How to Make More Money With an Amazon Virtual Assistant

Packing, shipping, updating inventory, handling endless customer requests—the work of an Amazon seller is never finished. So how can you expand your business without burning yourself out? 

Maybe you’ve grown exponentially and are ready to take it to the next level by outsourcing tasks. Or perhaps you’re just exhausted from carrying this business all on your own. Either way, here’s everything you need to know about hiring a virtual assistant for Amazon FBA so you can scale the smart way.

What Is a Virtual Assistant (or VA)?

A virtual assistant, also known as a VA, is a remote independent contractor (AKA freelancer) to whom you delegate specific tasks or projects—from bookkeeping to customer service to travel scheduling. This is also known as “outsourcing.” Because VAs work completely online, they can be in a country different from your own. They may also work with multiple clients at a time and offer a variety of service packages and expertise. A virtual assistant is someone you trust to do those messy tasks that you don’t have time to do yourself, because you’re building the business of your dreams.

‍

What Is an Amazon FBA Virtual Assistant?

An Amazon FBA virtual assistant is a freelancer who specializes in tasks related to maintaining and growing an Amazon FBA business. They are well-versed in all things Seller Central and have experience completing tasks such as creating product listings, responding to customer reviews, and conducting competitor research.

If you think hiring a virtual assistant is something that’s right for your Amazon business, let’s dive a little deeper into what that entails.

‍

4 Reasons to Hire an Amazon VA

Speak to any online entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you that once they found their niche and became profitable, hiring a VA was the logical next step for their business. Here’s why:

‍

‍

1. You’ll be free to focus on what you’re best at‍

Bill Gates might be excellent at answering phones—but that’s not where his genius lies. So, of course, he hires a receptionist to do that work. It’s the same with you. You may be able to handle the bookkeeping or respond to reviews for your Amazon business, for example, but that means you have less time to spend on the revenue-generating tasks you’re skilled at, such as product development. 

Don’t underestimate the power of those little details of your Amazon business. Quality connection with your customers, for example, is an essential part of any business, and the right VA can help you cultivate those important relationships. A virtual assistant can help you focus on the important customer service work that you might not have time to do.

What is your area of expertise? What makes you the most money? Figure that out, focus on it, and then outsource the rest.

2. You’ll be able to scale your business

As you grow your business, you start hitting a ceiling—you can’t put in any more hours or effort on your own. But hiring employees is a time-consuming, expensive process that is a huge commitment.

By outsourcing to contractors (VAs in this case), you can scale your business with minimal expense and effort.

3. It increases the value of your business. (Important if you plan to exit.)

Did you know that when you sell a business, potential buyers want to see that you’ve got VAs? That’s right: Outsourcing increases the value and desirability of your online business. 

Potential buyers don’t want to invest in a business that they will end up having to spend a lot of time on. They want to be as hands-off as possible. By outsourcing the bulk of the work to VAs, the listing price of your business (if you choose to sell) will go up.

4. You’ll stress less

Running a business is exhausting. But you don’t have to do it all yourself. With a team of VAs, you can rest easy knowing that your business can practically run itself when you step away. Isn’t that the ultimate dream?

‍

Key services of an Amazon virtual assistant

Basic administrative tasks are just the beginning. Virtual assistants can also work with you in any and all aspects of your Amazon business, from anywhere in the world. Here are just some ways a VA can help your business:

‍

• Sourcing products for your Amazon store: This can be the most complex part of running your business. Oftentimes, the most successful Amazon entrepreneurs work with assistants that are excellent at negotiating with vendors. If you want to up your game, find a VA who has the inside scoop on sourcing potential products at wholesale.

• Market research & analysis: If qualified, a virtual assistant can use their market-savvy skills to help you grow your Amazon business. VAs can study competitors, keep an eye on the performance of your listings, as well as monitor other sales trends on Amazon. They can even generate new ideas for product listings. VAs can also perform data analysis and help you with reporting to better understand your business. Having another pair of eyes is always helpful when it comes to marketing.

• Expert copywriting: SEO-optimization is key when it comes to building your business. Don’t know what SEO is or how to work it into your Amazon store? A virtual assistant most probably does. You can hire an expert copywriter as a VA who knows which keywords to use in your store’s product descriptions and elsewhere on the page. Using the right keywords can make a huge difference for your business and can help drive traffic to your page.

• Inventory and shipping: Have an Amazon FBA account? A VA can really lighten the load when it comes to managing your store’s inventory, tracking shipments, making sure there aren’t any missing units, and doing the menial task of downloading shipping labels and barcodes for you.

• Multimedia expert: If you’re an Amazon seller, you’ll want to make your products pop on your store page. When it comes to images, video, and anything multimedia, a virtual assistant can prove to be very useful for this side of your business. Maybe they’re a professional (or passionate amateur) photographer themselves, or they know an amazing photographer and can hook you up. It’s all about the visuals, and many successful Amazon businesses hire expert VAs to help make their products stand out from the crowd.

‍‍

• Customer Service: A VA can help you respond to customer reviews, and help you handle (even remove) negative reviews.
  

This is a lot to consider, but if you outsource some of your Amazon business tasks to the right person, you’ll reap the rewards. You can find one Amazon virtual assistant who fits the bill for all of these tasks, or focus on a few aspects of your business you want to grow and hire someone who is an expert in that field.

Think of your VA as a collaborator. Hiring an expert to work with usually helps any business grow. The more hands on deck, the more potential you’re giving your business.

‍

How Much Does it Cost to Hire an Assistant?

We’d say, “it depends,” but we know that’s not very helpful. So, we’ll give you some rough numbers, but realize VA rates vary widely depending on the freelancer’s location, experience, and what type of tasks you’re hiring them to do.

The following shows the results of a search on Upwork using the term "Amazon FBA virtual assistants:”

• For $5-8/hour, you can find plenty of VAs in Pakistan, the Philippines, and Indonesia who are fluent in English.
• For $10-25/hour, you can find plenty of freelancers in the U.S. who are native English speakers.

In some cases, VAs sell packages for hours that they’ve worked on your Amazon business. So for instance, they’d do 20 hours of work in a month (focusing on one project or multiple tasks) and will bill you for those hours. This hourly package usually ends up being a better deal if you’re looking to hire a virtual assistant.

To get the most value for your money, consider hiring VAs in countries with a lower cost of living than your own country. For example, many U.S.-based businesses choose to work with VAs in the Philippines, a country with a lower cost of living and where English is an official language. 

And it doesn’t have to be unethical. In fact, it can do a lot of good for the people you hire. Entrepreneur Nathan Hirsch had an eight-figure business, FreeUp, that was run entirely by virtual assistants. When he sold the business, he gave half a million dollars of the sale to his internal team in the Philippines. 

"You can treat people well," Hirsch said in an interview with Seth Kniep. "You can create a win-win."

Hirsch said that the average VA in the Philippines charges $5-7 an hour, but he paid some of his VAs there more than $20/hour. The minimum wage in Manila is less than $11 USD per day.
‍

Hiring process‍

When interviewing your virtual assistant, ask if they have any particular skills or a niche that you’re looking for. If you’re looking for an expert copywriter for instance, ask them during the interview what keyword research tools they use and ask to see samples of their work. These are some of the best ways to know if the person you're hiring is well-versed in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or not.  

It’s also important to discuss the VAs invoicing system and salary/rates. Do they work hourly or by project? Find out what their conditions are when it comes to work hours, days off, conducting last-minute tasks, and if they charge extra for getting things done on a time crunch.

Settling little details like this beforehand during the interview process can really help avoid extra stress or potential setbacks once you start working together. Also, discussing the particulars of their rates also shows that you value their work and efforts. A healthy working relationship will inevitably lead to better results for your Amazon business.

‍

What Is the Best Place to Hire an Assistant?

Here are some of the top places to find and hire a virtual assistant, along with some options for paying your VA.

Personal Referrals

The best place to hire a virtual assistant is via a referral from a friend or fellow Amazon Seller. That way, someone you trust can vouch for this VA and make the introduction. 

Facebook Groups

Another solid option is Facebook groups for Amazon sellers. You can find these by going to Facebook’s search bar and typing related keywords, such as “Amazon FBA” or “Amazon seller,” and selecting “Groups” in the navigation menu. Join several groups and post to them asking for recommendations for VAs.

Upwork

Upwork is a widely-used platform for finding and hiring freelancers. You can search for existing freelancers or post a job and solicit applications. 

The advantage of using a platform like this is the added security and convenience features, including:

• Hourly payment protection allows you to use a Work Diary to monitor your VA’s activities and ensure they’re only charging you for the work you asked them to do.
• Fixed-rate payment protection holds your payments in escrow until you approve the VA’s submitted work.
• Ratings and reviews help you determine the freelancers’ dependability and quality of work.
• You can pay your VA through the Upwork platform.
  

One notable disadvantage is that you are charged a 3% fee on all payments, and freelancers get commissions taken out of their earnings from Upwork, starting at 20% for the first $500 they earn and going down in percentage from there.

Fiverr

Fiverr is another online marketplace for freelancers, but it made a name for itself by being the place to buy services starting at $5 a gig. However, you can hire freelancers on Fiverr for longer-term projects at much higher rates than $5. 

Like Upwork, it comes with certain features that add convenience and peace of mind:

• Ratings and reviews to help you identify top-quality VAs.
• Secure messaging on Fiverr so you can communicate with your freelancer without leaving the platform.
• You can make payments through the Fiverr platform.

Also like Upwork, the convenience of using Fiverr comes with the inconvenience of paying fees. For anything over $20, you as the buyer will pay 5% of the total amount, and Fiverr will take a 20% commission from the sale before paying out to the freelancer.

OnlineJobs.ph

Dedicated entirely to connecting Philippines-based jobseekers with employers, OnlineJobs.ph is extremely popular in the ecommerce entrepreneur community. You can post job listings for full-time, part-time, and contractor positions, but the bulk of the site’s focus seems to be on full-time employment. 

OnlineJobs.ph makes it easy to pay your VA and has worked out a deal with Payoneer so the fees are waived if you pay directly from a bank account. If you pay using a credit card, there is a 3-4% fee.

Job sites

With so many resources online, it can seem a little overwhelming when you’re looking to hire the right person. You can start with a trustworthy job search site like Indeed or LinkedIn and search “virtual assistants”. Comb through the various skill sets and CVs and see what catches your eye.

A Professional Hiring Agency

You always have the option to find a virtual assistant through a professional hiring agency. This is probably the most secure option available to find a potential VA, as the agency can easily replace a new hire if things don’t work out. One Amazon Seller we spoke to recommends 20four7VA.

‍

Platforms and Tools with Dedicated Account Managers

Depending on what you need help with, an Account Manager dedicated to your business may provide more in-depth support than a Virtual Assistant. Mayan is one such tool that also provides knowledgeable Account Managers to optimize advertising for Amazon Sellers. When researching these tools, be sure to look at online reviews to see what other experiences Sellers have had.

‍

Supercharge Your Amazon Business With a Virtual Assistant

As you can see, hiring a VA for certain tasks could be the best decision you ever make for your Amazon business. By focusing on the revenue-generating tasks that you do best and outsourcing the rest, you can optimize your online store and scale it exponentially—leading to a more fulfilling and lucrative business.

From marketing strategies to customer service and multimedia expertise and all of those little tasks in between, hiring a virtual assistant can be a game changer for your Amazon business.

‍