The Virtual Assistant is no longer confined to secretarial duties or personal assistant services. Today’s incarnation presents candidates with more diverse and specialized competencies who are able to manage a wide variety of projects and deliver quantifiable results. Among these specialized competencies is the ability to write great content.

Writing is one of the most important skills we need to succeed in business. It is a skill we are taught as soon as we can hold a pencil in our hands. But unfortunately, while everyone can write, not everyone can write great, meaningful and engaging content. Some people say great writing is a result of study, hard work and practice. Frankly, I believe the best writers are born not made.

Have you ever wondered why there are websites that you visit regularly and others that you don’t care much for? And why do you patronize some magazines and newspapers and not others? If we assume that these publications deal with the same subject matter or topic of interest, what makes one more engaging than another?

Content is the answer

Content provides substance to writing. It adds depth and creates introspection for its readers. When you capture the imagination and the attention of the reader, you generate the most crucial aspect in communication: engagement. In today’s heavily influenced world of social media, engagement is a highly-sought after end product because it opens the door for potential business relationships. Social media is one of the most effective online marketing strategies to enhance your business’ online presence. It works because it is successful in building relationships of the deepest kind; the one that starts with emotional connectivity.

This is why businesses that blog generate 55% more revenue than businesses that don’t. This is why Face Book has influenced 74% of a consumer’s decision to purchase a product or service. This is why 79% of companies are on social media. Billions of posts, articles and content are shared every day and these present opportunities to connect.

In marketing and promoting your business, content is king. If writing is not your core competence, it would be a great idea to hire a professional writer. If your budget is tight, the best option would be to outsource content to a Virtual Assistant which has many benefits. Among the top three benefits are as follows:

1. Low Cost. Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant or VA presents a lower cost alternative to hiring a full-time writer because the VA gets paid only when the article he or she submits gets cleared by the Editor for posting. There are some VA’s who are paid by the hour but payment is subject to conditions set by the client which include Turn-Around Time or TAT, editing and proof-reading for plagiarism. On the other hand, a full-time writer will get paid whether he or she creates content or not. Plus, full-time writers on staff have to be paid mandatory government and company benefits.

2. Effective writing. How would you react if you came across this post on a web page or your social media account?

“You should buy into the United States Dollar. According to the latest technical analysis report, the United States Dollar is forming a triangle formation on the 5th wave of the subdivided wave ‘C’ of wave 2 of one lesser degree. Analysts estimate this is a precursor to a strong move heading to the 3rd wave of one larger degree where the first price objective is calculated at a 1=1 Fibonacci ratio from the previous correction with a long-term forecast equivalent to 1.618 of the same correction in the near term assuming the 9-day convergence on the RSI remains.”

Would you buy into the United States Dollar? Now, how would you react if you came across the same topic written differently?

“It would be a good investment to position your money with the United States Dollar. In addition to sound fundamentals, the Federal Reserve plans to increase its overnight lending rates by a few basis percentage points which will give you better returns compared to currencies in Europe which are lowering their lending rates. In addition, demand for petroleum products is rising due to the harsh winters in China and Russia. And as you well know, the US Dollar is the currency of choice when buying petroleum.”

Most business owners believe great writing means technical writing so they end up using jargon which majority of site visitors cannot understand much less appreciate. A professional writer can capture your message and translate it into language that your target market will understand and engage in.

Improve SEO by outsourcing content

Google has made no secret that it will reward websites with great content with higher SEO ranking. For Google, User Experience or UX is an important factor in search rankings. If the search engine recognizes that your web page has a high bounce rate, you will be penalized. The bounce rate measures the amount of time a visitor spends in a web page. If the bounce rate is high, it is assumed visitors did not find your content interesting or engaging.

Outsourcing content to a Virtual Assistant is a cost-effective yet highly productive strategy for any business regardless of size. Not only will it free up more time for you to focus on the essential tasks of your business, but you can be assured writing will be in good hands.