How To Successfully Outsource Your Content Writing To A Virtual Assistant

The world of content marketing is changing. Competition for creating brand awareness and driving traffic through content is stiffer than before. Unlike in the past, when companies relied on a few writers and editors to produce content for their campaigns, brands now require a team of experienced writers and editors to compete favourably in the digital space.

But hiring an in-house team of writers and editors is out of reach for most brands, given the hefty cost that comes with it. Luckily, virtual assistants have come in to salvage the situation for such brands.

Virtual assistants do everything from writing blog posts to creating videos. Therefore, they’re a great resource for companies that need help with content marketing but lack the budget to hire full-time employees.

If you need a virtual assistant to help you with content writing tasks, this article has discussed how to successfully outsource your content writing to a virtual assistant.

6 Tips On How To Outsource Your Content Writing To A Virtual Assistant

Content marketing is an effective way to attract new customers and increase sales. However, it can be difficult for small business owners who don’t have time or expertise in this area.

Outsourcing content creation can allow you to acquire skilled writers who produce quality content that engages your target audience while you focus on other aspects of your business. With the right resources (and some preparation), outsourcing your content writing to a virtual assistant can be easy. Here are six tips for getting started:

1.      Define your goals for outsourcing

Before you can start outsourcing your content writing, you must know what your goals are for doing so. There are several reasons why people choose to outsource their blog posts and articles:

• To save time and energy – If you don’t have the time or energy to write content on your own, then hiring a VA is a great way to get this done!
• To improve quality – If you want better quality pieces of content written by someone with experience in their field, outsourcing is an excellent choice!
• To save money – When it comes to creating content, hiring someone else to do the work is always cheaper than doing it yourself. It frees up more of your budget so you can focus on other aspects of running your business instead!

2.      Choose the right virtual assistant

Your VA should have strong communication skills in English and be able to write clearly and concisely using proper grammar. What to look for in a virtual assistant:

• Find someone who has experience in the area you are outsourcing. For example, if you run a pet-sitting business and need content written about dog care and training, look for a virtual assistant with experience in that field.
• Get someone who has a positive attitude. You want someone motivated and who is passionate about the job. If your VA is always complaining about their job and how much they hate it, it will be hard to get any work done because all you’ll hear is negativity when working together!
• Look for someone reliable and punctual—and all-around reliable! This is important because the reason for hiring someone else to do your work is so that YOU can focus on other aspects of your business that requires your direct input instead of concentrating on writing content all day long, every day by yourself (which would obviously lead to burn out pretty quickly). So an ideal VA should always be available to work on your content needs at the right time.

3.      Identify which tasks you can outsource

Now that you fully understand what a virtual assistant can do for you, it’s time to take a closer look at the tasks best suited for outsourcing. Some of these include;

• Anything that requires high-level technical expertise: This includes things like coding websites, writing code, and building databases from scratch.
• Content creation in niche areas: If your business deals with highly technical or niche subjects (like scientific research), consider hiring a professional writer specializing in this area. Hiring the right content creator will allow them to create quality content without spending time learning about your industry or subject matter first-hand.

4.      Create a clear and effective task list

Before you hire a virtual assistant, it is important to know exactly what you want your VA to do. If you’re not clear about your expectations, VAs may not be able to accomplish the task as you may desire. So create a list of tasks your VA should handle to make things easy for both of you.

If you struggle with communicating clearly about your expectations, here’s how you can avoid issues with outsourcing your content writing:

• Make sure that outsourcing is actually the right choice for your business or project. You shouldn’t outsource unless it makes sense for your business or project and its goals. If outsourcing doesn’t meet those criteria, find another way to complete the task.
• Get a good understanding of the skills needed for this job—and whether those skills are something only people with many years of experience in their field possess (for example, graphic design) versus ones that newer workers could also learn quickly (like copywriting). If there are any particularly complex parts of this job that require extensive training time before starting work on them (e.g., designing graphics), then consider hiring someone who already has experience doing such work instead.

5.      Give detailed instructions

The key to making sure you get what you want is giving detailed instructions. This will help your VA understand exactly what you’re looking for with your content, so they can craft a high-quality piece of writing that fits the requirements of their job.

Here are some tips on how to do this:

• Give examples of what you want to see. It’s always good practice to show an example when possible because it makes things easier for both parties involved in the conversation (you and the VA). If there’s no example available, then provide a detailed description of what needs to be done or even link them directly from a source they can reference.
• Use checklists when necessary so nothing is forgotten during the process—or even throughout the entire project! For example, if your VA is working on rewriting an existing article for SEO purposes, including a checklist in its instructions that covers all aspects of improving its SEO score. This can be keyword density percentage above 20%, meta tags filled out correctly as instructed by Google guidelines (and other factors), etcetera. This way, there’s no confusion about which tasks need to be completed first before moving on to others later. Every step along the way should be clear-cut to help keep both sides focused on getting things done quickly without losing sight of how important each step is towards achieving the overall goal(s) set forth from the outset.

6.      Manage your expectations

The first few articles produced by any writer will likely need some editing or revision before they’re ready for publication — even if they were written with care and expertise by a professional writer who knows how to write well.

This is normal, so don’t expect flawless work from your new employee immediately. Give them time to learn about your company and its products or services. Even better, allow your VA time to develop their skills as required by your job description and budget constraints.

Are You Looking to Outsource Content Writing Tasks To A Virtual Assistant?

If you’re looking to outsource virtual assistants for your content writing, Clyde Offices, based in the UK, is an excellent place to start. We’ve been doing this for years, and we have a team of writers who have honed their skills in the art of creating compelling content for all types of businesses.

We understand that outsourcing can be daunting—especially when it comes to getting the right person for the job. That’s why we take the time to get to know our clients and write custom proposals tailored specifically for them.

We also ensure that everyone who works on your project has been thoroughly vetted and has come through our rigorous training program before they even begin working on your site. We want you to feel like you’re working directly with our team, even though they aren’t sitting next to you in the office daily.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve read through our guide to outsourcing your content writing, you should now know how to find the right virtual assistant and get them up to speed. Call Clyde today to get a virtual assistant ideal for your business.