform? How do you determine a VA’s skill set when you approach them, or before?
Staci: Virtual Assistants can do anything, we really can. A Virtual Assistant’s skill set depends on their passion. I have a passion to help others and if I can do it for them I will sure try. I do have some skill sets that I prefer not to do – that is when I will introduce my client to a team member from YourOnlineVirtualAssistant.com or I will outsource the work to them without my client being aware. Eaither way the work gets completed and client is happy.
Savvy: Stacy, we want to thank you for sharing all of this great information about outsourcing and hiring a virtual assistant. Please leave any comments you have for Staci and don’t forget to visit her website: StaciJansma.com.
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Marcia, Thank you for the opportunity to share with others what a virtual assistant can do to help out their online business. I truly feel the reward when a client emails me and says – Wow you did a great job with that sales page, or Thanks, so glad that is done. Just makes me feel like I am helping them so much.
Please tell me it worked right? I dont want to sumit it again if i do not have to! Either the blog glitced out or i am an idiot, the second option doesnt surprise me lol. thanks for a great blog!
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Working as a virtual assistant means you would work for the company from the comfort of your own home. Virtual assistants manage projects, handle accounting, deal with correspondence, set up and cancel appointments, and deal with incoming calls. These are the basic duties – depending on the company or the person you work for, being a virtual assistant could also mean making frequent travel arrangements for others, transcribing notes, contacting clients on behalf of your employer, and handling countless other jobs that come along with working in an office setting.
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