Pretty much every business has a blog these days whether it's kept up-to-date, whether there is a huge overwhelming amount of information that needs archiving (VA needed alert), whether the tags have been set up correctly so the reader can find what they are looking for, or you might have a tidy ship-shape blog published like clockwork (hurrah well done you! Will it last?).
We all like to use a blog to share a story which sometimes doesn’t fit elsewhere on the website, its too long a story for social media, to improve our SEO, drive traffic to other website pages, or direct a reader from social media or an email newsletter to your website, and generally keep our existing customers engaged, to potential new customers by sharing relevant insightful and timely content. Blogs can be used to position business owners as thought leaders, attracting speaking opportunities and offers to publish in industry relevant publications raising awareness of the author and business owner.
Here are 8 ways that a Virtual Assistant can help you with blogging:
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If you just haven’t got time for typing, a VA can transcribe from any existing video or podcast recording, making good use of your existing content. Alternatively if you are travelling, you don't have your laptop or notepad to hand, you might be sat on the sofa late at night or on a train ride alone in the carriage, record your blog for a VA to type up! Use the opportunity to your advantage. So much more simple than bashing away on the keyboard. There are so many voice recording apps now, it couldn’t be easier!
Fact checking
You might have an idea or a theory, or know that some statistics exist out there to back up what you're saying in your blog, your virtual assistant can search the internet to find this information, these theories or numbers to add weight to your blog.
Editing and proofreading
You might have already written your blog, it might be in the form of a presentation, it might be an audio file, a training document or as a long research piece which just doesn’t read in the right tone or look like a blog. A virtual assistant can take this information, put it into a blog friendly format, they can edit, proofread (no-one likes a typo, even spellcheck or predictive text doesn’t have the skill of the human eye). A VA can add keywords, create fluidity, and improve the readability of your post. They can also make sure that the post is timely and future proof. A second pair of eyes can spot the simplest and most embarrassing mistakes.
Giving each blog post a title
You might have a piece in a pre-existing format, an old blog that needs modifying or you might have come up with a title. Whether it has the right keywords, whether it's catchy, is it a real blog title? Are there some other ideas that could be put forward by a VA ? Maybe you could have a BuzzFeed style title ‘Top 10 ways to…’ or ‘How to...’ just to get more immediate attention focussed on your blog and get those click-throughs from a curious potential, who is a serial scanner and speed scrolling reader.
Adding the blog to your platform
A virtual assistant can add your blog to your website or blog platform, they can sort out all the backlinks, the headings, get it text formatted into the certain size and colour according to your style guide, go through the process of formatting images, or even finding them in the first place, all of those little time consuming jobs. Making sure the blogs are tagged, any keyword or SEO information is completed so that you get the most from your online platform. A VA can keep your blogs ordered, in a consistent format, whilst filing and archiving as necessary.
Sharing your blog
Your virtual assistant can share your blog across your social media platforms. If they are involved in social listening or community management on your behalf of course they can share your blog link in suitable comments and replies, they might already work with other publications and online platforms that could be interested in your blog piece or they could seek out opportunities to share your blog on other platforms or look at page black platforms such as Medium or industry relevant to your particular topic.
Crafting social media posts to share your blog
All social media posts need images to go with them whether this has text on or not, don't forget the 80/20 rule. You need a great picture to capture attention, to go with that great title and the written content in your blog. A virtual assistant can create that post for you and take away the time consuming work involved with sourcing imagery or manipulating and editing imagery or laying text onto an image for impact. Copy for social media post and hashtags are of course also important - let your VA get stuck in.
Reminding you to keep posting
Your virtual assistant can't necessarily write your blog for you, you are a specialist in your field, you know your customers and the questions that they're asking you. Your virtual assistant can research the arena that you're in, check out what the competition are up to, but ultimately you need to keep the regularity of your posts going, there's nothing worse than a blog that hasn't been updated for months and months.
Your virtual assistant can help you to develop a content calendar relevant to other marketing activities, relevant seasonal activities, significant to industry events or even speaking events in which you're taking part. Your VA can get your blog ready for posting depending on how many you agree per month or what you already have scheduled into your content calendar. There is nothing wrong with creating a bank ahead of time which you can just agree that your virtual assistant can publish and release when the time is right. Let your VA help to keep you on track!
About Virtual Executive Services MK
Virtual Executive Services MK is a Virtual Assistant service based in Milton Keynes, supporting clients across the UK. Specialising in admin, marketing and social media support for small businesses, start ups and entrepreneurs. Find out more.