There’s often chat in the virtual assistant world regarding contracts versus terms and conditions and whether the formal approach of issuing contracts actually puts off potential clients. Some hold the opinion that published terms and conditions are enough and that displaying these on your web site or issuing them to new clients should be sufficient. … Read more
Many Virtual Assistants start out in their businesses by working towards the finish line of what they perceive to be a successful VA business. They will research online what everyone else is doing and strive to achieve something very similar. They will spend time deciding what services they will offer, how they will offer them … Read more
The first step in this process is to say that you would like to meet with them again and that you will call to arrange a time and place to have a coffee and a chat. Then call when you say you will and make that arrangement. When you meet for that coffee, make sure … Read more
We have all heard that networking is a successful strategy for gaining clients for your virtual assistant business, but why are some people very successful at it while others wonder if they’ve just wasted their money and eaten too many fried breakfasts? One of the most common reasons for the divide between who is successful … Read more
Any successful Virtual Assistant that’s been bouncing around the industry for a while will tell you that the road to success in virtual assisting can be a bit of a bumpy ride. Becoming a self-employed business owner can often be a scary prospect as suddenly, there’s no-one to ask. No-one to tell you what equipment … Read more
Are you spending hours a day posting Tweets and Facebook updates, or more time than you can spare on keeping up with LinkedIn and the like? Have you heard of Hootsuite? Hootsuite will allow you to post social media updates across multiple accounts and even schedule them in advance. There are analysis tools, so you … Read more
Many Virtual Assistants shy away from the idea of marketing to attract a particular niche as they are concerned that they will be turning away hoards of prospects from other industries. But if you have ever tried to be everything to everyone, you’ll soon learn that you end up appealing to no-one and as your … Read more
When starting your virtual assistant business, after getting together all you equipment, getting excited over your business cards and web site, there comes the sudden realisation that here you are, all ready to go and there isn’t actually a queue of people knocking down your door to work with you. Yikes! One of the questions … Read more
Have you always wanted to start your own business as a virtual assistant, but have been put off by the idea of starting from scratch? Not sure what you need to know, how to avoid all the pitfalls, what to charge or how to make it all a success? How would it feel if you … Read more
Paid advertising. Advertising online is very simple with tools such as Google AdWords. It allows you to appear at the top or side of the main search results for a fee. Be careful with your budget and again, make sure you get these visitors on your list to be really cost effective. When you’ve implemented … Read more
Organise an online expert event. Similar to the idea of interviewing an expert, but en masse. Organise a whole range of experts to speak on given subjects and offer access to the calls as a live event, or offer the recordings afterwards, or both. Getting all of the experts to promote the event will increase … Read more
Write articles about your subject. One of the best ways to become seen as an expert in your industry in the eyes of your target market is to write on the subject. Write articles and syndicate them online. Don’t forget to include your website link to your author information.
Don’t be afraid of social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, whichever ones you choose to get involved in, social media is a great way to expand your sales funnel. Offer free tips, advice and articles here. Answer questions to demonstrate your expertise. And above all, get them to your website so they will add themselves to … Read more
Interview some experts. If you can talk on the telephone, you can interview an expert in a similar field. You can offer it as a live teleseminar, or group call, or offer it afterwards as a recording. By asking your expert to also promote the interview to their mailing list, you will end up with … Read more
Consider an affiliate program. People will often sing the praises of your product or service, in exchange for a commission on each sale made as a result of their recommendation. What could be better than having an entire sales force working only on commission!
Get involved in new media options such as audio and video. Audio and video are very powerful mediums, so don’t be afraid to make a short podcast or video welcoming your web site visitors and actually tell them to sign up for more information.
Use your blog effectively. Post quality, useful content regularly and at the end of your posts, encourage people to sign up to your mailing list. “Why not have these tips delivered direct to your inbox”, “For more on this topic, download our free report here”, etc.
Give them a reason to sign up. Offer something for free in exchange for their contact details. It can be something they download, making it simple and cheap to administer, such as a free report, audio download or tip sheets.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the sales funnel, where you start at the top filling the widest part of that funnel with prospects, and they filter through your sales funnel, inevitably decreasing in numbers along the way, until ultimately a number of the original prospects purchase a product or service from you. The key … Read more
As a virtual assistant you need to share files in some way with your clients. Often you will find your clients are happy to email latest versions of documents and spreadsheets backwards and forwards and some even have a file-sharing system in place that you can have access to. But what happens if your client … Read more
If you go to the effort of writing an ezine, do not forget to tell you readers what you want them to do next. You are writing in order to build a relationship. So, do you want them to go to your website to read the rest of the articles, or download something for free? … Read more
Do not forget to ask your readers for their comments, questions or future topics they would like to see covered. The whole point of writing an ezine or newsletter is to build a relationship with your prospects and invite further interaction. You want them to take the next step by picking up the telephone or … Read more
One of marketing’s basic rules is to know your target market well. Know their interests and things about which they like to be kept informed. If you come across information that you feel would be useful to your target audience, add it to your ezine (crediting the author or source, of course). The more useful … Read more
It can be very tempting to fill each of your ezines with information about your latest service or product, and, indeed, your readers will be expecting to hear a certain amount of that. But, do not forget also to include some free tips or an advice spot. Giving a measured amount of free information marks … Read more
Do not use your ezine in the same way as you would Twitter or a blog. Your subscribers have given you permission to send them information, but, if you abuse it, they will soon be sorry they did. The result will be that they will leave your list just as quickly as they subscribed to … Read more
When you first start sending out email newsletters, it is very tempting to send them using your normal email delivery service, such as Outlook. After all, it is free and already there on your desktop. However, internet service providers frown upon mass mailing, and you will find very quickly that your email address will be … Read more
If you use a proper ezine delivery service such as Constant Contact, Aweber or Vertical Response, your subscribers will go through what is known as a ‘double opt-in’. This means that, after submitting their email address through your website form or other link asking them to sign up for your newsletter, they will receive an … Read more
The following series will look at some housekeeping rules, which will ensure that you follow the strict etiquette of email marketing, while presenting yourself and your business in a professional and ethical way. Make sure your subscribers actually subscribed There is nothing more annoying than being inundated with unsolicited sales emails. We all hate it. … Read more
Consider a popup window which appears when a visitor leaves your web site. Ask for their email address so you can keep in touch – make sure it links to information telling them about your privacy policy, how to opt out and how often you will contact them. For lots of advice and free tips, … Read more
It’s simple but very effective, include an opt-in form on every page of your web site. It’s also worth checking your web statistics to see where people leave your web site. Check the last page they view before they leave and make sure there is a note asking them to sign up for your newsletter … Read more
It’s a bit of a given these days that in order to be taken seriously in the business world, you need to have a web site. When hearing about a company or service for the first time, how many of us head off to the “www.” to find out more? We all know that when … Read more
You are all set up and ready to go: got all the equipment, sorted out your website, printed some business cards, even done some networking. Then it happens… you get your first prospect! Oh, no! Panic! What information do you need to give them about you and your business and how it all works? What … Read more
Write regular press releases and send them to publications aimed at your target market. Even if your particular story is not run, you will be seen as the expert in your field and may be approached later. For lots of advice and free tips, check out the FREEBIES page at the VA Success Group
If you’re on this mailing list you’ve probably already experienced the tremendous value of our products. But now we are giving you the opportunity to get your hands on all three Online Courses, that’s: Start Your Virtual Assistant Business Marketing for Virtual Assistants and Networking for Virtual Assistants …all for the price of just two … Read more
You know how it is, you’ve been flat out meeting deadline after deadline for your clients and you’ve been turning away lots of new prospects as you simply can’t take on any more. You really want to expand but what’s the best way forward? Get an office and some staff? Work with associates? Or worse, … Read more
When making the transition from employee to business owner you suddenly realise how much there is to learn and the number of additional skills you need to adopt in order to become successful. The quicker you can learn all this information and the faster you put it into practice, the more likely you are to … Read more
What vital things do you need to know when starting out as a virtual assistant, apart from how to manage a busy schedule and deliver an impeccable service? People who consider setting themselves up as a virtual assistant often come from an administrative or PA type role. They have flawless administrative skills and know their … Read more
Have you always wanted to start your own business as a virtual assistant, but have been put off by the idea of starting from scratch? Not sure what you need to know, how to avoid all the pitfalls, what to charge or how to make it all a success? How would it feel if you … Read more
Put your foot on the accelerator to success with this fast track to success VIP Intensive Day. We pack in months of worth of coaching, mentoring and learning into a one day intensive strategy session that focuses solely on your business – no-one else but you! What would it mean to you if you could … Read more
Many of us have used Facebook for personal networking for many years. But did you know you can also use if for business? Again it’s a great way to connect with people with similar interests and it’s easy to build relationships by interacting with other people in your network. You can also create fan pages … Read more
You are all set up and ready to go: got all the equipment, sorted out your website, printed some business cards, even done some networking. Then it happens… you get your first prospect! Oh, no! Panic! What information do you need to give them about you and your business and how it all works? What … Read more
If you’re familiar with the VA Sucess Group, you’ve probably already experienced the tremendous value of their products. But now they are giving you the opportunity to get your hands on all three Online Courses, that’s: Start Your Virtual Assistant Business Marketing for Virtual Assistants and Networking for Virtual Assistants …all for the price of … Read more
Put your foot on the accelerator to success with this fast track to success VIP Intensive Day. We pack in months of worth of coaching, mentoring and learning into a one day intensive strategy session that focuses solely on your business – no-one else but you! What would it mean to you if you could … Read more
Put your foot on the accelerator to success with this fast track to success VIP Intensive Day. We pack in months of worth of coaching, mentoring and learning into a one day intensive strategy session that focuses solely on your business – no-one else but you! What would it mean to you if you could … Read more
Think of a virtual assistant – what do you see? One of the most common stereotypes of a VA is a stay at home mum earning pin money by working in the evenings and juggling childcare. This image has dogged the industry for many years, and it’s a stereotype that VAs find hard to shake. … Read more
Each year SVA gathers information on the UK’s virtual assistants and share the highlights with you in a free summary report. You don’t need to be an SVA member, but must be UK based and have at least one active virtual assistant client in order to take part. Your results are totally anonymous and we … Read more
When you are starting out as a Virtual Assistant and no one knows who you are or what you do, one of the biggest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business. You probably have already done some research and already know that there are people who need your services or you … Read more
With a large number of virtual assistants to choose from these days, how can a potential client select who they want to work with? How can you project a professional image and create synergy with someone you’ve never met? What can you do or say to make them think ‘I’ve got to work with this … Read more
Setting yourself up as a virtual assistant is an exciting step but one which should not be taken without some serious consideration. Starting any new business, particularly one where you work from home, can appear either a stimulating or frightening prospect, or both, depending on your perspective and experience. Breaking out from the ‘employed’ world … Read more
You can work with Associates in one of two ways, or indeed, a combination of both. Firstly you can retain all the client contact so that he/she never knows that the work they are sending you has been completed by a third party. The plus side here is that you will never have to worry … Read more