Recently I met with a photographer friend and we were discussing my Virtual Assistant business. I had never thought about the benefits that a photographer could gain from partnering with a Virtual Assistant until I spoke with her. Our conversation opened my eyes to a whole new market I had never considered, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became by the prospects. I started to make a plan and make a list of the ways that such a partnership could be best utilized.

1. Website Maintenance

Utilizing a Virtual Assistant to upload recent photographs, set up client galleries and maintain pricing and availability schedules on a photographers’ website is an invaluable service. Many photographers spend so much time maintaining their website; time they would much rather be utilizing behind the camera. Other photographers utilize their web designers and find that the prices are much higher than a Virtual Assistant’s price and the turnaround time is often longer than a Virtual Assistant’s is.

2. Blog Maintenance

Many photographers have begun to blog about their experiences and share their personalities with prospective clients. Virtual Assistants could easily upload articles, photos and stories to the photographer’s blog and also insert links to helpful information for the photographer’s prospective clients. For those photographers that are not as computer savvy, but realize the advantage of the personal contact a blog can provide, can use a Virtual Assistant that can provide services to, not only maintain your blog, but install a blog as well.

3. Client Contact and Follow Up

Virtual Assistants are a great asset in maintaining client contact on your behalf. A simple greeting, sent in the photographer’s behalf, on a wedding anniversary is one of those touches that not all photographers have the time to provide. Your Virtual Assistant can keep track of the important dates and make sure that your clients are never forgotten. Christmas cards, thank you notes and birthday greetings are just a few other contacts that your Virtual Assistant can make on your behalf. Perhaps you have always thought of sending a survey to your clients. Wouldn’t it be great to have this taken care of for you? Your clients are more likely to provide honest feedback to your VA and your VA can provide you with a summary of the survey results for future marketing and business operation decision making.

4. Email Management

Many photographers would love to have someone reply to the many inquiries they receive via email. Simple messages of unavailability, directing potential clients to online portfolios and a thank you for inquiries are just some of the emails that could easily be answered on a photographer’s behalf. Imagine only having to deal with one email each day with a summary of the emails received and how they were handled on your behalf.

5. Scheduling and Appointment Setting

Virtual Assistants can maintain a calendar on your behalf of availabilities, bookings and appointments with potential clients. By allowing someone else to schedule your appointments, you can spend more time being creative. Your Virtual Assistant would simply work with an online calendar of which you would both have access and would also provide you with daily, weekly, monthly and yearly agendas. Reminder calls are just another way that your Virtual Assistant can assist you in making sure that potential clients are never left waiting and appointments are never missed.

6. Marketing Materials

A Virtual Assistant can work with you to create a portfolio, promo package or other marketing materials required for meetings with potential clients, trade shows and networking events. Virtual Assistants can also create and maintain a newsletter to update past clients and provide potential clients with great information on what is happening in your business.

7. Basic Administration and Research

Typing of contracts, filing, proofreading services, formatting documents and voice mail management are just a few of the many secretarial type tasks that your Virtual Assistant can provide on your behalf. Your Virtual Assistant can also conduct market research to see what your competition is up to and find out what potential clients are looking for.

8. Database Management

A Virtual Assistant can not only create a database of your past and present clients, but they can also maintain this database. They can track important dates and maintain contact with your clients. They can also track prospects and leads, as well as referral partners and potential joint venture partners. Other things that can be maintained in a database are inventory, pricing and promotions. Any data you would like to maintain a list of can easily be accomplished by your Virtual Assistant.

9. Bookkeeping

Even those Virtual Assistants that don’t specialize in bookkeeping services (and several do), can still provide bookkeeping services such as creation of invoices, tracking of deposits paid and accounts payable management. Your Virtual Assistant can work hand-in-hand with your accountant or bookkeeper to ensure that your financial matters are kept up-to-date and worry free.

10. Organizational Tasks and Business Support

Just having a partnership with a Virtual Assistant provides you with the ability to bounce ideas off someone for future development and growth of your business. Your Virtual Assistant will be open to offering you feedback and suggestions in how to better organize your files, time and business for even greater success. After all, if you don’t succeed, neither does your Virtual Assistant.

Remember, the single most important thing about partnering with a Virtual Assistant is that you are gaining an invaluable member of your team. Your new partner will be there only when you need them with invaluable expertise and a drive to succeed and make your business thrive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Yvonne Weld is the owner of ABLE Virtual Assistant Services and offers administrative and bookkeeping support to busy solopreneurs. She is also the author of The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business and Managing Your Thriving Business for Success. For more information and for your free downloads, visit her Web site.