What is Virtual Assistant and How to Earn Dollar Direct from US?

A Virtual Assistant or VA is someone who works through the Internet - I may add that this career is normally self employed and not home-workers. An expert VA can have 2 clients at the same time and can earn twice in his or her regular 8 working hours. That is why the virtual assistant can earn double in compared with traditional inbound and inbound call center agents.

VAs run totally fledged homebased business and have the skills (Internet skills and office application) required in performing remotely with a variety of clientele. This is not for everybody, but understanding that there are actually thousands, if not countless numbers out there who have gone ahead of us and have effective practices that could assist to give you the encouragement to be successful. VA career are good for graduates of business administration, information technology, engineering, journalism, nurse, education and even high school graduates.

A virtual assistant, or VA, is a very skilled worker which provides admin support as well as other specialized services solutions to entrepreneur or business, executives, sales experts, and others who may have more function to do as compared with time to get it done.

Virtual Personnel are working away from traditional company roles and also utilizing the internet technologies and other growing application to be able to customize their particular work conditions. Virtual assistants work as self-sufficient contractors, most out of their own residence, some from the outside of their home like mall. Virtual assistants employ leading edge technologies to communicate perform assignments over the internet.


Type of Virtual Assistant

General Administrative Assistant doing simple presentation, data summary using excel, writing communication using MS Word, cleaning and answering emails of the clients contacts. Online research and even calendar management are some of the basic administrative similar to typical office setting. Some American clients also include in their VA task that simple customer service work through chat and emails. Usually the clients provide procedural training on product or services before they give their virtual assistant additional task. This is sometime called personal assistant VA.


Online Virtual Assistant Writer - This is one of the hottest online jobs today because Filipino is good in English and grammar as well as understanding on product or services. Usually clients ask for 350 to 500 words of article either for their websites, advertising materials, additional content for their books or e-books (Gosh writer), press releases and online articles for SEO or article portfolio.


SEO - SEM Virtual Assistant - This is more technical in nature. There are 2 smaller but stand alone job position that includes in SEO task.

1. Virtual Assistant link builder - This VA need understanding of the various link building categories. Some these are creating content and links using blog, wiki, article sites, press release sites, regular websites, directory submissions, RSS submission and more. You need also an inventory of link building resources before you can become virtual assistant link builder. Then of course you need at least 2 weeks training to become professional link builder. A link builder could earn 10,000 to 15,000 depending on the kind of Client. If you want to become link builder you need to start blogging to understand the meaning of links.
2. Social media VA - Usually clients wanted you to managed his social media accounts like facebook, twitter, blogs, stumbleupon, Delicious, Digg and more. Some also require the VA to visit and interact with other Facebook users using the client's name which you represented. This is to keep presence and updated with the client's network. The client will require to keep adding more friends on Facebook and twitter so the clients can communicate them with either company products or services. Filipino with good command in English grammar as well as American culture are expected to be good in Social Media VA because they can communicate well with English speaking citizens. These are the reason why DepEd and CHED should include the social media in the bachelor curriculum. The graduate of Business administration, journalism and education will be a good Social Media VA because of language inclination.

Full Search Engine Specialist can do blog setup using Wordpress CMS application. You need to learn how to install and configure theme as well as plug-in (require HTML skills). You will be require to integrates social media with your client blogsite. You need to do internal link building within the site and external link building (link builder). You will update your client's social media accounts. You are require to monitor website visitors and making analysis on the traffics and customer or visitors behavior based on trends. You will use Google analytics tools which your skills in Elementary statistics will be use. This is more technical than social media and link builder. Most of the computer related graduates are suited for this career but with special training (not given in the classroom), a graduate of Education can be a good SEO VA. I have seen Licensed Engineer who work as SEO VA, Journalism graduate from Sto Tomas has been my SEO trainor and a friend who is a nursing graduate who can leave the country became link builder. Infact one of the Philippine top bloggers is RN Nurse. A BSE graduate like you can become SEO VA and left teaching career for better earning.

VA Web Designer - This VA usually a graduate of IT related course because it requires you to understand coding. However if you have experienced in blogging and have good grades in number you can be Wordpress web designer like Pat Flynn who earned million dollars after he left his Architecture career. There are many Filipino today who can develop websites through their experience are earning dollars directly from their clients.

Bookkeeping or Accounting Virtual Assistant - This task is for Accountancy graduates who can do invoicing, purchasing and bookkeeping for the client's online businesses. Remember American accounting clerk is worth $3000+ while Filipino accounting VA could earn from 15K to 35K depending on experience and titles. The American and British preferred Filipino Virtual Assistant because we are affordable, diligent and professionals.

Where to get direct clients once you learn any of the above skills?

There are websites that advertised their VA requirements and the famous for Filipino freelancer and part time earner are Virtual Assistant business of virtualStafffinder.com, Odesk is good for beginners and for cheap paying Americans. Freelancer.com is good for experienced Filipino VA but it is populated by Indian freelance worker who dive at cheap labor fees for various works. The site onlinejobs.ph have so many visitors looking for Filipino VA. Americans and British offered between 10k to 25k for either part time or full time. Actually you just type in Google the term Virtual Assistant Jobs you can also submit resume to foreign or American based VA sites.

How much is this Industry?

According to Raja Mitra, the Philippines still log behind in the market of IT outsourcing industry as you can read the published news found in a lead generation blog of known call Center Company. That is what also the Indian are saying online. Let the Philippines enjoy the voice outsourcing industry and the Indian with IT outsourcing business. This thing is happening because the DepED and CHED are not requiring updated curriculum (public and private schools). In fact I have interviewed IT graduates from various universities and found that they can not design websites after college. Some Business Administration graduate could not even do blogging thereby leaving the opportunity to earn dollars directly from Google. See this young millionaire and how they earned millions at their young age.

Majority of English speaking citizen wanted to hire Filipino VA but many of the graduates today do not have the skills specially graduates of Business Administration (those with skills and experienced are already working in top outsourcing companies in the Philippines.). This is because they do not have blogging, HTML, social media subjects in their college. The truth is, American do not need the diploma. They want the skills to do the task properly.