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Why is trying to find the right VA's so difficult?

by larryboy03
14 replies
Iv been looking for a VA/ Virtual Assistant for a week or so now. All I require them to do is keyword research and write for a technology blog of mine but every single person who has applied has failed to deliver.

Every single one seems to think that using the Google's "low", "medium" and "high" metric in the Google Keyword Planner is how to determine the difficulty in ranking in Google.

I even put a job up on Elance and every single applicant done the exact same and failed to prove they can do "REAL" research.

What are people teaching these days......

If you were in my position, where would you go to try and find a keyword researcher/ writer?

P.S I already have it posted in the warriors for hire section.
#difficult #find
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by larryboy03 View Post

    Why is trying to find the right VA's so difficult?
    Huge question, with a huge number of different factors involved, depending on what sort of VA's you're looking for, I think?

    I've eventually found 3 full-time VA's but it took many months and an enormous amount of persistence, flexible approaches, learning new skills, and so on (and all that was just before I started training them!).

    Originally Posted by larryboy03 View Post

    If you were in my position, where would you go to try and find a keyword researcher/ writer?
    For keyword research and for writing, I'd clearly and definitely be looking for two different people, not just one - this I can say with certainty. I wouldn't be "putting jobs up on Elance", though.

    I'm not really qualified to comment on outsourcing keyword researchers. For writers, I'd look (i) here (confidently), and maybe (ii) at Constant-Content (but at no other "content-mills" at all). I think finding a good and reliable and available writer right here in the Warrior Forum isn't too difficult, actually.

    .
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  • Profile picture of the author hollyda31
    My question is what exactly would you like them to do? Are you asking them to use Market Samurai or something like that? Do you have a specific program or technique you want them to use? And if you do, why are you not telling them exactly what you want?
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    • Profile picture of the author larryboy03
      Thanks for the feedback so far.

      I use Long tail pro when doing keyword research, I do have my own method when doing research but I have got plans and I'm not going to have the time to do research.

      Finding someone reliable is a must. I totally agree on hiring two people, one for keyword research and one for writing.

      I already have a writer who works for me part time but I would rather have someone who has a good understanding and a strong interest in technology.
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  • Profile picture of the author hollyda31
    And to add - the caliber of people on eLance kind of stinks, mainly because eLance clients are cheap, demanding, and rude. I'm obviously not talking about anyone individually, but as a copywriter myself, I won't touch eLance anymore because the type of clients I got were such a pain in the butt to deal with. I get better treatment on Fiverr than eLance! (And better rates!)

    The point is that if the clients on eLance suck (and my experience is that there's a larger-than-normal percentage that such on eLance), the experts who can - who have the skill and talent to do it - are going to jump ship and go to different platforms. So you can either find an independent, go through a placement firm, or look for a different platform. oDesk has been pretty good for me these days, but it's still a big step down from working with an independent or agency, even though those options are more expensive.
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  • Profile picture of the author hollyda31
    Larryboy03: One thing to keep in mind... Longtail Pro (it's what I use, too!) is a paid program. That may not seem like a lot to you, but a lot of these copywriter are making peanuts, and I know that personally, I wouldn't pay for a $97 program to please the ONE CLIENT who wants me to use it, not unless I could be certain that you would be spending a lot more than $97 on me (after eLance or oDesk fees) each month. I'm betting that your freelancers are using Google Keyword Research because it's free!
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    • Profile picture of the author larryboy03
      Originally Posted by hollyda31 View Post

      Larryboy03: One thing to keep in mind... Longtail Pro (it's what I use, too!) is a paid program. That may not seem like a lot to you, but a lot of these copywriter are making peanuts, and I know that personally, I wouldn't pay for a $97 program to please the ONE CLIENT who wants me to use it, not unless I could be certain that you would be spending a lot more than $97 on me (after eLance or oDesk fees) each month. I'm betting that your freelancers are using Google Keyword Research because it's free!
      I completely agree, I don't expect them to buy anything. Most people who can do keyword research already use these tools and software anyway. There are some free ways of doing it too but these tools just speed the process up for me anyway.

      If someone new how to do research and wanted the tool, as long as they can prove to me they can do the right research, I would happily buy a unit for them to use.

      Like I mentioned before most people have the right software if there applying for a job which they are telling me they can do. People who apply for a job where they have no experience is just wasting my time.
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      • Profile picture of the author hollyda31
        The truth is, there IS no free way to do it that's going to get you the kind of results you'll get from Longtail Pro or Market Samurai (which is also a paid program). Now if they really ARE an expert in keyword research, you're right that they probably will have these programs already. But if their specialty is something like copywriting or VA or even SEO, they might not have the kind of programs they need to do a good job.

        Good luck finding the right person! I know it can be a challenge.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zak L.
    A great place to hire VA's is OnlineJobs.ph.

    But it's important you take them through a proper interview process in order to determine if they'll be the right fit for the job.

    A book that will help you out with this is Michael Baptiste's 'Outsource Report'.

    It really goes in to detail about what you're after.
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    • Profile picture of the author larryboy03
      Originally Posted by Zak L. View Post

      A great place to hire VA's is OnlineJobs.ph.

      But it's important you take them through a proper interview process in order to determine if they'll be the right fit for the job.

      A book that will help you out with this is Michael Baptiste's 'Outsource Report'.

      It really goes in to detail about what you're after.
      Yeah, in the job description, I ask people who are serious to send me 3 test keywords which have low competition 200+ searches monthly and target the UK market.

      You wouldn't believe some of the keywords I have been given, not 1 single person has been able to prove them selves.

      I will go over and take a look just now.

      Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author 10kaday
    it takes time you just have to look around and find the best one
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  • Profile picture of the author larryboy03
    Yeah, it's hard finding the right people with the right skill level.
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    • Profile picture of the author rhinocl
      Look at your above posts. There are flagrant spelling and grammar errors. I'm thinking if you don't take the time to get rid of these before posting in a public forum, then you probably don't when sending private email instructions to V.A.s. Given the fact that some of them are foreigners you need to be VERY clear in your instructions. Omitted words can change the meaning (even though a native speaker will still be able to guess what you meant).
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  • Profile picture of the author Christopher Fox
    I have quite a few years management across three non-related industries. I have hired and trained a lot of people. Seems to me that many people looking for a VA think they are hiring an independent contractor, and treat it as such. For how much money/month? The reality is more of an employee/contractor hybrid.

    You are paying these people jack sh!t, most likely. Try one or two and TRAIN them to do things the way you need. Yes, they are 'freelance' jobs, but I think a VA is more akin to an employee than independent contractor. Certainly with how you must deal with their on-the-job training.

    What are people teaching these days....
    Where is this Internet Marketing/Keyword Research school, with teachers to boot, you speak of?

    Quit crying, hire someone, and DO YOUR PART and train them to perform how you want.

    You wanna be a 'boss' and hire VAs? Act like one then and understand there can be some work involved on your end ...
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    • Profile picture of the author larryboy03
      I totally agree, do my part??

      You don't know me and you don't know what I do.
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