People are always wondering what exactly they can outsource to an assistant. Either they don’t think they have any work to delegate or they are too afraid to let go of the reigns. This is a series of ideas that can be outsourced to an assistant. Use these as suggestions for tasks your clients can pass on to you.

[toc]Nothing kills business credibility more than a stagnant website. When was the last time your clients updated their websites? For many, the answer is quite a long time ago. We seem to be so engrossed in trying to make the business “tick” on a daily basis as we deal with clients, order fulfillment, marketing initiatives and a whole host of other distractions.

A website is not simply something that sits there and hopefully garners some interest and possibly some leads. If time cannot be devoted to website development and updates, this is a great task to delegate to a remote assistant. Here are some different tasks that fall under website development that a VA can do.

Website Build

It is said that 50% of businesses do not have a website at all. This is a remarkable statistic and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that small-business owners just don’t know where to start. A virtual assistant can get a website up and running for a business in a remarkably short amount of time given the correct initial guidance and direction.

I honestly don’t know why anyone wouldn’t have a website nowadays. First of all, it’s so easy to set one up and can even be done with smaller budgets. Secondly, businesses and brands simply look more credible when they have a website – and if nothing else, it makes it easier for customers to find you. Assistants (most of them) have the knowledge and ability to build out a website using different platforms and can do it in half the time (due to less research that is needed).

Website Re-design

When people visit a website today they expect to see something that is exciting, enticing and vibrant, otherwise these people click away. If your client already has a website, there’s a good chance that it’s time to redesign their old static website.  In our world of tech, things now change as often as weekly and it’s a good idea for clients to have access to someone whose sole job is to keep on top of that changing technology. Redesigning websites is a fun task in which you can constantly learn new things to take to other clients as well.

Website Content Creation

I discussed content creation in the first post of this series, but I’ll bring it up again as something you can do to manage a client’s website. Websites are only as good as the content within. People are looking for information and you must tell them that you have the correct information, as well as the products and services that can help them deal with their problem.

The material on your clients’ website must be regularly updated, very pertinent and directly related to the problems faced by your business prospects. With so many news sources and social media outlets, it has become increasingly easy to find content to talk about. When you find relevant sources, you can either create an opinion piece on a hot topic, make list posts (like the pros or cons of a hot topic), or simply do a roundup of relevant information that you have found on the web.

Website Management

There are many regular “household chores” associated with owning and operating a website and tasks like these can fall into the black hole of email. For example, hosting fees, domain name registration renewals and the like can have the option of being put on auto, but if they aren’t then they need to be kept up to date. If these items lapse, so does the website. Sometimes when business owners receive tons of email, these notices fall by the wayside and if that happens, it can lead to a big headache. As a VA, you can set up reminders about these important dates or have the domain emails forwarded to you for housekeeping.

Website Promotion / Social Media

You’ve made a sparkling new website or redesigned and dusted off the old stagnant one! Now what?

Promote it!

If you don’t promote the existence of your website nothing will happen. Submit the site to search engines, promote all-new entries on social media, if the business isn’t on Twitter, maybe it’s time to suggest that they create a profile. Run contests, create buzz and let everyone know about the new site!

Website creation and administration are two of the core fundamental tasks outsourced to virtual assistants by small-business owners. Your next steps? Find out which of your clients have websites. If they do, see if you can spruce it up or take over the creative process. If they don’t, that’s your chance to jump  in and show them what you can create!

This post is part of a series. Check out the other posts for Ideas for Outsourcing.