Virtual Assistant Blog Writer

October 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

A Virtual Assistant Blog Writer is one of the best things your business can do with a virtual assistant.

However, blog writing skills are as diverse as hiring someone that is in construction.

Do you need a handyman to repair your railing?  Or do you need a crew to build your garage?

Your blog writing is just as diverse.  Before you start shopping for a Virtual Assistant Blog Writer, begin by understanding what your goals are.  Here are some possible goals for a business blog.

  1. Provide news and industry information - people come back frequently to the blog.
  2. Get great search engine traffic for your keywords and generate leads.
  3. Lock down additional slots in search engines to control your brand identity better.
  4. Create buzz and linking to the blog with great link bait articles.

All four of these are good goals, and they can all happen to some extent, but it is a lot of work to do these things well.  For example, if you want good keyword written blog posts, you need to do research, measure the results you get and maybe do minor rewrites over time to improve performance.

Writing a good link bait article could take days of research and writing.  You would not expect a cheap blog writer to be able to produce that kind of article.

Know your Blog Writing Goals

To get the most out of hiring a virtual assistant that is a blog copywriter, you need to understand what the goals are and craft your interview questions accordingly.  Here are some sample questions.

  1. What tools do you use to do keyword research before writing a blog post?
  2. What is your strategy for writing headlines?
  3. Show me some examples of link bait you have written.  (You can then measure the number of links to that page to see how successful it is)
  4. Send me a link to a post you wrote that had target keywords and tell me what those keywords are.
  5. How do you handle writers block?
  6. How do you work?  If I want 10 blog posts per month, how would you produce them?

These blog writer interview questions are going to eliminate 90% or more of the applicants (unless they are trying to BS you) because most blog writers are not writing with a clear strategy and do not know how to do many of these things effectively.  They see blog writing as just writing a few paragraphs to keep the blog current.  That is fine if you are not expecting much out of the blog, but you can get better results with a blog writing strategy and serious writing with a trained professional.

Once you hire a good virtual assistant blog writer, be sure to pay them well and treat them very well.  While there are lots of virtual assistants available, getting one that is a good blog copywriter that can produce great results is very special.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Blog Writer Jobs

August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment

20px|Windows Live Logo Windows Live Writer

Blog writer jobs are plentiful if you can find the many small business owners that have started a blog and let them die.  The key to getting a job as a blog writer is to find people that have started blogs and then to convince them of the following:

  • Blogs are worth writing
  • Blogs get results over the long term
  • Blogs strengthen your relationships with your customers and the public
  • Blogs can yield unexpected good results

One way to do this is to collect success stories.  Here is a blog success story as an example.

It is also important to become trained in how to write blog posts that perform well for people and for search engines.  When you can articulate your ability to write posts that will grow an audience, you will get more blog writing jobs.

You will usually need to do some education with the client that might be shopping around for the cheapest blog writer.  Let them know what the difference is between link bait, a comprehensive post and a light post that is just a short blurb to keep the blog fresh.

In order to get the blog writer project, you may have to do a small project to establish your ability and value.  Make absolutely sure there are no typos or grammar issues in your post as one mistake will stick out and make it much harder to get future blog writer jobs with that client.

Working as a blog writer can be very rewarding.  It is one of the primary jobs a virtual buzz assistant does.  As you get more familiar with the client’s industry and how to research your topics, you will be able to complete more good blog posts in less time, which will increase your hourly salary and give you more time.

Remember when you are talking with a prospective client, know in advance if you are trying to convince them that a) They need a blog b) Blogs are effective or c) They need you as a blog writer.  They do not want to hear about your blog writing service if they do not think blogs are a good way to go.

Lastly, you will get more blog writer jobs if you simplify your packages.  Price your blog writing by the post, based on the post type and by the number per month.

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Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

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