You just received an inquiry from a potential client who requested your virtual assistant portfolio. But you don’t have one. Don’t panic. You can build one easily, even if you haven’t had a single client yet.
I remember when I landed my first remote virtual assistant (VA) job. It came as a complete shock since I wasn’t actively looking for VA work. I had just started freelance writing, and one of my clients, who had a blog, asked if I’d like to help manage her social media page and update some of her popular older blog posts.
Her Facebook page was very active at the time, and my client couldn’t keep up with comments and posts. So for an extra $15 per hour, I took over this task and quickly learned how much I enjoyed the flexibility of virtual assistant work.
Today, virtual assistants are still in high demand, as many people need help managing tasks, whether it’s posting on social media or Pinterest, paying invoices, managing emails, or doing data entry. According to Indeed, virtual assistants can make $25 to $40 per hour depending on experience.
The best way to land paying gigs is to create a portfolio and show it to potential clients. Here are 7 specific steps you can follow to create a winning virtual assistant portfolio.
1. Define Your Target Audience and Services
The first thing you should do is decide who your target audience and ideal client are, along with which services you’d like to offer. I know it can be tempting to want to market yourself as a person of all trades, but that’s the easiest way to get caught up in work you don’t enjoy and don’t want to do. It can also make it harder to connect with a client and position yourself as an expert. You don’t want to try to be good at everything. But rather, you should aim to be excellent at a few things.
Identify who your target audience is, whether it’s coaches, bloggers, e-commerce brands, or another type of small business owner. Whoever it is, it should be clear where they can use help from a virtual assistant. Maybe you want to target busy coaches who struggle to manage their email inbox, or an entrepreneur who needs help planning webinars and engaging with the people who join their virtual events.
Or, maybe you’d like to help Instagram content creators manage their brand deals, pitch, and record their social media post metrics. Over the years, I’ve worked part-time as a virtual assistant and helped clients with tasks like:
- Project management
- Social media management
- Editing and repurposing content
- Video editing and transcription
When you narrow down your niche and service offerings, you’ll be able to learn more about your ideal client’s needs and pain points. This can help you determine how to craft your virtual assistant portfolio to best market your services.
2. Choose a Platform
Where will your virtual assistant portfolio live? A good option is to launch a personal website if you haven’t already. That way, you can showcase your services, make it easy for people to contact you, and show past projects. The easiest way to get started is with a platform like WordPress, Wix, or Google Sites. This isn’t a requirement, though.
You can also use platforms like Notion or Canva to create a virtual assistant portfolio in PDF format. These sites have a variety of templates and graphics that you can use to create a professional-looking portfolio that you can share with potential clients.
Finally, there are off-site platforms like LinkedIn and Fiverr that let you list your services and build an online presence. Where you start is really up to you. The key is just to establish a professional online portfolio that people can easily access.
3. Start Your Portfolio With a Strong Opener and List Your Skills
Of course, you want to demonstrate your skills and past work, but you should also write a clear opening paragraph or two that highlights your expertise and perhaps even shares some more information about your experience. This can set you apart from other virtual assistants and show that you are serious about your work and interested in solving a problem for your target clients.
You can also include a professional photo for credibility. With AI and other tools being so popular, most people want to make sure they are working with a real person when that’s their preference. Then, be sure to break down your services with a brief description of each, along with the tools and various software you might use, to give people a clear overview.
4. Include Work Samples (Even If You’re New)
A virtual assistant portfolio is a little different than other portfolios because you’re providing a service, and it’s hard to make that visual in some cases. But this is also where you can be creative.
Include any visual work samples after asking past clients for permission, of course. This could be screenshots of a social media post you scheduled, with names and pictures blurred. Or, if you create Pinterest pins, you can show some examples in your portfolio. Email campaigns are another great addition to a virtual assistant portfolio.
Even if you don’t have any client work to show, you can always create some. If you’re in this boat, consider creating mock projects using your own website or social media profiles. Also, if you have any volunteer work to show, this can be something else to include in your portfolio.
Bonus Idea: For each work sample, take it a step further and mention details like the tools you used, including project management platforms, scheduling tools, and more. This can showcase your proficiency and capabilities across various platforms.
5. Add Client Testimonials and Feedback
Client testimonials and feedback can be one of the most powerful areas of your virtual assistant portfolio, and they add credibility. Reach out to current and past clients to ask them for a testimonial you can feature on your portfolio.
Back when I was in college and putting together a writing portfolio, I didn’t have a lot of client testimonials. However, one thing I did was gather emails I received from people I worked with at internships and other gig projects. Whenever I received praise or positive feedback, I saved those emails in a folder. Then, I asked for permission to feature these emails in my portfolio. If you’re on LinkedIn, you can also take any of the recommendations you receive and add those to your portfolio.
6. Don’t Forget Contact Information
This is an easy area to gloss over, especially after focusing on gathering information about your services and past projects. But don’t forget to include contact information on your portfolio so people know how to get in touch with you. This may seem redundant, especially if you share your portfolio with a potential client and they already have your contact information.
But don’t forget that others may come across your website or LinkedIn profile and be interested in discussing your services. Be sure to include an email address or a contact form on your portfolio, and test it to make sure it works. You can also leave your phone number if you wish, but just be mindful that this could attract spam calls.
7. Optimize For SEO and Visibility
Always try to optimize your portfolio page so that more people can see it and consider hiring you as a virtual assistant. If your portfolio is on your WordPress website, for example, you’ll want to optimize it for SEO by narrowing down a focus keyword and including some other keywords in subheadings and throughout the page. Other platforms like Etsy also offer keyword optimization options.
Or, if your website is hosted on Google, you’ll want to take advantage of all the options to optimize your portfolio page for Google search. If you’re active on social media, consider linking to your portfolio page in your bio and linking back to your social media platforms from your portfolio.
Creating an Impressive Virtual Assistant Portfolio
A well-crafted portfolio that showcases your virtual assistant capabilities and experience can be one of the best ways to land paying jobs and long-term clients. It speaks to your professionalism and gives potential clients a glimpse into your expertise and what it’s like to work with you. Your past projects can spark even more opportunities to create, problem-solve, and assist your ideal clients as you build a successful work-from-home business.
So, if you don’t yet have a portfolio in place or need to update your current one, follow these steps and get started. Your future clients are already searching. You just need to give them something impressive to find.
