Hot Virtual Assistant Services to Offer In 2021

It takes a lot of work to grow an online business, and entrepreneurs need quality help. If you’ve ever considered becoming a virtual assistant, now is a great time to take the leap!

Part of launching your VA business means picking what services you’re going to offer. When you brainstorm what tasks you’re good at, make sure you also keep client needs in mind. You must create packages that solve problems for your clients if you want to be able to sell your services.

Recently, I asked several online business owners what tasks they’re struggling with. I analyzed their answers and came up with this list of the top virtual assistant services. By creating packages that address these pain points, you can watch your business soar in the new year.

For best results, create all-inclusive packages to make it easy for your client to say yes to you. You’ll be able to charge more, and they won’t have the stress of trying to work with several different assistants for a single project. It’s a win-win! Consider offering the following services.

Inbox Management and Basic Customer Support

So many emails arrive every day that, it’s easy to fall behind. Clients are looking for virtual assistants who can help them tame the chaos inside their inboxes so the important things don’t slip through the cracks.

To succeed at this, you will need great organization skills. You will also need to provide basic customer service skills. This way you can respond to many emails on behalf of your client.

Being able to discern which emails need your client’s attention and which ones do not is an important skill. Work with your client to come up with answers to the most frequently asked questions in their inbox, and pay attention to what the client does and doesn’t deem important.

Also, come up with processes or procedures for the common tech trouble their customers may have. This could be problems logging in, not receiving emails, or broken links. By having responses ready, you can quickly and easily send a reply.

When a question comes up that you can’t answer, that’s one that needs your client’s attention. Develop a system for these emails.

You could put them in a certain folder. Or you can flag them or leave them marked as unread. Whatever you decide, make sure you and your client are on the same page, and then stick to the system. You don’t want any emails to slip through the cracks.

Email Marketing

Email lists are key to growth, but they take a lot of work to set up and maintain. As a virtual assistant, you can offer a complete email marketing package. Being able to specialize in the “tech” side of email marketing will make you even more valuable, and you’ll be able to learn almost everything you’d need to know by getting familiar with the support documents.

You can decide if you want to specialize in one email service provider like ConvertKit or offer support for a variety of them because the fundamentals of email marketing are consistent no matter what email service provider your client is using. Either way, here are some of the services you can provide in this package

• Create an opt-in freebie, set it up, and connect it to the right email lists and sequences
• Develop forms for website integration
• Set up an autoresponder series
• Create email newsletters
• Tag and segment subscribers
• Ensure email practices are up to date with current regulations

Spend some time learning your client’s business before diving in. Make sure you understand the goals of the business and have a clear understanding of who the target audience is. That way you’ll be able to set up the email list(s) the most effective ways possible.

Course Development, Launch, and Maintenance

Many entrepreneurs have big plans to launch new courses this year. Set up your support packages now so you’re ready to help them succeed.

Your package can include developing the course with your client, editing the material, formatting everything so it looks appealing, uploading it to a learning platform like Teachable, and setting up an affiliate program.

In addition to getting the course ready for students, you can be busy on the marketing front. Help your client create webinars, reach out to influencers, prepare funnels, and write the main sales page.

As students start enrolling, you’ll be there to ensure everything goes smoothly. You can provide tech support, troubleshoot problems, and track performance stats. By using data to track sales and progress, you can give your client a clear picture of the success of the course.

While you might not know how to do everything immediately, these are the types of programs and software that it’d be good to know if you want to offer a package like this:

• Sales page builders (ClickFunnels, Beaver Builder, Divi, etc.)
• Learning platforms (Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, etc.)
• Content production software (much of this can be done with Google Docs and Canva, but Adobe Photoshop is also a valuable skill)
• Webinar platforms (WebinarJam, Webinar Ninja, Zoom, etc.)

Social Media Management

You can create an amazing product or write an epic blog post. But, if you don’t market it, no one is ever going to see it. Social media is required to get eyes on content.

As a virtual assistant, you can create social media packages to help your client grow. You can create graphics, curate content to share, and track analytics on various platforms.

Make sure you have a clear picture of your client’s target audience. If you’re working with a Keto blogger, ensure you’re posting Keto-related material. If you have no idea what Keto is, spend time doing research and familiarizing yourself with the topic. Otherwise, you won’t be targeting the audience your client desires.

Pro Tip: Don’t steal other social media profile’s stuff! Seriously. I ran into this twice this year. Educate yourself on copyright infringement. Using images you are not allowed to use can be a costly mistake for your client.

Blogging Support

This is one of my favorite packages to recommend because there are so many bloggers who need help. Running a blog requires time and energy that many entrepreneurs would rather pay someone else to do. If you understand the basics of WordPress, you can create a blogging support package.

For this package, you can offer the following services:

• Post editing, formatting, and scheduling
• Adding affiliate links
• Image creation
• Comment moderation
• Plugin updates and optimization
• WordPress and theme updates
• SEO strategy
• Site optimization

Your client can either make you your own admin account on their blog or give you their login credentials using a service such as LastPass. Then they can send you their blog post and you can take care of the rest.

Blogging support is a great “intro” to VA services, by the way. The skills are easy to learn, you’ll get a peek at how a successful online business is run, and you can dip your toes into lots of different arenas to see which area pulls at you hardest.

Podcast Support

Podcasts are a growing trend. You can create a podcast support package to help business owners get started with their podcasts and then keep publishing them. For this package, you can provide recommendations for equipment, help get the podcast listed on the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher, and editing support for the opener and closer of each episode.

Once your client is up and running, you can upload each episode and create show notes for them. You can help market the podcast and engage with listeners. Monetizing the podcast can also be included.

Writing

Every service package listed above includes some form of writing. Freelance writing is always in demand. As a writer, you can offer standalone services, or pair up with other virtual assistants, and tackle the writing portions of their projects. Here are some writing services you can offer:

• Blog posts
• Social media snippets
• Show notes
• Copy for printed material (brochures, postcards, flyers, etc.)
• Email sequences
• Website copy
• White pages
• Case studies

You might also find traction in creating content for things like opt-ins, printables, and course lessons. And there’s a growing trend in “repurposing” existing content as well — for example, taking the transcript of a podcast and turning it into a blog post, that then gets shared across multiple social media platforms.

Before writing for a client, have a solid understanding of who will be reading. Your tone, word choice, and voice are all affected by your audience.

Tips for Creating Virtual Assistant Service Packages

Don’t haphazardly throw together a couple of services and display them on your website as an inclusive package. Be very specific about what each package entails. You don’t want your client to be shocked when you say a certain related task isn’t included. Spell everything out so there are no surprises.

Being clear also helps you identify scope creep. You don’t want to wind up doing a bunch of work for free because you didn’t specify what you were going to do.

Before creating your packages, take time to research. Who’s out there offering similar services? What can you do better? Use these differences as one of your selling points.

Always communicate with your clients. If you aren’t exactly sure what they’re looking for, ask for guidance. When you’re working on longer projects, keep them in the loop so they aren’t left wondering if you just took their money and ran.

And always over-deliver. Seriously do the very best work you possibly can and treat every client with respect.  Word of mouth is one of the best forms of marketing for virtual assistants, and if you continually WOW your clients, they’ll keep referring others to you.

Where to Learn the Top Virtual Assistant Skills

Interested in offering some of these top virtual assistant services, but need to spend a bit of time learning first? Here are some quality materials or blog posts I recommend to help you beef up your skills.

• General Virtual Assistant Skills: 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success
• Inbox Management: Email Management for Virtual Assistants
• Email Marketing: What Every Creator Needs to Know About Email Marketing in 2019 by ConvertKit (starts January 8, 2019) or Sales Funnels Intro or List Building for Beginners or Email Copywriting or Earn Your First Dollar
• Course Development: Full-time Creator Masterclass (starts January 7, 2019)
• Social Media Management: Social Media Manager School
• Blogging Support: How to Start a Blog Step by Step
• Podcast Support: The Podcast Host Academy
• Freelance Writing: 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success

What’s the Best Way to Find VA Clients?

Once you have the knowledge you need and your packages are ready, it’s time to find some clients. While you can create accounts with sites like Upwork or Fiverr to get started, there’s a better way to find clients.

Relationships and word of mouth referrals lead to clients. Where are your ideal clients hanging out? Go there!

If they’re in Facebook Groups, join them. If they’re on Twitter, follow them. Engage and don’t jump straight off with a pitch for your services. Instead, answer their questions and help them find solutions. Get your name out there as being helpful and knowledgeable. Then when the time comes, you’ll be prepared to share your services and sign on new clients.

Note: I highly recommend Miranda Nahmias’ 5-day Client Challenge and Horkey Handbook Shop.

Remember to wow your clients and don’t forget to ask for testimonials once you’ve been working together for a while. You can use these as social proof in your marketing.

This strategy takes a bit longer than just finding gigs on Craigslist or job boards, but it leads to higher quality clients. And that is what you want to build a stable, income-generating virtual assistant business.