On this day and age, almost all of us have that “need” to have an online presence.
We seek to have a voice and share our thoughts across the planet. We do this by creating blogs (like what I do), being active on social media by publishing your posts or commenting on other people’s posts and more.
I guess it’s mainly because of our natural inclination to be connected (and of course, we try to monetize the ideas that we share. Lol!)
But why some of the freelancer wannabes stay away from creating their freelancer profile?
As a freelancer (same with any businesses), online presence through creating a profile is very important and will be your first few steps on how to become a Virtual Assistant.
Here, I will guide you on what profiles to be created and how to do it.
Let’s get started….
There are three (3) main things you should set-up to create that online presence. That would be Upwork, LinkedIn and your own website.
Create Three (3) Online Profiles
Though it will depend on your decision if what platform you prefer to use in finding a job, I recommend that you start with Upwork and create your profile thru this platform.
Please wait for my next blog where I will discuss some tips on how to create a great Upwork Profile and you can use the same tips on other online profile that you will create.
(Update: The blog is here -> https://www.spectrummommy.com/post/how-to-create-upwork-profile
2. LinkedIn
If you are new to LinkedIn, it’s basically another social networking platform but it's more of targeting how “professionals” can connect with each other.
LinkedIn can help you in many ways:
- A prospective client can find you via LinkedIn and send you an interview invite.
- Clients who will work for you outside of Upwork can give you recommendations via LinkedIn that will help you scale up your career.
If you have a good LinkedIn profile, your clients will know more things about you that are not covered in your Upwork account.
I found this article very helpful: https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-31-best-linkedin-profile-tips-for-job-seekers
Important Tip! As a beginner and if you are not sure how to detect fraud job offers, then you should stay via Upwork platform. But still, have a LinkedIn to have an online presence.
3. Create Your Website
Don’t be too scared on this part. I know some people would skip this. But please don’t.
Why create a website?
First, it will help you in “stretching” your mind. Though it should not be that hard, creating your own website will actually make you have a deeper feel on how to work online. Not that you will be a web developer or designer, but more of you will be able to give some warm-up to your brain. :)
The second reason is that Upwork or LinkedIn may not be able to highlight your skills and your personal background that much. That is why having a website will be handy. It will give you more flexibility and opportunity on how you like to present yourself.
Finally, a business without a website is like a fly-by-night. It’s typically the same thing as your virtual service. If you don’t have a website, you are not giving yourself an opportunity to stand-out.
How can I create a website?
It is suggested that you use Wordpress as most business owners use this and so some tasks that may be given to you may involve updating your client’s website with blogs or easy fixes.
But if Wordpress is too much, it’s okay to use a drag and drop kind of website creator such as Wix (this is an affiliate link). There are other website creator platforms that you can use, so just go ahead.
You can use the free version of creating a website but the best thing to do is to have the paid version.
What should I show on my website?
Wix can give you some CV template for your website. But basically, you just need an overview of what you can offer, your job history, skills you know and tools you have knowledge of and some personal information.
Some would recommend that you include a section on your website where you will create tutorials for the tools you know. It could be in the form of a simple blog or video tutorial.
This will help you to show your clients that even if you don’t have VA experience yet, you are already knowledgeable about the commonly used tools and that you are a self-starter and highly trainable.
If creating tutorials are not your thing, I recommend that you build your “authority” by using Quora as the platform and then you can link your Quora profile to your website.
In case you are not familiar with Quora, it’s a popular knowledge-based platform where people can ask questions and give some answers to any topics. If your client sees it, he will have a gauge on your thinking ability and knowledge of tasks and tools related to the job.
Final Notes
These things can be tedious and have some learning curve along the way. But it will surely pay off eventually.
I understand that as a newbie, you may have that tendency to just go ahead and create your profile without any research done and just have high hopes that a client will trust you.
Well, somehow that’s okay. I encourage baby steps than procrastination. But have your profile as a continuous work in progress. Always improve and update it even if you landed your first freelancing gig.
Work on creating your profile and building your online presence. This will definitely give some confidence on the client to trust you over other freelancers.
What’s one thing that separates you the most among other new freelancers? Share your thoughts and comment below.
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