Tag: market

Business Social Sites: Ghost Towns or Thriving Marketplaces – Guest Post by Susan Mayfield

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

ghost town

Today my good friend and fellow virtual assistant, Susan Mayfield, has shared a guest post with us.

Have you ever visited a business social site to find out it had not been updated in a couple of years? Ghost town business sites are those dry, dusty and deserted social pages that businesses start and then abandon. An active business site is like a thriving marketplace, one where people are interacting and business is happening.

A businesses social site is their online, electronic billboard and should be treated as the valuable business tool and asset that it can be. Like any other business tool, it is only good if you make use of it. Which category do your business social sites currently fall into: thriving city marketplace or ghost town, or somewhere in between?

5 Reasons for Active Social Sites:

  1. Potential clients and customers can find your business contact information
  2. Clients and customers can easily share your business with their friends and others
  3. Clients and customers can give reviews and tell others about a positive experience
  4. Communication of upcoming sales/events/specials offers and much more
  5. Worldwide Visibility and keeping your business in front of customers and potential customers

5 Reasons Leaving Social Sites Unmonitored can be Detrimental to your Business:

  1. People visiting them will wonder if you are still in business
  2. Outdated contact and business information on the site can mean lost business
  3. People can post negative, untrue or inappropriate things on the social sites
  4. Quick responses to questions is expected
  5. Your social sites can be hijacked and used to damage your business reputation

The younger generations, even the majority of those in their 50’s, are using social sites to find businesses and to check out what others are saying about that business before making any contact to purchase or use their services.

Is your business suffering from inactive or sporadic social site interaction and are your social sites more like ghost towns than thriving active city marketplaces? Keeping regular content on your social sites is one of the challenges of doing business today. One of the main reasons businesses stop using their sites is the time involved to keep a steady stream of information across multiple sites.

Times SquareThat is why many businesses use social media managers and virtual assistants to keep up with the fast pace of the ever changing landscape of social media and technology. They spend time weekly keeping up with the changes. Consult with a virtual assistant and social media manger to see how they can take that ghost town and turn it into a business asset today.

Copyright© 2014 Reduce the Chaos Sacramento, California. All Rights Reserved.

Market With Articles

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

article

Writing articles is a low or no-cost and effective way to market yourself. Articles help direct people back to your website and are good for SEO. Make sure you also post your article on your own blog. Then be sure to share it across all your social media networks: Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

You can read some of my articles at Ezine Articles.

© Padal | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Q&A: How Can I Market My Business?

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

How Can I Market My Business?Marketing a business is a huge topic. Today we will address a specific concern one virtual assistant has.

Question:
I ran a VA business from 2007-2009. As much as I loved it, I found that I was having to spend a large percentage of my time marketing my business. I would like to start up again, but what alternatives should I consider besides doing my own marketing?

Answer:
To give the best answer, I first asked some additional questions.

  • What percentage of time did you use to market your business?
  • What marketing strategies did you use?
  • Would you be open to having someone else do your marketing and if so, how would you envision that?

The virtual assistant stated she spent at least 50% of her time marketing her business. Now that may seem like a lot. However, I did a bit of research and found several entrepreneurs who encourage spending at least 60% of your time marketing. I do know that if I’m working 20 hours a week for clients, I’m spending an additional 10 hours or so marketing my business. So the amount of time seems right.

What we sometimes forget is that we are entrepreneurs and business owners. That means usually we are the one person doing it all: sales, marketing, client work, administrative work. And that takes time. If we don’t want to spend the time doing the marketing, we have two choices:

  1. Hire someone as our marketing person
  2. Find a J.O.B. – because a business owner must market their services and products in order to succeed

Some marketing strategies that are very effective are in-person events such as SBA events, BNI meetings, professional associations. Then there’s online marketing: a blog, social networking sites, ezines, press releases. Yes, these all take time. That’s why it’s important to put together a simple marketing plan and calendar and schedule these events and actions. Our Action Guide has a sample marketing plan and calendar with details on how to put them into action.  Having a plan helps you make sure you’re using strategies that are most effective and less-time consuming than just haphazardly posting something on a social network every day.

Joining local small business groups and attending monthly mixers are effective marketing strategies. Get to know the people, what their needs are, how you can refer them to others. It’s important to build relationships with these people before you ever try to “sell” them your services. There’s a whole section in our book, The Commonsense Virtual Assistant – Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee, that has lots of great information on marketing. You can purchase a copy on the website.

The Commonsense Virtual Assistant
The Commonsense Virtual Assistant

I believe doing your own marketing is most effective. However, hiring someone to market your services for you is also a viable option. After all, isn’t that what many of our clients hire us to do for them? You can hire someone to help promote your services – online, via mailings, follow-up phone calls, and even by attending in-person events.

Another great marketing strategy is article writing. It establishes you as an expert and always links back to your website. Check out my articles at Ezine Articles.

You can read more about proactive marketing at another blog post of mine.

I’d love to hear your comments!

The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

Today I have a visitor. I’ve interviewed Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant.

Tell me about yourself
I was an Executive Assistant for many years, but when I turned 50, I realized I was so tired of corporate politics…you know what I mean…so I decided it was time for a change. I researched different career paths, but none really seemed to “fit” until I found Virtual Assistance. I set up my VA business, and I’ve never looked back!

Why did you have these e-books written?
I did a LOT of research when I was setting up my business – such as what kind of business structure was best for me, how to set up my home office, how to determine my rates, the best ways to market my business and how to get over my fear of networking. It was hard work and took a lot of time. So, to save others all that research, I put what I learned into a series of e-books I call “The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant.”

What is the series about?
It’s all about how to become a Virtual Assistant. The first e-book, Vanessa Has a Dream, describes how I left my job and decided to become a VA. It’s an unbelievable story, but I swear my adventures are as real as I am!

In the second e-book, Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant, I discovered my company name – with a little help from the Universe and my mother – created a business plan template, and chose a business structure. As a bonus, I’ve included a link to a downloadable version of my business plan!

The third e-book is called Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office. It’s full of practice advice on choosing the right office equipment and supplies for a VA business. There are research notes about computers, fax machines, scanners, ways to access the internet, and lots of good stuff. I even take my readers on a trip to my local office supply store in Washaketa, Wisconsin. What a fun place to shop!

My latest e-book, Vanessa Determines Her Services, Niche and Rates, includes a list of 300 services that VAs can provide – with the appropriate training, of course. I was amazed at how versatile VAs can be!! There’s also a downloadable Client Contract template.

What do you want the readers to get out of the series?
I hope that telling my story will give new Virtual Assistants the guidance they’re looking for when starting their own business. And I hope they enjoy the “personal touches” that I’ve included in all the e-books.

How can the readers contact you if they want further information?
They can email me, and I’m also on Facebook.

How much does your e-book cost?
Vanessa Has a Dream is free! Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant is only $2.95, while Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office and Vanessa Determines Her Services, Niche and Rates are very affordable at $4.95 each.

Where can the readers purchase your e-book?
They can find all of the books in my series at http://www.VanessaAndruz.com/Products.html.

Vanessa, thank you for stopping by my blog.

You are very welcome. Thank you, Sue, for having me.

About the Author:
Melodee Patterson of Short-term Solutions is a VA who, much like Vanessa, got tired of the corporate life and struck out on her own. She’s enjoying her role as chronicler of Vanessa’s amazing journey. (She does ask that you refrain from calling Vanessa a “fictional character.” Apparently Vanessa is a bit touchy about that fact.)

Vanessa Andruz
Vanessa Andruz

Book Summary:
The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant series is not only full of practical advice for prospective Virtual Assistants, it’s also a fun story. You’ll meet Vanessa’s parents who live in Sedona, Arizona, where her mother reads auras for a living; Vanessa’s friend, Marci, an insurance adjuster unlike any insurance adjuster you’ve ever met; and Vanessa’s ex-husband, Mark, currently living with his “beach bunny” in Cozumel! Check out the series today.

Building Your Network of Fellow Virtual Assistants

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

I know you think you can and should do it all. I disagree. You’ve developed your niche market and your specialized skills. That’s great! Now your client asks you to do a task that you have no experience doing. Instead of taking on a task that you don’t know, why not enlist the assistant of a fellow virtual assistant?

I have a client that has a half dozen different virtual assistants working on her team. She recognizes that each one has specific skills and talents. Imagine you are a small business owner starting a retail business. Would you really hire one person to be your accountant, attorney, salesperson and business coach? No. You would hire individuals specializing in each area so that the work they each did was the best and made the best use of their time.

I encourage you to build a network of fellow virtual assistants and then freely refer business to each other. There’s plenty to go around. Instead of getting stuck and caught when you cannot accomplish a task you don’t have the skills for, your client will be impressed that you were able to find someone that specializes in that particular skill.

I have found that I love the general administrative tasks that involve lots of typing, data entry and ten-key. Several clients have had me compile spreadsheets of contacts to include names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, websites, and additional notes. Many find this type of work tedious and boring. So give me a call if you need someone to handle that type of work.

On the other hand, I have not had extensive experience with setting up shopping carts. Yet many solo professionals now need this type of work. If that’s your expertise, let me know so I have someone to refer those prospects to when they approach me for that type of work.

Working together, virtual assistants can grow their businesses. There is enough to go around!