Turn economic panic into opportunity

Networking

April 23, 2012 by admin 3 Comments

Networking is an extremely important element of building a business, particularly if you are working on your own. It not only provides opportunities to promote your business but also provides you with an opportunity to socialise and build relationships with like-minded people.

BE EXCITED about it, yes there can be initial feelings of nervousness and anticipation, but do let this be something to rare you on to keep going as it does help your business grow.

There are many networking groups in different areas and sometimes, yes, it is hard to find one that suits you. So make a point of trying all of them at least once – which you can normally do as a trial as a guest with no cost. You will get a feeling about which you believe is right for you in terms of frequency of meetings, the types of business people that attend, the costs of joining and breakfasts/lunches and how they would help your business grow.
Identify what your intentions are and the outcome you want to create by going along to networking events. If anything it is imperative to your business to be part of a community which will support you and your business.
Working for yourself, time is of the essence, however, sparing the time to go to at least two networking meetings a month would help your business grow or give you some encouraging support or valued information for your business.
It will also put your business on the map, help you develop your presentation skills; build your confidence in presenting your business to prospective clients and in yourself. Put the time in your diary and say NO to anything that will stop you from going, be committed to yourself and respect your business.
Let clients know that you will be unavailable at those times and why (if you like to let them know why) – my VA lets me know and so I would not dream of asking her to do something instead of going to her networking event. Your clients should respect that you are a business and are a growing one; any client who values their business should understand this.
For clients who are demanding, get support from your BUDDY or associate to support you in your work and call minding when you are not there. And you can do the same for them when they network. That way, your clients are still being looked after and you are still building your business. Clients will value this and become even more of a raving fan of yours…..

Want to improve your networking skills? Then join my free webinar l to learn the skills to improve your networking experiences and gain new clients.

When is this webinar?
This FREE webinar is on Thursday 26^thApril, 2012 at 7.30pm to 8.15pm.

If you wish to join this session please email am@vact.co.uk

Still not convinced? Watch this. video about the common challenges VAs have in networking

In order to ensure you gain the most value from this webinar, please ensure you ask your one burning question that will help to improve your networking!

A recording of the audio will be shared with anyone who registers for this webinar and distributed after the event.

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips, Confidence Tagged With: build relationships, free webinar, generate business, networking, VA

Want to be more productive in your business?

April 20, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

Do you find trying to start, grow or simply run your business is exceptionally hard when you have a busy family life too? Have you tried different ways of managing your time and yet still you are struggling to give your full attention to the job at hand?

You may have invested in time management books or been on course that have promised to provide the solution to your issues, but I bet you have found that what you have read or heard has been a one size fits all approach. Well I’m afraid that really doesn’t work does it? We all have different issues and drains on our time, so by simply following what works for someone who has different time issues isn’t going to help us.

This is where Grace Marshall has come up with this fantastic approach where she has realised one shoe really doesn’t fit all. Grace is a buy mum of 2 with a 4 year old business and she has found a way of helping you manage your time depending on how you work. To find out a bit more about this read Grace’s article on Women Unlimited. Grace has recorded a video to tell you a bit more about the fantastic workshop she has planned to help business mums to be more productive.

There are two options for this workshop, a live face to face workshop on 3rd May in Stafford or an Online workshop over 3 evenings, 14th-16th May.

Closing dates to book on are 1st May for the live workshop and 11th May for the online version.

Grab an early bird ticket for £147 till Tuesday 24th, then the price returns to £197.

To find out more or book your ticket please visit Grace Marshalls site.

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips, Get Out of Your Rut! Tagged With: business mums, grace marshall, productivity, time management, VA

Why should VAs use video on their website?

April 17, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

Here are some facts about the monster site that we know as YouTube:

More content is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than the three major U.S. television networks have created in the last 60 years
The average user spends between 15 – 25 minutes per day on the site
Over 2 Billion views per day
Nearly 2 hours of video are uploaded every second
The most popular YouTube video has now had over 505 million views
10% of the internet traffic is through YouTube – that’s one out of every 10 internet users open YouTube

You have to admit that is an awful lot of ‘stuff’ going on with that website.

If it’s that popular then surely online video will work for us right?

Online video is so powerful and here’s why –

Gone are the days when a nice looking website will cut it. Your prospective customers want to know who you are and what you are like. They can’t really get that from a nice retouched photo or some well-written copy.

Video helps you get your energy and passion across, and passion is infectious. Who doesn’t want to buy from some who is passionate?

Here’s another fact. I launched my own online TV channel – simonjordan.tv in April of 2009 and within 7 months I had picked up clients from around the globe.

I was speaking in the U.S. and my business quadrupled. I put this all down to my videos and the fact that I was creating relevant content which people were enjoying watching.

So should you use it to grow your business – YES!

We buy from people we know, like and trust. So what better way to have your website working for you 24/7 by using video so your prospective customers can see who you are and what you are about.

With all those facts about YouTube and so many people online viewing – this is your chance to grab a slice of the pie.

Simon Jordan

Business Growth Coach, Author, Host and International Speaker

www.SimonJordan.tv

A Word From Carmen…

Still wondering if video could work for you?

Maybe you’re thinking that you don’t know what to say on camera?

Maybe you feel a little shy?

After Simon’s very well received workshop on using video to attract more clients to your business at the 6th National VA Conference and Awards last week, he is offering a very special offer of his “Quick Start Guide To Online Video” which comprises of 1 hour 26 minutes of video showing you everything you need to know in order to get started and make great videos that will attract your target market with ease PLUS some very special bonus offers too!

Simon took his business from local to global in just 7 months using online video and as he said in his workshop one of his videos that only took 45 minutes to create and upload has now brought in over £20k worth of business – not a bad investment of time!

Why you should use video:

Video on your website will help you engage with your prospective clients
A video on a website has a far higher conversion rate than just plain text and a photo of yourself
Video helps the prospective client see what you are like as a person
Video helps you get across your energy and passion for what you do and something that text on a website just wouldn’t do.

Case Study

When Simon did a study on sale conversions he created a sales page with just text and a photo. He only picked up 1 sale.

He then added audio which produced a further 4 sales. When adding video the sales went to over 80.

That is the power of video!

Your prospects are visiting your website 24/7 and using video will help them engage with you when you are not there.

So make your website work for you 24/7 by adding video.

Simon’s Quick Start Guide to Online Video will also show you how to overcome your nerves, what to say and how to look good on camera.

Cost of this course

The 3 online videos (total 1hr 26 minutes) is a small investment of just £47!

PLUS as a special bonus offer Simon is going to add a 1-2-1-strategy call with you to that so you can pick his brains on how to market your business (worth £497).

PLUS Simon is also going to add to the mix his “Confidence Building Audio” to help you feel confident on camera and other situations in your life.

OFFER FINISHES IN 48 HOURS

This special offer of the course, plus 1-2-1-strategy call and confidence building audio is only available until midnight on Wednesday18th April for VAs only.

Please note the 1-2-1-strategy call can be booked for any time so buy the course today and have your 1-2-1 call with Simon when you are ready but remember his offer closes on Wednesday at midnight and will not be available again at this price.

Click here to purchase and yours now >>http://www.gathermoreclients.com/online-video/

Once you have paid, Simon’s PA will send you details on how to book your call with him and again this can be saved for anytime in the future.

Many thanks

Carmen

P.S. This offer runs out in 48 hours. The cost of £47 is worth the 1-2-1 strategy call alone. I have used Simon’s services in the past and he is a marketing expert who will help you massively so book yours today.

Filed Under: Opportunity, VA Conference Tagged With: being a VA, being a virtual assistant, effective marketing, Gather More Clients, marketing for VA's, Simon Jordan, social media, TheSimonJordan, va marketing ideas, Virtual Assistant, websites

Why enter awards?

April 16, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

Image by pixtawan

Following on from the success of the VA Conference and Awards on Saturday, you may be wondering what is the point of entering awards? Why set yourself up to be disheartened if you don’t win?

Well there are many reason’s why entering awards is not only good for your business but also good for you. The main reason to enter awards is the recognition you receive on not only winning an award, but also for being nominated or becoming a finalist. Its realising that someone believes you do an exceptional job, provide an outstanding service and wants to show you that what you have provided for them is top class and that you deserved to be recognised for your effort and hard work.

As well as the recognition, entering awards is a great way to receive extra PR. Normally you will be able to release a press release to state you have been nominated for an award, also if you are a finalist and you will definitely send a press release out if you win. The company organising the event will also be promoting the awards, so there will be added media coverage for your business through this too. All media coverage is another way of promoting your business so make the most of every opportunity.

Finally entering awards is a must to show how important you feel your business is and also how comittied to providing an outstanding service. It is ok to nominate yourself and sometimes it is a lot easier to do this than expect or ask someone else to nominate you. How knows your business better than you. Some of the entry forms for awards can be quite in depth and no one knows what you do and how you do it better than you. You may feel like you are cheating but there are many other businesses out there that will be doing it too. Also if you don’t, who will. Don’t miss out on the chance to increase your businesses exposure and the chance of receiving the recognition you deserve.

Finally another added bonus of entering awards is that there can be other opportunities that can arise on the back of an award win or nomination. Being seen as an expert in your field and providing a dynamic and innovative business which has been worthy of an award nomination can open many doors including speaking engagements, consultancy or job opportunities.

So no matter how you feel about entering awards, if you want to be one step ahead of the game, get nominating yourself and your business for any awards you can, you never know where it may lead you.

Filed Under: Confidence, VA Conference Tagged With: awards, confidence, networking, VA, Virtual Assistant

Why Quality is better than Quantity on Facebook

April 12, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

Social media is a great way to help promote your business and engage with your prospective clients and other VA’s. It is a great tool for networking and sharing your expertise as well as minimising that feeling of isolation we all can feel at times when working remotely.

Facebook is the biggest of the social media platforms and has changed quite a lot of recent months. They have introduced the new timeline feature, which when I first looked at it I thought was going to make it harder to promote your business on Facebook. This was due to the new header not allowing you to add a call to action but on further investigation there are ways around this. The new apps mean you are able to add parts of your website direct onto your page and rather than having to leave the Facebook site, this means you are able to share important information on your page with out people having to click off of the site.

So you may be asking why I have put quality is better than quantity? Well on your page you are no doubt aware of getting people to like it. This is so that when you update your status on your page you the people who have liked your page will see this on their newsfeed. So the more liker’s you have the better your business will be and the more people will seek your services, right? This may not be the case. Having lots of likes on your page may look good to you and boost your ego, but if none of these likes are interacting with you and creating a relationship with you, they are simply just a number.

You may have seen recently on Facebook, pages actively partaking in events called Like Ladders. This is all part of the numbers games, to increase your number of likes on your page. All well and good but it can be a waste of your precious time liking everyone back who may not actually be looking for a VA and will just add a number to your like total. It is more important to interact with your own liker’s and like other businesses you think may benefit you in your business.

A great tip I recently came across is to use Facebook as your page when you are liking a business page so you can keep your profile personal and your page more business focused. Also when liking a page it is a good idea to actual write a message on their wall saying Hi and tag your page in that message making it easier for them and others to find our page.

So remember Facebook is not a numbers game, it is about making quality contacts who will help you build and grow your business.

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips Tagged With: business boost, facebook, page, quality over quantity, VA, Virtual Assistant

Cloud creates new horizon for VA bookkeepers

April 10, 2012 by admin 1 Comment

Virtual Assistants are emerging as a dynamic professional category all over the world and one in which cloud computing plays a major part.

If you are one of the new breed of web-savvy VAs offering services like bookkeeping – life just got a whole lot more interesting.

While the online world has been a great way to build a client base and passive income, the traditional bookkeeper is wrestling with two major issues:

Are we under threat of becoming redundant with the rise of cloud accounting (clients can do basic book work themselves)?
Will we lose income, as data processing becomes more efficient and we aren’t spending as much time on-site? (Remember, traditionally bookkeeping was an hours game.)

To prosper the traditional bookkeeper must embrace the advantages online accounting brings – something that’s second nature to the VA bookkeeper.

Let’s deal with the redundancy problem first. Firstly not all bookkeepers do the same thing. Secondly accountants and business owners will not (and should not) replace bookkeepers. It’s widely accepted among small business owners that their focus should be “on the business”. The bookkeeper’s role is to help “in the business” – if they keep the house in order business owners can get on with what they are good at and what they went into business for. As one business owner said recently, “We want to spend their time making money, not accounting for it”.

As for the income and efficiency dilemma, this is more of a mindset shift. Choosing an easy-to-use innovative online accounting package such as the likes of Xero, productivity must rise. This creates an opportunity to reposition your work from mere (and boring!) data entry tasks to more value added offerings that provide greater satisfaction for you and are more beneficial for your clients. So much so they will value you more.

The on-site/off-site is not really an issue for business owners. Typically they would like to see the bookkeeper’s face (have you onsite) maybe once a month, but for them the important thing is that their business books are kept up to date, regardless of where the bookkeeper is sitting. Nor is it uncommon today for business owners to deal with their bookkeeper on a remote basis only.

For VA bookkeepers, working in the cloud helps them undertake tasks that are not only more satisfying, but more profitable.

To find out more about Xero go to: www.xero.com/va

By Gary Turner, MD Xero UK

LOW COST and EFFECTIVE Marketing Tools 10

April 4, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

In the last post we talked about eZines and eNewsletters and how these can help to promote your VA business. Following on with this theme we are discussing what to write.

Wondering what to write?

Think about your niche and what they will be struggling with, what they will have issues with, what goals will they have, what results do they want to achieve, what support would be useful to them? With this in mind, you can start to put together some information or ‘useful tips’ to help them handle their challenges or achieve their goals more effectively. By providing useful tips, you are avoiding advertising to them directly, and instead you are providing them with the evidence of your expertise and the results you could help them achieve as a VA.

You can provide relevant links to specifically related pages (not necessarily to the front page of your site) of your website or blog that provides more extensive information. Don’t make them have to try and find the page for themselves because they will switch off.

If all you do is advertise, provide information that they are already likely to be receiving via trade publications and/or websites or providing too much detail, then you are likely to switch them off.

Using email marketing platforms will enable you to see the marketing activity which tells you who opens the email, who unsubscribes and who follows your links. This gives you important information about whether you are giving your contacts something they want to read. You want to get to the point that when they see the heading of your newsletter in their inbox, that they are excited about opening it, instead of deleting it.

There is a product called Yudu which allows you to convert your magazine currently in PDF or Word into a format that appears like a magazine or book, when readers go to the next page, it appears as if they are turning the pages of a book (it even sounds like it too).

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips Tagged With: effective marketing, low cost effective marketing, marketing, VA, Virtual Assistant

LOW COST and EFFECTIVE Marketing Tools 9

April 2, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

In the last post we where looking at marketing your VA business through articles and using Google Analytics. Today we are going to be looking at E-Zines and E-Newsletters and how these can help with marketing.

E-Zines and E-Newsletters

This is where you put together a short magazine (normally in PDF) or newsletter that is then distributed via email, normally using an email marketing platform.

These create a fantastic opportunity for keeping in touch with your mailing list, ensuring that you are keeping your business in the forefront of their minds, as well as building a relationship with your brand identity for instant recognition (as long as it remains positive of course!).

Some platforms you can use include Constantcontact.com, dotmailer.com, aweber.com or getresponse.com to name but a few. You may even be introduced to a company that provides email marketing via your networking contacts. There could be no cost at all if you have under a number of contacts on your mailing list, for example under 50, and thereafter you will pay a fee, for example between 51 and 100 contacts could be around £15 per month. Do explore different sites and compare the current prices.

Within these platforms you open an account, many offer a free trial for around 30 days. Once you open an account, you can create your email mailing lists. You can create as many email mailing lists as you please. As a suggestion, it is worth having one for enquiries and connectors (or non-clients) and one for clients only. This allows you to send out email campaigns that are specifically aimed to those on the list. For instance, I would not send an email campaign promoting my next group course to someone that has already attended the course.

You can brand the newsletter templates by choosing your brand’s colour scheme, uploading your logo and adding any other images that you use on your marketing material. Therefore, when people receive it, they recognise you by your brand.

When people receive the mailer, it comes in the form of an html code, basically meaning, that instead of having to download a document, the mailer is received in the text of their email and looks similar to a page from your website.

If you have produced a magazine, such as our VA Times Magazine…people will receive a mailer from you in their email inbox, which may contain details of the contents page and then a link. The link will be a page from your website from which they can download a PDF document which is the online magazine. They can also access any previous issues with images of the front cover of each. Your website designer can upload this onto your site’s filing system for you.

If it is a newsletter that they are receiving from you, the format normally appears like a one side A4 page, with a contents link top left corner under your main header or company logo and then either one main article or a few different short articles. The contents link will detail the header/s of your article/s and act as a hyperlink to the related article. Therefore, if you had a title called ‘how to manage your emails effectively’ and the reader likes the sound of that as opposed to the other titles, then by pressing on the link it will take them directly to the article.

It is worthwhile letting people know what the reading time is, at the top of the page, so that they can decide if they have the time to read it.

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips Tagged With: being a virtual assistant, effective marketing, emagazines, ezines, low cost effective marketing, low cost marketing, marketing for VA's

LOW COST and EFFECTIVE Marketing Tools 8

March 30, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

Today’s post we are going to be looking at more great low cost and effective marketing tools for VA’s to use to market your business and generate more interest and leads. We talked about press releases yesterday and today we are going to look at a couple more options for you to consider.

Article Writing

If you enjoy writing then offer yourself as a contributor to any publication that will allow you to get noticed by your niche. This could be on someone else’s blog or website on the topic of working smartly ON your business through the method of outsourcing for example. It may be any of the publication ideas mentioned above.

You may be a member of a panel of experts where you are asked to contribute your thoughts or write a review on the hot topic of the month or week!

You may be the guru that people write in and your advice is published.

You would not charge for this service, in return you would ask that your contact details and a link if online are published.

Giving Reviews

If someone has written a book aimed at your target market and it is about to launch, offer to do a review for them in exchange for a small entry about your business and a link to your website. This is great publicity because every time someone buys their book, you’re gaining free publicity.

Google Analytics and Adwords

Your web builder should be able to install Google Analytics for you so that you can watch the activity going on with your website. It enables you to see which pages visitors are looking at and which are taking action. You can also see which are the last pages viewed before leaving. This enables you to analyse whether your website is giving people the information they need and more importantly, keeping their attention.

Adwords is an advertisement that comes up with search engine results that are closely related. For example, if someone put the words ‘freelance PA’ in the search engine, a list of results will come up and then on the side you will see some advertisements which entail a short heading and then around nine words that advertise a business that may include the word ‘freelance’ or ‘freelance PA’.

This enables you to provide key words that your niche will be typing that will then bring your website up on the search engines. It is known as Pay Per Click advertising, so if someone clicks on your Google Ad, Google will charge you a fee. However you are charged based on what you want to pay per click (which means they click through to your website or wherever you want to link them).

Bear in mind that not everyone will be searching for ‘Virtual Assistant’. Therefore other key words will be ‘freelance PA’, ‘virtual PA’, ‘part-time PA/Secretary’, ‘business support’, ‘home based PA’, ‘administrator’, ‘administrative support’, ‘local Secretary/PA’, ‘business assistance’, ‘freelance administrator’, ‘freelance secretarial service’ etc. They may also add their own niche, location or even a particular skill for example ‘someone that can build shopping carts’ or ‘someone that can build a blog’.

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips Tagged With: effective marketing, google analytics and adwords, low cost effective marketing, low cost marketing, magazine articles, marketing for VA's, reviews, VA

LOW COST and EFFECTIVE Marketing Tools 7

March 29, 2012 by admin 1 Comment

Today we are going to be looking at another great way to market your VA business.

Writing a Press Release (More is covered in Module Six PR)

With the VA Mastery Course you have been given a press release template (although this will need to be altered according to your unique business and story), and there is a whole section dedicated to Talking to the Press.

There is a website www.expertsourceonline.com which allows you to upload a press release (there is a charge for this so please look at the site for the most current charges). As this is a site that journalists go to in order to find experts on various topics or current news stories, if your press release has a link in any way, then your press release could be used. Alternatively you may be contacted to give a quote.

What to consider…your press release may be issued and there may be a charge if your contact details were published. In addition, exerts of your press release could be published but your contact details are omitted.

Therefore, when you contact the publication direct, you may go for the option of an Advertorial which is an editorial feature and in order to publish your contact details, as this is seen as a form of advertising, there will be a charge. This could be a fantastic opportunity for you and do check what you are being charged with VAT.

I would suggest that to make it more lucrative for you, ensure your advertorial includes a link to your site for people to download a free E-Book, report or trial worth £xx.xx so that you can at least capture their data.

This is called Direct Response Marketing where you are giving a call to action that will direct people to you either via your website, a sales page or a phone call with you. It’s all about building a list of contacts that have put their hand up.

This is why having a call minding service of your own is useful so that any telephone enquiries that come your way can be handled efficiently…otherwise do not have your number published.

You may even offer a prize to a competition, the prize does not have to be provided by you. Contact a hotel chain, spa or a company that sells a product that your niche is likely to want and use, in exchange for some free publicity.

However, think now about what your niche will be reading. These could include the following: -

Trade publications
If they are a member of an Industry Association, Networking Organisation (online and offline), Governing Body or organisation they trained with and could…
- Receive a newsletter or magazine
- Have access to an online discussion forum or notice board
- Receive free reports
- Have access to a website and/or blog
Local, County or National lifestyle magazines
Local or National press

Filed Under: Biz Booster Tips Tagged With: low cost effective marketing, low cost marketing, marketing for your VA business, VA, writing a press release