Home Potential Task List for Virtual Assistants

Potential Task List for Virtual Assistants

What is Here Next Year?

Here Next Year is a marketing agency that enables its business owner clients to use a combination of non-fiction book production, speaking and internet marketing to get more leads and sales for their businesses.

The company’s president, Marty Dickinson, started providing website services in 1996. When someone asked him, “We’d like to hire you, but how do we know you’ll be around in six months?” the company name Here Next Year was made official. More about Marty and his positioning statement can be found here >>

We have been in business for 25 years and are based in Aurora, CO. We have partnered with two web development teams to service the technical demands of our clients. We have a team of six for book production.

Employment Needs

We are currently looking for one or more virtual assistants to perform any or all of the following specific tasks for Here Next Year at the starting rate of $15/hour paid at the end of each week. We love to pay surprise bonuses! This is a contractor position with opportunity for advancement into more formal employment opportunities. We may need help with some tasks every day or week. Other tasks may only be performed as needed with a month or two between. 

Please make a list of which of these tasks you are currently capable of performing and those you may be interested in learning how to do. Also, include any tasks you definitely know you want no part of so because we only want you working with tasks you are comfortable with. Send your list to marty@hnyprojects.com for consideration and potential discussion by Zoom.

Promotion Tasks

  • Research potential podcasts and pitching Marty Dickinson to be a guest.
  • Add podcast contacts to Pipedrive CRM so that email communications can be tracked.
  • Research potential associations for Marty to speak at and add contacts to Pipedrive CRM.
  • Assist in the development of Keynote (Mac) slides for webinars and training programs.
  • Audio and video editing and uploading to YouTube channel.

Event Tasks

Just before Covid, we held a prototype, in-person, event we called Speaker Theater. When in-person events return, we will resume our live event expansion plan. Until then, our events will be through Zoom or Clubhouse where a virtual assistant is much needed for these specific tasks:

  • Manage and support attendees trying to access the Zoom meeting room.
  • Record sessions to the Zoom cloud with potential for editing video and uploading to YouTube channel.
  • Monitor questions being asked in chat and relaying to presenter.
  • Add or “tag” attendees in CRM and apply any notes for lead follow-up.
  • Co-moderate Clubhouse sessions by “resetting the room” and keeping track of speaker lineup.

Website Tasks

  • Update plugins and WordPress versions on HereNextYear and ProduceMyBook websites.
  • Add blog posts as written by Marty Dickinson
  • Find and add photos and images to compliment blog posts.
  • Converse through Skype, email, texting or phone with website development team to make structural changes to core website.

Social Media Tasks

  • Add announcements of new blog posts to Here Next Year’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter accounts.
  • Create promotional images for FB, Pinterest and Instagram to feature to announce upcoming events.
  • Research FB groups to join where Here Next Year potential clients are hanging out.
  • Identify popular hashtags and apply to tweets and posts.

Book Launch Tasks

One of the services we provide is producing non-fiction books for clients who are proven experts in their fields. Once the book is complete, there is a period of between three and six weeks where we guide the client through a book launch process on Amazon. Substantial contact by phone, email and texting is involved with a book launch, especially on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before official launch day on Tuesday. We could really use a virtual assistant to help with some of the tasks related to book launches.

  • Customizing Here Next Year’s written book launch plan for upcoming launches.
  • Setting up YMLP email system for sending broadcast emails to client’s launch team
  • Customizing 8-10 pre-launch emails based on Here Next Year’s launch templates and add them into client’s email system OR send them to client for sending on their own.
  • Write promotional social media posts for client to use in their posts to promote book launch.
  • Report book sales and downloads to client throughout launch period.

Billing Tasks

  • Contacting clients to get new credit card numbers when their cards expire and hosting payments lapse.
  • Answering questions about domain name renewals.

Client Support Tasks

Occasionally, clients will make requests for help with their websites, email or social media. Depending on your skills in these areas, you could help the clients directly or communicate with our development teams to get the task in the queue. Billing, of course, would be routed through Here Next Year and you would be paid for your time. Some of those requests include the following:

  • WordPress version and plugins updates.
  • WordPress backups
  • Fixing “white screen” syndrome in WordPress.
  • Identifying malicious code in WordPress sites.
  • Fixing plugin incompatibility.
  • Sizing and adding photos and images to pages or posts.
  • Adding new content to pages.
  • CSS tweaks.
  • Security assurance (locking down WordPress)
  • On-page SEO

General Requirements

The most important trait we look for in anyone we work with is trust. You will be potentially working with clients’ credit card numbers and login passwords that are critical to their operation. In addition to that, here are some other traits we look for in initial applicants. 

  • Obsession to detail.
  • Grammar basics: We are a professional services company and need to demonstrate professionalism in our written communications with clients and others on the team.
  • Positive personality and pleasant voice.
  • Quiet work environment: This one especially applies if you are going to be on the phone with our clients or helping with our virtual live events.
  • Typing speed: We cannot imagine anyone enjoying working on these tasks (or being able to perform them quickly enough) if they hunt & peck their way through a keyboard.
  • Intolerance of delay: If you’re someone who gets upset when people you work with do not  complete their assigned tasks on-time, you will fit in well to the overall culture of our company. We have a strong reputation for getting tasks completed on-time and with accuracy.

What to Do Next

Again, please make a list of the one-liner tasks you are currently capable of performing and those you may be interested in learning how to do. Also, include any tasks you definitely know you want no part of, because we only want you working with tasks you are comfortable with. Then email your list to marty@hnyprojects.com for consideration and potential scheduling of an interview by Zoom.