Marketing & Digital Media Virtual Assistant

ABOUT THE BUSINESS
We are a serviced accommodation company operating in central London. We host guests for short and medium stays through Airbnb, Booking.com and direct bookings. We are a small, owner-run business. You will work directly with the owner and have a real influence on how we attract and keep guests. The company name will be shared with shortlisted candidates.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The Virtual Assistant will grow direct bookings and repeat stays by preparing marketing materials, running our email marketing campaigns, and updating all our digital media platforms (website and social media) to maintain accuracy, appeal and relevance. This frees the owner to focus on guests and operations while our marketing runs consistently every week.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Preparation of Marketing Materials

• Design electronic flyers and other marketing materials
• Adapt materials for email , social media, WhatsApp and print-ready PDF
• Write clear, persuasive promotional copy
• Keep all materials consistent with the company brand (logo, colours, fonts, tone)
• Maintain an organised library of templates and approved photos

2. Undertaking Email Marketing Campaigns

• Plan and maintain a monthly email calendar (offers, seasonal promotions, local events, repeat-guest campaigns)
• Write, design and schedule newsletters and promotional email s
• Build and manage the mailing list, including segmenting past guests, corporate contacts and enquiries
• Set up automated sequences, e.g. welcome, pre-arrival, post-stay thank-you and review requests
• Keep the list clean and compliant with UK GDPR and PECR (consent, unsubscribe links, data handling)
• Report monthly on open rates, click rates and bookings generated

3. Maintaining Digital Media Platforms

• Website: update text, photos, prices, availability messages and special offers
• Website: add new pages or blog posts, e.g. central London area guides; check links, forms and the booking button work
• Website: apply basic SEO (page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text, keywords)
• Social media: plan, create and schedule regular posts across the company's social media accounts
• Social media: keep profiles, bios, links and highlights current, and respond to routine comments and messages
• Keep all platforms consistent with each other and with our Airbnb and Booking.com listings

4. Telephone Marketing

• Make telephone calls to follow-up on leads
• Enhance prospect conversion through telephone calls, as required

5. General Marketing Support

• Suggest ideas to increase direct and repeat bookings
• Monitor what competitors and local attractions are promoting
• Carry out other marketing and admin tasks as directed

ESSENTIAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• At least 2 years' experience as a virtual assistant or in a digital marketing support role
• Proven experience running email campaigns on a platform such as HostingerMail, Mailchimp, Brevo or Klaviyo
• Strong design skills in Canva or similar, with a portfolio of flyers or social graphics
• Hands-on experience updating websites (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or similar) and managing business social media accounts
• Proficiency with Artificial Intelligence applications
• Excellent written English, with a friendly and professional tone
• Understanding of UK GDPR as it applies to email marketing
• Reliable, organised and able to work to deadlines with little supervision
• Clear, prompt communication by email and WhatsApp

DESIRABLE SKILLS

• Experience in hospitality, short-let, serviced accommodation or travel marketing
• Familiarity with Airbnb, Booking.com or a channel manager / direct booking engine
• Basic SEO and Google Business Profile knowledge
• Copywriting for promotions and local area guides
• Basic photo editing
• Comfortable using AI tools (e.g. Claude) to speed up drafting and content work

TOOLS & SOFTWARE
The VA should be confident with, or quick to learn, the following:

Email marketing: HostingerMail, Mailchimp, Brevo or similar
Design: Canva
Website: WordPress, Wix or Squarespace
Communication: Email , WhatsApp, video calls
File sharing: Google Drive or Dropbox

PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Success will be reviewed monthly against these measures:

Email s sent on schedule: At least 2 campaigns per month

Email open rate: 30% or higher

Email click rate: 3% or higher
Direct bookings from email : Tracked and growing month on month
Flyer turnaround: Within 2 working days of brief
Website updates: Within 2 working days of request
Monthly report: Delivered by the 5th of each month

TERMS

• Pay: £5 per hour (US $6.61 per hour)
• Invoicing: monthly in arrears
• Trial period: 4 weeks, followed by a review
• Equipment: the VA provides their own computer and internet connection
• Confidentiality: the VA must sign a confidentiality agreement and handle guest data in line with UK GDPR
• Notice: 2 weeks on either side after the trial period

HOW TO APPLY
Please send the following to ----------
1. A short cover note explaining why you suit this role
2. Your CV
3. Examples of email campaigns you have created, with results if available
4. 3–5 examples of flyers or social graphics you have designed
5. Links to websites you have updated or managed

SELECTION PROCESS
Shortlisted candidates will be requested to complete a short marketing & digital media (one promotional email and one flyer), followed by a 30-minute video call.