If you’re ready to hire a freelance Amazon virtual assistant for the first time, you can browse the huge network of professional assistants on Guru–but it isn’t always easy to know instinctively which skills and abilities to look for! There are several qualities that make an amazing virtual assistant, such as reliability, faultless communication, perfect spoken and written English, and a strong track record of multitasking.
However, you also need to consider pay rates, working hours, pre-existing knowledge of your products or brand, and whether you’d like an assistant to work with you long-term or ad hoc during busier periods.
Qualities to Prioritize When Hiring an Amazon Virtual Assistant
What does an Amazon virtual assistant do? The answer is varied and flexible, so it’s important to define the tasks, responsibilities, and recurring jobs you expect your assistant to take on.
That is because the right freelancer for your Amazon store might differ from that of another seller, if you require an experienced professional with specific knowledge, training, or skills, such as:
- Digital marketing knowledge to manage Amazon ad campaigns
- Inventory management experience and an understanding of FBA
- Photography or videography skills to upgrade your product listings
- Copywriting or proofreading abilities to refresh your descriptions and text
Other skills are broader and apply to any virtual assistant position. Crucially, you need an Amazon assistant who is reliable and who will log into Seller Central, complete the assigned tasks and keep you updated as appropriate.
One of the most popular reasons to hire an Amazon virtual assistant is to keep up to date with customer inquiries and messages, so it is essential your freelancer doesn’t let things get behind. It might be worth running a quick test or assigning an initial task to verify your selected freelancer has the necessary knowledge and skills. More experienced assistants will normally have a body of work and past client reviews to assure you they can pick up the workload quickly.
Considerations for Hiring a Freelance Amazon Virtual Assistant
Before hiring an assistant, you must have agreed to the terms and pay rates linked with their work–whether a fixed amount, a rate per hour or day, or a value calculated by performance, such as the number of messages responded to.
Several other factors might influence your decision-making or impact the experience level you need:
- Hourly wages: More junior freelancers normally charge a lower hourly rate but will need additional training, management, and support.
- Start date: If you are hiring an assistant to work a set number of hours per day or week, you should agree to their start date in advance.
- Ongoing work: Freelancers often work for repeat clients but confirming the regularity of the work and the exact number of hours required will ensure there isn’t room for potential misunderstandings.
- Availability: Virtual assistants can work from anywhere, and if they are in a different time zone or country, it will help if you have agreed on the hours of the day they will be available for catch-up calls, updates, training, or feedback discussions.
- Payment dates: Your payment schedule will depend on whether your freelancer is completing a one-off project, such as implementing a new Amazon ad campaign, or working for you on a repeat basis. Either way, you should confirm how often or when you expect to pay them.
You can confirm all these details through the Guru workflow, so you have a record of what you have agreed and can check back if you need to clarify anything or establish whether you have a payment due to your Amazon virtual assistant.
Tips for Maintaining a Great Working Relationship With a Remote Assistant
Although you and your virtual assistant might be hundreds of miles apart, communication is key to great productivity. If this is your first time hiring a professional freelancer through Guru, we’d recommend you be as clear as possible in any instruction you give, without assuming your assistant will know more about your business or the task you wish to delegate than discussed.
The level of oversight required will differ between junior freelancers and highly experienced assistants. Still, scheduling a few initial check-ins is useful so your freelancer can ask questions and you can provide feedback about whether their work is meeting your expectations.
Taking a little time to catch up during the initial work phase is beneficial in the long run, as a capable virtual assistant will be able to continue with their work independently, leaving you to concentrate on running your business.
