6 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
6 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Hire VA or use services when needs be?

by thedog
5 replies
Hi guys... I'm working on multiple sites at the moment. I've 5 up, 3 are serp 6 on Google the other 2 are dancing around, page 1, 2 and 3.

I have a few more sites in the pipeline, concentrating on Amazon and Adsnese.

I outsource the content, and have enough articles written for 4 more Amazon sites.

One thing slowing me down is backlinking... at the moment I use social monkee, and submit to article directories, but I still find this a pain, and would rather be making new sites...

I'm trying to decide what would be more practicle and economic, hiring a full time VA, for around $250 a month, or just outsource SEO tasks when needs be?

I can get backlink services on fiverr for $5, have tried some, but don't really think they're that good. I see warriors on here offering SEO services for around $20 a pop.

I tried out a VA for 2 weeks, she was ok, not great, spent a lot of time explaining stuff to her.

For this year I want to work on 6 Amazon sites, and around 10 Adsense sites... I really like the idea of having a VA on board that can be constantly working on my sites... I haven't made much money yet, but have the money to invest...

So, do I use a VA or just outsource individual tasks?

Or should I buy seoNUkE x?
#hire #services
  • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
    I want you to think of this...

    If you find backlinking a pain, imagine how a VA would feel?

    You have to:

    1. Train them.
    2. They then need to be knowledgable in many forms of backlinking.

    And at 250 bucks a month...not going to happen with much luck.

    The problem most people face is they hand off WAY too much stuff to their VA.

    The VA doesn't really care about the business, so the results will be lax.

    Instead, the most efficient way is to hire multiple VA's to do one particular task efficiently.

    For example: Article writer, blog commenter, account creator, article submitter, video creator, etc.

    These small, but bite sized tasks make it WAY more efficient and effective.

    The question is, though, do you have enough work to support 4 or 5 full time VA's?

    See, because each person has only one task, you can literally hand over 100 sites, and they can handle that load.


    But of course, you still have to train them.

    An even better option, though, is to have software do most of the heaviest lifting.

    Then, you have these VA's operate the software for you. Glorified button pushers.

    But then, of course, you have the costs of the software and the VA.

    Do you have the load to handle that?


    These are the important questions you need to ask.

    Sometimes, for some people, it's important to just pass it off to a service.

    Rob
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3953344].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author thedog
      The particular niches/products I've chosen aren't supper competitive, so, maybe I could just use some warrior backlinking services.

      I see what you're saying about them not really caring... I mean, how are you supposed to keep track of what they're doing and not doing... I read on here a while back about some way of keeping track of them... never book marked it though.




      Originally Posted by ccmusicman View Post

      I want you to think of this...

      If you find backlinking a pain, imagine how a VA would feel?

      You have to:

      1. Train them.
      2. They then need to be knowledgable in many forms of backlinking.

      And at 250 bucks a month...not going to happen with much luck.

      The problem most people face is they hand off WAY too much stuff to their VA.

      The VA doesn't really care about the business, so the results will be lax.

      Instead, the most efficient way is to hire multiple VA's to do one particular task efficiently.

      For example: Article writer, blog commenter, account creator, article submitter, video creator, etc.

      These small, but bite sized tasks make it WAY more efficient and effective.

      The question is, though, do you have enough work to support 4 or 5 full time VA's?

      See, because each person has only one task, you can literally hand over 100 sites, and they can handle that load.


      But of course, you still have to train them.

      An even better option, though, is to have software do most of the heaviest lifting.

      Then, you have these VA's operate the software for you. Glorified button pushers.

      But then, of course, you have the costs of the software and the VA.

      Do you have the load to handle that?


      These are the important questions you need to ask.

      Sometimes, for some people, it's important to just pass it off to a service.

      Rob
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3953378].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
    Most people don't realize the work that goes into managing VA, especially from a different country.

    That's not to say it is hard.

    Here is my recommendation to you:

    Go with a service first. There are lots and lots of great services.

    Then as you GROW, say about 30 or 40 sites, begin looking at doing it "in house". Buy up a nice piece of software and a VA to run it. At that point, you have the load and resources to handle it. (You would also be able to afford a Project Manager who can manage your VA's for you)

    Rob
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3953398].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author PatrickP
    I would suggest you hire a company not a single VA. That way there is a better chance they will do a great job, slackers don't last long at good companies.

    You also wont have to be concerned should a VA have a family emergency as their co-workers will pick up where they left off.

    of course it is boring work, so is working on an assembly line in a factory at least as a VA you can sit down in A/C and make a living
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3953404].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author rainso0
      Originally Posted by PatrickP View Post

      I would suggest you hire a company not a single VA. That way there is a better chance they will do a great job, slackers don't last long at good companies.

      You also wont have to be concerned should a VA have a family emergency as their co-workers will pick up where they left off.

      of course it is boring work, so is working on an assembly line in a factory at least as a VA you can sit down in A/C and make a living
      yes, So your operation can be more flexible
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3953448].message }}

Trending Topics