Being an indie author and business owner is hard work. Especially because you also have a life and family to take care of. You love to write, it’s in your DNA. At one point your stories turned into books and your hobby into a livelihood.
And that’s when things got busy. Because your hobby-turned-business got bigger and bigger. You got more and more on your to-do list. I know exactly what you mean because I’ve been through it myself. My sewing hobby became a sewing business. I made zipper pouches, bags, and adjusted clothes and curtains for the people in the area. But besides the actual sewing, I had to maintain a business to get my products to my buyers.
Making a Proper Business Decision
When things get busy you need to make changes. We only have 24 hours in the day, right? Sometimes I wish I could start my day again at 1 pm in the afternoon. Wishful thinking!
That’s when prioritizing what’s most important in the moment comes into play. Tasks need to be put on the back burner and chances are they stay there for a long time. Surely you could drop certain tasks altogether and likely this will happen. But is that a good business decision?
Wondering what if…?
Life changed things for me and now my sewing business is my hobby again. But I wonder… if I had the help needed would I still be in business? And how would my business have grown?
At the time, I had no idea what a content creator was and what she could potentially do for me. Maybe you don’t either. Let’s explore.
What is a content creator and what does she do for an indie author?
After working as a regular virtual assistant for a while, I realized my strength and what I enjoy most was content creation, especially writing. So I specialized in becoming a content creator.
A content creator is a person who remotely supports a business owner with writing tasks that the business owner needs help with in return for a paid fee.
These tasks are for example writing blog posts, newsletters, sales pages, and captions for social media, like Facebook and Instagram. But I also had assignments like writing intros for a crafting book, and writing the listings for shops. I love being a content creator and producing quality content!
Benefits of Hiring a Content Creator
She’s not an employee
In contrast to hiring someone to join your team as an employee, a content creator is a business owner herself. You could refer to her as a contractor or freelancer. A big benefit of working with a content creator is not having to pay employee benefits. As a business owner herself, she takes care of that within her own business.
Being remote has the benefit that you don’t need to provide her with a working place or equipment like a laptop or speedy internet access. Both of these benefits are cost-effective to the bottom line of your business.
Frees up valuable time
But working with a content creator has more pluses. When you work with a content creator, you free up valuable time. Time you can put into your business again. Time you can use to do what you love to do, which is writing. Time you can spend connecting with your target audience, your fans. This, in the end, could increase your business revenue.
Makes being a writer more enjoyable
When you regain your time to write, it will likely make your work more enjoyable again. Think about it… being able to plot again, write again, and let those creative juices flow abundantly. Being a writer first and foremost, you’re going back to your foundation, back to why you wanted to turn your hobby of creating stories into a business and entertain your fans.
Additional business insights for your author business
Another aspect of working with a content creator is having a partner who can give you additional business insight. I’m talking about turning your already awesome book into a blog post and then into a few social media posts. Or keeping your email subscribers posted on what is going on in your business and behind the scenes.
You and your content creator can talk about how you can improve your author business and reach more potential readers. She can provide you with advice on content marketing and how content can be repurposed and she can spot opportunities for you. This makes a content creator a great asset to your business.
When is it time to look for a content creator to assist in your author business?
I can imagine you asking yourself when it’s time to look for help in your author business. As I pointed out earlier, when you get overwhelmed by all the tasks in your business, you can do a couple of things, like prioritizing tasks. However, it is essential to go forward and not drop important aspects in your author business just because you simply don’t have the time to do them. It’s decision time.
Look at all your tasks, put them on paper and determine which ones you need to do to run your business. Think about administration, customer service, and writing articles to showcase your books. But also social media, keeping up with your blog and website, answering emails. And what about bookkeeping, writing newsletters, and so much more… This is besides your creative work as a fiction author which involves drafting stories, editing, revisions, designing your book cover, formatting your book… you catch my drift, right?
You can learn more about which tasks you can outsource in the next article.
Work with a content creator
I know you’d like to do it all yourself, just like other writers. Especially when you just start out. But there comes the point when there just isn’t enough time to do it all. That is the perfect time to look at this list you’ve made and see what you can outsource to a content creator. And I believe you should outsource being an indie author. It will only be good for your growing author business and, frankly, your sanity.
