The virtual assistant (VA) industry is as vast and wide as my love for Starbucks and Target. And well that’s pretty big! What I mean by that is that the opportunities are truly endless with regards to what services you offer and what industry you cater to. At the Virtual Assistant Studio, we’ve niched down to the blogger and content creator industry, and offer a wide-variety of services from copywriting, social media management, Pinterest strategy and graphic creation to name a few. Speaking of Pinterest strategy, did you know that virtual assistants can even niche down to solely offer Pinterest services? So today I thought I’d explain tips on how to become a Pinterest virtual assistant for those that love that platform and want to learn more.
Today’s post is for both those who have been offering virtual assistant services for a long time or for those who want to start a side hustle for the first time.
To learn more about other services VAs can offer, you’ll love this post HERE.
How to Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
You might be wondering what a virtual assistant is, let alone what a Pinterest virtual assistant does.
A virtual assistant is someone who offers a specific service or services, remotely. These services don’t require the VA to be in the office, therefore they can work from home or work from anywhere as a virtual assistant.
Focusing on one niche can make you work more efficient and more productive. Furthermore, it helps you narrow your focus and education on just one platform. That way, you don’t feel overwhelmed by trying to learn all the things on all the platforms known to man. And when you specialize in something, you can increase your hourly rate and/or overall pricing. Winning!
So why focus on Pinterest? Pinterest is a search engine with millions of new users joining yearly. Gen X has also rediscovered the platform, and it’s all the rave. Because most people are searching for a specific answer to something or wanting to solve a problem, Pinterest marketing offers a high-conversion rate. Most aren’t mindlessly scrolling like they do on other social media platforms.
Below are tips on how to become a full-time Pinterest virtual assistant. Many of the tips are similar to the tips and tricks we talked about in this post about marketing your business HERE too.
Create a Virtual Assistant Service Page
A simple yet effective way to market your Pinterest virtual assistant services is to create a one-page website. You don’t have to invest a ton of money into it. Just a space where you can showcase your skills and expertise. The website could list the following:
- Services you offer
- Why Pinterest is a good investment for any business
- Testimonies from past clients (maybe you’ve offered other VA services prior to offering Pinterest – include those if you don’t have any successful Pinterest testimonies yet)
- Contact information
You’ll also want to be sure all your social media accounts are the same name as your business. This helps you look more professional as a business owner and brand. It also makes it easier for business owners looking for Pinterest vas to find you! After all, finding client as Pinterest VA is our top priority.
Take a Pinterest VA Course
If you love Pinterest and want to learn how to set up your VA business with ease, you can take The Virtual Assistant Studio Course (shameless plug 🙂 ) But really, it takes you step-by-step on how to launch a successful business from the start. That way, you don’t waste time hunting down all the information by yourself. It’s a no-fluff course on how to actually find clients and build a profitable business in a short amount of time!
Another great resource to utilize is listening to podcasts related to Pinterest. There’s a wealth of information and resources related to Pinterest. One of our favorites is The Simple Pin Media podcast! They are truly Pinterest experts and offer so much incredible free value.
Become Familiar with Tools Related to Pinterest
Two tools that are essential to understand and be familiar with when you work as a Pinterest VA are Tailwind and Canva.
Tailwind is a tool that allows you to schedule pins on a variety of boards for your client. That way, you’re not constantly having to post in real-time. Tailwind essentially allows you to easily batch content and schedule pins a few weeks at a time or even one month at time. We show you how we batch content in this post HERE. The platform also allows you to schedule a single pin to multiple boards, giving that content more legs and exposure for your client. You can also join community boards that help explode traffic to your client’s business. Plus Tailwind is a verified partner of Pinterest, so any and all features associated with Tailwind have been backed by Pinterest itself.
If you’re just getting started with Pinterest and not sure where to start, we recommend signing up for Tailwind’s free trial. Then, you can click around and watch their library of free resources.
As a Pinterest VA, you’re creating graphics for your clients. We love Canva for creating Pinterest graphics! The free version works, but we recommend getting the paid plan, if you’re serious about becoming a Pinterest VA and earning money. There are more tools available with the paid version. Design hacks like removing the background of screenshots for cleaner graphics and creating a brand profile for each client. The brand profile allows you to save your clients specific hex color codes and fonts, so you can create different graphics with ease and efficiency.
What Does a Pinterest Virtual Assistant Do
Create a Business Pinterest Account
Every business should have a Pinterest account and have a solid Pinterest presence. Whether it’s physical products, online products or services, there’s a place for everything on Pinterest. So, the first thing a Pinterest VA can do is set up a BUSINESS Pinterest account for the business they’re serving.
Having a business Pinterest account is crucial because it provides statistics on trending pins, pin views, repins, impressions and other important data.
After you create the Pinterest account, you can then setup boards for your client based on the products or services they offer.
Design Pin Graphics
I mentioned earlier that we love using Canva for creating pin graphics for our clients. Canva makes it so easy to design Pinterest pins. They have hundreds of Pinterest pin templates within the program that you can customize or simply update the wording.
You also have the option of creating a pin graphic from scratch. If your client has never dabbled in the Pinterest world yet or they have a specific vision for their Pinterest account, you can create a one-of-a-kind pin template for your client.
The main thing that’s important is to create a uniformed and cohesive pin template to use for all your pins. For example, you could design three or four pin templates, using the brand colors and fonts. Then, from there, you can utilize that templates every time you go to make a pin. It will not only build brand visibility for your client, but it saves you time and effort too. Basically a plug-and-play every time, after your initial design.
Write Pin Descriptions
After you’ve made a gorgeous pin in Canva, you’ll then need to write a pin description. It’s important to use keyword-rich phrases in each of your descriptions. Remember, Pinterest is it’s own search engine, so including words and phrases that Pinterest users are searching for is key to getting your clients pins discovered.
We love the Google Chrome plugin Keywords Everywhere for keyword research. And the “trends” tab within Pinterest can be super helpful too. Usually Pinterest is three months ahead, so if you’re wanting to gain traffic on holiday content, you should get it onto Pinterest in September.
Schedule Pins
Now this is where the real magic happens. You’re ready to schedule pins to boards using Tailwind. Tailwind has a smart schedule feature that analyzes when your client’s unique audience is most active. This gives your client the best chance at their pins being seen and discovered.
You may be wondering what your pins should link back to. It could be a number of different things from:
- Blog posts
- Social media posts, including reels and IGTV
- Product page
- Website
- LTK
- Email opt-in forms
Plus each piece of content from a blog posts to an email opt-in can have multiple pins leading back to the same thing.
Another essential practice to incorporate into any Pinterest strategy is to pin other businesses or creators’ pins to your boards. You can easily schedule these through Tailwind too.
Where to Find Pinterest Virtual Assistant Jobs
There are many ways to find potential clients. Below are some ways to build your client list.
Facebook Groups
There are literally millions of Facebook groups. Join groups as it relates to the industry you serve. Then, be active in those groups and give advice to those who seek it. The more you’re active in these groups, the more people are going to start recognizing your name and expertise. Trust me, this works!
In-Person Networking
Attend networking events in your area. A simple Google search will give you a list of in-person entrepreneurial groups. Or maybe it’s simply connecting to one or two like-minded business owners that can relate to what you do. That way, you can bounce ideas of each other and support each other.
Freelance Websites
There are many freelance websites that post job opportunities like Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer. Many of these you can post your services and portfolio directly to the website. Another great tool to utilize for virtual networking is LinkedIn.
Marketing Agencies
If you know the industry you want to serve, start pitching directly to them. For instance, since the VA Studio serves bloggers and content creators, we can pitch directly to them. Another option would be to pitch to agencies that represent bloggers and content creators.
If you want to serve the real estate industry, pitch directly to their offices. You never know what can come of something by simply introducing yourself and sharing what services you provide.
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