Virtual Assistant Website For Beginners – Top 10 Essential Elements!
Whether you are just starting your Virtual Assistant business or are looking to scale it to bigger heights, a website is one tool that is definitely a difference maker. If you still aren’t sure you need one, read 10 Reasons Why Virtual Assistants Need A Website! But for this post, let’s just agree you do in fact need a website for your Virtual Assistant (VA) business.
So, with that covered, let’s make sure your VA website has the essential components to make it stand out and to help build your business. Here are the top 8 must haves for your VA website:
1 – The Right Platform – WordPress
Coming to the decision to have a website probably frayed some folks nerves to begin with. But you are over that. Keep that positive momentum going by selecting the right platform to build your website with. You may be thinking to go with something that is easier. WordPress is now more user friendly than ever. It won’t tie you to a developer as you want to either expand or make changes. As tempting as other platforms (Square, Wix, etc) may look, after a short learning curve, the WordPress platform most likely will serve you better.
Bottom line, you will have more options and have a better opportunity of having a website you can both be proud of and that will impress prospective customers by going with WordPress.
The other reason to use WordPress is that it is likely your clients will want you to have a working knowledge so you can do minor work on their site (post blogs, pics, post upcoming events, etc)
2 – Your Services Page
When you are just beginning your VA business journey, you tend to want (or at least “feel” you need) to be all things to all people. That does you a dis-service. You need to understand who your Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) is in order to best serve their needs. As a virtual assistant, there are a myriad of services that you can provide to your ICA. What you don’t want to do is list every service that any VA offers because potential customers won’t believe you (unless you can provide some social proof described below) If you can’t speak multiple languages, maybe offering translation services is not in your best interests.
What your Services Page does is to provide you an opportunity to show the things you can do and the verticals you can serve best. You might have a real estate background, so you are able to put that knowledge forward to better help your clients.
So, what are the components that your Services Page should contain?
Detail the type of customer/vertical you are most likely to be successful with and who will benefit from the services you provide. (If you do social media management, you might include that your company are Facebook/Instagrams ninjas who have had tremendous success working for start-up and small businesses who don’t have the time or inclination to take on this task themselves. (The more story you tell, the easier it is to resonate with your offerings…because they are more likely to see themselves as wanting that help)
Now that you have listed the vertical segment of the types of customers you can help, let’s provide a listing of the services your VA business offers.
I am a HUGE believe in creating packages with prices. I know some people are reluctant to do so, but I have found that most people are afraid of the unknown. When I didn’t put prices on the site, people would say “I can’t afford you” And they were so wrong. So, I do now knowing that it does some prequalification of customers for me. Is it possible that I lost some customers who I may have gotten otherwise? Possibly. But my approach to closing business is not high pressure. This makes it easier for all parties to begin the conversation.
Is there an advantage to working with you? In other words, what is the value proposition that you provide? If there is something (experience, skill level, etc) that sets you apart from your competition, let prospective customers know about it.
Social proof – Do you have testimonials (video, emails, notes) from current/past customers that say what a great job you did? Use them to your advantage her.
Pricing – while I spoke about pricing above, let people know that you can also create custom pricing for individual scenarios.
You need a call to action (CTA). Include a call to action (click here for free 20 minute consultation, give me a call, send me an email, fill out this form, etc). Instruct people what you want them to do next.
3 – Readily Available Contact information
If you want customers to reach out to you, then they are going to need an easy way to do so. I can hear you right now. “Thanks Captain Obvious!” lol But you would be amazed at how many sites don’t make this available at every opportunity!
So, what am I really saying here is EVERY page of your site should provide a way for folks to reach out to you! This could end up as a “Have a question” or Contact Us” in the footer of your site or could be in the body (or sometimes as you will see on my site, it is both) This is in addition to having a Contact page that stands on its own that may provide more options to reach you.
So, that means using some sort of “contact form” module that will send an email to you when they submit.
If you aren’t interested in getting a bunch of spam, putting your email address on the site is not advisable.
Provide every contact option that you can support (without going crazy). Everyone has a different DNA for how they want to communicate. Could be an email, phone call, skype/zoom meeting. You might consider a google phone number that can alert you when someone calls. Make it easy to do business with you and that begins with their ability to reach out.
4 – Photos/Videos of your team working
Prospects and customers resonate to sites that have either pictures or videos. They like to see you in action and that you know what you are doing. It goes to the “know/like/trust” factor that is not to be underestimated in gaining new clients. Do, don’t disappoint them. Take some pictures. Not feeling comfortable with YOUR picture being taken. Take more pictures.
Show potential customers that you and your team are friendly. Better yet, include a video.
OK, I get it. Many of you are Solo business owners. If you feel like you don’t want every picture with you in it, consider including images of recognizable objects that are associated with your business. If you specialize in working with law offices, perhaps an image of the legal scales of justice. You get the idea. Don’t go without photos/videos on your site.
5 – About Page
Potential customers understand that many VA’s businesses are not huge. So, in an effort to get a better understanding of who they might be doing business with potentially, they go to the About Page. A lot of business owners in general either treat the About page as an afterthought or actually bypass it altogether. Big mistake. On all of my sites, my About Us page is one of the more visited pages on the site.
Use this page to tell your story. It isn’t just to let folks know about you, but also how you use your skills to help your clients. The about page is about you, but it’s also about how you work with your potential clients.
I can hear you know. John, I am not sure what to say. Here are some things you might consider:
- What makes you unique from other virtual assistants?
- What do you bring to the table?
- What led up to you doing this business?
- Describe your ideal customer/vertical and why you have the skills to serve them better than your competitors.
Providing this will help you to hone your About page to attract new customers.
6 – A Blog with Amazing content
You provide amazing services that provide high value to your customers. What you want to do at this point is to have as many visitors to your website as possible that would be interested in your agency providing services. So, you want people to find you, but how does that happen? How does your site come up in the search algorithm? Simply said, it requires quality content that is provided on a consistent basis. Google likes websites that are regularly updated. Content in its many forms demonstrates your subject matter expertise. It can be written blog posts, videos or podcasts. Something to keep in mind that you want to have the content reside on your site, so google and social media brings people back to you where they can find out more about the services you provide. The result of this effort is that it builds relationships with your audience and prospective customers. A blog is you’re the cheapest, most cost effective marketing that you can do! Here are some of the things that you may not have thought about a blog doing for you:
- Provide a reference point for your social media postings
- Effective communication network for your agency to allow others to post to other social networks
- Insures that you are perceived as an expert in your niche
OK, I can hear you now….”John, I am convinced I need a blog, but I don’t have the time or the expertise to put together blog posts for my business. I have you covered! I provide 1,500 word blog posts in a DFY approach for VA’s on a monthly basis that includes an infographic that is very economical. Click here to find out more!
7 – Client Reviews / Testimonials
What happens when your customer needs your service, but you don’t have the time to build the know/like/trust factor? We mentioned testimonials above but it deserves its own paragraph. Customer testimonials add content to your site and let’s other know that you add value to the services you provide!
Testimonials from real customers make prospects relate to their challenges and tell people who don’t know you that you can be trusted to do a great job.
They are actually easier to get than you may think. Talk to your customers and ask if they would be willing to either write a few words about their experience with you or better yet a short video.
If you get a great google review, then let people know about it.
Finally, a word about case studies. Let me just say this…case studies are powerful! Potential clients want to know how you have helped past clients achieve their goals. By you putting together the story of what the challenge was (customer had serious data issues in getting their spread sheets into one file that made sense. Then tell how you approached it and what you did to provide the solution that the customer loved. Having case studies on your website can help prospects feel more comfortable reaching out to you because they can see how much you’ve already helped other business owners.
Don’t overlook this if your VA business is just getting off of the ground and you don’t have the social proof to provide these types of opportunities (yet). Don’t stress it! It’s perfectly fine to use past co-workers and bosses as your testimonials until you get your VA business up and going. You are probably doing many of the same things that you did for your bosses. Just be transparent. It will pay off long term.
8 – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
There are several ways that providing a list of FAQ’s can help your business. But before we go there, let’s answer some FAQ’s about what they are as well as what they do:
- A list of the most common questions that come up for your niche and type of work
- Enhances the customer experience
- They help people understand your business
- They help you communicate the terms and conditions for doing business with you.
- Increases sales because you have provided the basic information needed to go forward
- Decreases incoming questions that to you seem repetitive or basic.
Let’s talk about the benefits that FAQ’s provide:
- Helps you to let customers know their needs
- Shows your expertise
- Helps customers to better understand what your business does.
- Actually will boost your Search Engine Optimization
Some people may have a misconception of what working with a VA is like. Providing a list of FAQs solves that problem!
FAQs help to remove any confusion or uncertainty that potential clients may have about working with you. By answering questions such as, “what is it like to work with you?” and “how do I know if I’m ready to work with a VA?” upfront, your potential clients will already start to feel more comfortable with the idea of working with you.
9 – Website need to be Responsive and designed for mobile optimization
Let’s start with understanding what that means. A website that is responsive is basically one that adapts to have your website look good no matter what size device. In other words, everything is scaled and “optimized” to look good whether you are viewing it on your desktop, laptop, tablet or other mobile device.
So, one thing you want to do when you build your site (or have The Social Media Dudes create your site [shameless plugJ]) is to insure it is responsive by testing it out on different devices.
More importantly, you don’t want to do everything right on your site by including everything above only to have Google punish you because your site isn’t mobile friendly.
10 – Call To Action (CTAs)
Sometimes, people need to be told what to do. It may be the result of not knowing what the next step is, it may not be clear how to proceed, or just need to be guided. If your pages don’t contain some sort of Call to Action (CTA), then you are likely missing potential sales
A CTA isn’t always about closing the deal. It may be trying to get them to subscribe to your email list (you do have an email list, don’t you?), perhaps you are wanting engagement by having the visitor leave a comment or perhaps to set up a quick consulting call so you can understand the prospects needs before you prescribe a solution (you).
Call to action (s) are a key feature to any website. Every page and blog post on your VA website should have at least one CTA.
Your takeaway…
Whether you are just starting out or your VA business has been up and running for a while, our VA website is an essential part of your business. Work on implementing these essential tips on your website to insure you make a great impression!
Do you still have questions or are overwhelmed? Reach out to the Social Media Dudes by scheduling a free 20 minute consultation to discuss your current site or plan on a new site to invigorate your VA business.