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As a Virtual Assistant, I am often asked, ” What exactly do virtual assistants do?” That’s often a hard question to answer in just a few sentences. Virtual Assistants have become so many things to so many different kinds of businesses that there’s no quick-and-easy answer to that question.
What Does a VA Do?
A virtual assistant’s job is to assist a business owner with various tasks. They could be anything from simple administrative tasks like data entry to more skilled, complex services like video production. Essentially, any task someone can’t or doesn’t want to do — and they’re willing to pay to outsource it — is up for grabs as a VA.
Many VAs end up working for online entrepreneurs. Their jobs range from the very typical (scheduling and responding to customer inquiries) to the cutting-edge (editing podcasts and managing blog sponsorships).
Online entrepreneurs aren’t the only ones hiring VAs, though. Any business owner might look for help taking care of their basic tasks. Real estate agents, journalists, and nonprofits all work with online assistants, too.
If you have been wondering if this is a career path for you, here is my top 68 Virtual Assistant services list that you can offer to business owners. I’ve broken them up by general category, but there’s no boundary around what you can and should offer as a VA.
Also See: How to Become a Virtual Assistant (even if you have no admin experience)
General VA Duties
There are some things you’ll be able to do for a huge range of clients — they’re the type of thing that many businesses need, and they don’t require much experience to get started. Here are a few of the most common (and competitive) virtual assistant service ideas:
- Data Entry
- Transcription
- Accounting and Bookkeeping
- Virtual Administrative Assistant
- Email Management
- Database Management
- Monitoring Voicemails
- Generating Reports
Also See: Virtual Assistant Jobs for Beginners
Blogging and Digital Marketing
Bloggers, online entrepreneurs, and traditional businesses with a web presence are all focused on how to make the most out of their reach on the Internet. There’s a huge amount of opportunity in the digital sphere if you’re especially interested in working for non-traditional employers.
Types of businesses that hire VAs for this kind of service might include bloggers, business coaches, web-based fitness experts, or any company that has an online store. You could do anything from writing content for the site’s blog to working on podcasts, handling online customer support inquiries, building websites, and anything in between. This is one of my favorite things about working as a VA — there’s absolutely no limit to what you can do.
This is a short list of some of the most obvious and most frequently hired-for VA services in blogging and digital marketing:
- Affiliate Manager
- Amazon Virtual Assistant
- Article/Guest Posting Submissions
- Research
- Pinterest Marketing
- Blog Assistant
- Pay Per Click Management
- Content Writing
- Proofreading/Editing
- Keyword Research
- Podcast Editing and Submission
- Website Design and Management
- Blog Management
- Sales Pages
- Tracking Website Analytics (usually in Google Analytics)
- Product Launch Management
- Online Ad Management
- Webinar Set Up and Promotion
- Video Sales Letters
- Upload Photos to Online Sharing Sites
- Search Engine Optimization
- Community Management
- Blogger Outreach and Relationship Development
- Social Media Assistance
- Email Marketing
- Creating Landing Pages
- Giveaway Management
- Writing Product Descriptions
Offline Marketing
Online marketing gets a lot of buzz, but offline marketing isn’t dead! Many businesses and entrepreneurs still advertise using traditional methods — think restaurants, landscaping companies, and dentists.
- Direct Mailings
- Desktop Publishing
- Copywriting
- Graphic Design
- Flier and Brochure Design
- Event Support
Business Support (Online and Offline)
There are some things that pretty much all businesses need, whether they’re online or offline. There are lots of opportunities for VAs to help with business and administrative support. These are a few ideas to get you started:
- Phone Answering Service
- Online Customer Service (email, chat, social media)
- Offline Customer Service (inbound/outbound phone)
- Document Coding
- Appointment Setting
- Project Management
- Graphic Design
- Order Fulfillment (Physical and/or Digital)
- Follow-Up with Potential Customers or Joint Venture Partners
- Shopping Cart Management
- Prepare and Distribute Press Releases
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Creation
- Convert Documents to PDFs
- Book Speaking Engagements
- Lead and Sales Generation
- Sales Support
- Grant Proposal Management
- Recruit New Potential Team Members
- Oversee New Team Members
- Reputation Management
- Technical Support
- Preparing Slide Presentations
Skill-Specific and Industry-Specific Opportunities
Finally, there are skill-specific and industry-specific opportunities for anyone with special experience or interests.
- Real Estate Services
- Personal Shopping
- Travel Planning
- Event Planning
- Author Assistant
- Writing and Updating Resumes/CVs
- Ebay Sales Assisting
- Online Profile Creation and Optimization
- Translation Services
And here’s the great thing: this whole list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Virtual Assistant services you can offer!
What to Offer as a VA
There’s no real “answer” to what you can and should do as a virtual assistant. Part of the equation for you should be what you enjoy doing, how many hours per week you want to do it, and whether you want to focus on a particular type of business or industry. If you still aren’t entirely sure where to begin, think about what you can offer using the strengths and experience you already have.
Some people like to outsource the tasks they find boring, like uploading posts into WordPress or creating brochures. Others will outsource the things they could figure out on their own, but choose not to (usually because it makes more sense to just pay someone else to do it). This could be building and managing a website, mailing postcards to every home in a particular area, or bookkeeping.
As a prospective VA, you need to understand that every business owner must understand the value of hiring a VA. The main benefit of bringing someone like you onboard is to free them up to do other things that will generate even more income than they’ll end up paying you. It’s all about the bottom line.
Once you figure out how your skills can save time, money, or both for a prospective client, you’ll be able to offer your services in a way that presents you as a real solution to a problem, as opposed to just another bill to pay. (Pro tip: This is called positioning.)
Next Steps
Once you’re ready to get serious about virtual assisting as a possible work-from-home career, take a little bit of time to read up on how to get started. You can also pick up this big list of possible virtual assistant services from Gina Horkey.
If you need to brush up on your skills, FreelanceU is where I learned several in-demand service offerings as a new virtual assistant.

It seems the possibilities here are basically endless! I’m really glad you posted this because so many people who want to work from home are interested in starting their own businesses and don’t even consider virtual assisting. I think it would be ideal because there’s a great number of different services you can offer, which you outlined above. A person could narrow things down to his/her specialties, advertise those services, and hopefully start getting clients. Very interesting!
Thanks, Anna. One thing I love about this business is the diversity. You don’t *have* to do the same thing day after day, but you certainly can if you’d like.
Wow there really are A LOT of paths to take in the biz! Thanks!
Welcome, Miranda
The job description of a virtual assistant is very broad. I’m a virtual assistant and didn’t even know it, lol. This list just gave me some ideas on how i’m going to edit my resume.
Hope it helped, Carla.
What an awesome list. I will definitely keep this handy.
I am so happy to see this list! I just graduated college with my degree in elementary education at a time when teaching jobs are slim. I am a 42yr old mother of four married to a small college coach – I desperately need a way to make money now that I’m done with school and have student loans looming overhead. I have been considering doing these types of jobs, but now I have the information I need to get started and a lot of extra ideas on services I can provide! Thank you Angie!
Whoa, I always figured they did a few different things, say around 5-10, but never would have guessed over 50! Nice list 🙂
This is a great list! What do you think I will need to start a translation virtual assistant business? I need an extra part time job that won’t require much investment. Currently I work at a Hospital and not necessarily as a translator, but I get phone calls from different floors/departments to help with interpretation, I love to help but I feel like I need monetary recognition for using my skills. ThanksAngie!!! 🙂
Hi, Melissa. This is not a business I have personal experience with, but here are a few articles that may help:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessideas/214.html
http://freelancefolder.com/a-freelance-translators-start-up-guide/
http://voices.yahoo.com/starting-home-based-interpretation-translation-7497810.html
Thank you so much Angie! what about taxes and the legal part of being a freelancer? Do you report your income when doing federal taxes or is it something that needs to be taking care of from the start?
I need to hire you for half of that list! If it’s ever in my budget you are my go to person.
🙂 You’ll get there, Dina. You are cruising right along, from what I can see.
Hey Angie! That was a long great list. This just proves that VAs are competitive professionals who provide support services through VOIP–with minimal supervision. I just can imagine the things I can offer as a VA. Thanks for the ideas. I was frankly trying for a small business but I changed my mind. Thanks
Really interested in starting something like this but not sure what to do.?if we’re to offer all these services Don’t we have to have a knowledge of them?
Thank you
You should never offer a service of which you can’t provide excellent results. Assess your skills and interests. Pick up additional training in your preferred areas if necessary.
Hi Angie,
I’m a CPA in NV and would like to start a as a Virtual Assistant.
What would you recommend?
What training did you take to learn about the VA business?
Thanks!
Hi, Joy. Gina Horkey has a new course 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success. Check it out.
Thank you for posting this. You literally created a checklist for me to observe to see if I am improving as a VA. Improvement for me is adding up to my already developed skills so I can offer more than just one service to my clients.
Best of luck, Mariane!