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The VA Newsletter For Successful
and Aspiring "IN THE KNOW" Virtual Assistants
& Virtual Achievers
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| January 2008 |
Virtual Assistant Networking Newsletter |
Issue #52 |
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Welcome to the next issue of the "VA Networking
Newsletter"
Virtual Assistant
Shopping Network ~ Shop here for all your VA
needs to help support and keep us free since profits
go towards maintaining our VAnetworking Forum
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| Current VAnetworking Stats:
We have 7,922 registered members.
Our members have made a total of 79,302 posts (Topics:
11,534, Replies 67,768)
Advertise With Us! |
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IN THIS ISSUE |
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Sponsor: |
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January is already over, where does the time go? If you haven't noticed, we have some new Virtual Asisstant eBooks at VAnetworking. And yes! All VAinsiders get access to these for free so please enjoy! Stop by and have a look! Thanks to Frances Palaschuk and Darrell Williams for their contributions to make this happen.
Finally, something you have all been asking for...the NEW Deluxe VBSS! The VBSS Deluxe version includes everything in the Basic VBSS version plus the following features/benefits as well:
- VAinsider 1 year Membership ($249)
- Access to all VA Seminars ($97)
- Access to all Newsletter Archives ($27)
- Banner Advertising Upgrade at VA Search Engine Directory ($50)
- Access to VAnetworking.com's Job Board for RFPs (priceless)
- Entreprenueial Freedom book ($19.95)
- Multi-VA ebook by Michelle Jamieson ($29.95)
- VAdala, the official wearable symbol of Virtual Assistants ($29.95)
- Over $500+ extra value
Just a reminder, for those of you who did not order the Deluxe version, please note that at anytime, you may still upgrade to the Deluxe version for just $249 (which is the price of the VAinsider membership alone). Click here to upgrade your VBSS System
Onto our newsletter contents...Anita Bruton has submitted our Featured Article
this month to help you promote your business strategically online. Our Hot
Techie Tip includes some chit chat lingo to bring you up to speed networking online. Karri Flatla, our trusted and beloved Administrator at VANA
is back with her new column Ask
Me Virtually Anything. Yep, that’s right.
We want to gather REAL questions from REAL virtual business
people just like you. So fire away about whatever is on
your mind. Our
VAccolade of the Month is
Frances Palaschuk so pop by and visit her website.
Check
out our VA Web Seminar Schedule
and mark the dates on your calendar for your weekly business
learning experiences, for FREE, from VANA, plus share in
other weekly social get-togethers online. We have an average
of 50-75 attendees each seminar now.
Wishing
everyone the success they have always dreamed about achieving!
Virtually Yours,
Tawnya
Sutherland, CIMBS
Certified
Internet Marketing Specialist
Founder of VAnetworking.com |
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Strategic Ways to Promote Your Business Online
By Anita Bruton
Promoting your business online
Is your business online or is it a traditional brick and mortar business? No matter which type of business you have, promoting your business online brings you an expanded market. If you want your business to explode globally there are several things you can do to help it get there.
Let us look at some of these ways to promote your business online.
Article Marketing
Online article marketing serves a dual purpose. It provides publishers with free content and advertisers with free advertising. Articles written specifically for the writer’s target market are distributed to a number of online publishers catering to those markets as well as article directories like Ezine Articles . Writers are able to target their audience with informative content, sent to an already interested group of readers. The more articles you submit, the more you become recognized as an expert in your field.
Blogs
A blog for your business will provide you with an opportunity to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. A blog is an easy way to add informative content to your site, making it more search engine friendly. Blog posts should be short, 250 to 400 words is optimal. Be sure to provide information to your visitors related to your business, but helpful and informative to their needs.
Email Marketing Campaigns
Email Marketing plays a vital role in a business’s marketing plan. It allows you to build customer loyalty and gain new customers. One of the most cost effective ways of generating profits is to use effectively the power of email to communicate with your subscribers. Fill your email campaigns with informative and interesting material, and you will find yourself reaping the benefits.
Web Content
The home page of your website should capture your visitor’s attention and keep them there. It is the most important page of your entire site. You have only five to seven seconds to peak the visitors interest and keep them on your site. On this one page, you need to tell your visitor what your site is about as well as entice them to explore your site.
Make sure that your site has good, useful information that people want. Be brief and direct. Your Website is the door to your store, whether you are selling products or services. Be sure that you make a good first impression on your visitors and keep them browsing your pages.
CONCLUSION
I touched only on the highlights of each form of Internet promotion, Even if your goal is just to increase business locally, using any of these methods will help to increase your client base.
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Anita Bruton is a freelance writer specializing in providing promotional and marketing material to small businesses, entrepreneurs and other business professionals. Visit her website to receive her complimentary report: Six Strategic Ways to Promote Your Business Online.
- Looking
for a simple way to advertise online?
- Would you like to put your
business in the spotlight?
- Want
to show off your expertise or niche service?
- Need to attract new visitors
to your website?
- Want
a strong backlink on a PageRank 5+ website to
help you rankings in the search engines?
- Have
a product you'd like to donate to our contest
area in exchange for free advertising on our website?
- Do
you know something that you think would benefit
your fellow VANA members?
If you answered YES to any of these questions then we have the
solution for you and your business needs.
Click here to learn more about advertising opportunities. |
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| HOT TECHIE
TIP |
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Chat Lingo!
Do you chat? You know, do you sit and talk to your friends and family over the computer through instant messengers such as Yahoo! or AOL? If you do, you may be familiar with the chat lingo that has become so popular these days. If you don't chat very often, you may still use the chat lingo in your e-mails or just hear about them from day to day.
Well, in case you were wondering about some of the slang terms used, here's a small list of some of the more common ones.
LOL = Laugh Out Loud
BRB = Be Right Back
TTYL = Talk To You Later
GTG = Got To Go
AFK = Away From Keyboard
JK = Just Kidding
THX = Thanks
TH = Thank You
YW = You're Welcome
ROFL = Rolling on the Floor Laughing
L8R = Later
So, the next time you're chatting away, use some of these terms and impress all of your chat buddies! :)
Contributed by Erin of World Start
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
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| BUSINESS VACCOLADE OF THE MONTH |
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| VAccolade - Business Entrepreneur
of the Month
 Presentation of our VAccolade
Business Entrepreneur banner on your website is an honorable
recognition demonstrating to potential clients and site visitors
your professional commitment to excellence as a Virtual Assistant
(VA) business entrepreneur.
We will choose a VAccolade business entrepreneur each week at Virtual
Assistant Networking Association and feature one of these
VAccolade business entrepreneurs in our newsletter each month.
Read more about the VAccolade and nominate a VA you think deserves recognition.
Congrats to Frances Palaschuk ~ VAccolade For the Month
 Frances prides herself with having spent the last 15 years working in industries such as real estate, building automation, associations, telecommunications and customer care and she knows business administration well.
Her business, Ultimate Biz Assistant helps business owners to save and make both time and money by providing cost effective business support services.
Specializing in Internet Marketing, Blogging, Podcasting and Social Media Virtual Assistant services allows us to help entrepreneurs both locally in Ottawa, Ontario and all across North America promote their business online.
The unique opportunity to grow and flourish both personally and professionally by living, working and going to school in places such as Halifax, Nova Scotia; Ottawa, Ontario; Calgary, Alberta; Nashville, Tennessee; Chesterfield, Missouri; and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has enabled her to open a niche business and be part of the wave that is reinventing the administrative profession. Frances loves to engage in professional development activities and would welcome the opportunity to participate in your next event. Whether your event is for training, coaching, motivation, a conference, seminar and/or speaking engagement please, contact her today!
Visit her site
Once
again, it was a hard choice which VAccolade this month to
feature in our newsletter. All VAccolades were top notch and
very deserving, congrats everyone!
Recognized
VAccolades for the months of December/January were:
Rebecka Melson of Virtual Business Services
Debbie Lynn Butler of AVA Professional Support Services
Cheryl Richardson
Brent Reily of PC Computer Help
Kate V. Kerans of Your Virtual Paralegal
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| FORUM HOT TOPICS OF DISCUSSION |
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| Forum Hot Topics of Discussion
Some very informative and interesting hot topics are currently happening
at our VANA Forum. Pop by and have your say. If you find
you have troubles reaching any of the forum links below, make
sure you are logged
in with your username and password first.
General Virtual Assistant Questions ~ Would you drop this client? ~ I have a local client that is really scared of sharing files electronically. This client seems very paranoid about files being "stolen".
If they send me something they want me to delete the email ASAP and put the file on disk and always say "in strictest confidence" even when sending stock photo's...
Blogging Tips, Tricks and Questions ~ Template or different program, The way blog posts show up ~ I have read other blogs that have either a very clearly displayed list of posts or the posting page opens up in a different screen. The ones opening to a different screen seem to be connected to blogger or google because IDs there can be used as a signature/sign in...
Computer Techie / Networking Tips
- From MS Word to ASCII, Any tricks to learn? ~ I have a client that is typing documents in MS Word and then converts these documents to an ASCII file. Are there any easy tricks to this lengthy and time consuming process? She has just delegated this task to me explaining that it takes her about 40-45 minutes per document to clean things up for ASCII.
Direct Marketing Tips, Tricks and Questions ~ How do you start marketing your VA business, Help new VA's get clients!!! ~ To all you VA's out there, I was wondering how and where you started getting clients. I saw on a website that a VA actually looked through the want ads and wrote personal letters to employers who she thought would be able to use her services. Is there any other advice on how to start and what would be the best economical marketing. I know some of you polished VA's have some good answers...
Web Design Tips, Tricks and Questions
~ Optimizing webpage search keywords ~ I am in the process of creating my domain/website and need advice... The business name I want to use is rather long, and I want to shorten it but don't want to remove/abbreviate any keywords that might optimize the search for my webpage. For example, let's say I want to start a marketing business virtually...
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Written by Tawnya Sutherland
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MOTIVATIONAL MOMENT
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Make no mistake, my friend, it takes more than money to make men rich. ~ A. P. Gouthey
Visit our VANA Forum for more motivational moments and inspirational stories
The newest fashion trend to promote awareness of Virtual Assistants
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| ASK ME VIRTUALLY
ANYTHING |
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| NEW
COLUMN!
Ask
Me Virtually Anything
Yep, that's right. We want to gather REAL questions from
REAL virtual business people just like you. So fire away
about whatever is on your mind. As long as it's related to
doing business online, I will try to help!
And
if your question is selected for an upcoming edition of Ask
Me Virtually Anything we will gladly give you credit.
So be sure to include your name, company and URL with your
question. (Unless of course you wish to remain anonymous in
which case, please let me know!) Just send an email to Karri Flatla
with "Ask Me Virtually Anything" in the Subject
line.
Now
let's get this show on the road …
Question: I’m a stay-at-home mom. Can I run a virtual assistant business part-time?
Answer: The beauty of entrepreneurship is that you can structure your business any way you want. Many successful businesses are in fact run by owners who only work a few hours a week. What you don’t see, however, is the time and energy it takes to bring a business to the point where it almost “runs itself.” I would guestimate only a small percentage of all independent operations ever reach this point, if that’s even a choice the owner wants to make.
Here’s the thing: trying to be a part-time entrepreneur—at least in the beginning—is sort of like trying to be a part-time mom. That is, starting and running your own business can be very consuming. Your business is your baby (excuse the pun), so you will no doubt think about it and want to take care of it to the absolute best of your ability. That’s tough to do when you have “real” babies to take of as well! Many virtual assistants will tell you that they spent well over 40 hours a week on their practice during the start up phase. And that was before the first client came a knocking!
Remember also that for every billable hour you work “in” your business you will likely accrue another hour working “on” your business. Marketing, bookkeeping and the various other tasks that are part and parcel to running a business are time consuming but critical elements to the smooth operation of your venture.
So, back to your original question: Can I be a part-time VA? Yes, you can. But if you can only dedicate say 20 hours a week to your practice, then expect to take much longer to acquire that first client. Then be sure you have the flexibility necessary to give your clients the time and consideration they deserve. Because every client will present his or her own set of unique needs and demands, some which will be unexpected. Then be prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty, even if it may mean burning the candle at both ends some days.
Until Next Time,
Karri Flatla
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Karri Flatla is a business graduate of the University
of Lethbridge and principal of snap! virtual associates inc.,
a virtual consulting firm providing business communications
and Internet marketing services to the progressive entrepreneur.
Karri also produces Outsmart, the email newsletter for small
business with big purpose. Visit www.snap-va.com for more information.
Do you have a burning question about virtual business? Don’t be shy! Send an email to Karri Flatla with “Ask Me Virtually Anything” in the subject line. Your question may appear in our next newsletter, along with a link to your website!
| Join
us for Learning Seminars and Chat Times
With Other Virtual Assistants
Join our Weekly Networking VAchats:
Monday nights from 9:00PM - 11:00PM EST
Mark your calendars for our upcoming
seminars:
Time: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 - 7 PM Eastern Standard Time
Presented by: Tawnya Sutherland of Mediamage Business Solutions will present Part 2 of "Let's Rank About It!" for VAinsiders Only.
Time:
Wednesday,
February 6, 2008 - 6 PM Eastern Standard Time
Presented by: Cindy Greenway of Multiple Streams Dream Team will present "The “Secret Ingredient” Clients Want from Virtual Assistants"
Time:
Wednesday,
February 13, 2008 - 6 PM Eastern Standard Time
Presented by: Stephanie McWilliams of Evolving Arts will present "What does your office say about your business?"
We
are currently lining up our 2008 Guest Speakers. Please
contact us if you have a topic you would like to discuss
with us. Thanks
to Patty Dost and Crystal Pina for helping us with
VAnetworking's VAseminar lineups. |
 What
have you done for your business lately?
If you are a Virtual Assistant or are in the process of starting
your VA practice, attending FoVA will provide you with tools
to take your career to the next level.
The FORUM
on VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE being held May 2 – 4, 2008 in
Toronto Canada is a “coming together” of top North
American Virtual Assistants. FoVA is a unique opportunity
to share and learn crucial information about the VA industry
as a whole, as well as the day to day challenges of our individual
practices. FoVA is NOT a conference! It is a Forum where experts
and up and coming VAs meet face to face in a stimulating and
exciting exchange of knowledge and ideas. It is a venue where
solutions and action plans are created to move your business
forward.
You ARE
your business so invest in your company and yourself!! Click
to Find out about FoVA and take advantage of Early Bird
Savings before December 31st!!
(Editor's
note: Hope to get to meet many of you at FoVA...make sure
you track me down! ...Tawnya) |
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| LAST MINUTE GOODIES |
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| Last
Minute Goodies
We always have last minute things to throw into the newsletter, enjoy!
Don't
forget to check out our VAinsider Club Membership
With
7,900+ members and growing, we at VANA have discovered a group
of you in our midst that is ready to kick things up a notch.
You want something a little more “exclusive,”
a “total package” designed for the discriminating
VA who hasn’t got the time to shop the forums for the
best deal. You know what you want and you’re willing
to pay for it.
Ride
the Insider Track to Virtual Success ==>>>
Become a VAinsider
NEW
Premier Partner
- Write Well University
We
have many new Premier Partners offering discounts and special
offers to our members at VAnetworking.com. Learn more about
your discounts as a
member of VANA
Or
visit our website if you wish to learn more about becoming
a Premier
Partner. |
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| HOW TO ADVERTISE |
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| If you would like to advertise through us, consider becoming a Premier Partner with us
or purchase banner advertising. Also feel free to visit our
advertising webpage for more joint venture information.
| Special
thanks go
out to all who have supported us this month. |
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The newsletter targets small
businesses (specifically Virtual Assistant businesses) and
is produced every month. Currently we have 7900+ subscribers
all related to the niche market of Virtual Assistants.
Read the VA Networking Forum Feedback from some of our happy members.
If you would like to be a Guest
Columnist or submit an article, please feel free to
at your convenience as feedback is always appreciated.
ONLY
$27.00
Lifetime Membership
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4 Years Worth of Back Issues Of The Virtual Assistant
Networking Newsletter - Over 45 issues! Help support our
VA Forum to keep it free for members by purchasing the
archives of our popular newsletter. Each newsletter
is filled with valuable info to help your virtual business
succeed from featured articles to hot tips and tricks.
Unlimited access forever
with newsletter archives back 4 years!
Lifetime Membership
PLUS you receive or 2 newest ebooks...
1) VANA's Featured Articles
2) VANA's Hot Tips & Tricks |
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| Copyright ©
2007 Virtual Business Solutions and to their respective
owners. All domestic and international rights reserved in all
media.
for permission guidelines. |
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| SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE INFORMATION |
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| Subscribe and Download
Your FREE Gift!
Contact Information:
Tawnya Sutherland
Suite 393, 800-15355 24th Ave.
Surrey, BC V3E 5Y9
604-542-9664
Current issue can be found
at
http://www.vanetworking.com/archives |
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