Business blogging is no more a nice-to-have. According to latest statistics, marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to reap positive ROI, get 67% more leads, 97% more links to their website, and register their presence on the 5^th most trusted source as per consumers for accurate online information. Impressive, right?

But all this only adds to your problem IF you neither have the time for blogging nor the acumen for it.  Hey, but who said it has to always be YOU who should be blogging – you can easily outsource the task to a virtual assistant and see your blog prosper while you handle the meeting clients and growing the business part. Win-win!

Here’s how to use a virtual assistant (VA) to manage your blog in 5 easy ways.

#1 Outsource the technical tweaking: While blogging is a creative process, the technical side of it can become too much to handle at times. Get your VA to take periodic backups of the blog by installing and updating the required plug-ins, upgrade WordPress versions (hiring a VA who is a WordPress expert could be a boon), transcribe, tag, format, design, upload your posts, videos, and images.

#2 Create cutting-edge content: Content is the soul of your blog and content marketing is the reason blogs are all the rage today. While it’s good to create content on your own for it has your personal flavor, if you don’t have the time for it, by all means, use a VA but don’t compromise on the frequency of posts – once you have a loyal reader base, they expect your posts at a specified time and letting readers down is a big NO. A virtual assistant can also perform content supporting tasks such as researching blog topics and trends, making a monthly blog calendar, etc.

#3 Optimize blog posts (think mobile-friendly): If you are not search engine optimizing your blog, you are committing a blunder for SEO which is what helps you get found online. Why create good content when it doesn’t reach the right audience? Get your VA to do keywords research and optimize the blog content and images, insert reference links for cross promotion and increase inter-linkages within your site, create meta descriptions and topic tags, make your blog content and design mobile-friendly, study analytics findings, etc.

#4 Maximize social media reach: Sharing your blog posts on social media platforms is a perfect way to increase your readership as well as organic search ranking – something that still matters significantly despite paid search clogging all the space. Get your VA to link your blog in each social media profile, include social sharing buttons in blog posts, use images on social media to link back to your blog, and a lot more.

#5 Respond to comments: You sure want to increase engagement through your blog and that’s what makes comments’ management a must. Get your VA to respond to comments in time – both on the blog as well as on social platforms. You’d be surprised that you can actually build a loyal fan base just by responding to comments in time and in an engaging way. Remember, NEVER delete the negative comments. Handle criticism tactfully and if you can throw in some humour, all the more better!

Publishing a blog post is hard work and as for every time consuming task that isn’t your core competence, don’t think twice about delegating it to a virtual assistant!

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