Working from home is something that a lot of us have dreamed about, and it’s a reality now more than ever.
Today we are going to look at a role which is extremely flexible, fun and lucrative.
This is the perfect role if you are a stay at home mom, but it would be great for pretty much everyone.
That job role? Becoming a virtual assistant!
Whether you want to do this as a bit of side income or to be your full time job, being a virtual assistant needs to be something that is on your radar.
If you don’t know what a virtual assistant is, we will be going through what it entails exactly in this article and how you can find work.
What is a Virtual Assistant and What Do They Do?
That may have all sounded really good to you, but you may be wondering, what is a virtual assistant and what do they do?
A virtual assistant is an assistant who does their work virtually/remotely. That may sound like a very obvious way of looking at it, but that’s the best way to explain it.
The type of work that assistants do varies depending on what kind of company they are working for and the work available.
To give an example, there are lots of virtual assistant jobs for bloggers. There are estimated to be approximately 600 million blogs in the world – that’s a lot of blogs!
When you run a blog, there are a lot of things that need to happen to keep it running and growing. These are often too much for one person alone to manage, so they bring in a team.
Examples of tasks that virtual assistants do are things such as:
Writing content Editing content Creating social media graphics Scheduling/uploading social media posts Booking appointments Answering the phone Bookkeeping
As you can see, there are a lot of different tasks that a virtual assistant can do, and it depends on what the company would like them to do.
How Much Do Virtual Assistants Make?
The amount that you are able to make as a virtual assistant will again depend on where you are working.
There are other factors which come into play as well such as how much experience you have and how many hours you are contracted to.
Different sites cite varied salaries and hourly rates, but we suggest that you start at $25 per hour and work your way up.
When you are more experienced you could be earning $50 an hour upwards.
However if you have zero experience you may find that you will be starting out on a lower amount before you rack up some experience.
Make sure that you don’t stay on the low amount that you start out on – as you gain experience you can raise your prices.
When you are a freelancer and essentially working for yourself, it’s up to you to dictate your prices. Virtual assistants pay is generally decent.
What Skills or Equipment Do You Need to Become a Virtual Assistant?
The types of skills that you need to become a virtual assistant will vary depending on the work that the client wants you to do.
There are some general skills which will help you though, such as:
Organizational skills Efficiency and speed Communication skills
There are other skills which will probably serve you well such as a fast typing speed, good grammar and accuracy.
If you are thinking about being a virtual assistant for a blogger then it will help to have some experience with social media platforms, schedulers and creating graphics.
The Top 10 High Demand Virtual Assistant Services
When you’re thinking of the best virtual assistant services to offer to business owners, it’s always a good idea to look at the services that are in high demand.
1) Customer Service
Customer service is usually one of the main priorities for a company (and if it’s not, then it should be!).
Even though it’s one of the more important aspects in a business, it’s one of the areas which takes up the most time.
This means that a lot of companies are happy to outsource this in order to keep their customers happy.
Examples of tasks that they may ask you to do include:
Answering phone calls Replying to emails Answering customer queries Processing orders
2) Administrative Support
If you are feeling a bit apprehensive about the skills that you have to offer for virtual assistant services, you may want to start with administrative support.
Some examples of the type of tasks include:
Inputting data into spreadsheets Transcribing audio into text Creating spreadsheets Booking travel Creating reports Drafting emails/letters Sending out emails Managing files
3) Social Media Management
This is a perfect thing to offer to a business such as a blog owner. Most companies have social media, so this is a good skill to have under your hat.
The reason that this is outsourced so much is because running even one social media account takes a lot of time and effort.
It is hard for businesses to run multiple social media accounts as well as deal with all other areas of their business, so they like to outsource.
If you have never done anything on social media then it may be a good idea to try them out before offering it as a service as it can be a big learning curve.
The types of social media platforms that your clients may want to you manage could include:
Facebook Instagram Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
These are some of the more important/common social media platforms.
Some of the things involved in social media management include:
Creating graphics for social media Uploading graphics to social media with wording Creating pins for Pinterest Replying to comments Keeping social media profiles up to date
Social media management requires a lot of effort and organization, so you can charge a higher fee for this.
4) Website/Blog Management
This is something that you should only offer if you know what you are doing! Websites are confusing when you are first getting started, but give it time and you will know your way around.
Most business owners are happy to hand this side of running the business over to someone else, because although it’s essential it takes a lot of time.
Tasks that you could offer include:
Updating plugins Changing broken links SEO audits Editing posts Replying to comments Removing old posts, setting up redirects
This is something that you could offer as an ongoing monthly package or retainer.
5) Content Creation
Websites need a lot of good content to be created, and this is where you can come in!
It takes a lot of time to create a decent piece of content, and some business owners need support in this area.
If you are talented in this area then this is something that you should offer.
It’s not just about typing a bunch of words out and hoping for the best. There’s a lot more that goes into it such as:
SEO research (e.g.keywords, topics) Writing blog posts Formatting blog posts Editing old blog posts Proofreading/editing Adding relevant affiliate links with in the blog posts Scheduling
6) Editing/Proofreading
If businesses are hiring freelance writers, or they are writing themselves, it’s always a good idea to have a second eye look over them.
As a virtual assistant you can offer your service for editing or proofreading over pieces of writing.
This doesn’t just need to be for blog posts – there are other pieces of content too such as books, eBooks or sales pages.
Click here to sign up for a FREE proofreading workshop to learn how to make $50/hour.
7) Email Marketing
This is another area of the business that it’s best to know a lot about before offering it as a service.
That is because there is a lot that goes into email marketing, and it’s a very important area of a business.
The types of tasks that you could offer as part of your email marketing service could include:
Designing email templates Writing email content Scheduling emails Tracking the metrics of the email campaigns
8) Graphic Design
Graphic design is a popular service for businesses to outsource to creatives.
The type of graphic design that you offer depends on the skill set that you have.
For examples if you are a professional graphic designer then you can offer things such as bespoke graphics for blog posts, products etc.
If you are not, then you can still offer services such as creating graphics for social media – especially pins for Pinterest.
9) Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is something that needs to be done, but a lot of business owners put it off and leave it to the last minute.
It’s not the most fun part of a business for most people – so they are happy to take on someone who will do it for them.
This is something that you could offer if you are good with numbers, love a spreadsheet and have a keen eye for detail.
Click here to learn how to launch an entire book keeping business from start to finish.
10) Facebook Ads
Offering Facebook ad management will be a more lucrative skill to offer as a virtual assistant.
This is because not many people know how to run a successful ad campaign, and perhaps don’t have the time nor money to learn.
Facebook ads are those ads that pop up when you’re browsing through Facebook and something pops up that seems really targeted to you.
Businesses love to use Facebook ads to grow brand awareness and direct the right people to their sales pages.
Because running good Facebook ads can generate a lot of sales (and therefore money), you can offer your services for a lot of money.
Click here to learn how to make money running Facebook ads for your clients.
How to Become a Virtual Assistant With No Experience in 5 Simple Steps?
Now that we have looked at what being a virtual assistant entails and some services that you can offer, now it’s time to look at how to become a virtual assistant.
A lot of jobs require a ton of experience but this is a field that you can get into with little to no experience. We will show you how!
1) Take a Virtual Assistant Training Course
An ideal place when you are setting down the path to make this your career is to take a virtual assistant training course.
If you want to take the best course for virtual assistants then you will want to check out Gina Horkey’s course – 30 Days To Virtual Assistant Success.
Gina has been doing this for a long time and her course will help you with how to become a virtual assistant.
Within 6 months of Gina launching her own VA business she was already earning $4000 a month – with 2 little kids in tow!
Within 8 months from launching her business she quit her job and moved to doing virtual assistant work full time. Impressive!
Click here to start your virtual assistant business off right!
2) Decide on the Services You Will Offer
It may be tempting to say that you can offer all of the services under the sun, but it’s best to be realistic and specific.
Have a think about the skills that you have currently and the services that you can offer off the back of that.
If you run your own blog then you could know your way around a website and know all of the different plugins etc.
You may be a really good writer and have an eye for an error so would prefer offering something like that.
Maybe you enjoy creating graphics and so would prefer the social media management side of it all.
There’s no right or wrong here, and you can always change things as you go along in your business.
3) Decide Your Pricing Structure and Rates
A lot of us are guilty of undercharging for our work, especially if we are new and inexperienced.
That being said, you don’t want to overcharge and get no clients!
When it comes to deciding your prices you need to remember all of the costs that come with running your own business.
We’re talking: your own website running costs, no benefits e.g. healthcare, sick pay, retirement pay and so on.
You’re going to want to think about how you are packaging your services as well, for example:
Hourly (paid by the hour) Project-Based (paid for each project that you do) Retainer (paid a monthly rate)
4) Pick a Name and Build Your Online Presence
Don’t forget that as well as growing your clients business, you will be setting up a business for yourself.
Part of this is growing your own online presence. If your client is going to be paying you for growing their online presence, they will want to see that you know how to do that.
You will want a website to showcase your services, and we can help you with that too if you check out our blog post on how to start a blog.
5) Start to Network and Pitch New Clients
When you are a brand new business you need to get your name out there, and that means networking.
Find places to network with potential clients such as at events or anywhere that local business owners hang out.
Online you can network by joining relevant Facebook groups and letting people know that you are available for work, and making sure that you are being helpful in the groups.
Where to Find Virtual Assistant Jobs?
Now that you have yourself all set up, it’s time to start looking for some jobs!
Don’t get discouraged when you first start looking or applying as it may take some time to get some traction.
Freelance Websites
There are websites out there which are set up to help people find jobs in areas like this. We can take a look at some of the best below:
Fiverr
Don’t be put off by the name, as although it’s advertised as gigs starting at $5 you can upscale your services and offer more than that.
Upwork
You should find a lot of virtual assistant jobs on Upwork. Simply upload your profile and portfolio and then start applying!
Freelancer
Freelancer is another popular site for finding freelance work. It’s perfect for finding virtual assistant work and is easy to use.
Flex Jobs
This is a website that has been setup to show flexible jobs that are currently available.
Belay Solutions
You will want to check out this site if you have experience and preferably a degree.
Equivity
This site requires you to have a bachelor’s degree, but it will offer a lot of high paying jobs, so worth checking out if you are in this position.
Fancy Hands
This company has things set up so that you apply for tasks that a client needs doing.
The tasks typically range from $3 – $7 and you can pick and choose as many as you like.
Zirtual
This is a company which offers lots of virtual assistant type services such as data entry. A good place to check for work!
Virtual Assist USA
Virtual Assist USA will usually expect a lot of experience as a VA, but it’s still worth keeping an eye out for jobs coming up on there.
Social Media
As mentioned, joining relevant Facebook groups is a great place to look for work.
If you are in a group where potential clients hang out, this is where they can find out about you and the services that you provide.
LinkedIn is another good one, and you can post articles on there to showcase your skills.
Local Businesses
Local businesses can be a gold mine when it comes to finding online work.
A lot of online businesses haven’t thought about taking their business online, or aren’t sure how to go the best way about it. This is where you can come in!
Network With Other Virtual Assistants
Networking with other VA’s is a good idea because you can learn from each other and support each other.
Not only that, but you can recommend each other for jobs. For example if your VA friend can’t take on a client due to having too much work, but is happy to recommend you.
Become a Virtual Assistant and Start Making Money From Home
We hope that we have shown you the positive reasons why you should consider becoming a virtual assistant.
When you want to work from home, be your own boss and have flexible working hours, this is the perfect job role.
There are so many different ways that you can find clients, and lots of different services to offer. No day needs to be the same!
You can do it part time as some side income or make it into a fully fledged business earning a lot of money.
Don’t forget to sign up to the VA course to get you started – 30 Days to Virtual Assistant Success.
The post How to Become a Virtual Assistant (Make $25/Hour) appeared first on The Savvy Couple.
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