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Find or become a kickass virtual assistant today!
10 Virtual Assistant Services You Can Offer Your Clients
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In our experience of training virtual assistants, the journey that someone takes to become a VA looks a little something like this: they find out that they can legitimately work online, remotely, and make decent money in this new-ish profession.
As they investigate how to become a virtual assistant, they come across the dilemma: What virtual assistant services should I offer?
Then they might spend a lot of hours trying to figure out where to start and what to specialize in.
If this sounds like a frustrating and time-consuming process, it’s because it is.
That’s why we’ve designed two shortcuts for you, because we want to make sure that nobody who wants to become a virtual assistant gets stuck in the research phase.
Shortcut #1
We’ve researched and brainstormed until we came up with a list of over 150 VA services that you can offer. The list is yours to download for free:
Shortcut #2
This here post, in which we outline the ten most popular virtual assistant services and what you should know about them, in a nutshell. Hopefully, by the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll have a good idea of what services to offer as a VA.
Here are 10 high-demand services you can turn into a profitable niche:
1. Social Media Management
You may think that hanging out on social media is awesome and personal. And who would want to outsource that?
But social media stops being fun for your clients when it takes too much time away from their business and from working on revenue sources with a higher ROI. Although there are MANY benefits to having an active social media presence, there is a lot to know if you want to do it right, and you need to learn something new almost every day if you want to stay up-to-date.
Enter: a virtual assistant specializing in social media management to save the day.
What you do for your clients all depends on where their social media marketing stands when you take over. If their presence is close to zero, you could offer packages to get their profiles up-and-running. If they have some social media profiles already set up, but they’re not very active, here are some tasks that you could pitch them:
- Branded account set up – if they want all their social profiles to look the same and send the same message to potential customers;
- Scheduling updates;
- Original content creation (e.g. images, updates, polls, etc.);
- Setting up scheduling tools (Buffer and Hootsuite are the most popular ones);
- Interacting with followers (retweeting, liking, replying to comments, etc);
Bonus tip!
Start by managing a few social media profiles, and only add to those as you get familiar with the work. For example, you could start with Facebook and Instagram. Once you have those two profiles up-and-running, you can add Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social platform that applies to you client’s business.
2. Blog Management
You may think that there’s nothing much to do when you’re blogging. You just type your thoughts away, and then you hit publish, right?
That may be the case when you’re blogging as a hobby.
But when blogging becomes a business, there are quite a few moving parts to keep track of behind the scenes. A good blog manager starts by putting together an editorial calendar. That way, your client doesn’t have to scramble for a post idea at the last minute.
A virtual assistant doing blog management would also be in charge of:
- Uploading and formatting posts;
- Adding inbound and outbound links to posts;
- Sourcing photos (Creative Commons Zero, if your client would rather not pay for images);
- Creating graphics and adding them to the posts;
- Optimizing the SEO of the post – there’s no point in writing excellent content if nobody finds it;
- Adding optins and lead magnets to the blog posts (a crucial step if your client wants to grow their email list).
If your client’s blog also accepts guest submissions, then you’ll have to coordinate with guest writers – from pitching topics, to following up on deadlines and setting up cross-promotion once the post is published.
Bonus tip!
You can impress a potential client by taking the lead on researching blog topics. Figure out who their competition is, and then see what they’re writing about? Is there anything that they’re not covering that your client could?
3. Customer Service
This task is a particularly crucial one to outsource to a VA, especially if dealing with customers is eating up a good chunk of the time a solopreneur could use to create products or services, or even strategize for their business.
Gina went super in-depth on the topic in this recent post. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of reasons why outsourcing customer service makes a lot of sense, both from a professional as well as a personal point of view.
Here are a few things that a virtual assistant can take care of, when it comes to customer service:
- Onboarding new clients (this could also include creating personalized welcome packets);
- Responding to recurring customer inquiries (including creating canned email responses or an FAQ page with the answers to the most common questions);
- Regularly checking in with long-term clients (you need to make sure they’re still satisfied with what they’re getting);
- Dealing with customer complaints and refund requests. (They do happen!)
Bonus tip!
The first few times you perform these tasks, you can hop on a video call with your client and let them walk you through it. It will be easier to clarify their systems in real time rather than going back and forth about the rules via email.
4. Email Management
According to a survey quoted in The Washington Post, we spend about 20.5 hours a week checking email. And that’s just the average for a regular office worker. Imagine how much more email a webpreneur has to deal with.
That is becoming a huge time waste, which is exactly what makes it a good opportunity for an organized and detail-oriented virtual assistant.
We’ve had already Rachel on the blog talking about how to do inbox management as a virtual assistant.
But here are, in a nutshell, the kind of tasks you can expect if you pick this niche:
- Checking your client’s email inbox.
- Setting up a system for labeling, replying or archiving incoming emails
- Setting up automatic filters
- Keeping a list of frequently asked questions; it might come in handy when your client needs new content ideas.
Is email management the same as customer service for a VA?
It could be, but it doesn’t have to be. Some clients will feel comfortable with letting you take over their entire inbox (which also includes their personal emails), while others might prefer to outsource just the client interaction side of things.
Some will even keep the two separate by creating a new email address especially for customer service. It’s really up to the two of you to work out the terms of your agreement.
Bonus tip!
Always make sure you’re on the same page when it comes to what you’re expected to do in your client’s email. Are you just checking once a day, or three times a day? Are you supposed to stay logged in and reply to emails as they roll in? Set clear terms from the get-go.
5. Lead Generation
If your client’s business is sales-intensive (in any way, shape or form), they will need someone to take over the very time-consuming task of generating potential leads.
Great lead generation is more than just a numbers game. If your client is in real estate, for example, it would be a waste of their time to generate useless leads that have no plans of needing their services anytime soon. As a lead generation virtual assistant, you have to be strategic about who you contact, and how you do it.
Here are a few ways tasks you can offer as part of your virtual assistant services:
- Setting up a system to source leads (for example, you could set up Google alerts for certain keywords);
- Setting up a system to collect lead information
- Figuring out an ideal customer persona;
- Following leads on social media and interact with them;
- Reaching out to leads via email or social media. (If your client trusts you to do this on their behalf, you can certainly command higher rates.)
Bonus tip!
Always make sure you agree on a deliverable. How many leads are you supposed to deliver by the end of the week, for example? How much information about the lead is enough before you move on to the next one? This is the kind of task that can really balloon to take up as much time as you’re allowing it to. Don’t worry, the more you do it, the more efficient you’ll get. The trick is to always make sure that you’re still making enough per hour to make it worth your while.
6. Event Management
Admit it, when you read event management, you thought about coordinating a fancy wedding, didn’t you? There’s nothing wrong in finding a client that needs that service. (And more power to you.)
But in the online world, events usually come in the shape of online conferences, classes and webinars. An event virtual assistant is usually in charge of:
- Researching leads for guest speakers (if any);
- Communicating and coordinating with guest speakers;
- Setting up promotion for the event (including creating promotional materials);
- Setting up the tech platform for the event. The most popular webinar platforms are GoToWebinar, Adobe Connect, Join.me and Google Hangouts.
- Being available during the event in case any glitches come up;
- Moderating the chat during the event (for example, by sifting through comments for questions that the speakers can address);
- Managing post-event feedback (by sending audience surveys, or following up with guest speakers and making it easy for them to share the event on their end).
Bonus tip!
Based on a survey conducted by Ready Talk, between 20 percent and 40 percent of webinar attendees turned into qualified leads. According to the same survey, three weeks of promotion prior to the webinar is the sweet spot. Three is also the magic number in terms of email campaigns sent per webinar. That’s some pretty impressive sales pitch material for a webinar virtual assistant, right?
7. Running Ad Campaigns
Have you ever noticed those ads that show up when you’re busy scrolling through Facebook?
How about the ads on the right side of your Facebook timeline?
Those ads have to be written, designed and scheduled by someone, right? That someone is usually an experienced content marketer or VA. Could it be done by the same person who is doing the social media management? Of course! But setting up ad campaigns is a more specialized skill, and therefore should command higher rates.
According to Facebook, the total number of businesses advertising on the platform had reached four million in early 2017. That’s some serious competition. So if your client wants to have their ads seen, they really have to do it right.
Here are a few skills you can learn if you want to offer Facebook ads management as part of your virtual assistant services:
- Audience segmentation;
- Optimizing ads by changing demographic settings;
- Researching competitors’ fans and followers;
- Audience cloning;
- Designing and writing copy for ads;
- Tracking actions that users take on the ads;
- Determining the cost per action or cost per lead;
- Evaluating the ROI of Facebook campaigns.
Bonus tip!
Once you’ve learned the ropes of Facebook ads, you can easily transition to offering ad campaigns for other social media platforms. Instagram is quite easy to advertise on, since it’s owned by Facebook, and you can set up both campaigns at the same time
8. Setting Up Sales Funnels
Sales funnels are the best way to turn readers into subscribers, convert subscribers into paying customers, and turn one-time buyers into recurring customers and fans. Funnels are complex to set up, but once done correctly, they’ll bring in a lot of business for your client.
LeadPages and ConvertKit are two of the most popular platforms used for setting up sales funnels.
Here are a few tasks you can take off your client’s list when they’re working on setting up their funnels.
- Creating lead magnets;
- Branding lead magnets;
- Setting up landing pages;
- Setting up automation rules;
- Integrating the content marketing platform with other platforms (e.g. course-hosting websites or giveaway platforms).
Bonus tip!
These skills may have a steeper learning curve, but you can also charge higher rates once you’ve mastered a few platforms. As always, we recommend that you niche down and really master one of these platforms.
9. Project Management
The good thing about marketing your services as a project management virtual assistant is that it might be easier to convince clients who otherwise cannot commit to hiring a VA on a more permanent basis.
But when a solopreneur is in the middle of a big, scary project, they might admit they need a little bit of help (and stress relief).
Here are a few projects you might be able to help with:
- Product launches (generally for digital products, such as courses and ebooks);
- Researching industry best-practices;
- Recruiting team members and contractors;
- Supervising and coordinating other team members;
- Setting up systems and timelines;
- Doing a business audit.
Bonus tip!
Starting with a project-based collaboration is a great way to get your foot in the door for larger projects or a permanent position. Do a good job, and you’ll become the go-to professional for your client.
10. Bookkeeping
Ahh, admin! This is probably the task that solopreneurs procrastinate the most on. That’s because it’s not an easy chore, especially for someone oriented more toward the strategic and creative side of business, and less toward staring at numbers on a screen.
Since it consists of recording bills, invoices, payments, and keeping track of the general financial well-being of a business, it’s something that absolutely NEEDS to be done.
Here are a few things you can take over as a bookkeeping virtual assistant:
- Generating invoices and following up in case of non-payment;
- Making sure bills are paid on time;
- Issuing refunds;
- Preparing balance sheets;
- Paying employees and contractors;
- Reconciling bank and credit card statements;
- Help prepare your quarterly or annual taxes.
- Maintaining financial data in the software preferred by the client. (Tip: Gina prefers Freshbooks.)
Bonus tip!
Outsourcing this requires a great deal of trust on behalf of both parties. A good way of building trust is by offering to bring recommendations from former clients or past jobs. You can also offer to do a background check if your client is worried about entrusting you with their financial information.
If you’re still not sure what virtual assistant services you can offer, we’ve put together a list of over 150 services that webpreneurs need help with.
Affiliate Disclosure: This post may included affiliate links - thank you for supporting Horkey HandBook.
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Find or become a kickass virtual assistant today!
How to Become a PAID Freelance Writer
Have you been thinking about taking steps to become a freelance writer, but aren’t so sure how to get started?
How about here? With this post.
Because today I’m going to share with you the seven steps to become a freelance writer and what you need to know to start a new freelance writing business from scratch.
Ready? Great, let’s dive in!
Step 1: Decide on Your Niche
I know, that’s not exactly what you want to hear. But chosing a niche or “niching down” is pretty commonplace advice for a reason.
Because it works.
If you have no idea what topics (or niches) you’re going to hone in on, it makes it really hard to prospect for clients or even secure samples in the beginning. Having unlimited possibilities often leads to analysis paralysis. And that often leads to not taking any action at all.
But what’s the best way to pick a freelance writing niche?
In the beginning, the easiest (and fastest) thing you could do is to narrow in on your niches by exploring your previous career experience, hobbies and interests. That’s why I chose personal finance as my primary niche – I had almost a decade of experience in the financial services industry and could claim “expert status” in the subject based on my licensing.
If you’re short on inspiration, we’ve got your back. We researched and brainstormed freelance writing niches and came up with over 200. You’ll find them nicely packaged in this free download.
A lot of the people who want to become a freelance writer are tempted to skip this step because they’re afraid they might pick the wrong niche.
But guess what?
There are no wrong answers. Nope, not a single one. Your niches won’t be set in stone, and you can always pivot along the way towards something you find more enjoyable or more lucrative.
Another VERY important reason for picking a niche is so that you can command higher rates. And who doesn’t want to get paid more?
Plus, it’s way easier to market yourself as a “<insert niche> writer” than just a “freelance writer.” And contrary to popular belief, your being able to “write about anything” isn’t appealing to potential clients. It might be true (and it really is to your advantage to be flexible), but it’s not what theywant to hear, or what will usually land you the job.
Action step!
Start by answering these questions … honestly.
- What do you want to write about?
- What do you like to write about?
- What’s natural/familiar for you based on your background, experience or education?
Then let the answers brew a bit, and write down a list of up to five niche areas. Prioritize them based on what you feel you would enjoy writing about the most. Keep these in mind as you start a blog/website, and as you start pitching writing jobs in the future.
Step 2: Get Freelance Writing Samples
Securing quality writing samples is step you can’t skip if you want to become a freelance writer.
Think about it – you can talk about how great of a writer you are until you’re blue in the face, but the easiest (and best) way for prospects and clients to see your writing skills is to read your work firsthand. There’s not really another way to go about it!
But here’s the thing, if you’re a brand new freelance writer, you probably don’t have any samples though. It’s a catch-22, right?
Nope.
So how do you get samples? There are actually quite a few ways to go about it. Here are four that you can get started with today:
1. Search for writing samples that you already have on hand.
Odds are if you enjoy writing, you already have numerous writing samples at your disposal.
Maybe you’ve written fiction in the past (published or not), maybe you’ve won a writing contest or two, or maybe you’re just the go-to writer in your workplace. How about past college papers, local newsletters or your kids’ fundraising campaigns? I bet you have something sitting around that you could re-purpose into one of your first writing samples.
2. Create a freelance writing sample from scratch.
If you weren’t able to find any (or any relevant) writing samples that you already have on hand, creating some from scratch should be your next step. It’s by far the easiest and most cost-effective way of securing your first few samples.
Pick a topic related to one of the niches you picked after you read Step 1. (You haven’t skipped that, have you?) Then write a blog post about it. Or a news release. Or a sales page.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be done at this point.
You can draft the sample in a Google document, then save it as a .pdf (under File > Download as > PDF document) and upload it to your portfolio (more about that in the next step).
And you can always post them to a website in the future, but there’s no need to worry if you don’t have a website now.
Remember, the goal here is to showcase your sweet writing skills and provide a potential client with proof that you can write, and write well.
That’s it. No need to over complicate things!
3. Start your own blog/website.
If you’re ready to take this step, we’ve put together a free tutorial to get you started with a new website in a week. Starting your own freelance writing website is a proactive step because you don’t need anyone’s permission. And you can write about what you want, when you want.
Starting your own blog and website can be an extension of what we talked about above. You can add existing samples to your new site, post your newly-created samples as blog posts.
Keep in mind, even though you’re not getting paid for your writing (in this or previous examples), you still want to make sure that you put a lot of effort into it. If you’re going to advertise it as an example of your writing skills, your work needs to be excellent!
Don’t know what to blog about? How about one of the niches you’ve selected in Step 1?
4. Guest post on someone else’s site.
Guest posting on someone else’s website is a bit more impressive to a potential client than writing posts on your own blog. Someone else gave you a vote of confidence, and that often goes a long way when you want to become a freelance writer.
Great, but how does one go about finding guest posting opportunities. Does anyone you know have a blog that they’d like content for? Can you ask on Facebook if any one of your friends needs anything written? How about the blogs and websites you follow for your own personal interest? You’re already familiar with their from being a reader, so that should make it a bit easier to match their writing voice.
You can also turn to Google. It’s as simple as opening a new browser and typing in “[Your Niche] + Write for Us.”
This search should bring up a bunch of websites in your niche that have open submissions for contributions. (And better yet, some of the opportunities might be paying gigs too!)
Action step!
At a bare minimum, write up 2-3 samples in Google Docs. Don’t get stuck in this phase though. Set a timer for yourself for 30 minutes and start researching the topic of your sample. Stop the research after 30 minutes and see how fast you can crank out your first draft.
Step 3: Create a Portfolio
So far we’ve covered the steps of selecting your niches and gathering writing samples on your journey to learn how to become a freelance writer.
The next step is to create your online portfolio. And just like sourcing samples, there’s more than one way to go about it. In fact, there are several.
Which means that you get to choose how you want to display yours and use as much or as little creativity as you’d like to help yourself stand out from the pack. Or maybe you’ll try more than one – do you!
Here are two that I’d recommend you get started with:
1. A One-Pager
Basically, if you’re not ready to start a website, go with the one (or two) pager. Build out a portfolio via a Google doc and then download it as a pdf. It can house links to your samples, your bio, headshot and more. Get creative and have some fun with it.
2. A Hire Me Page
If you are ready to start a website, go with the Hire Me page. This free tutorial will show you how to setup pages, including how to add them to your menu bar. And if you want to see an example, feel free to check out mine.
3. Set up a Contently profile
I highly recommend setting up a portfolio on Contently. It’s really easy to create an account and paste links to your samples, or upload a .pdf if you went that route. I simply set up my profile, added my published work and subsequently forgot about it. Then one day, out of the blue, I got an email from the Contently team asking if I was interested in working for one of their clients.
It was a great opportunity and it paid extremely well.
Zina Kumok is another Contently success story. In fact, she landed two $1,000 gigs the same way! I’m telling you, there’s no easier way out there to (potentially) land well-paying writing assignments!
Action step!
Pick one of the methods above, and make your portfolio visible to potential clients. Please don’t think you have to wait until you have a robust portfolio before you put it out there. Three samples will do, to begin with. You will add more later.
Step 4: Source Jobs to Apply for
Now that you’ve decided on your niche, started acquiring a few samples and established your online portfolio, it’s time to put your research skills to work and source writing jobs to apply for.
And just like the above steps, there are multiple ways to go about it. Here are two of my faves:
1. Job Boards
If you’re afraid to put yourself out there, job boards might be your thing (you’re just answering an ad for someone who’s looking for a writer).
There are two types of job boards: free and paid.
There’s nothing wrong with starting out with the free options! Two of the most popular free job boards are ProBlogger and Journalism Jobs.
But leads you’ll find here will require you to do some extra research. Be sure that the opening you’re submitting for is legitimate and that the prospect is also legitimate.
You’ll pay a monthly subscription fee to gain access to paid job boards. If you can afford it, consider choosing reputable paid job boards over free ones.
2. Cold Pitching
I’m not gonna lie, there are many freelance writing experts who think job boards are not the best use of time for someone who wants to become a freelance writer. And for good reason — boards don’t always offer the best rates, there are hundreds of other freelancers submitting pitches and once in a while you’ll encounter a scam (I haven’t, but others I know have).
If you’re comfortable with putting yourself out there and want to limit your competition, cold pitching is a your best bet.
Cold pitching is basically reaching out to companies directly, finding out if they have any current (or future) writing needs and pitching yourself as the go-to writer when the opportunity arises. Some may think it’s a bit ballsy, but I prefer to think of it as smart.
I wrote a whole post about how I would find clients to pitch if I had to do it all over again.
Remember those reservations other freelance writing experts had about job boards? Well, cold pitching alleviates all of them. Since there is no job listing online, odds are that you’re one of the only (if not the only) person approaching a company at any given time for freelance writing work. Now, you take the risk that they’re not in need of a writer, but by starting the conversation and building a relationship, you’re increasing your odds of being remembered when and if they do have a need in the future.
Action step!
Start perusing job boards for writing gigs in the niches you defined in Step 1. See something you’re the perfect fit for? Stop, drop and send them a pitch!
Step 5: If You Want to Become a Freelance Writer, You Have to Start Pitching
Now that you know where to look for work, it’s time to construct and send your first pitch! You absolutely cannot skip this step, as it is one of the most, if not THE most important step to become a freelance writer.
Because having a great pitch is what will separate you from the crowd. And don’t worry, it’s bound to get better with time (and experience).
My pitch has come a long way since I began sending it out in May, 2014. I bet it has gone through dozens of revisions.
Why? Because as I learned what was working (or more accurately what wasn’t), I modified it accordingly. I kept track of my “batting average” and wanted to get it as close to 1,000 as possible!
Note: Pitches will look different depending on who you’re pitching, so make sure to modify your template based on the intended audience.
I’ve talked a lot about pitching on the blog (it’s kinda my favorite topic when it comes to freelancing), so I’ll let you peruse some of the archives to learn more:
- How to Pitch Job Board Ads
- How to Cold Pitch Like a Pro
- How to Pitch Without the Right Samples
- 5 Ways to Up Your Pitching Game
One of my favorite cold pitching strategies is what I refer to as 10-by-10.
Okay, I can’t exactly take credit for this one because I didn’t make it up, but I love the strategy!
The basic premise is that you send out 10 pitches by 10 o’clock in the morning. Feel free to modify it to meet your exact needs.
Action step!
Set a goal for your first month. How many pitches will you send daily? Then start out each workday by pitching to meet your commitment.
Step 6: Land Your First Client
So now that we’ve covered what niche(s) you’re planning on writing in, how to gather samples, where to display them, where to look for clients and how to craft your pitch, it’s time to talk about what happens once you have a prospect interested in hiring you.
One of the first things a prospect is likely to ask you is, “What do you charge?” Imagine yourself sending out tons of pitches, samples at the ready and getting a one sentence reply like this. What do you say?
You don’t want to bid too high for fear you might scare them off. And you don’t want to bid too low and resent the work if it doesn’t pay well.
So, how do you know what to charge? There are a couple of ways to go about it.
- Shoot to replace your current income.
- Set your rates based on your writing efficiency.
- Do some research based on your niche.
When I first started freelance writing, I based my rates first on what was offered to me (my first few clients knew what they could/wanted to pay) and then later based off replacing my salary.
Later, I moved to setting rates based on how long I projected it would take me to complete the work. And I also took into consideration what “made it worth my time.”
Another way you can go about it is to research what clients are paying in your niche. The rule of thumb is the more specialized your niche, the higher rates you can command. I.e. medical writing is likely to pay much more than lifestyle topics will.
It may take a bit of trial and error, but over time you’ll be able to determine your own rates based on your needs and the your client’s budgets.
You need a bit of price anchoring still? Here is a list of how much these 14 websites pay writers. (Hint: all of them pay $100+)
Action step!
Do some rate research based on your niche. Glassdoor or the job boards mentioned in step 4 would be a good place to start.
Step 7: Get Paid!
If you’re wondering how freelance writers get paid, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common questions I get.
But the process of invoicing a client isn’t complicated.
The hardest part, I think, is making it as easy as possible for your client to pay you. Because the easier you make it for them, the faster you’re going to get paid!
Here are my favorite two methods to send invoices/collect payment:
- PayPal
- FreshBooks
PayPal is known worldwide and it’s a great go-to place to start invoicing and collecting payments in the beginning. Clients trust it, they can pay via PayPal, credit card or their checking account and you can create customized invoices with your photo and logo.
When you’re ready, you might want to move to a more robust accounting tool like FreshBooks. I’ve been using them since the beginning and because of a little payment hack I know, it actually saves me money!
Action step!
See which one of the two options above works best for you. Then create an account and set up a mock invoice. You can always tweak it later.
What Next?
You just learned the seven essential steps to starting a freelance writing business from scratch.
You could totally get started with them. I encourage you to!
But for those of you that aren’t ready to go at it alone, I want to share with you a learning path that can help. In fact, the newest version of 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success is available TODAY!
There are nine modules, ~50 individual lessons, templates, quizzes and more. I go DEEP on all seven of these steps and then some. It includes everything you need to get a new freelance writing business off of the ground.
I encourage you to check it out!
Talk to me – which of the above seven steps seems the most complicated or scary?
Affiliate Disclosure: This post may included affiliate links - thank you for supporting Horkey HandBook.
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- Ellen saysI can’t get past step 1!
I spent 15 plus years in the title insurance industry and it’s not something I want to go back to or even write about. My biggest hobby is probably reading, mostly childrens books right now. I just had my first child but I certainly don’t have any expertise. I have thought about vegetarian eating or gardens but those seem to be saturated markets. I tend to wade in the shallow end of hobbies and intetests so I know a little about several things but don’t feel qualified to write about anything. And that’s just step 1 🙂- Gina Horkey saysHey Ellen – don’t worry, you’re not alone. Others struggle with this too. What if you chose title insurance as just a place holder to get started and gain experience? Even though you might not want to write about it long-term, it could be a good way to get your foot in the door as a writer (since you have instant credibility with your background). Many writers change niches over time. If you don’t want to, no worries. Just pick something and consider it practice and then change when you find something that suits you better. And a big part of writing is researching, so even if you don’t know everything (none of us do) there is to know on a topic, you can still put together a really great piece. Hope this helps!
- Beth saysGina, this is super helpful. I need a plan. I’m going to the Great American Beer Fest this year (camping long the way – to & from NC) and want to publish from it. I just spent 2 hours looking at various blog sites, publications that might be interested, so I suppose cold calling a pitch is it, right? Nervous that it isn’t the right plan… should I do a website first, write samples before pitching?So many options and I don’t know which arrows to follow.
Thanks for any insight! ~beth- Gina Horkey saysHey Beth, well you have your niche (beer and/or travel), so that’s covered. Next would be the samples per step two. Maybe write a few up in Google docs? Then put together that one-pager? And then compile that list of who to pitch it to. And even though it hasn’t happened yet, you can still pitch the story. I would find out who the sponsors are maybe and get in touch with them? Sounds like a fun trip!
- Chike saysThank you very much Gina for sharing this resourceful article. I went to contena but couldn’t find my niche. My niche is in the area of motivation, success and great achievement. Please can you help me to find that
- Gina Horkey saysHey Chike – try opening a new browser window and entering “[your niche] + write for us.” For you it would be personal development + write for us and would yield these results.
- Curious Freelance Writer saysHi Gina, you can’t leave us hanging like this. What is the amazing payment hack you know on FreshBooks? I have used it in the past, and the only thing I can think of is that its cheaper than a PayPal fee. What is your payment hack?Thanks!
- Gina Horkey saysWhen you use the PayPal/Freshbooks combo and clients pay you via PayPal it avoids the 2.9% fee. Unless someone pays you via “friends and family” in PP (which they really shouldn’t and most won’t), it’s the cheapest way to get paid (beyond direct deposit/physical check that is). Hope that helps!
- Christy V. saysGina, what about fiction freelancing? Do you know many people who do it? That’s what I am drawn to over and over.
- Gina Horkey saysHey Christy! I don’t, but know that people either ghostwrite for fiction authors or publish their own work. Depends on what your goals are I guess. 🙂
- Celise saysI think the question I have is “what do I need to SET UP my freelance business?” Before I start searching for clients, what needs to be in place first? Not sure if you have post about that or not. My business will be writing client case studies for service-based companies, organizations, and entre/soloprenuers. Other than the obvious–website, register company name, open business checking account–what else do I need to do?
- Gina Horkey saysJust dive in really. A computer, internet, decent writing chops and drive are all that are really required. 🙂
- Shirley Corder saysThanks for your clear advice. I have tweeted it. https://m.facebook.com/Shirley.M.Corder/
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Find or become a kickass virtual assistant today!
Student Success Story: Rebekah Hutchins
Today we have another post in the Student Success Stories series.
Why are we doing this? Glad you asked!
It’s because we want to feature people who took Gina’s 30 Days or Less courses and actually got serious about working on their freelance career. Every story in the series is a little bit different from the others. That’s because they’re real journeys, and everyone is on a different path.
This week we’re featuring Rebekah Hutchins, a talented graphic designer and the person behind the redesign of the free resources we’re offering on Horkey HandBook.
Here’s Rebekah’s success story:
Name: Rebekah Hutchins
Website: rebekahhutchins.com
30 DOL VA Course enrollment date:April 1, 2016
Business launch date: April 10, 2016
Date hired by first client: April 18, 2016
Hours worked per week: 10-25
Top three services/niches: Graphic design, social media, admin tasks.
Hi Rebekah – tell us about yourself!
I’m a millennial with a love for all things entrepreneurship, design and marketing. Seeing things progress and improve lights me up and inspires me to keep trekking!
For the record, I’m also very risk averse and don’t make investments unless I’m sure there’s potential to make an ROI within a reasonable amount of time. And the 30 Days to Virtual Assistant Success course definitely delivered on that front.
For fun, here are a few words I’d use to describe myself: caring, introverted, free-thinking, focused.
What about your business?
I’m a graphic designer, Pinterest manager and a blogger. I help women entrepreneurs beautify and share their message with a larger audience.
I got my start in online business with Gina’s course, and it’s been exciting to see how much my business has evolved throughout the past year.
From niching down my services and now starting a blog, my business has taken a few turns over time. You never know how things will develop, so it’s been fun to enjoy the ride and see where things have taken me.
At first, I was offering three main services to clients, but as time went on I was getting more and more requests to do things I’d never done before. So I tried out a lot of different things and was able to see what I really loved and didn’t like so much.
Close to the end of last year, I knocked out a lot of what I was offering and niched down to solely offering graphic design and Pinterest services.
If you’re still not sure what virtual assistant services you can offer, we’ve put together a list of over 150 services that webpreneurs need help with.
How did you decide to start freelancing or working online?
I decided to become a virtual assistant after hearing an interview with Gina (more on that below). She was working from home, living on her own terms and making an awesome living.
The thought going through my head while listening was, ‘Could I do that too?’
She then mentioned her free courses and I was really drawn to the idea of becoming a VA.
How did you find 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success?
Last year I was listening to the Side Hustle Show with Nick Loper and Gina was a guest speaker.
She talked about her success, and how the listeners could get started with her free courses. So I took to my computer and signed up for each of her free courses.
I loved the VA course. So after the week was up, I signed up for the full course. I’m incredibly grateful to both Nick and Gina for sharing their knowledge.
And how long did it take you to earn your course investment back?
It took two hours of client work to earn back my initial investment.
I landed my first client just over a week after starting the course. Since it was a quick design project, I was able to make my investment back fairly quickly.
The first thing I did was join a few Facebook groups where my target market was hanging out. Then I introduced myself in each group and had an influx of comments from people who were interested in checking out my website and rates. A few days after my initial introductions, I got a contact submission on my website from my first client and we started working together.
What was your biggest fear before you started your business?
Feeling like an imposter was my biggest fear at the time. And also being asked to do things I wasn’t knowledgeable about. I have since learned that Google is our friend and everything is “figureoutable.”
What was the most challenging part about getting started?
Setting up an online presence, for sure.
Before taking the course, I didn’t have an account on any of the big social media platforms and because of that didn’t really have a handle on how to grow my business on each platform.
How did you overcome that?
First, I want to give a big shout out the amazing Facebook community you get access to when you join the course. They’ve helped me so much and gave me awesome advice and lots of encouragement when I was starting out.
Second, I just went for it! I created a Twitter account, joined a few Facebook groups relative to my niche and signed up for a Pinterest account.
I landed most of my clients through Facebook groups, but I was able to network with some really cool freelancers on Twitter as well.
What has been your biggest success since you’ve started?
Helping one of my clients feel like she’d shed 50 pounds.
She was struggling to keep her business and personal goals in order, and after a week of working with her, she let me know how much I was able to help her get things back under control.
Getting sweet messages from clients is one of my favorites parts of being a freelancer. It’s super rewarding!
Can you tell us about your highest paying project?
When I first started out, I think my highest paid projects were all about creating Powerpoint presentations and editing WordPress sites. I was making $25/hr, and since these projects took a bit more time, I noticed I would have higher paydays when I did them.
What are you working on right now?
Right now, I’m working on growing my blog and spreading its reach so it can be seen by more people and help them in their online business journeys.
What are you looking forward to most over the next 12 months?
Growing and monetizing my blog, while being able to share experiences and knowledge with my audience. And becoming more skilled in graphic design so I can create incredible designs that inspire people when they see them.
I learned graphic design through courses, blog posts, podcasts, and lots of practicing! Also, my younger sister used to give me Photoshop lessons that were actually a big part of my getting into graphic design.
Right now, I’m offering workbook and content upgrade design. I may add to the list later on but for now these are the services I’ve noticed bring me the most joy.
Rebekah is a millennial obsessed with online business and creating new income streams. She’s also a graphic designer, Pinterest manager and blogger. Follow along if you’d like to learn more about making money online, blogging and Pinterest!
Affiliate Disclosure: This post may included affiliate links - thank you for supporting Horkey HandBook.
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Comments
- Sarah saysCongratulations Rebekah! That’s a swift turnaround. You definitely took advantage of the course and made it work. Best of luck with the site and business. May both continue to thrive in the years to come. 🙂
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I’m wondering, how did you learn to do the project management work? Did you figure it out as you went along or did you have particular resources?
thank you