You’re tired and stressed! You have a blog post you need to write by tomorrow. A course you want to create but can never find the time to work on. A Facebook group to manage and create engagement in. Not to mention a family that needs your attention! And you have to be at your day job in the morning.

Basically, you have more items on your to-do list than one person can ever complete in one lifetime!

What are you going to do? Well, I have the answer for you!

You, my friend, need a Virtual Assistant.

You’re probably thinking, “But I can’t afford one!” Or maybe, “But that’s for bigger businesses than mine.”

Maybe hiring a VA is something you’ve been thinking about for a long time. But you’re not sure what a Virtual Assistant does or even where to find one!

Well, not only am I going to tell you what VAs can do for you and where to find one, but I’m also going to show you that they’re more affordable than you think and that they are for businesses just like yours!

What to Look for in a VA

You might be thinking that experience is the most important thing to look for in a virtual assistant. Well… not necessarily. I have two clients who took a chance on me when I was a brand new VA, and we are still working together two years later.

At that time I was new to being a VA but I had eight years of blogging and WordPress experience. I also had many years of basic HTML and CSS experience as well as solid image editing skills.

So, don’t discount a VA that’s just started her business. Instead, find out about her experience in other areas and see if those will meet your needs. She may have been doing all the things you need her to do, but she was just doing them for her own blog and not for pay.

Here are a few other qualities that are important to look for in a VA:

• A good response time
• A sense of urgency in completing their tasks
• A collaborative spirit
• Honest and of high integrity
• A positive attitude
• A willingness to learn new things
• Ability to learn new things quickly

That last one is a major plus! Because no matter how experienced a VA, they will require some training in your business systems. And you want them to be able to catch on fast!

Also, if you do go with a new virtual assistant, keep in mind that she may not be able to guarantee conversion results, but she should be able to ensure a job completed correctly and on time.

What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

The answer is — what doesn’t a VA do?! If there is a task that you need to be completed, chances are there is a Virtual Assistant who offers that service. Here are just a few of the most popular services out there:

Email Management

Did you know that you can hire a VA to organize your inbox for you? That’s right! If inbox zero is something that you crave but can’t seem to find, hire a VA to take care of it for you.

A VA can answer emails on your behalf, sort your emails, and keep everything organized. They can also answer customer inquiries, process refunds, answer FAQ and more.

You can even assign your virtual assistant the task of pitching brands and guest posters on your behalf. Talk about a time saver!

Pinterest Management

Pinterest is a huge traffic source for bloggers and many businesses, so you need a presence there. But Pinterest can be a huge time suck for you, that’s why it’s a great task to hand off to a virtual assistant.

Pinterest VAs can create pins for your blog posts and pin your content. They can also find relevant niche content to pin, join group boards on your behalf, and optimize your account.

And if you don’t already have a Pinterest account, they can set one up!

Social Media Management

Social Media is another huge time suck for business owners But it’s a must if you want to grow your business. So save yourself some time and give this task to a virtual assistant.

They can schedule your content, plus find relevant content from other bloggers to share for you. They can also create social media images and engage your followers on your behalf.

Blog Management

There is a lot of work that goes into publishing a blog post. After you write it, you have to proofread and edit. Then you need to add images with alt tags, create a pin, and add a CTA like a Click to Tweet. You also need to add backlinks, outbound links, and affiliate links to each post. And don’t forget to make sure it’s optimized for SEO! Oh, and you need to add a sign-up form for your free opt-in offer.

It can be time-consuming, right?

That’s why you hand this off to your VA. You write the post. She takes care of the rest.

A few other tasks that can fall into this category are updating and installing plugins, comment moderation, and fixing broken links.

Can I Really Afford a Virtual Assistant?

Yes. You can!

It’s true that there are VAs out there that charge upwards of $50 or more an hour. But those are the VAs that focus on more specialized areas like Digital Marketing. And to be able to charge prices like that those virtual assistants will have seen tremendous results and conversions from their work.

Look for a virtual assistant who offers a trial period. Many will offer this at a discounted rate, and this is an excellent opportunity to see if you and your potential VA click! And it’s a good way to gauge if her work is worth what she is charging.

There are VAs out there in all price ranges, and you can find one that you can afford.

Where to find a Virtual Assistant

Now, that I’ve started my own VA business it seems like I see Virtual Assistants everywhere! Maybe I’m just more aware of them now; I don’t know. But I say this to let you know that virtual assistants aren’t hard to find. Here are some of the best places to look for them.

• Fiverr and Upwork. – you can find all kinds of freelancers on these websites including VAs.
• Facebook groups- Ask around in Facebook groups. Just know that you will be bombarded with offers!
• Online Directories
• Ask for references- do you have a friend who has worked with a VA? Ask for a recommendation.
• Horkey Handbooks VA Finder *- Gina Horkey created the course that started my business, and she offers a Find a VA* service.
• Social Media – Try #virtualassistant on Twitter. That’s how one of my clients found me.

Adding a virtual assistant to your business will take a load of work and stress off of your shoulders. When you start your search be sure to keep these tips in mind.