I started using a virtual assistant for one reason: sleep.
After the last session of the 2011 ASJA writers’ conference, I stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC for hours working on sign-ups for the WordCount Blogathon, the annual blogging challenge I run as part of my freelance writing website, which was starting the next day. Then I caught a cab to JFK, hopped on a plane, flew 3,000 miles back to Portland, caught another cab home and stayed up until 3 a.m. to finish creating a blog roll of the 200+ people who’d signed up for the event. All I can remember thinking is, there has got to be a better way.
Flash forward a year. When the next Blogathon rolled around, I asked Jan Udlock, a fellow Portland writer who’d done the event before, if she’d be willing to help with some administrative work. She was, and she did a fantastic job. So fantastic I asked her to stay on after the month-long event to do other work for me.
That was my first pass at using a virtual assistant, and it’s changed my work life — and not just because I can now run the Blogathon and get a decent night’s sleep.
I work more than full-time as an independent reporter and editor. I’d long felt I could be more productive or take on more projects if I had help. My stumbling block was figuring out what to delegate. Using Jan for the Blogathon was the “aha” moment that pushed me to make it happen.
Using a Virtual Assistant
Here’s what writers need to know about using a virtual assistant:
1. Analyze what you do.
Map out everything you do to identify tasks you could comfortably farm out to someone else. A virtual assistant can help by:
- Doing article or book research
- Tracking down experts or other sources to interview for stories
- Setting up phone interviews
- Collecting pictures for a book of historical photos
- Updating a website
- Publishing a marketing newsletter
- Proofread
- Manage social media accounts
- File, bill or do other office work
2. Find help.
I didn’t have to look far for an assistant. Is there someone in your existing circle of work friends who could do the work? Or ask writer or editor friends who’ve used a VA for recommendations. If your freelance friends’ virtual assistants are booked, those assistants may be able to recommend other VAs. Or use a VA directory website such as VA-Networking.org or Virtual Assistantville to list a job that VA subscribers to the service can claim.
3. Start small.
Once you’ve lined up someone, test the waters with a small assignment. For the first Blogathon Jan helped with, she took over creating the blog roll, answered questions on the event’s Google Group and assisted with other small tasks. Since then, I’ve hired her to do online research for twice-weekly blog posts I wrote for a lifestyle website, hunt down experts, and compile material from my blog I’m using in an e-book. For the 2013 Blogathon, she created the blog roll, contacted sponsors, helped set up a Facebook page and is the event’s troubleshooter in chief — tasks that free up hours of my time.
4. Give detailed instructions.
It can be hard to explain what you do to another person, so err on the side of sharing too much. When Jan and I started out, we talked on the phone. Now I email her instructions and we call when we need to. When you’re assigning work, don’t forget to pad deadlines to allow time for do overs if you need them.
5. Expect hiccups.
Like I said, delegating can be tough. The first time Jan did some online research for me, the information she collected wasn’t as dead on as I would have liked. Part of that was not being as familiar with the nuances of the subject matter. But part of it was me not giving explicit enough directions about what I was looking for and where to look. Lesson learned.
6. Treat it like the business relationship it is.
Over the years, Jan and I have become good friends, but our relationship is still grounded in business. I try to give her as much work as I can. She invoices me once a month and I pay her as fast as possible. I wouldn’t want to lose her to somebody who treats her better. My freelance business – and sleep – depends on it.