Discover 8 Powerful Skills to Grow Your Virtual Business in 2011!

Ahh, summer! Well, summer in Canada anyways! Here the winters are long, and we’re grateful when the temperature rises and the sun starts hanging around longer so we can go outside without toques and parkas!

Top Three Tips for Handling High-Maintenance Clients

Last week in our VAClassroom event, a question arose on how to deal with “Draining Clients”. I am sure we can all relate at one time or another to those clients who

•    Relentlessly invade our time and space
•    Assume they are our only client and should demand our immediate attention
•    Skype us late at night for an urgent demand the next morning
•    Are highly disorganized and “fly by the seat of their pants” all the time
•    Want us to be available full-time but are only willing to pay us part-time.

I could build a much bigger list, but I will stop there. Have you experienced those types of clients recently? Are they causing you great anxiety and sleepless nights? If so, what can we do to effectively and tactfully manage these high-maintenance clients?

Here are a couple helpful tips to consider…

1. Be honest with the client. Sometimes, clients are not actually aware of how they are behaving with you until you have a candid conversation with them. In talking with them, I would lead with the positive. Let them know the things that you enjoy about the work, but then be honest about those areas that need to be improved. These conversations are not always easy, but what is the alternative – more stress and sleepless nights?

2. Set clear communication boundaries with the client. This should be done from Day 1 (ideally), but let the client know the best ways that they can communicate with you and also clearly outline the times you are NOT available. If you hate the relentless Skyping, then present a more attractive communication alternative to them. It is important to let them know that you have other clients and that quick turnarounds on urgent projects will not always happen. You might consider setting a standard communication turnaround time that they can expect. For example, let them know you will always respond to their emails within a 24-hour period unless it is on the weekend. Setting healthy boundaries with your clients will liberate you. Yes, you run the risk of losing those “ultra-demanding” clients, but that might not be a bad thing.

3. If you have been honest with the client and reset new boundaries and the client continues their “old ways”, then it might be time to have that difficult conversation and “disinvite” them from your client list.

Important Note: In this challenging economy, it might not be financially viable to simply “fire” your client, so my suggestion would be to ramp up your marketing efforts and seek to find a client (sooner than later) that will fill the spot of this difficult client. Once you have that in place, then you can fire him or her!

Of course, the best way to deal with difficult clients is to avoid getting involved with them in the first place. This can be tricky, but the blog post “How to Spot Difficult Clients before Signing a Contract” first of all recommends listening to your gut:

Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, Blink, that “your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions” about people or situations.

So, don’t discount that ‘iffy’ feeling you get when you first start discussing a project with a client. That ‘feeling’ is your gut telling you to pay attention. If you get that uneasy feeling, jot down why you feel that way and see if they add up to a strong reason NOT to take the project.

This post also goes on to list a few easy-to-spot red flags you can look for during initial discussions with a client that can help determine his or her “potential for difficulty”.

In our upcoming Project Management Skills clinic, we will continue to address the issue of client relationships head on and discuss some communication strategies for managing projects if you do find yourself working with a difficult client.

In the meantime, though, we hope the above tips have been helpful in giving you some tools for handling high-maintenance clients. If you have any questions or advice from your experience as a Virtual Assistant or online business owner, please share your thoughts in the comment box below or on our VAClassroom Facebook Page.

Top Five Tips for Responding to RFPs

If you receive notifications for New Forum Threads at VAClassroom, you may have seen the literal flood of RFPs coming in last week. During tough economic times like these, it’s very encouraging to see the amount of work available for talented Virtual Assistants and online professionals. But this begs the question, how do you effectively respond to an RFP? First of all, check out this video from 2minuteswithava.com for some great advice.

And now here are some more valuable tips to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward:

1) Read the two books recommended in the above video for more information on RFPs:

•    Entrepreneurial Freedom: How to Start and Grow a Profitable Virtual Assistance Practice by Jeannine Clontz and Lauren Hidden

•    Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA by Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker

2) Develop a proposal template that you’re happy with and simply tweak it to suit each RFP you apply for (especially if it’s successful!).

•    Our self-study VA Success Blueprint program contains some sample RFP proposals, as well as other important strategies and templates that may help you.

3) Be sure to include the following items in your response so the person evaluating has as much information as possible:

•    Date – Let them know you responded prior to closing date (if applicable).

•    Reference Number – Check the proposal for any reference numbers or specific proposal references so information is clearly communicated.

•    Reference to their original request – Repeat it either word-for-word so they can easily reference it, or rewrite their needs to show your level of comprehension of the project.

•    Outline your experience in relation to the project or tasks – Keep it organized and simple for the client to review.

•    Specific or special skills that you have – If they list special skills, let them know your expertise in that area. If you are still learning, just be honest and let them know how committed you are to continual learning!

•    Special connections that you share – Groups/People/Activities

•    Project estimate (timeline & costs) – Include how you calculate your costs and measure your effectiveness.

•    Any additional charges that you can foresee – Include any further information you think might help them.

•    Testimonials – Everyone loves to hear how successful you’ve been for other clients, so include some recommendations from similar projects in your proposal.

•    Contact information and availability – Don’t forget to let them know how to connect with you and the best way to do it.

4) Prepare your response carefully and thoughtfully, including the following elements:

•    Show some interest. Research the company, and if anything excites you about it, let them know!

•    Include any similar experience you’ve had. Describe how your similar or past experiences can benefit them.

•    Are you an industry expert? If you have worked in the industry before, include some specific industry information to show them how familiar you are in their area of expertise.

•    What specific skills do you feel would enhance their business? Shout out your strengths and tell them how your specific skill sets will impact their business.

•    Point out any spelling or technical errors on their site or marketing material. Impress them by showing them that you are paying attention and letting them know how to solve any errors.

5) Take note of how different businesses handle RFP proposals. For example, at VAClassroom, the process of responding directly to clients is handled a little differently than screened requests. Since the client has us to pre-screen the proposals we will be looking at a few key elements when we make our recommendations:

•    Specific industry knowledge & experience

•   Examples of similar tasks/situations

•   Availability and match of project scope/requirements

Hope these tips for responding to RFPs have helped demystify the process. If you are a VAClassroom Premium Member, be sure to check the Monday Memo and our forum for new job postings, a great way to add new client and income opportunities to your business!

If you have any questions or further tips on submitting RFP proposals, please leave us a note in the comment box below.

25 Top Marketing Strategies for Reaching New Clients (Part 2: Online Activities)

As promised (close on the heels of our last post about offline marketing strategies), we will now share some great tips for online activities Virtual Assistants and online professionals can use to reach more clients. Did we say these are our favorite kinds of activities?  Well, without further ado, here they are, with a couple extra tips thrown in for good measure.

Online Activities:

1. Create a high quality, fully search engine optimized website or blog site – We can’t emphasize enough how important this strategy is. Through new blog posts and pages, it’s crucial to expand visibility by producing regular content that is optimized with the keywords you want to build your business around.

2. Build a strong, targeted presence in social networks – Many people are now using social networks to secure joint venture partnerships and post projects in status updates.

3. Build a targeted Twitter following and actively participate in the community – Virtual assistants can land clients through Twitter by responding to requests that have been posted by business owners looking for help.

4. Create a branded Facebook Page and offer valuable and relevant content to your audience – Given the huge growth of Facebook, this is a very important strategy to help build up visibility for your business and create SEO value as well.  If you already have a Facebook Page, see where it can be improved and be sure to regularly add new content to it.

5. Create a LinkedIn Profile – By adding recommendations, joining and contributing in targeted groups, and answering relevant questions one-on-one, you can use LinkedIn to specifically connect with business owners (60 or 70 million professionals are on LinkedIn) who could become the ideal clients for you.

6. Join niche social networks – If you’re targeting specific groups like writers groups or small business groups, etc., look for networks like Ning that are supporting those groups.

7. Set up locally optimized business profiles in Google Places, Bing and Yahoo local directories – Because these profiles also have good SEO value, be sure to optimize your profile, add videos and create branding value for your business in the local community.

8. Contact Google Internet Marketing Firms / Multi-VA Firms, PR Agencies and present your portfolio – Connect with the key decision makers in these firms and agencies to present your portfolio and offer your services.

9. Create a free information product and offer in order to build a targeted e-mail list – A golden way of building up your credibility is to offer some kind of ongoing publication that is targeted to people with your skill sets. It should be valuable content (a video series, monthly newsletter, e-book, white paper, report) that will segue to the services you offer.

10. Blog, but only if you have some relevant content to share – Corporate blogs that merely present product and service updates are becoming redundant. However, blogs that share meaningful content that’s valuable to your audience can build your credibility if that content is targeted, specialized and reaching the right people.

11. Create a YouTube Channel and regularly distribute keyword-targeted videos – Video is quickly becoming the most popular medium and can’t be ignored by marketers. A great way to build your brand is by sharing tips videos (talking head or demos) and integrating these videos into your website to add a personal connection with your audience.

12. Start a BlogTalk Radio Show, regular podcast or AudioBoos where you share your expertise – This type of audio content is easily transmitted and shared on networks like Facebook, so it’s very effective for building your brand and targeting your audience.
13. Distribute keyword targeted articles and press releases through EzineArticles.com and PRWeb.com – Keywords will help you get listed in the top 10, but be sure to focus on the quality of the content before the keywords and write to benefit the lives and businesses of your target audience.
14. Create Presentations and PDFs through Slideshare.net and Scribd.com – With the rise of Slideshare.net, this strategy is gaining popularity as it can feed PowerPoint presentations directly into your LinkedIn profile. With these tools, you can also send new clients a link to your portfolio.

15. Put on webinars for online groups and associations – With tools like GoToWebinar or Free Conference Calling, you can focus on a particular industry (e.g. “Using Social Media for Interior Design Businesses”) and put on an informative webinar or tele-event.

16. Test out some low-cost Facebook Social Ads or Pay Per Click ads for targeted keywords – Another great way of targeting new clients is to test out these ads on your “Like” base from your Facebook Page. It is possible to get a lot of interest, visitors and sales through these ads.

Miscellaneous Strategies:

17. Referral Marketing – This is also called “Duct Tape Marketing” and involves being proactive with your existing clients and asking them for referrals to other colleagues. It relies on the “Know, like, trust factor” and can lead to many new client leads.

18. Set up Joint Ventures – Finally, a great way to build your business is to partner up with colleagues either inside or outside your industry who offer complementary services. For example, a person who writes articles might partner with someone in the social media space, and they could cross-refer each other.

We hope you find these tips helpful. If you are interested in reaching new clients, we recommend going through the lists in Parts 1 and 2 of this blog post series and ticking off the strategies you are currently using, evaluating which activities have been successful for you, and considering which strategies you might want to add to your overall marketing strategy.

As a community of Virtual Assistants and online professionals, we here at VAClassroom are committed to helping equip you with the skills that will help you reach your ideal client base. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a note for us in the comment box below. Also, let us know of any additional strategies or ideas that have worked for you.

25 Top Marketing Strategies for Reaching New Clients (Part 1: Offline Activities)

In this current economic climate, many Virtual Assistants and online business owners have experienced the highs and lows in their businesses over the past couple years. In fact, you yourself may have cycled from a time of abundance with great “high-value” clients to a drought where you have struggled to fill retainer clients that you may have lost for one reason or another. The ebbs and flows of a virtual business can cause a lot of stress.

During these times, it’s important to evaluate your virtual business activities and ask yourself some key questions:

•    What marketing strategies are you currently using to connect with new clients?
•    What strategies or activities have been successful for you? What has not gone well?

As we’re focusing on virtual business marketing this week, we’d like to take some time to share some top marketing strategies for reaching new clients. In our free event on March 17, “Virtual Business Marketing Makeover in One Hour,” one of the things we’ll be talking about is the fact that you must market every single day even if you have enough clients now. So, to start off our list, here are the first seven tips for how you can consistently market your business and connect with new and potential clients through offline activities.

Offline Activities:

1. Join or start a business networking group in your local area – This activity can actually happen both online and offline. Through Meetups, Tweetups, Chamber of Commerce or Local Business Associations, you can connect with like-minded individuals for collaboration purposes or to get connected with your target client audience.

2. Do a presentation for a local business group or association (i.e. local hospitality association, real estate association, small business owners) – For example, you could do a social media presentation that demonstrates how restaurants can use social media to draw in more customers. In a previous blog post, “Social Media Goes Local in 2010,” we talked about how restaurant owner Joe Sorge uses Twitter to engage with customers.

3. Attend a business fair/conference in your local region – These conferences and fairs are a great way to have face-to-face encounters with people who might potentially hire VAs.
4. Host a local event in your area (e.g. Social Media for Hospitality Businesses) – This activity requires some planning and maybe a bit of a budget, but it can be very effective as a form of networking.
5. Research and target local business clients with a one-on-one presentation – You could visit certain restaurants or spas you want to target to see how they could use social media to grow their businesses.

6. Publish an article in a local newspaper or trade magazine – This activity requires a certain level of writing skills, but can be very effective in giving your business more visibility.

7. Send targeted mail-outs to business lists through an association like the Chamber of Commerce – This is not the number one strategy we’d recommend because it isn’t very measurable, but it could definitely lead to multiple client opportunities in the local business community.

Stay tuned for our next post, where we will talk about tips for marketing your business through online activities (our favorite kind of strategies here at VAClassroom :).

And in the meantime, let us know if you have any questions or comments about these offline marketing strategies. Have you used any in the past and found them successful? Please drop us a comment in the box below!

The Power of Online Video Marketing for Local Businesses!

As many of you know, at the beginning of 2011, I hosted a “Predictions Event” in which I shared my STRONG conviction that one of the hottest client areas for your business in the next 12 months would be the LOCAL Business Community! The reality is that the average local business owner has become increasingly dissatisfied with the diminishing return they are seeing on more expensive traditional advertising channels like radio, television and print media.

In my opinion, Local Search Marketing, Facebook Marketing and Video Marketing Services make up the most relevant and dynamic marketing trio for any local business across any industry. While we all know that Facebook had a massive growth year in 2010, so did Online Video and YouTube!

Check out the below video, where I demonstrate how we generated a Top 10 Google Result in less than 48 hours!

While the statistics quoted in the video alone should be a compelling enough reason to catch the attention of the average business owner, there are so many other clear-cut benefits why local businesses are increasingly excited about integrating online video into their overall marketing strategy:

• With the proliferation of the mobile web, online videos are being watched everywhere and anywhere.
• Online Video is the #1 weapon for igniting top rankings in the local search listings.
• Online Video spreads faster than any other marketing medium on the web today. Just ask Susan Boyle!!

Given the rapid growth of online video, combined with the local business owner’s fast-growing interest in this medium, there is a great need for Virtual Assistants and online professionals to develop and expand their Online Video Marketing skills and service packages. It is for this reason that we have unveiled our first official Online Video Marketing Specialist Training Program so that Virtual Professionals can offer cost-effective web marketing solutions that will ignite exposure, traffic and results for potential clients in their local communities.

The great thing about online video marketing is that it can be easily integrated into any existing Social Media services you are currently offering. As an example, for the average business owner, two of the absolutely smartest ways to build their brand and credibility on the web is to create a Facebook Page and launch an online video marketing campaign – a match made in marketing heaven!

If you have any questions or comments about Online Video Marketing, please write us a note in the comment box below. You can check out all the details on the Online Video Marketing Specialist Course here.

How to Get Started with Google Places for Business

If you attended our VAClassroom event last week, you’ll know that there’s a ton of buzz going on around Google Places for Business. This tool is positioned to be a Game Changer when it comes to location-based social networks and directories. Why thumb through the Yellow Pages when with the click of a mouse you can uncover even more detailed information about local brick and mortar businesses?

Now, an interesting question popped up during our event—whether or not an Internet-based business with no fixed address or a Virtual Assistant’s business with a private home address could use Google Places. It appears they can too, and here’s a video that explains how Service Areas can be used to refine a listing:

But as a Virtual Assistant or online business owner, the best way to leverage Google Places is to partner with local brick and mortar business owners because they’re the ones who will most benefit from this service. But before you get started with Google Places, you’ll want to ask the following questions:
•    How do I create a well-optimized Google Places page for my local clients?

•    What strategies do I utilize to ensure the best chance of getting top listings in Google Places (1st page of Google)?

•    What are the best types of clients to target initially?

•    How can I build up online reviews for a client?

•    How do I structure the service and set my rates?

•    What other specific services (social media) can be bundled here?

Google Places and Local Search have the potential of being a very profitable service niche in 2011 for Virtual Assistant businesses, as it will have mass appeal across all types of industries and has excellent potential to boost income that is not based on billable hourly work (flat rates and maintenance packages). That’s why we are also going to be offering a Google Places Mastery clinic that will take place on January 26th to unpack the important strategies needed to effectively leverage Google Places for local brick and mortar business owners. For more information on this exciting new training opportunity, check it out at the link below:

http://www.vaclassroom.com/local-search-clinic/

One final thought—Google recently announced the unveiling of a Google Places with Hotpot iPhone app, adding to their growing arsenal of Google Places apps for mobile users. Here’s what the official Google Mobile Blog says about it:

It can be pretty rewarding to discover a new place you love, but we also realize that there are some experiences you just can’t wait to share. So Places makes it super simple to rate a place with your iPhone while you’re there. Just fire up the app and hit “Rate now.” It will use your location to guess your current place and let you post a Hotpot review right from your phone. But it’s not just about getting to say what you think—the more you rate places, the more you’re sharing about your tastes and the more we can give you personally tailored recommendations.

So imagine the possibilities when Google Places and other local directories are paired up with not only a location-based recommendation engine like Hotpot, but also other social platforms like a Facebook Page, Facebook Places, YouTube channel and other location-based social networks—you have the makings of a local marketing masterpiece!

Do you know any brick and mortar businesses in your area that could benefit from a Google Places listing? Do you have any ideas for how you could integrate Google Places into your current Virtual Assistant service offerings? Please share your comments below!

Google Places + Local Business = A Match Made in Marketing Heaven

Have you done a local search lately in Google? If you haven’t, you should give it a try because it yields some fantastic results! For example, I was recently in Spokane, Washington, over the holidays, and the family was craving a good “Chinese Buffet”. So, I decided to go to the Yellow Pages – NOT! I googled it, naturally, and at the top of the first page was the Google Places listing for a couple of the local buffets, complete with menu and customer reviews. Plus, to the right of the search listings, there was a nice big map featuring these two locations.

Google’s new layout (just a couple months old) is providing the most amazing opportunity for local businesses to grab the much-coveted top listings on page 1 through a fully optimized Google Places account. For another real-life example, check out this video case study showing how Google Places helped one business increase its traffic by 25%:

Not only is this a phenomenal opportunity for the local business, but also for Virtual Assistants seeking to branch out into a new niche and serve the needs of their local brick and mortar businesses! That is why we will be holding a FREE VAClassroom event on Thursday, January 13, titled “Leveraging New Google Places for Your Local Business Clients”!

Do you think Google Places will impact how and where local businesses advertise? As a Virtual Assistant or online business owner, are you interested in branching out into this new niche and partnering with local businesses? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share your comments below!

Season’s Greetings from VAClassroom!

There are many emotions that can creep up during this time of year. For some enduring the challenges of tough economic times, there may be feelings of despair and discouragement. For others, there may be feelings of hope and great joy. As we head into this season, I feel a deep sense of gratitude, blessed to have a wonderful wife and family, great friends and of course our amazing team and community at VAClassroom!

I want to share a video with you that will likely require a box of Kleenex to be on hand. It will touch you to the core and if you are like me, it will give you a strong feeling of deep gratitude for all the good things and relationships you have in your life.

This video is about a young boy named Dax Locke, who was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal Leukemia at the young age of 13 months. The video highlights his life and how a family and a whole community came together to give this boy one last Christmas. I don’t think I watched a video this year that moved me as much as this one…

So, I head into Christmas with deep gratitude for what I have and excitement for what the new year will bring in business and life. When you have a moment, pop over to the comment box below and share with us “What this Christmas Season Means To You in 2010″.

Blessings to you and your family this holiday season!

The VAClassroom 2010 Christmas Special is Here!

While December can often be one of the busiest months of the year, at VAClassroom we also believe it is a great time to refocus and get equipped and ready for an amazing new year in your business.

So, with that being said, we are excited to announce the VAClassroom 2010 Christmas Special, which will give you an opportunity to access our most popular training programs at a special discount ONLY available in December.

Check out the below 2-minute holiday message and a snapshot of the available training courses included in this year’s Christmas Special:

Start 2011 off with a bang and a whole new set of skills!

If you have any questions on this holiday special, please post them in the comment section below. You can check out all the details on the 2010 Christmas Special here.

Six Simple Tips for Creating Your Own Online Video Studio.

Places everybody. Ten Seconds Until We Go Live….. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. Lights, Camera, Action!!

This is a funny routine that I sometimes go through to amuse myself as “director” of my own private video studio at home! Yes, this is a far cry from 20th Century Fox, but for myself and our team at VAClassroom, Online Video is one of the most important components to our web marketing strategy!

For us and many other businesses, Online Video has quickly become one of the most portable, practical, profitable and not to mention personable avenues for building your business brand and visibility here in 2010. Why?

Businesses recognize that waves of people online are regularly watching videos as their preferred medium of choice and see huge potential in connecting with the right audience using compelling and interesting videos. Check out these stats:

The Pew Research Center reports that “69% of adult internet users, or roughly half of all U.S. adults (52%), have used the internet to watch or download video”. That is a staggering number, and it is growing exponentially every day.

So, I can’t emphasize the importance of creating your own promotional marketing videos to build brand visibility with your prospective client audience.

But where do you start?

We all have heard the expression “A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words”. Well, this also really applies to video! If you put together a fuzzy, low-quality video right from your home office as a promotional tool for your business, it could reflect poorly on you and your brand! So, if you are interested in using video for your business marketing efforts, it is important to do it the right way.

Here are a few simple steps to get started:

1. Purchase a Digital Mini Camcorder and Tripod (if you don’t have one already) – Average price $150

My recommendations are the Kodak Zi8 or the Flip Mino.  Both offer the option to produce high-quality high-definition videos. Here is an example of an HD video we produced for our recent VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp.

Also, if you are going to purchase the Kodak Zi8, then I would recommend spending an extra 10 bucks and picking up the Kodak Zi8 Remote Control so you can manage the record and stop features independently.

2. Purchase a Lapel Microphone or standing microphone. (Average Price – $30)

While the Kodak Zi8 does have an external microphone, I would recommend picking up a lapel mic or a stationary mic that you can place close to where you are sitting or standing as it will significantly improve the audio quality and make your video that much more professional.

There are many options to choose from so I would suggest going to eBay, Best Buy or Amazon and picking up a quality mic for less than $30.

3. Purchase a Professional “Soft Box” Camera Lighting Kit (Average price – $199 on eBay)

Lighting is EVERYTHING to producing a high-quality video, so it is important to spend a few bucks to get the professional lighting that will display you in a positive light:-) I would recommend searching on eBay for a 2000 watt Soft Box lighting kit. You will be amazed at the difference between videos that have professional lighting and the ones that don’t – miles apart!

4. Purchase a Green Screen and Stand. (Average Price – $149)

A Green Screen is an essential component of your video studio as you will want be able to do Chroma key and mix up your backgrounds. With the green screen and the right software or outsourced professional (i.e. Elance), you can put yourself in literally any background, from a cafe in Paris to a U2 concert – cool stuff! I would recommend checking out eBay or TubeTape.

5. Pick up some cool props.

Now, each video studio will vary in look and feel, but some general props will typically apply. I would look at picking up a couple bar tools and a circular bar table. If you are NOT using a Green Screen, then you might choose a nice plant, pictures and a light colored wall for your studio.

6. Purchase a teleprompter software. (Average Price – $59)

If you are not interested in memorizing your script, you might place a laptop strategically below your camcorder and use a teleprompter tool like PromptDog.com. This will help you stay on track with your script!

So, for approximately $600, you could fully outfit your own at-home video studio and be ready to start producing some top-notch video content for your business.

But, the next question you may have is…. How do I create some quality videos? What do they look like? Well, we are actually running a Live Online Video Skills Clinic that will provide a simple system for creating, editing, producing and distributing online videos for you and your clients.

I hope this has been helpful in giving you a starting point for creating your own online video studio. As they say in the movie biz….

That’s a Wrap!

VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp 2010 – The Results Are In!

I want to share a few exciting details on our upcoming VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp this year! At VAClassroom, it has always been our commitment to create training programs within a Web 2.0 framework and I believe we have certainly done that with our new skill camp.

As some of you may know, we sent out a survey to our community regarding our upcoming Summer Skill Camp that included 32 skill-based topics that we had compiled through member feedback, VAClassroom faculty, and close business colleagues who do a LOT of outsourcing. We felt this was a very comprehensive list to build our survey from!

Well, our community has spoken and the results are in!

We received a ton of survey results and are now excited to unveil a “star-studded” selection of skill-based webinars for this year’s event ranging from Facebook Pages and WordPress Design to Newsletter Creation and Social Network Management. We are very pleased that such a well-rounded and diverse base of topics have been selected for this year’s camp. Based on this content,  I am quite confident this event will play a key role in boosting client and income opportunities heading into the last part of 2010!

Check out the survey results and we would love to get your feedback and comments on the ten skill-based topics that have been selected for this year’s event!

Here are the ten topics:

1.   Quick Guide to Creating an “In-Demand” Facebook Page Service for Your Clients.

2.   Building a Successful Online Newsletter/Ezine.

3.   WordPress Design – Strategies for Designing a Winning WordPress Blog.

4.   WordPress Plug-In Central -  Making Sense of WP Plug-in to Ignite Traffic and Results.

5.   Answering the Big ROI Question – Success Strategies for Measuring Your Client’s Results.

6.  Leveraging the Power of Free Information Products to Win New Clients.

7.  Crafting a Winning Social Media Presentation for your Clients and Community.

8.  Social Network Management Bliss – Discover Simple and Proven Strategies for Organizing your Social Networking Activities.

9.  Discover an Easy Formula for Writing Articles and Press Releases that Produces Results.

10. Develop a Winning Squeeze Page or Landing Page that Converts.

We would love to get your feedback on this line-up of topics! We have included a blog post link below – please share your comments and thoughts!

Golden Goals and Bad Bands: Social Media Chronicles the Olympics

February 28, 2010 – final day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver…

Gold medal semifinal in men’s hockey between Team Canada and Team USA…

Seven minutes into overtime, Jarome Iginla is knocked down in the corner. On his knees, he passes the puck to Sidney Crosby, who deftly, with Gretzky-like instincts, shoots the puck from an angle, past Team USA’s goalie and into the net.

The Golden Goal…

And with that, Team Canada wins its 14th gold medal in these 2010 Olympic games and its first gold medal in hockey since the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.

Throughout the streets of Vancouver, a loud roar went up as crowds cheered and celebrated. Car horns honked, ship horns blared and, according to one Vancouver resident, the noise continued for hours.

The cheering also continued on Social Networks like Twitter and Facebook. Within minutes of the Golden Goal, jubilant Tweets and Facebook status updates appeared. Within two hours, the newly created “Crosby’s Olympic Goal <3” Facebook Fan Page had 95,000 fans.

After the Closing Ceremonies, a Facebook Fan Page called “2010 Olympic Closing Ceremonies were REALLY BAD” was also created, but it wasn’t nearly as popular. As of this writing, only 23 fans have joined this page and embraced the description: “Bad bands, and awful floating beavers.”

Actually, throughout the Olympics, Social Media played a huge role in recording people’s reactions to events and athletes. The athletes themselves even participated.

According to the blog post “So long to 2010 Olympics, we’ll tweet ya later,” American short track speed skater @ApoloOhno “shared his ever infectious and magnetic positivity to stand tall and be proud of who you are and your accomplishments.”

Alternatively, @JuliaMancuso, alpine ski racer for Team USA, fueled the fire of an alleged rivalry with lifelong competitor @LindseyVonn by posting and quickly removing comments after her first run on the giant slalom.

The Sysomos blog reports that the Vancouver Olympics attracted four million tweets and 300,000 blog posts and had a 91% positive sentiment rating according to Sysomos MAP.

That’s great news for Olympic organizers, who may have been concerned about how this unprecedented Social Media activity would affect their personal branding and online reputation.

This is a new age, where Social Media activity will continue to grow, even as the roar of the crowd fades and the streets of Vancouver return to normal. Online Reputation Management for Virtual Assistants and their clients will be key in the years to come, and certified Social Marketing Specialists are the ones who will be armed and ready to face the challenges of this new Social Media landscape.

This is something Olympic organizers might also want to think about as they look towards the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Are You Ready to Tell Google Buzz to Buzz off?

There’s a new kid on the block in the world of Social Networks, and if you use Gmail, he’s already living on your street! Google recently unveiled Google Buzz, a Social Network that’s built right into Gmail. If you have a Gmail account, you might have noticed a colorful balloon that showed up on the left-hand side of the page – that’s Buzz!

Google had some great ideas when they unveiled Buzz. Check out this YouTube video posted on the Official Google Blog to introduce Buzz:

Unfortunately, despite these good intentions, Buzz has caused some frustration among loyal Gmail users. For example, the blog post “Buzz off, Google: Social networks should always be opt-in, not opt-out” highlights the fact that all Gmail users were enrolled in Buzz without being asked first. Furthermore, Google automatically made a social graph of your most-emailed people and made sharing of that graph opt-out instead of opt-in. As this article explains, “it’s super easy to miss the check box, and the default should always be the safest choice.”

In Google’s defense, they listened to users’ feedback and have introduced some improvements. The Official Gmail Blog reports that the following changes have been made to Buzz:

1. There is a more visible option to not show followers/people you follow on your public profile.

2. You have the ability to block anyone who starts following you.

3. There is more clarity on which of your followers/people you follow can appear on your public profile.

Given Google’s popularity and history of creating quality products, there is definitely the possibility that Google Buzz could someday rival Facebook and Twitter.

What do you think? Are you ready to tell Google Buzz to buzz off, or do you think Google can rise to the challenge of making Buzz the best Social Network around?

Virtual Events and Social Media – A Match Made in Web Heaven!

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and we’re going to talk about marriage… no, not that kind of marriage – the marriage of Virtual Events and Social Media.

Virtual Events are already very popular because of their inherent benefits – they’re cost-effective, attract a wider global audience, generate increased exposure and save time – but Social Media enhances the power of Virtual Events by providing an effective channel to promote, create buzz and facilitate interaction for these online events.

Consider Twitter Hashtags. They are an extremely powerful medium to use for promoting and creating buzz around a Virtual Event, and the best way to explain them is to show them in action. Check out this excellent video by Krishna De:

Another way of pairing Social Media and Virtual Events is to make use of interactive chat alongside an online event. For example, Facebook tested a new feature during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration that allowed people to post status updates and comments beside live streaming video on CNN’s website. According to the Facebook Developers blog post “Posting the Stream in Real Time with the Live Stream Box,”

“It was a significant moment for Facebook Platform. We realized how powerful it was to see what your friends were saying, not just on Facebook, but right in context on CNN.com.”

Following that event, Facebook launched the Facebook Live Stream Box, a feature that website owners or developers can install on their website so Facebook users can share updates and content about a live event through Facebook Connect. With this tool, any updates posted will appear in the Live Stream Box, as well as on the Facebook user’s profile and friends’ News Feeds.

Additionally, Ustream, a website that supports live streaming presentations, includes a Social Stream that can be used to chat with people over Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and AIM while an online event is taking place. Ustream also allows you to incorporate the Live Stream Box within your Facebook Fan Page. According to the Ustream.tv website, this feature adds a new tab to the Fan Page, developed and customized by Ustream, with the live player residing both on Ustream.com and the Facebook Profile. Here, Facebook users can chat with the host and with each other through the Live Stream Box as well as through chat and Social Stream on the Ustream.com Show Page.

This combination of Social Media and Virtual Events contains untapped potential for businesses, Virtual Events Specialists and Social Media Specialists. Businesses are in desperate need of people with the skills necessary to set up events, promote them and facilitate interaction between attendees. Virtual Assistants can be the matchmakers that bring Virtual Events and Social Media together, creating a union that will most certainly generate more visibility for your clients’ businesses and take the Virtual Events niche to new heights!

Ignite Your Business Visibility with Facebook Connect.

Have you ever wished you lived in a shopping mall? It sounds funny, but it would make life a lot easier, especially if you lived in a huge mall like West Edmonton Mall or the Mall of America.

You could park the car, enter the building, and everything you needed would be laid out in front of you without ever having to leave home. Stores in that mall would probably get a lot more business than stores outside the mall because it would be easier to access them, and residents of the mall would recommend certain shops and services to each other by word of mouth.

Now imagine you had a place to live on the Internet and were able to visit different websites without having to give up the comfort of that home. The Facebook Connect feature was unveiled in 2008 to create easy, one-stop access to websites from your Facebook profile. It’s an API that enables people to use their Facebook identity and connections to authenticate themselves on any third-party site, community or blog. In essence, it makes your Facebook profile the “home base” and eliminates the need for new sign-ups on other websites.

In Powered, Inc.’s e-book “Marketing Predictions for 2010,” Aaron Strout, Chief Marketing Officer, predicts that Facebook Connect will play an increasingly important role in the ways brands connect with their customers and other constituents on Facebook in 2010.

It’s already showing an incredible ability to help businesses draw more Traffic, thereby increasing their Return on Influence and ultimately their Return on Investment.

Here are some examples:

Increased Traffic:

The Official Facebook Connect News Page reports that since implementing Facebook Connect, the CBS Insider has gained a significant increase in traffic on theinsider.com, with over 85% of new registered users using Facebook Connect.

Increased Return on Influence

According to Facebook’s latest statistics from Citysearch,”Since implementing Facebook Connect, daily registrations have tripled, and connected users are twice as engaged as users not using Facebook Connect. 94% of users who write reviews share those reviews back on Facebook, where 70% of their friends who see the review click on it, and travel back to Citysearch.com.”
This points to the viral nature of Facebook Connect, the ability of users to bring content, activity and conversations from third-party sites back into their Facebook newsfeed, thereby creating more social engagement.

Increased Return on Investment

Lauren Miller in her article “5 Services Using Facebook Connect Effectively” reports that although the Tap Tap Revenge 3 App on the iPhone may be one of the simplest implementations of Facebook Connect on the iPhone, it’s become one of the biggest selling apps of all time on the app store.  It works great because it gives you rewards when you tell your friends about the game and posts updates on your friends’ newsfeeds about your activity and scores.

All this being said, Facebook Connect has great potential to open up a very profitable niche for you and your clients’ businesses. This is good news for our VAClassroom graduates who are already providing Facebook services for their clients or are planning to add that service in the near future.

As Ken Burbury says in his article “Five Reasons Companies should be Integrating Social Media with Facebook Connect,” “At the end of the day, companies need to fish where the fish are. And right now the fish are spending their time on Facebook.com.”

What are your thoughts on Facebook Connect? We’d love to hear your comments!

Facebook Fan Pages Go To the Movies!

The lights go down, the curtains part, and now it’s time to see the “Coming Attractions” at your favorite movie theater. Until recently, the best place to find the latest movie trailers was at the theater itself or on TV if you happened to be watching during the right commercial break.

Then along came movie websites. These were great because if you missed seeing the movie trailer elsewhere, you could find it on a dedicated web page and watch it at your leisure. For awhile, these static sites were the most common way to promote films online and were popular because of their cool graphics and Flash effects.

Not anymore! There is a new trend with movie companies using Facebook Fan Pages instead of static websites to promote their new movies. One example is the Facebook Fan Page for the romantic comedy When in Rome just released in January. This is a highly interactive Fan Page where fans can view the movie trailer, participate in a Fan Board and Discussion Board, and respond to Wall Posts offering contests and surveys – a far cry from passively watching the movie previews flash by on the theater screen. The static website for When in Rome even provides links to its Social Media sites, encouraging visitors to join the conversation.

The power of this Social Media Marketing trend is not an illusion. In her blog post “Four Reasons You Should Setup a Facebook Fan Page” , Tomeeka Farrington relates how the small-budget movie Paranormal Activity became highly successful as a result of its Facebook Fan Page, where fans were able to purchase tickets, compare their reactions with each other and recommend the movie to their own social networks. According to Farrington, “following 2-weeks of nationwide midnight only sellouts and fan frenzy over the limited release hit thriller, Paranormal Activity earned Paramount $7.1 million in its opening weekend, showing in just 200 theaters.”

Radio stations are also beginning to recognize the powerful exposure they receive through Social Networking.  The Message, a Sirius XM radio station, has created a Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/hearthemessage) where fans can post comments on the Wall, see photos, participate in discussions and be notified of upcoming events hosted by the radio station itself.

This trend towards this type of Social Media promotion has created a fast-growing client base for those with Fan Page skills. In fact, many VAClassroom students who have taken our Facebook Fan Pages Program have seen rapid opportunities open up for their businesses after adding this new service to their businesses. It seems there is no end to the type of clients that will need Facebook Fanpage implementation services in 2010: hotels, local businesses, celebrities, non-profits, big events… the list goes on!

So the next time you want to see the Coming Attractions, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home. Just log on to Facebook and pull up your desk chair… but you’ll have to make your own popcorn.

15 Internet Marketing Predictions for 2010 of a Different Kind.

At this time of year, I find myself reading more blog posts than anytime of the year. I must confess, I am a bit of a “Predictions” junkie and love to read the experts posts as they weigh in on the forecasts and potential trends for the New Year. I recently put on a Internet Marketing predictions event for our members at VAClassroom, but with a bit of a different spin. I unpacked the top predictions for this year, but from a “Virtual Assistant’s or Service Provider’s view point. There is one thing to passively watch the trends and another thing to proactively anticipate how you can tap into new and profitable niches over the next year.

The below presentation reviews 15 predictions and 15 potential opportunities for your Virtual Assistance business. Enjoy!

NearbyTweets.com – Connecting with the Right Local Audience

Check out this scenario….

Sally owns a Wedding shop in Everett, Washington. In the current economy, she had been forced to reduce her marketing budget and needs to think more creatively about how to build her customer base…

Her brother is a Internet Geek and tells her that the best low cost/no cost marketing channel on the planet resides in Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. After much research, she decides to set-up a Twitter account even though she thinks the tool is trivial and ridiculous. She struggles with making any sense of Twitter for her local business for about a month.

Then, her Internet Geek brother tells her about this Twitter tool called, NearbyTweets.com. This tools is supposed to link you up with local twitterers and you can actually follow particular keywords in their tweets.

So, for the next week, she tracks words related to Weddings such as “Bride”, “Wedding Dress”, “Engaged” etc…

Much to her surprise, she starts to connect with people in her area that are planning their upcoming wedding and some that are still trying to find the right dress. BINGO!

Sally starts to connect with these individuals on Twitter and to make a long story short, two of the “brides to be” visit her shop and purchase dresses and accessories totalling $2600 US.

So, what was her advertising cost for this $2600 US – NOTHING!!. Just some time connecting with a highly targeted, local audience thanks to her geeky brother and NearbyTweets.com.

So, this gives you a practical snapshot of the potential for your local clients to strategically use twitter to creatively connect with their target audience – cool stuff!

I would highly recommend incorporating NearbyTweets.com into your regular Twitter regime!

ANNOUNCING…THE GREAT FACEBOOK FAN PAGE MAKEOVER CONTEST!

As you may already know, the official launch of our “Fantastic Facebook Fan Pages” course is officially underway. There has been an overwhelming response to this program, and we’re excited about the next two weeks of learning that are about to begin. As an opportunity to apply some of the skills learned in the course, we will be running a contest – “The Great Facebook Fan Page Makeover Contest,” open to all “fans” of our VAClassroom Facebook Fan Page.

If you would like some practice applying the content learned in VAClassroom’s live Fan Page Course PLUS an opportunity to win a full makeover of your own Fan Page, here’s your chance! All you need to do is submit either a video or audio clip explaining “why a Fantastic Facebook Fan Page would impact your business.” The winner will receive a full makeover of his or her Fan Page, including custom landing page, page formatting, applications and some tips on how to better engage his or her audience. The winner will also receive either a free one-year VAClassroom membership or a one-year credit towards his or her current membership.

Deadline for submission is November 7^th, 2009.

Please post your entry on our VAClassroom Facebook Fan Page wall.
(You must first add yourself as a fan.)

http://www.facebook.com/VAClassroom

For more information, check out our Contest Kickoff video:

Best of luck in the contest!

View our current submissions Fan Page Video Submissions