Last year your back yard garden was a smashing hit. Not only were you and your family set up for some awesome salads and other delectable dishes but your relatives, neighbors and friends were indebted to you for the veggies you shared with them. So this year as you were laying out the blueprint for the garden you tilled and even larger area to accommodate a few more rows of nature’s goodness.

In the same spirit we have been using the mindset of planting and cultivating a back yard garden and using it as a mind image to get a feel for the determination and grit it takes to get an Internet business going. We have reviewed the most popular concepts of the on line businesses and tried to break it down so as to give you an idea or a taste of what is possible. Also these articles are designed to show the diversity and variables involved in the Internet business world aka the Internet garden.

Among the business and employment opportunities we discussed was the world of virtual assistance (VA). In Part 1 we took a peek at being a transcriber. For Part 2 we will take a look-see at a couple other options in the realm of virtual assistance.

One very valuable skill in the VA field is proofing and editing. I don’t have to remind you of the infinite amount of content that is prepared and presented for Internet consumption. In a practical sense putting content on the Internet is a form of publishing. So let me ask you. When books or magazines are published do you think they go right from the pen (actually the keyboard) to ink?

Absolutely not! Any and every publication is proof read and scrutinized, edited and analyzed. What would make you think that a serious Internet presentation would be any different? What does this mean?

“Knock, knock?” ………. “who’s there?” ………….. “It’s opportunity!”

Yes indeed, there is an abundance of material that needs to be given the old fine tooth comb before it appears on the web site. And more and more companies and web publishers are obtaining the services of a VA to just that for them. Why, don’t they have employees that can do that?

Of course some people do employ people for in house proofing and editing. And getting a position at a company to do that is also an option if you have the qualifications to do the job but you do not wish to operate your own business.

However from the publisher’s viewpoint it is quite enticing to hire the services of an independent VA. The reality is that if they hire an in house employee they will more than likely get a well intentioned employee who is probably not as thorough and accomplished as a top-notched VA. That is because to fill an in house position the pay scale will not attract the experienced proof readers and editors. Hiring a VA however is much more cost effective.

The bonus factor includes the fact that contracting the work outside the office will mean that the employee pays a tax deductible fee and that’s it. They will not have to pay benefits, workman’s compensation, vacations, sick days, and the like.

So do the math. Company hires an employee to proof and edit and gets a mediocre to adequate job for a nominal salary. But then is on the rope for employee costs. OR company contracts a VA for proofing and editing and writes of the cost on their quarterly taxes. The quality of work can and will be held to higher standard and therefore they will find someone to give them the quality results they desire. And as we explained there will be no time, money, or thought given to any other expense or cost to the contractor. What would you choose?

Now a key point here is this also raises the bar on the behalf of the VA. If you are going to nail down some lucrative jobs you will need to be skilled at the job. Although proofing and editing is a skilled job to begin with and not everyone is up to that sort of detailed job. Nevertheless it is important to have a nice resume and portfolio to get some work.

To land proofing and editing jobs you probably have more success approaching companies in need of your services as compared to simply advertising your service. Not that does not mean you won’t advertise your service. But an aggressive marketing plan will reap rewards.

Another area of on line publishing that gives independent VA’s opportunity is writing content. That may sound rather general but that is because it is. Practically speaking a higher percentage of persons could be a VA as compared to the other services that VA’s provide.

However when we connect writing a virtual assistance together we are referring to more than themed blog writing. Granted it seems that some Internet aficionados consider anything written for the Internet a blog. Where we are making a distinction is basically like this.

Usually content about celebrities, athletes, actors, bands, or anything you can be fan of is most commonly written by the fans that set those pages up. You customarily would not pay someone to write articles for you. Notwithstanding there is some demand for hired writers for sites of that nature.

We are focusing more on a journalistic and/or a marketing style of writing. For this type of writing you will need the talent and skills to provide the type of content the publisher and web masters wants.

To find these types of jobs you can search for opportunities for submission of your work across the World Wide Web. There is an abundance of web sites that offer this opportunity. Some of those sites give you direction as to what some publishers are looking for.

You can also look in classifieds that present writing jobs available. As the Internet has blossomed, the more Internet writing gigs that have been appearing in the jobs classifieds.

You can also comb the Internet and put the word out that your talents are available through relevant forums, social pages, and maybe your personal web page featuring your writing ability. Your web page may display your VA qualifications in general.

The reason for that is that another type of writing that a VA is often requested to do is a marketing or commercial style content. Yes, many VA’s even offer the ability to create a marketing campaign as well as put it together. This often includes tasks like writing and caring for press releases, cleverly written ads, newsletters, email campaigns, brochures, catalogs, in house manuals, and so on.

So as you have read through our discussion today, you have seen the medley of services that a VA offers. You may offer any one of them or a combination of some of them. The bottom line is a VA is a skilled position and more and more companies are seeking them out. So, go get ‘em tiger!

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