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To niche or not to niche?
That is the question weighing heavily on the minds of most new VAs.
Let’s take a look at some of the specialties, or virtual assistant niches, where one might find their particular skills and experience fit perfectly. From bookkeeping to publicity and everything in between the opportunities are endless.
Here are some of the more popular virtual assistant niches:
Bookkeeping Virtual Assistants – Businesses totally need support in this area and what better way to stay on top of it than to hand it over to their virtual assistant. A VA can take care of invoicing, bill paying, accounts payable, bank reconciliation, and much more. Helping a client stay on top of bookkeeping activities throughout the year can make tax time a little less stressful and time consuming.
Real Estate Virtual Assistants – The real estate industry is making a major comeback these days. What does that mean for VAs? It means if you have an interest or experience in real estate there can be tremendous opportunities for gaining clients. You can be a valuable asset in helping realtors, brokers, and even mortgage companies throughout the entire buying and selling process. From helping to market new properties to collecting all the paperwork required, a real estate virtual assistant could be a vital partner to a real estate team. Additionally, you can assist with all the technical aspects such as helping clients get their website up and running, writing blog content, and more.
Social Media Virtual Assistant – With all the constant changes in social media today, a social media virtual assistant can be so instrumental. Just think how beneficial it can be to clients if every time Facebook changes their policy, they can just call on you to manage any updates and keep them abreast of changes. A social media VA can also make sure that posts get the most attention by finding the appropriate hashtags. Plus, they can develop tweets and status updates for clients to highlight their accomplishments, list upcoming events, update photos, and much more. And don’t forget about those blog postings. Best yet, a virtual assistant who specializes in social media can create an entire social media campaign. Now we are talking!
Author Assistant Virtual Assistants – Authors are an excellent source of work for VAs. There are so many things you can do for authors to help them throughout the entire book process. A VA can help with things such as: editing, proofreading, typing of manuscripts, PR and marketing, ebook creation, social media, securing speaking opportunities and more! You name it, a virtual assistant can help. (Plus, there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you finally see that book on Amazon and start seeing it sell and know that you had a huge part in its success.)
Event Planning Virtual Assistants – If you have ever been involved in planning a meeting, then you know it is not as easy as it looks. Whether online or in person, the key to a successful meeting is planning and careful attention to every detail. From concept to execution, a VA can be instrumental in eliminating unexpected challenges resulting in a flawless event. That’s why businesses need the support of an event planning virtual assistant. They can take the stress away and make sure everything is done to perfection
Transcription Virtual Assistants – Transcription is not only confined to the legal and medical fields these days. Although these are great to do, many businesses, today, need to have their seminars and podcasts transcribed as well. Those can then be turned into ebooks and more. Plus, what is even better is you can not only offer to transcribe their material, but combine a little social media with it and write up tweets and postings about the material as well.
Publicity Virtual Assistants – Businesses need the assistance of professionals to help them get more exposure for all they do. From writing and sending out press releases and articles to helping with book promotions and more, a virtual assistant specializing in PR can be a valuable asset. Just some of the other tasks they can handle include: book promotions, product launches, helping businesses land more clients, etc.
There are numerous other virtual assistant niches that you can specialize in. The most important thing is to find one that fits you, and do all you can to let your clients know that this is what you do and how you can help them.
Do you have a special niche?
Comment below and share it with our readers.
Looking for additional help? Register for the next VA the Series chat with Kelly Poelker and Diana Ennen on the last Wednesday of every month. Details below.
I focus on creating multimedia web content for business owners and I fully believe in VAs finding a niche so they can stand out. Of course, if a client asks me to do a task that isn’t ‘multimedia’ I say yes, but trying to be everything to everyone just doesn’t work for me.
My niche is supporting locally based small business. I find there are a lot of businesses right in my backyard that need support. This allows me to add personal services for them such as document pick up/drop off, one on one meetings and the ability to support them in their office as well as mine.
I feel every VA should find a niche so they have something to focus on while growing and marketing their business. Adding to this niche can happen as needed.
Christina, that’s a great niche!
I’m of the opinion that if you are good at your niche then clients will ask you whether you offer more services. Get your foot in the door and then expand your service offering. This allows you not to have to worry about missing out on a client if you feel haven’t cast a wide enough net.
Linda, there are certainly benefits to target your local businesses. I started off that way and later found I like working with clients in other parts of the country. Not that I would turn down a local client!
My niche has been Resume Writing. I love writing and helping others. I also have small businesses needing administrative support right in my own backyard. I have just started doing Google calendar management for clients and taking courses on Career Coaching.
I have tons of experience in Adult Entertainment. I would love to become a VA in that field.
Hi,
I was a secretary many years ago and now would like to take it online. Would resumes and business letters be good niches? I spoke with someone recently that said he didn’t think people would want someone to write resumes for them. I’m also considering proofreading and choosing authors as my niche. Any help to narrow this down would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Norah, resumes are definitely a good niche. Being knowledgable on how to get online resumes through the initial search would prove beneficial. There is a knack to this and getting people noticed. Along with the resumes the ability to write a cover letter that gets them noticed (and ultimately hired) makes a nice package offering for clients.
Proofreading is also another good niche and one that authors definitely need. It really depends on which gets you more excited–resumes or working with authors. You could consider specializing in proofreading, which may lead to more long-term clients, though also offer resume writing in your services.
I hope this helps.
Kelly
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