Hi! I’m Gina (Long) Boekhout and I provide virtual assistant services, content creation, and marketing primarily for wellness businesses and coaches, which frees up their time and flexibility.
I am a trained web writer, marketer, virtual assistant, published author of several novels, certified health/wellness coach, certified personal trainer, and experienced administrative assistant.
A few of my specialties: emails, enewsletters, blogs/articles, and social media content that create authentic, “sticky” connections and help businesses pump up their profits.
I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life. Business and marketing are in my blood!
My creativity blossomed as an only child… as a pre-teen I played elaborate “make-believe” games. When the new kid moved in next door (and since I’m capable of having a conversation with a rock!), we became fast friends and often pretended to be “teachers” – complete with a chalkboard and educational books from Mom!
At the age of 13, I set up Long’s Little Library in my bedroom and loaned out books from my reading collection – seriously! (–already showing my entrepreneurial skills here).
Throughout my teen years, I read everything in sight, loved horror movies, and experimented with writing. This included poems, short stories, and creating a teen newsletter with celebrity gossip that I mailed to my 30 plus pen pals (wish I could find those old newsletters now…).
I grew up with parents who were self-employed and ran their own automotive business and (later in life) a resort.
I had been a licensed cosmetologist operating all aspects of running a successful beauty salon (Gina’s Permanent Connection) which I owned for 16 years at the same location, although I “did hair” for many years in other places before this salon (24 years experience total). Besides cosmetology skills, as owner/operator I handled administrative duties, bookkeeping, scheduling, marketing (brochures, flyers, product sales, newspaper ads), and introducing new services/products (sales). In June 2010, I sold the shop and immersed myself into writing full-time, which I had previously written on a part-time basis.
So, my entrepreneurial mentality and experience runs deep and wide.
Insider Tip: My married name is Gina Boekhout – just in case you “Google” me and see that last name listed with the results (but if you search “Gina Marie Long” you will see pages of results). However, I mostly use my maiden name, Gina Marie Long, for my business. (Gee, I wonder why I chose to use Long instead of Boekhout?!)
As an indie author/publisher, I wrote young adult, urban fantasy, paranormal thrillers. I have six published books.
I’ve created several websites and have an intermediate knowledge of the WordPress platform plus some design skills. But, I am NOT a professional web/graphic designer… that’s a whole different ballgame (and business)! I work with web designers provided by the client or I have my own short list of designers I can contact for client projects.
Websites I’ve created and maintain (although some are just used for examples in my Portfolio): my health and wellness coaching site called Wellness Actions, a cat care website called Cats the Boss, my author website, an exercise tips/blog site, and my web writer/virtual assistant site that you’re staring at. I consider these sites as prime examples of my work/abilities.
Need content? I’ve previously written articles (2 per week) as the Speculative Fiction Examiner for St. Louis, MO (their name has changed to AXS.com).
Back during the dot com boom (yes, I’ve been around for awhile), I worked as a Worldprofit.com representative for several years. Worldprofit.com and TrafficCenter.com (a division of Worldprofit) offer internet marketing and website packages for small to medium sized businesses. At that time, to promote their services, I created two websites: Cyber City Promotions and Cyber City Success.
I’ve been a fitness fanatic since I was about 12 years old. My living room looks like a gym, complete with a Bowflex, treadmill, weights, stability ball, resistance bands… you name it! Also, I watch what I (we) eat, create healthy menu plans and am quite the carb-counting queen – my husband is a mild diabetic.
With the experience, knowledge and enthusiasm I have for wellness, I became a Certified Health and Wellness Coach, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and a Certified Personal Trainer! It perfectly compliments my content writing and marketing niche, giving me more “street cred”! I’m not currently offering coaching services (although my wellness website is active), as I pivoted to marketing and virtual assistance FOR wellness businesses and coaches.
I’ve been trained by the best in the copywriting industry by completing the following courses (some of the experts: Nick Usborne, Steve Slaunwhite, Michael Katz, Ed Gandia, Jay White, Pam Foster, Brian Clark, to name a few):
Independent Coursework:
- Copywriting 2.0-Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts
- B2B Copywriting Mastery Mentorship Course w/Certification of Completion
- Creating Email Newsletters for Professional Firms
- B2B Copywriting Intensive
- Secrets of Writing High Performance B2B Copy
- Email Copy
- Social Media Marketing Expert
- Writing Case Studies
- B2B Content Writing
- Site Audits
- Money-Making Websites
- Content Mastery-Content Marketing Specialist
- Writing for the Health Market
- UX (User Experience) Writing
To keep up with current trends and to continually increase my knowledge in marketing, I’m a member of the following:
>>American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI)
>>American Fitness Professionals and Associates (AFPA)
In conclusion… I don’t think I can get any more authentic than I have here… which is what my entire “message” is all about: “Authentic connections equal bigger profits. Be real, be clear, or be lost.” The purpose of this Meet Gina Page (which is rather lengthy) is to allow YOU to see the REAL ME, showcase my background, and the many ways I can help your business prosper or help take some of the burden off your plate from administrative tasks. So, let’s get the ball rolling and work together in building your own relationships with your prospects; spotlight your “cool-factor”, and persuade prospects to take action by buying your products or services!
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I offer a FREE 30 minute initial consultation to determine how I can help you reach your goals. Not into phone calls? No problem. Email works for me, too. I can write up a proposal and there is no obligation to buy.
Gina Marie Long, Marketing and Virtual Assistance 