Being a virtual assistant is one of the many ways that you can earn as a freelancer. Apart from augmenting your income, it’s also a good way to explore other areas of expertise that are outside of your current work or field. But how does one become a virtual assistant? Here are the ways.
Do your homework
Before anything else, you need to do your research and learn as much as you can about being a virtual assistant. First off, you need to know what a virtual assistant actually does. Most would think that it’s all about fulfilling administrative tasks, but that’s just a part of it. The job of a virtual assistant basically involves providing required services remotely or virtually. It can include writing articles, managing social media accounts, conducting market research, editing, Web designing, and data entry, among other things.
It’s also important to consider the pros and cons of being a virtual assistant and how it applies to your situation. Look at important factors such as your schedule, resources, and finances before you making a decision.
Also, determine how you will be paid as a virtual assistant. It’s usually a case-to-case basis and depends on your agreement with the client. Some are compensated on a per project basis, while others are given an hourly rate.
Decide on what services to offer
Though virtual assistance has a wide scope, you need to decide on the particular services that you can offer. Knowing your skills set is very important at this point. From there, you can determine what you can and can’t do.
For instance, if you have a background in SEO, you can put link building in your services. However, if you don’t even know what SEO stands for, then you probably won’t do well as a link builder.
Build an online presence
You need to put yourself out there in order to get clients. You can build your own website where you can present your skills and publish services that you offer. Make sure that you indicate how potential clients can easily reach you.
Today, however, having a website may no longer be enough to break into the online market. That’s why you need to go the extra mile and use social media to reach out to your potential clients. Being in different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ is a good way to further broaden your online reach.
Joining forums is also a good way to be in touch with the community. Doing so will not only contribute to your online presence and bring you closer to clients, it will also help you learn from others who are already in the field.
Know how to market yourself
If you want to be a successful virtual assistant, you need to take every opportunity to highlight your skills and services beyond your interactions with people on the Internet.
However, that doesn’t mean that you have to be in people’s faces every time you have to do a sales pitch. That can be rude and might backfire on you. Marketing yourself well means knowing how to converse well with people and directing the conversation to your skills when the opportunity presents itself.
Have the right attitude
Being a virtual assistant is far from being an easy-peasy job. If you want to thrive in this field, you need to have the right attitude, which involves discipline, patience, hard work, and enthusiasm.
