What's Your Secret Business Weapon?

Do you have a secret weapon for your business? Speaker Felicia Slattery says her secret weapon is a Virtual Assistant. See why here!

Quoted in recent article

One of the perks of being President of the International Virtual Assistant Association this year is that I periodically have the opportunity to speak with reporters from around the country. I recently spoke with Luara Raines of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and am pleased with this latest article about the Virtual Assistant industry. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Why Blog When You Have Facebook?

This is a great post by blog guru Denise Wakeman on why you should have a blog even if you're an avid Facebook user. Great food for thought and a reminder that you need to back up your content, regardless of where it resides!

http://www.buildabetterblog.com/2009/07/why-blog-when-youve-got-facebook.html

The Value of your Twitter Followers

Web Worker Daily has a great blog post on the value of Twitter followers - do numbers mean more than quality?

http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/02/the-value-of-twitter-followers-quality-over-quantity/

Don't Give Away the Farm!

Speaker and blogger Liz Ryan reminds us not to give in to those asking for freebies just because "the economy is bad". An important reminder to all business owners, no matter how long we've been around! Check out her article here.

Getting Started on Twitter

If you're new to Twitter, you may be a bit perplexed about how it works and why you should bother using it. It looks deceptively simple on the surface, but quickly becomes very complex when you start digging into it. I gave a class last week on Twitter to local business owners and I’ve never seen so many deer-in-the-headlights looks! You’re not alone if you don’t “get” it yet.

The good news is that you can learn it and get up to speed pretty quickly. A lot of this will come by way of following and watching what others are doing. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Sign up with a user name that will build your brand, use part of your real name, or tell others something about you. Make sure the name isn’t too long as it counts towards the 140 character limit when others want to connect with you.
   
   
2. Next, start following as many people as you can. (Follow me here.) Business colleagues are a good place to start – follow them and then browse through their followers/following lists to see who you know or want to connect with. You can also find top Twitterers on sites like Twinfluence.com and Twitterholic.com.
   
   Remember that you don’t need to know them to connect – in fact, it’s useful not to know them yet! Also look under Twinfluence for people in your town and connect with them. You’ll soon find that those you follow will start following you back and as you’re numbers get up there, you’ll build more and more momentum.
   
   
3. Start posting regularly (1-2 times/day is good) about what you’re doing in your life and in your business. Use keywords. Pique curiosity. Link to articles & webpages you find interesting or would benefit your target market. Reply to those you’re following and start meaningful conversations. Retweet posts from others that you find valuable or interesting (or your target market would). This is where paying attention to what others are doing is beneficial. Do what they do!
   
   
4. Use Twitter search engines to find those who are talking about your keywords, locality, areas of interest, etc. These includes sites such as Twitter Search, TweetScan, Monitter, and TwitScoop. I also use Twilert to have my favorite searches sent to me via email every day.
   

On Twitter, it pays to be active, follow tons of people, and post useful information with a smattering of personal insight thrown in.

Here are 2 great free ebooks that will help you get started on Twitter:
http://www.twitterhandbook.com/
http://www.geekpreneur.com/twitter-ebook

And here’s a Wiki on Twitter – this section is about Etiquette:
http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Etiquette

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help in Twitterland. We've all been there and stand ready to help show you the way! See you in the Twitterverse!

Your 7-Point Annual Website Tune-up

by Donna Gunter, The Boomer Biz Queen (TM)

Every time you take your car in for an oil change, most shops give you a 15- or 30-point checkup when they change your oil to alert you to any other potential problems you might experience in the future. In the same way that your mechanic conducts a regular inspection of your automobile, you need to conduct an annual checkup of your website.

Here are 7 critical areas that need to be checked yearly on your site:

1. Copyright notice. In years past it would take me until March or April to update my copyright notices primarily because I had to go in and update every single page of my site. More recently, however, I've used an includes file, which is one file that can be inserted in many pages to hold my copyright and contact info. Consequently, when I need to update the copyright info, I open this one file in my HTML editor, update that file, save and upload it. Once it's revised, the new information miraculously appears on all the pages in which it's included, updating them all at once.

2. Opt-in forms. The beginning of each year is a great time to ensure that all of the opt-in forms are working on your site. Do you need to add additional fields to the opt-in form to collect mailing addresses, for example, or to ask how visitors found your site? Is the information contained on your confirmation page (the page to which a visitor is sent upon her initial request to opt into your list) still current and relevant? How about the thank you page (the page to which your visitor is sent when she has confirmed her desire to join your list)?

3. Autoresponder followup. Next, review the content of the autoresponders that you've set to follow up the opt-in. Are they still current? Do they mention offers or upsells that are still available? Do you need to update any copyright or contact information contained within them? Are they making it through spam filters? Use this tool to ensure that every email gets into your contact's inbox: SpamCheck from SiteSell.

4. Signature files. Does your email signature file contain a call to action that's still working for you, or does it need to be updated? Have you changed any portion of your contact information? After you review your signature files in your email client, do the same check of your email signature file in your shopping cart program or autoresponder program.

5. Client attraction device. Take a look at the free giveaway you provide to your visitors in return for them opting into your list. Whether it's a document or an audio or video file, update the copyright and content information in it and review any biographical/profile information that you list about yourself or your business. Is the content you provide in this giveaway still valid and current? Do you want to keep the current call to action, or does it need to be updated to better fit with your current business model?

6. Missing images and dead link check. When your website fails to properly display images, your business appears unprofessional. Tour your website to ensure that all images are displaying as they should. If you link to or make reference to many resources on your site, run a dead link check annually to weed out or update those that no longer work. You may be able to do this with your HTML editor. If not, try the free weekly link checking service offered by iNetDog.

7. Order forms. Be sure that your order form works all the way through. Most online business owners, when checking order forms, stop at the point where they need to enter credit card information. If your merchant account agreement prohibits you from using your credit card to order from your company, ask if they have a test card number you can use, or have a reciprocal agreement with a colleague to check each other's forms. Check your followup autoresponders that are set to go out after someone makes a purchase, as well, to ensure that they are still up-to-date.

Websites that are obviously out-of-date or aren't working properly are a huge deterrent to doing business with you. Check these 7 key areas yearly on your site to convey to your visitors that your site is regularly updated and maintained.


Internet Marketing Strategist and Boomer Biz Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses that they love by demystifying and simplifying the tools and strategies needed to market and grow their businesses online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

Cindy Opong wins VAccolade Award

Wow. I am totally speechless this morning. I woke up to the announcement that I was nominated for and chosen to be the recipient for January 2009 of VANetworking's distinguished VAccolade award. This is a huge honor as it means I've been recognized by my peers for outstanding service in our industry. I am so appreciative and feel undeserving. When you love the work you do and enjoy volunteering to make an organization (or multiple orgs!) better, you certainly don't expect to be recognized in this manner.

You can see more information about the award here and also here.

And you'll want to also check out VANetworking's homepage. An awesome forum for Virtual Assistants and businesses looking to find a VA.

Thanks to Tawnya and everyone behind the scenes at VANetworking - you rock!

Not sure which Social Media sites to Focus on?

Are you trying to decide which Social Networking sites you should focus your time and attention on? This report from Ignitesocialmedia.com will help you decide. Their report outlines demographics of the top Social Media sites including age, income, education & geography. Find out where your customers are spending their time!

The 2008 Social Network Analysis Report - Geographic - Demographic and Traffic Data Revealed

What would I do with $6000 from HP?

If you haven't heard yet, HP has a program going on this month that allows 50 different bloggers to each give away $6000 worth of computers and software. Way cool, right? Each blogger has different rules and most of them have asked winners to give away a majority of the prize to others. And several of them have asked entrants to put the entry on their own blog. So, here's mine for the site http: www.livingintheory.blogspot.com/!

One of the laptops I would keep for myself to replace my current one which has a super-cracked screen that is getting worse every day. That will be a big help financially and also for my business.

The other computers I am super excited to give away! As I pondered who they would go to, it came to me that it would make sense to give them to aspiring Virtual Assistants - especially those who are financially struggling and can't afford to buy the computer that is so integral to this type of work. To choose these people, I will reach out to the VA organizations I volunteer for and ask for nominations. I will give the computers to aspiring VAs (small business owners) who volunteer for these professional organizations selflessly and give of themselves without expectation of reward or thanks. I have met so many Virtual Assistants who have awesome potential and are doing everything right to grow their business - they just don't have adequate tools to get them to the ultimate level they are capable of. Making a small difference in several people's lives would be such a great Christmas present to myself. When you give, you get in so many intangible ways! Many thanks to HP and all the bloggers for being so generous!

10 Twitter Tips For Traditional Media

Attention, those in charge of online marketing for Media! You need to read this blog post from Steve Pratt:

10 Twitter Tips For Traditional Media

Steve's first tip hit home - this is exactly what most of the media folks I follow on Twitter are doing! They are using it as an RSS Feed and not as an interaction tool. While there is some value in that, I can easily get that from the traditional RSS feed on their webpage. What I want from the media on Twitter is:

1. Some true breaking news (traffic accident on the Interstate, terroist attack, criminal loose in my area, etc.) - but not every news item that comes across their desk
2. Personal interaction! Ask about our thoughts & ideas, what's newsworthy to us, what leads we might have for a story you're doing (like HARO but more locally focused). Slow news day? We'll have ideas for you! Need a witness to that accident? Bet they're online.

Rick Sanchez at CNN gets it - he lets us know what stories he's working on, asks for feedback and opinions, even reads some of the responses on air. There are others that get it too, but they're few and far between. So, if you're in media and are in the department responsible for your online presence on Twitter, Facebook, etc. - please move away from just listing what's on your website already and start interacting with your readers & listeners. I promise you won't regret it!

HP's Giveaway!

HP has 50 bloggers participating in a contest to win $6000 in computers & software. Each blogger sets their own rules to pick their winner and only a few start their contest each day. Today, I entered the contest at http://www.liz-henry.blogspot.com/ and later tonight I'll enter at http://morningsidemom.wordpress.com/.

Join in the fun and I'll keep you posted!

Social Networking: 7 Steps to More Traffic by Connecting and Repurposing Your Social Marketing

A very timely article from Online Marketing guru Donna Gunter. I'll be talking about this very subject today in a local seminar for business owners. Stay tuned for information on a series of Social Media seminars in the Colorado Springs area!

I'm lazy by nature and like to do as little work as possible. Therefore, when I have the opportunity to automate tasks, I jump at it. As I started getting heavily involved in social networking, I quickly became frustrated with having to update my status at several sites, as well as trying to figure out how to introduce my blog, my articles, and my ezine to my social networking audiences.

After much trial and error, here's how I connect and repurpose all of my social marketing strategies:

1. Set up accounts. Make sure that you have current accounts with Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace, and any other social networking platforms you regularly use.

2. Open an account at Ping.fm. The Ping.fm service automatically updates your status on all of your social networking sites, 21 of them at the current count. Depending on the number of networks you use, it will take you 10-50 minutes to connect your Ping.fm account to your various social network accounts. However, once everything is set up, you simply log into your Ping account, post your status update (no more than 140 characters), and your status is automatically updated on all of your social networking profiles. Rather than posting updates directly on Twitter or Facebook or MySpace, I instead use Ping.fm as the starting place for my daily status updates.

3. Display Twitters on other accounts. If you go to your Setting tab in your Twitter account and then down to "More Info URL", you will see a link to "Add Twitter to Your Site." By clicking on this link, you'll be taken to a page where you can add your tweets in a separate box (not the Status updates area) in your MySpace and Facebook profiles, on your blogger or Typepad blogs, or get the Flash or HTML widgets to add to other sites like Squidoo lenses or to your website. Just follow the instructions connected to each application. If you use Typepad for your blog, you can also do this through the Widget gallery by finding Twitter widget in the "Publishing Tools" section.

4. Connect your blogposts to Twitter. Twitter Feed enables you to feed your blog posts to your Twitter account. Simply create an account, go to "Create New Twitter Feed", and enter the RSS feed of your blog. You can control the frequency with which Twitter displays your blog post, as well as the text used to preface your blog feed. I use "Blog update" to preface my posts.

5. Connect your blogposts to Facebook. I use Typepad for my blogs, so if you use a Wordpress blog, there are probably plugins that handle this, as well. When you create a new blog post, you can choose to send a link to that post into Facebook. These links will appear in your Mini-Feed on your Facebook profile, and may appear in your friends' News Feeds.

In your Typepad account, go to Weblogs > Configure > Publicity, select "Prompt me to share new posts on Facebook." When this item is selected, TypePad will automatically display a prompt from Facebook when you create and publish a new post on TypePad. The Facebook prompt will only appear if you have selected the option in your weblog's publicity settings, and only when you create and publish a new post. The prompt will not appear when you save a post as draft, when you edit a post, or when you change the status of a post from Draft to Published.

6. Update your EzineArticles.com account. Article marketing is a smart and easy way to drive traffic to your site. If you're submitting articles online to article directories, you definitely want to be using EzineArticles.com, the biggest and most popular article directory online. To connect to Twitter, click on "Profile Manager" in your account, then "Edit Author Bio" in your Author's Area. Add your Twitter account information here. Each time a new article is accepted and published at EzineArticles, a post is automatically made to your Twitter account.

7. Update your aWeber account: I use aWeber as my email marketing service. You can now send an automatic Twitter post to all your followers on Twitter with a link to the HTML version of your ezine. When you create a broadcast in aWeber, select the option to publish a broadcast via RSS feed or to an archive, and then enter your Twitter account info, When your ezine is published, all of your Twitter followers will be notified.

There are probably others ways to connect the social networks and to repurpose content on social networks, but these 7 steps are all I need at the moment. Take 30 minutes out of your day to connect and repurpose your social networking, and watch your traffic and list begin to grow!

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

So You Want To Be My Friend?

You're on Facebook. You're on LinkedIn. You're on Twitter. Now it seems like everyone wants to be your "Friend". Should you accept them all? Deny them? Aliza Sherman at Web Worker Daily recently posted a great article to help you navigate the waters:

"Like anyone using social networks for my work, I struggle with the friend feature. There are a number of theories of how and why to friend other people and when to accept friend requests. Clearly, having more “friends” on your social networks has its benefits, but if friending is done randomly, how much value are those very random “friends” for your business goals?"Web Worker Daily, Oct 2008

Check out the rest of the article here.

Personally, my policy depends on the platform. On Twitter I do exactly what Aliza suggests in her article. On Facebook, I limit it to those I actually know of or have some sort of existing relationship with. On LinkedIn, I'll accept most anybody.

What's your policy? How are you friending?

Want to be my "Friend"? Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn!

What you should and shouldn’t do at Yahoogroups

Fellow Virtual Assistant Kathie Thomas (from Australia) posted this fantastic article today about etiquette on Yahoo Groups. When participating in any email list or group, these tips are important reminders to us all:

- Use full sentences, not jargon that you would use on IM or while texting.
- Don't assume someone meant to offend - ask them offlist.
- Re-read your message before posting.
- When replying, delete anything not pertaining to your reply.
- If you change the topic, change the subject line.
- Avoid using wallpaper backgrounds.
- Check your grammar!
- Include a signature line

Read her full article here:

soho-life.com » What you should and shouldn’t do at Yahoogroups

Employee vs. Virtual Assistant

Employee vs. Virtual Assistant

Now that you've decided you need some help for the administrative and day-to-day aspects of your business, you have a decision to make: Hire an employee or use a Virtual Assistant? Here are some things to consider when making your decision:

Employee (or a "Temp")

Pros:

› You can set their schedule and how they do certain tasks.
› Low(er) hourly rate

› Often able to come into your office to answer phones, file paperwork, etc.

Cons:

› Must pay payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, liability insurance, possibly benefits, bonuses, etc.

› Might need to provide equipment (computer, desk, software, etc.)

› Must provide and pay for training.

› You will be paying for break times and other non-productive time.

› How long will they stay? Are there advancement opportunities?
› You will likely need to promise a certain number of hours per week.

Virtual Assistant

Pros:

› They have advanced skills and experience in a variety of software and programs. If you find a VA specializing in your industry they will already know industry-specific software, trends, and lingo.
› No benefits, taxes, or insurance to pay.

› No equipment needed - they provide their own!

› They are invested in your business and want to work with you long-term.

› You can commit to a lower number of hours (or maybe not commit at all).

› You only pay for actual time spent on your project(s).

Cons:

› They won't come into your office to file or answer the phone (although some offer remote phone answering).

› Higher hourly rate (offset by not paying overhead & taxes).

A Virtual Assistant isn't for everyone. Certain industries need employees and some use both employees and Virtual Assistants. To successfully use a Virtual Assistant be prepared to work virtually (more on that in the next issue!), build a long-term relationship, and be open to new ideas. Now that you're informed, the choice is up to you!

Join The Blog Boost Giveaway!

Novel idea and a way to get subscribers to their newsletter, friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc., and get their content out there online. Well, a chance to win a bunch of cool stuff is enough for me! :)

Join The Blog Boost Giveaway! | MarketingFactor.com

3rd Annual Online Virtual Assistants Summit

Why does ROI in social media suck?

A great article by Charles Heflin on the ever increasing social media/networking craze. While many businesses are skeptical about the value of spending time on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and a myriad of other sites, Charles says:

"The level of success in social media (as determined by ROI) is directly proportional to the speed at which you gain trust among your audience, the social nature of your products/services, and the nature of your social network traffic conversion funnel (sales funnel). Don’t confuse a social network traffic conversion funnel with traditional Internet marketing tactics."

Check out the full article here:

Why does ROI in social media suck? by Charles Heflin


And if you're on any of these sites, come follow me!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/copong
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=857245173
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cassts

5 Critical Questions To Ask BEFORE You Hire a Web Designer

5 Critical Questions To Ask BEFORE You Hire a Web Designer

Whether you're building a website or a blogsite, the investment in a designer can be fairly significant. It's at this point that many service business owners decide to cut costs and have their 16-year old nephew design their site. This works out well until something breaks (with technology, it's never a question of IF it will break, only WHEN) and your nephew is out of touch because he just started his first year of college and can't be bothered. What are you going to do?

To run an online business, your website is your key to success. People arrive on your doorstep (site) like they might in a retail establishment, and decide within 5 seconds if they're going to stay and look around or if they're going to leave. It pays to invest some money in your site, as your site is the first stop on the like, know and trust journey that prospects experience with you. You need to be perceived as legitimate, as a "real" business, and as the solution to the problems that ail your prospective clients. If you're not able to design your own site, an experienced website designer can help finesse this relationship with your visitors.

How can you determine if your designer will create a site that you like and is useful? I've heard many horror stories over the years about the experiences that services business owners have had regarding the creation and maintenance of their websites. Here are 5 critical questions that you should have answered before hiring a web designer:

1. Site Ownership. First and foremost, you should ask if you own the final version of your site and the graphic source files. I've discovered that many web designers do NOT work on a work-for-hire basis. Instead, they maintain the copyright to the design of your site, so if you don't want to use that same company for site updates and maintenance, for example, they will not release any source files to another designer. Consequently, you will have to pay to have your site redesigned all over again. At the very least you should obtain a license to use the files in perpetuity and be able to make revisions to them in the future. This same rule applies to any special fonts or special applications developed for the site.

A second key issue in site ownership is ownership of your domain name. If your site design includes purchasing the domain name for your site, be sure that your domain's purchase is credited to you and registered to you as the administrative and technical contact. Many times the web design company registers your domain name and lists themselves as the contact, or actually purchases the domain and is considered the owner. At that point it becomes almost impossible to get your username and password for the account should you need to make any changes to your domain registration or to even prove ownership. Purchase your domain BEFORE beginning any work on a website.

2. Ongoing maintenance and hosting. Secondly, determine if you will be locked into a maintenance contract or hosting contract with the designer. Are they using any special software or application that will tie you to a particular type of hosting service? This may not be problematic for you initially, but ensure that you've got the flexibility to change your mind in case the design company is sold, for example, and dramatically increases their prices. Once the site is up, can you buy a program, like Adobe Contribute, for example, and do simple site updates yourself or must you use their company for any updates?

3. Experience with similar companies. Thirdly, take a look at their portfolio and be sure you like their previous work and that they have experience in web design for companies like yours. Call 1-2 of their clients (from the portfolios) and ask the client how easy the design company was to work with and how satisfied they are with the final product.

4. Marketing experience. Many web designers are simply that -- great web designers. They can make your site sit up and bark and run around in circles, if you like. However, the newest, coolest, showiest and flashiest technology is oftentimes NOT what you need to bring you the most traffic, get your site found in search engines, and convert prospects to customers. Don't fall for the glitz and glam that you see in a designer's portfolio. The best sites are simpler sites with a clean design and distinct marketing elements, like a clear call to action as seen in an email list signup box. If you can find a designer who excels at both design and marketing, you have found a gem whom you need to hold onto.

5. Return on investment (ROI). Asking a designer about the ROI for their clients is somewhat sneaky. In essence, what you're doing is determining their longevity (will they still be in business tomorrow), as well as their followup strategy in terms of staying in touch with clients to see how their businesses are doing. A web designer who stays in touch is one who's concerned about your success and is one that is much more likely to create a website that will produce profitable results for you.

The creation of your online presence can be a very expensive failure that takes much longer than anticipated. Don't let yourself be the next victim! Before hiring a website designer, make sure s/he answers these questions to your satisfaction, and you'll be on the path to a profitable relationship with a talented professional who can help your online business grow.

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com