What is a Virtual Marketing Assistant (and do you need one?)
I had heard the term Virtual Assistant for a few years. An old friend of mine from college seemed to be doing it successfully, and while my curiosity was piqued, I never had the time or energy to venture off to do it on my own but it was always a role in the back of my mind that was something I could aspire to.
I knew I wanted to work again - eventually. But with the prospect of e-learning for the foreseeable future, I knew I needed flexibility. I wanted to work for myself doing what I was passionate about: marketing but I wanted to do marketing that I was passionate about.
So cue virtual assistant-ship. But what the heck is a virtual assistant and how do I become one?
Well, cue starting this little creative business of mine.
For what it’s worth, a virtual assistant is someone who works for you virtually, usually in a support role. While many think a virtual assistant is more clerical (and it certainly can be), many VA’s (including yours truly) offer support duties such as marketing, scheduling, customer service, bookkeeping, web design, etc… Many virtual assistants are also industry specific - i.e. specific for realtor clients, or medical offices. Consider a virtual assistant the do-er.
I personally like the idea of selling myself as an expert in what I’m passionate about - social media, content creation, editing, podcasting (coming soon!), email marketing, CRM management, etc… So here I am. Virtual marketing assistant for hire.
Should you hire a virtual marketing assistant?
My former boss was a business coach, and he was brilliant when it came to understanding his audience (because he was one!). He worked specifically with PT private practice owners, and one of his biggest teachings for these business owners is that you are not trained to do everything.
Think about it this way, what is your specialty? Maybe you’re a realtor, maybe you’re a doctor, maybe you’re a boutique owner. Chances are you’ve never worked in marketing.
I’m going to bet that there’s a greater chance that in today’s world of digital marketing that you MIGHT be on facebook, and MAYBE you have a newsletter, but it’s most likely that you’re just throwing spaghetti at a wall and you have no way of knowing what’s working and delivering results. You want to be spending more time doing other things that drive results in your business - whether content creation, sales, or creating a physical product. Whatever it may be, those tasks that you’re not trained or have experience with, but you know are important? That's where a virtual marketing assistant comes in.
Stop wasting time posting to facebook when you feel like it, or managing your website when you have minimal understanding of whatever CMS your website is on. Focus your efforts on other areas that drive impact to your business. Hire a virtual marketing assistant that you can collaborate with content on (maybe you need an editor?), because chances are they’re going to have a background to tell you whether what you’re doing makes sense for your business and let them execute on your vision. Let them execute your newsletter or take charge of your social media management. Let them post your content to the website and optimize it.
All that time it takes entering business cards into your CRM? Stop. Let your VMA do that, as well as manage your CRM by sending email templates, ensuring fields are properly filled out, etc… All those “menial” tasks that you dread, but understand how important they are to growing your business - hire a virtual assistant.
If you feel like there are never enough hours in the day for all the things you need to do to either manage or grow your business this is where a virtual marketing assistant could be beneficial to you. Make a list of those tasks, think about how much your time is worth and how much you’d be willing to pay to have someone else take them off your hands. You may find that you have enough work to hire a VMA and that it frees up time for you to work on growing your business.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Virtual Assistant services through Heidi Schmidt Creative, contact me for more information!
