“How do I find clients as a virtual assistant?”
I get asked this question all the time so I thought I’d share my 20+ years of experience in this field working as a virtual assistant…
When I started out, it was feast or famine for me, as I had 3 children to support, and personally I preferred a holiday! This meant that I really had to work long, hard hours to fill my customer base at first. (I’m talking about 50-80 hours a week). It was not easy!
First, you’ll want to sit down and write some marketing campaigns to find ways to find customers. Write down each marketing strategy and then break it down into manageable tasks that you can check off and complete. Develop and implement different marketing campaigns each season to help you maintain your plan for success.
Example of a marketing campaign:
Set up a newsletter
- Research email marketing programs like Aweber, active campaign, Mailchimp, constant contact, Get a response and so.
- Sign up for an email marketing program (I use ActiveCampaign Because through my research I found that this is the best program for me since I am an affiliate marketer and some programs like Mailchimp frown on affiliate links. Make sure you do your due diligence to research the right plan for your business needs.
- Decide on a name/description for your newsletter list and set it up
- Think of an enticing lead generator that you can give away for free if a person signs up like a tip sheet, a handy checklist, a planner (these are hot right now) or an e-book to entice your peeps to sign up. Everyone loves a freebie so put your best foot forward to bribe your user for their email address.
- Open this lead generator giveaway (you’ll have steps for that too)!
- Open your autoresponders that your peeps will receive once they sign up
- Put a form on your website, with a graphic image and a call to action to collect emails.
- Add this call-to-action to your email signature ie) PS Download my new free e-book by clicking here
- Start marketing your newsletter signup landing page on your social media, blog posts, business cards, email, etc.
This is an example of just one marketing campaign broken down step by step for you. You will want to implement many of these types of marketing campaigns if you want a consistent full customer base.
10 ideas for marketing campaigns for development:
- Set up a newsletter
- Start blogging
- Set yourself up on a social network (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) and start connecting through it
- Join some online groups/forums where your market hangs out and start networking.
- Create videos to attract customers
- Open your website
- Optimize your website for SEO
- Advertise locally in print (business cards, flyers, newspapers, etc.)
- Join local networking groups
- Attend and/or get a booth at trade shows and conferences your market spends time at.
Note: I have done a lot of networking both offline and online but I have found that it takes some time (usually months) to see results. Creating a relationship (and that’s what netWorkingThat’s all) doesn’t happen overnight.
As you can see, getting clients is hard work and takes up a lot of your time!
It didn’t take me long to learn that my time is worth money in my hands. Just 40 hours of self-marketing at $50 an hour (my hourly rate at the time) cost me $2,000!
I wanted an easier (and cheaper) way to find clients!
So I did some research and found out that there is Job search boards That’s where potential clients came to hire virtual assistants. how cool is that These websites did all the marketing for me (saved me all kinds of time) and all I had to do was pay a small fee and I would have access to their job board to easily fill my customer base.
As much as I didn’t think I had the money to part with it (since I didn’t have any clients yet LOL), I also knew that starting a new business wouldn’t come without spending some money on it. I don’t know a single business that doesn’t have overhead expenses so why shouldn’t my VA business have one?
I immediately changed my mindset “I can not afford it” To “I need to invest in my business”. Plus, it was just common sense to spend some money to make a lot more money in a shorter amount of time.
Just getting one of the jobs on these boards will pay for my membership! The rest of the jobs I get will be money in my pocket. 😉
So my advice on how to get a full customer base in your virtual assistant business?
You probably have the following question:
“I’ve joined a few job boards like Freelancer, Upwork, etc. but I find it very competitive not to mention the jobs don’t even pay minimum wage???”
Yes, you’re right, stay away from freelance job boards because your business won’t stay afloat for a long time working at or below minimum wage. If you want the hourly rate you know you’re worth ($40-$60 per hour) then you need to join well-known virtual assistant organizations online (like ours Get a customer club) that have quality job boards that pay actual VA value. B GetClientsClub.com We actually market our site worldwide to find potential customers for our paid members.
Find VA organizations that educate potential clients about the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant and what to expect when you hire one. Clients who post on these job boards understand the value of working side-by-side in a long-term relationship with their VA and will pay a premium for these services.
And so I had a full client base within the first month of starting my VA business. I have joined every (not just one, but every) reputable VA organization that has a job board for VAs. Don’t know who they are? Just ask your fellow VAThey will tell you.
I would love for others to share their comments as well so that new VAs can finally have this question answered for them.
That being said, I wish every virtual assistant reading this post success and a full customer base in the next month in your business. Get it by Joining the club Get our customers and getting access to our busy and high-quality job board. We cheer you on here! If you have any questions, just ask below in the comments.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been completely revised and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
