If you’re a virtual assistant who has come to view Clerical Advantage as a favorite resource site for the industry, you may have been a bit baffled lately.  On Black Friday, not only did the VA Survival Guide become unavailable for purchase, the VA Survival section of the blog was inaccessible as well.  What the heck?!

It’s not because I’m abandoning virtual assistants in search of help running their businesses. On the contrary, it’s because I wanted to focus a bit more on helping them.  As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m currently preparing for the launch of what I believe will be one of the most comprehensive and flexible training opportunities for virtual assistants anywhere.  So it just made sense that rather than continue to post virtual assistant survival tips on my business tips blog here, that I would move that aspect of the blog to Virtual Assistant Survival School.

So that’s what’s been done.  Right now there are just a few reprints of some of the most popular posts for virtual assistants from this blog, but you can expect lots of great new information to be popping up there on a regular basis.  And of course, Virtual Assistant Survival School with it’s learning courses and modules will be launching soon as well.

Related Posts:

• Yes, I’m a Virtual Assistant. No, I’m not Siri. I’m better.
• Professionalism is Priceless. Lack of Professionalism? Costly.
• What if There was a Business School for Virtual Professionals?

As if there wasn’t enough confusion out there regarding virtual assistants, along comes the iPhone 4S.  The S, I’m guessing, stands for Apple’s version of a virtual assistant and ‘her’ name is Siri.  Articles and blog posts have been singing her praises, absolutely amazed at the way she answers their questions and requests.  I suppose some virtual assistants might  be irritated.  After all, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to distinguish ourselves as high level professional administrative support and now a scrap of artificial intelligence gets added to an iPhone and appears to muddle the issue once again.

Or not.  I think it’s a chance to set ourselves apart even further.  

Siri is artificial intelligence and as such is limited by both the questions asked of her and the answers her developers programmed into her.  As  helpful as she may be  and as witty as some of her responses may appear, she can’t think for herself.  Nor does she possess creativity and initiative.  There are just some things that you’re never going to get from a programmed piece of software that you get from a living, breathing, thinking human being.

While Siri may return the three closest locksmiths to you when you’ve locked yourself out, she isn’t going to call them for you, explain your situation, get price quotes and send the best deal to your door.  She may give you directions to the hotel you’re booked at, but she isn’t going to be able to call the hotel  and set up the shuttle service to pick you up at the airport when your flight arrives.

Siri holds no loyalty to you or your business.  Or anyone else’s for that matter.  She’s simply not real.

Although I don’t have Siri, or even an iPhone, I’m pretty sure she’s not capable of pulling your PowerPoint presentation together.   Blog assistance, e-book creation and website creation aren’t on her list of services either.   Sometimes as fallible as we humans can be, the human touch is just what we need most.

Rather than  be irritated by Siri, I’m embracing her.  She’s giving me a great way to set myself apart.  You see, when a potential client mentions her in the same breath as me and my services I have the perfect response.

“No, I’m not Siri.  I’m so much better than that.”

P.S. As of this writing Siri is still considered beta.  I’m not.

Related Posts:

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“Start Blogging Today can give you the tools and the steps you need to use social media and a blog to market and promote your business online. Whether you are a brand new to blogging or you have an existing blog, Start Blogging Today will put you on the right path.”

I’ve mentioned here before that I’ve used blogging as a primary means of marketing.  My business is proof that a blog can be effective in finding and signing clients.

And how did I manage to make my blog work for my business in a virtual sea of blogs?

It was a combination of things, but by far the biggest thing was learning what worked for others.   In fact, I’m still learning, still tweaking things in order to make it work even better.

I’ll be honest with you though, I put a lot of hours into searching for the stuff that really works.  Time spent searching, time spent testing out ideas and lots and lots of time finding out what didn’t work.  And trust me, there was plenty of information out there that didn’t help me, my blog or my business one little bit.

Not too long ago, I wondered what it would have been like if I’d found the stuff that works first.  How much time (and yes money) would I have saved?  And how much sooner would I have built success for my business?

And what if all of that stuff that works could be found in one place, and was accessible to me whenever and wherever?   What would that have been worth to me and my business?

I’ve had the opportunity to become part of  a project that can do just that.  We call it Start Blogging Today and it’s a comprehensive six month program that allows you to benefit from people who really know about blogging.   In fact, it’s already being called ‘the best blog training around’ .

It’s also an incredible resource for those that have been blogging for awhile but want to kick it up a notch.  It’s everything from soup to nuts that you need to know about blogging and making it work for you.

And you get to learn these things from the people that I’ve learned the most from…all in one place.

Grant Griffiths, Michael Martine, John Haydon, Danny Brown, Paul Coughlin, and Dr. Patrick MacNamara … and even me.

Enroll now in Start Blogging Today!

Click below to join and get an all-access pass to everything, including the weekly lessons, members forums, live Q&A and video tutorials. Or you can get more details by visiting the Features Page or the Training Page.

Regular Price $97 – Join Now For Just $47/month

Regular Price $485 – Join Now For Just $235 for a full access pass (one time investment)

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Blog SEO. I knew it was an important element in my business blogging.  Keyword placement, organic links and tags were things I knew I should be paying attention to, and I really thought I was doing an OK  job of it. Until I discovered Scribe.

As I’m sure you noticed, I don’t promote a lot of things on my blog.  WordPress, which is free and Headway, a premium theme that I love and feel is worth every penny of it’s price and more.
Part of that reason is that I don’t feel right selling something that I haven’t used and found to be worth the money (or my time). Another is that as small business owner who started with no capital to invest in my business, a product has to be pretty spectacular for me to invest in it. I have to know that I’m going to get a return on my investment because I can’t afford to throw even a few dollars away.
But I’m here to tell you that I’ve found yet another product that I feel comfortable recommending to you.

And that product is ScribeSEO.

It’s a WordPress plugin that helps you squeeze all of the juicy goodness of search engine optimization into your blog posts. And I’m here to tell you it works. So well that I was more than willing to pay for it.

A while back Brian Clark (of CopyBlogger fame) sent out an e-mail announcing his newest venture and even offered a free trial to see how it worked.  Now, being a real geek, I jumped on board and was immediately impressed with how it helped me tweak the content, meta and keywords in my posts, making my writing so much more search engine friendly.  Then my free trial ran out and I didn’t immediately rush to purchase the service.

Looking back, I know I should have, but I wanted to see if it really made that big of a difference in my writing and the traffic results to my blog. No, I’m not from Missouri, but I guess I’m a ‘show me’ type of girl anyway.
I was even a bit skeptical that my normally written posts could be that far removed from those I’d been able to ‘polish’ with Scribe.

My skepticism was short lived.  Not only was the blog traffic to my site increased when using Scribe, but those posts I had created using it continued to get better traffic than my newer ones I was creating without it.

I was sold, and just last week I put my money where my mouth is and purchased Scribe. I love how easily it integrates with my WordPress Dashboard and how quickly it gives me relevant keywords and tags. Seeing it sitting in the upper right hand corner of my screen as I’m writing a new post reminds me to scroll down and add scrumptious SEO stuff that many times before I’d just overlooked or forgotten to do. It’s good stuff.

So I’m adding another product to my list of ‘Goodies’ that I recommend. If you’re looking to improve the SEO on your business blog (or any blogsite for that matter) check out Scribe. I’m pretty sure you’ll find it worth the money too.

If you want to see what Scribe looks like in action, check out my latest tutorial post on Geek Speak over at Girly Girl Geek.

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I’m surprised at the number of business people who have admitted to no longer adding content to their blog because they are now on Twitter. I’m not sure where or why these folks got the impression that Twitter is a substitute for blogging.  Perhaps it has something to do with the following 5 reasons to abandon your blog for Twitter?

1. You don’t care about sharing quality content. 140 characters does not allow for adequate sharing of important information. Sure, you can share links to other people’s quality content, but what is that saying about you and your business? That you’re not unique, that you aren’t an expert in your field yourself?
2. You aren’t interested in getting new clients or staying in touch with your current ones. Chances are your target market/clients/ customers are not following you on Twitter. Although Twitter is gaining in popularity, there is still an huge segment of the population who isn’t buying in. A portion of that segment does however read blogs and visit websites.
3. You could care less about adding value to your customers experience. Twitter streams don’t equal the added value to clients/customers that blog posts do.
4. You want your website to stay hidden from search engines. Three letters..SEO. Your Twitter stream isn’t going to increase your website SEO, fresh content is.
5. You have no interest in ever compiling blog posts into an information product. Think of a blog as a depository of useful information. Since it’s your information, you can choose to re-purpose it the way you choose. Older blog posts can become articles, special reports , e-books and more. Try doing that with your 140 character tweets.

By now you’ve figured out that the title for this blog post was rather sarcastic. If you’ve read my previous post, you already know that I consider a blog to be one of  the most important tools for growing your business. And if you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you also know I’m a fan of Twitter as well. As useful as Twitter is, it’s not a blog. Heck, it couldn’t even play one on TV.

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• Professionalism is Priceless. Lack of Professionalism? Costly.
• Virtual Assistant Survival info has moved!
• Yes, I’m a Virtual Assistant. No, I’m not Siri. I’m better.

You get it. No one needs to tell you the importance of having a business blog on your website.  You’ve got yours up and running and keep that new content flowing the way all the experts tell you to do.  And it’s working.

Maybe it’s increased inquiries by potential clients or perhaps your current clients are loving the valuable information you’re sharing with them there. But did you know that same blog could be doing more for your business?

You’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating great content for your blog, so why limit that information to your blog only?  I’m talking about Blog Re-Purposing.

What exactly is Blog Re-Purposing?  It’s the act of taking your original blog content and using it again in another format.  Maybe you can pull a set of blog posts from a particular category together as an e-book?  Or submit some of your best posts to an online article site like E-zine Articles?   It’s possible you could even build an e-course or e-class from some of your material.

Why just leave your great, original material in the Archives section of your blog to gather dust?  Make your blog work for you in more ways than one.

[And yes, Blog Re-Purposing is one of the services I offer as a virtual assistant, so you don't even have lack of time as an excuse. ]

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According to World Internet Usage Statistics (2008) 74.4% of North Americans are using the Internet. That’s over two hundred million people, and studies show that the Internet is playing an increasingly important role in people’s daily lives. When someone needs information or assistance with something, chances are they are going to turn to an Internet search engine to do so. Google trends goes so far as to claim that the Yellow Pages will be toast in four years.

Why is this important to you? Because within these numbers lie an unending stream of potential clients. That being said, are you aware of what all of these potential clients are going to find when they do a search for you, your business or what you offer?

Try this; in each of the major search engines (at the least Google and Yahoo) do a search for your name. Take a look at the results, are you listed there? If so, is your information current?Are there links to your website where those potential customers can learn more and ultimately contact you? Now do another search for your business name and note the same things. You can follow that by searching what you offer. To go a step further, you can add your location to what you offer, (for example, legal services, Hickory, NC).
What did you find? Ideally, of course, you want to be the number one result, but you should at the very least be in the top ten. Not only that, the information listed there should be up to date, detailed and as complete as possible. It should lead a potential client ultimately to your website where they should find content that will make them want to return and become a repeat visitor.

I did a comparison of an small established company I knew had been in business for quite some time and my own company which isn’t quite 2 years old. One would think that the established company would have better results, but amazingly their results were very disappointing.Although their name and the business owners name did show up in the top ten results, the information was outdated and led nowhere. Nothing linked to a website that gave information or would draw potential clients to visit or even recall the company.

My own results were just the opposite. 9 out of 10 results lead to my business, all of which were direct links to my website or to place that ultimately would lead to my website. Even doing a search for my field and my location snagged two hits in the top ten and I just relocated to the area a month ago.

Why such a difference in results? After all, I’m a young business with a practically non-existent marketing budget. The difference is, I’ve utilized online marketing strategies that include social media networking and a very active blog.
I realize that you can read all you want about the effectiveness of utilizing online marketing strategies, but if it’s something you don’t understand or have never done, it’s not going to hit home. But perhaps by doing a few simple searches you can see how you might be missing out on an endless supply of potential clients who are in need of what you offer.

If you find your results are less than stellar, take the steps to increase your online presence, make sure that information already online is up to date and detailed and make sure your website is doing more than just sitting out there on the web.

________________________________________________

Not sure how to beef up those search engine results? Let someone with experience help you. Contact me for more information. Social Media/Blog Marketing is just one of the services I offer through Clerical Advantage.

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Is your business feeling the pinch?  Are you looking for ways to cut corners and save money?  What if I told you that you could cut your marketing budget drastically , yet have the potential to bring in more business than your ad in the local newspaper, your yellow pages listing and your in person marketing efforts combined. How? By turning your website into a blog site.

Let’s face it, practically no one uses the phone book or yellow pages anymore, in today’s Internet connected world, we all just punch what we’re looking for into a search engine.

Now think about what prompts you to buy product or purchase services from a company you find online?  I think most people are a lot like me, I want to see a well put together website that gives me as much information as possible. Free information is especially nice.  I want to be able to contact someone via the site, either by e-mail or a contact form.  The site should be up to date and well maintained, meaning no broken links, especially to any images that are on the front page. If I land on one of those old templated Geocities sites from the 80′s, I don’t even bother to look at what they may be offering. How about you?

In order for you website to even begin drawing in potential clients it needs to be fresh and up to date. And before you start seeing dollar signs dancing in front of your eyes thinking of the cost of having a web developer build you a new webpage, stop and read on.

What if you took that domain you’re paying for and turned it into a Blog or Blog site? Don’t glaze over on me, just keep reading.

A blog makes your website interactive for potential clients.  It gives them a reason to keep coming back, rather than visiting one time. They come back to read your posts, perhaps even commenting on them and they build a relationship with your business before they ever contract for your services.

This is exactly what you want, because if they feel they have a relationship with you, when the time comes when they or a friend or colleague need the type of service you offer, they are going to turn to you. Because they trust you, they have a relationship with you, through your blog.

Still seeing dollar signs doing the cha-cha as you think about converting your website into a blog site?  Sure, it’s going to cost something to install a platform like WordPress and customize a great template like Headway,* but probably not as much as that company charged you to build that static website you’ve had in place since you opened your doors. And once you have that blog site in place, it makes it super easy to maintain and update. So if you don’t have the time to blog, your assistant can log in and do it for you. With a blog site, it’s not just about the blog. You are able to add pages that give information about your business, your services, and allow visitors to your site to contact you. In fact, it does what a traditional website does, only better, because you now have the ability to add fresh content and make changes often and easily.

You may be wondering why that is so important.  Fresh content is what the search engines pick up. You can use keywords and tags with each post that will make your site easier to find for potential clients.  In fact, you’ll be able to narrow it down so that the right kind of clients are drawn to your site.  They come to you, rather than you searching for them. And all at a fraction of the cost of that local newspaper advertisement.

And by the way, hows that ad working for you anyway?

* I am a huge fan of the Headway theme for WordPress and it is what I used and customized for this website. And no, I’m not a web designer, so that tells you how easy it must be right?  I highly recommend it to anyone looking to build a Blog site.

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In my last post, regarding virtual assistants on Twitter I used the term professionalism as something that those searching for a VA should look for when scrutinizing the many choices available to them.  But in this day and age of social media, just how important is professionalism.  I mean, don’t the masses of home office warriors brag about their ability to work in their p.j.’s  or other comfy clothes?  Isn’t social media all about being ‘real’?
Although it is important to be yourself to a certain extent, it is also important to remember that if you’re in business, there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.  A certain amount of dignity and yes, privacy, must be maintained or you risk losing all credibility as a business professional.
Sadly, I see many virtual assistants and other home-based professionals make the mistake of sharing too much of themselves.  They forget that the words they tweet or post online all contribute to creating a picture of not just who they are personally, but reflects upon their businesses as well. For example, regardless of your penchant for using curse words in the privacy of your own home, they are probably better left out of your Twitter stream. Pretty obvious right?  Another example might be your need to go take a nap in the middle of the work day. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t go take that nap, after all if you’re running your business, you might do your best work from midnight to 3 am and a mid-day nap is a neccessity. Just don’t tweet about it. Why? Because clients, potential clients and other people that might end up being important to your business aren’t going to know that. Family fights, sexual exploits and the fact that you forgot to take your Xanax are also things that are on the ‘don’t need to know’ list. Honestly, I’ve literally cringed when reading some tweets and blog posts due to the over share factor.
Another social media faux-pas I see happening often is ranting or complaining about a client, client work or client related matters. Nothing will lower your professionalism standing faster. There are ways of not only sharing your frustration, but getting some positive feedback on the situation without ranting. But if you can’t be sure of how to do that, then simply keep from sharing it.
There is such a thing as being too open and transparent. I understand the need for self expression, but if you’re a business person, don’t do it on blogs or social media connected to your business or business website.  Sure, have a personal blog, but for professionalism’s sake, don’t link to it from your business website.
If you want to see examples of how to be real without losing your credibility read and watch Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuk.  I follow both of these business men on Twitter.  Chris Brogan gives us just enough of his personal side through his tweets that often speak of his family or current activities to make us feel like we know a bit about him. He’s human. Yet he doesn’t share so much that we ever lose sight of the fact that he’s a brilliant business man and marketer.  And watching Gary V. do his videos for Wine Library, garyvaynerchuk.com or his guest appearances on places like the Today show might give you the impression that he’s ‘out there’.  His high energy is infectious and his ability to connect to his audience makes us all feel like he’s a regular guy, just like us. Ok, so he probably has way more energy than us, but you know what I mean.  However, I don’t know about you, but I never, ever lose sight of the fact that he has brilliantly used the web to his marketing advantage in business . The fact that these two men are professionals is never questioned.

The following is the definition of professionalism:

pro?fes?sion?al?ism  [pruh-fesh-uh-nl-iz-uhm]- noun

1.     professional character, spirit, or methods.
2.     the standing, practice, or methods of a professional, as distinguished from an amateur.
(from dictionary.com)

When I first read this definition, the words that seemed to hit me like a baseball bat to the head were “as distinguished from an amateur”.  And perhaps for the virtual assistant or other small business this is the single most important thing they should take away from this post.  You project professionalism to distinguish your business from the amateurs. Never forget that your words, whether tweeted, blogged or simply shared in an online forum are available not just to those people you specifically write them to, but to clients, potential clients and others who may be instrumental to the success of your business.

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When is a blog more than a blog? When it’s a marketing tool. And you thought blogging was only for political pundits and Hollywood gossip mavens. Think again. Blogging is the latest business tool, and when it’s done right, it can effectively work for you and your business. A business blog is a different creature than gossip, fashion or personal blogs, but can be just as popular for their own brand of information. Think about your customers, associates and peers in the business world. What information is important to them?  Industry news for starters.  And information concerning your businesses activities, such as ways your business is involved in the community. Perhaps changes in personnel within your company, or letting them know about promotions, awards and achievements of business personnel.  Whatever you decide to blog about, make sure that your ‘voice’ is heard.  Readers gain a feeling of who you and your company are as well as a sense of familiarity from your writing voice. That familiarity will make them more likely to think of your company when they or someone they know have a need for what you provide. A blog is a great way to keep your business fresh in their minds.

But a business blog serves another purpose that is just as important. Because a blog is something that is updated regularly, it provides fresh content to your website on  a regular basis. Fresh content is vital to a higher rating in the search engines. That’s right, blogging will bring your business closer to the top of an Internet search in your field . And that means more people checking out your website and the possibility of more business. That is effective marketing.

Many people will say they don’t have time to blog. I don’t believe that’s an excuse. A blog post doesn’t have to be long. A quick statement and a link to industry news will work. Or a quick tidbit about the charity event you’re participating in. Blog content is up to you.

Another option is to have your virtual assistant maintain your business blog.  I’m not advocating ‘ghost writing’ of your blog, because I think it is important for your ‘voice’ to be what readers identify with.  But you can still let your virtual assistant know what you’d like to blog about, pull together a draft and let you review and add final touches that make it your own.

Many businesses will dismiss the idea of a blog due to what they perceive a blog to be. If they only see the entertainment value it won’t appear to be lucrative for the business to participate. But if they can look past the surface and see how a blog can be adjusted to fit their unique situation it can become a low cost, highly effective marketing tool.

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