As popular as blogging has become, I often hear from home-based business owners who are trying to figure out exactly what a blog consists of and how they can use one to benefit their business. Below are three tips that can help maximize the impact of your business blog.

1. It’s All In The Name

Be sure to choose a name for your blog that is both descriptive and easy to remember. Try to stick to either your business name or the name of your star product/service. If none of these are available consider using your name or business tagline.  Also, consider possibly adding in your keywords … such as Publicity Virtual Assistant.

2. Use Keywords Effectively

When you write posts for your business blog be conscious of the words that you choose. Pepper your posts with keywords relating to your business, products, services and brand. These keywords will trigger Search Engine results and help you reach the top of the results for your keywords. Be careful not to overuse keywords, though, because readers will get frustrated  and the Search Engines consider that against the rules.

Also, consider keyword phrases – often called long tail keyword phrases (why, I’m not sure!).  Long tail keywords are simply a sting of words that make up a phrase that represent your keywords. Think, what would people type in Google to find me.  Examples, “how to start a business.”  Think … how can I define my blog more (or this particular post). I wrote this blog post on … (fill in the blank), now what keywords do I need to put in so others can find me? 

Work-at-home moms face many different challenges. From learning to accept help when needed, to building confidence in ourselves, to remembering the reasons why we chose to work from home. Below is the first in a series of tips to help work-at-home moms in the simplest of ways – the ABC’s.

A = Adjustments. A work at home mom must expect the unexpected. She must be prepared to adjust her schedule at any given moment for any number of reasons – a sick child, a backed up drain, or an upset client. A mom who learns to welcome these moments as a chance to show love to her family and concern for her clients will be ahead of the game in the end. Approach these “interruptions” with a great attitude and see what a difference it makes.

B = Better. Works at Home Moms have to be on top of their game. To run a business as well as manage a household takes determination and scheduling. You may not feel like you have a schedule, but take a look at your day/week and see how you are spending your time. Next, think about what you can do better, what you can delegate and what would be better off removed from your schedule to allow you to spend your time in a better manner.

C = Confidence. You wouldn’t be a work at home mom without it. Take time to celebrate each success no matter how minute it may seem. Each success will help grow your confidence and turn you into a savvier businesswoman.

D = Dry – Don’t let things dry up. Keep content fresh, offer new products and services whenever possible. This will keep you motivated and keep customer returning.

E = Effort – Don’t kid yourself. It takes a TON of effort to make a home-based business successful. Don’t give up with thing get rough. Keep plugging away – it will pay off

F = Feisty – Every work at home mom has to be at least a tad bit feisty. Stand up for your business when need be – don’t be afraid to say no when necessary.

G = Generosity – When I fist began my business I sought advice from many successful work-at-home moms. One of the best pieces of advice I received was that what I gave to others would come back tenfold. I’ve found that to be very true. Helping others is as much a blessing to me as it is to others.

H = Help – There will come a time that you’ll need help. You must be willing to accept it, to allow others to do for you what you cannot. In turn, try to be a help to other when they are in need.

I = If – If you don’t do it, who will? Mothering is such an important role that gets overlooked so often these days. Always remember that being there for your children is the BEST gift you can ever give them.

J = “Just for you” – Take a little time to do something just for you each day. Even 5 minutes of doing something you enjoy can revive a tired mommy.

K = Keep – Keep your chin up. It will get better. Don’t let a lag in business growth get you down. Find some creative ways to get the ball rolling again.

L = Laugh – Take time to laugh with you kids each day. And don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself when need be.

M = Mommy – Remember, the reason you do all that you do is for those little ones who call you “Mommy.”

N = No – Work at Home Moms need to be able to say “No” when the situation calls for it. Don’t be afraid to stand up for your business or to choose NOT to work with a customer who is more trouble than it’s worth.

O = Office – As Work at Home Moms, we usually put ourselves last on the list. However, when we’re in business it’s important to have some room (even a corner) that is set aside strictly for business.

P = Priorities – It’s hard to keep your priorities straight when raising a family and building a business. Take some time each week/month to sit down and evaluate your priorities and cut out things in your schedule that don’t fit in.

Q = Quiet Time – It may seem impossible to find a time to sit, relax and be quiet when you have so many demands on your time. However, it’s more important than ever that you take a little time for yourself to rejuvenate and renew when you grow weary.

R = Respect – Like the golden rule says, it’s important to treat others as we’d like to be treated. This is so true for work at home moms – we must show the utmost in professionalism and treat even the most difficult clients with respect.

S = Significant Other – As work at home moms it’s easy to get wrapped up with our business, our kids, ourselves. Don’t forget to take the time to appreciate your husbands!

T = Time – As work-home-moms time is the ultimate enemy. Learn to prioritize and delegate whenever possible. Take time out for your kids each day – you’ll be glad you did!

U = Unique – Your business needs to be unique to stand out from the crowd. Even if your product isn’t unique you can always find a unique way to approach marketing, customer service, etc. Get creative and stand out from the rest!

V = Vision – It’s so important to have a clear vision of where you want your business to go. Sit down and make a list of where you’d like to be in 5 years, in 10 years, etc. Without goals you won’t get anywhere.

W = Wisdom – It’s important to seek wisdom when running your own business. You won’t always know the answer, so you need to find others that you trust that you can turn to when these things arise.

X = eXcitement – Celebrate each success! Keep yourself motivated and excited about your business. Try to share your business with someone new each day. Just telling someone about what you do can bring back that “spark” of excitement about your career!

Y = Yes – Yes! You CAN do it! Each of us started with a dream, a vision and the faith that we could make it happen. It takes hard work, determination and a “Yes!” attitude, but it CAN be done!

Z = Zoo – Yes, life as a work at home mom really is a zoo, but it’s worth it! Being at home to see your child’s first step, hear their first word – it just doesn’t get better than that.

Working from home can be difficult, but it is well worth the effort. By keeping things in perspective we can reduce the stress that we put on ourselves. Remember these ABC’s and you’ll go far in your work-at-home career.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. Hart is also the co-author of the upcoming book, Home Based Blessings, due out in November 2006 for Christian moms who want to work at home. Hart and her husband, Allen of CWAHD.com (Christian Work at Home Dads) reside in Nebraska with their two children.

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When someone asks you about what you do, do you have a ready answer? Or do you stumble and stammer trying to explain your business?

I was recently at a writer’s conference where one of the main focuses was learning to create a successful book pitch. My instructor emphasized what a good pitch can do for a writer. She explained that when an editor asks an author about their writing project, they have one shot at sharing their pitch and getting the editor excited about their project. A great pitch makes a great first impression and can translate into a book contract. On the other hand, a pitch that is not well thought out can cost an author the chance of selling that project.

A good book pitch is a summary of the author’s idea, but more than that it’s a summary with a sizzle. At the conference, I learned that many authors spend hours crafting and memorizing their pitch. Then, when asked about their project, they are able to give a quick, concise synopsis that not only explains their idea, but makes the editor want to learn more.

I believe that the concept of creating a pitch can also apply to the home-based business world. As entrepreneurs, we can put together a summary of our business that will not only explain what we do, but grab the attention of whomever we’re speaking with.

A good business pitch summarizes the business concept in one to two short paragraphs, usually a total of 50 words or less. To begin, write out a list of the five most compelling aspects of your business. Try to think about your business as if you were on the outside looking in. What would interest you? What would make you want to learn more?

Try to answer these questions:

- Who is my target market?
- What are my top selling products/services?
- What about my company makes it stand out? If I were looking at starting a business, what would interest me about this company?
- Why did I choose this company?

Put your answers into sentences and you have the beginning of your business pitch. Try to keep your sentences short and use simple words. You want anyone who asks to be able to understand your answer, not get lost in your words. Take special care to describe what you like about your business. These same things will generally appeal to others as well.

While you want to keep your pitch simple, you also want it to give a picture of your business. Let’s say, for example, that you run health and wellness business. You wouldn’t want to use the statement, “I run a health and wellness business,” as a reply about what it is that you do. You want to add in a short description and catch the listener’s attention. For instance, you might say, “I operate my own business. We offer products such as chemical-free shampoo and natural snack foods to help others lead healthy lives.”

When I began my website, I was often caught off-guard when someone asked me about it. I would fumble for words and struggle to express exactly what it is that I do all day. I usually walked away from conversations like this feeling frustrated, and I’m sure the person I was speaking with was more confused than they were originally.

After learning the art of pitching, I can now give a short and snappy reply. “I run a Christian-based website for work-at-home moms,” I’ll say. “I offer resources to help them in their search and am able to make an income by offering advertising.” This usually leads to more questions about my website, which is exactly what I hope for. It gives me an opportunity to talk further about my business to those who are interested.

The next time someone asks you about your home-based business, remember to share your pitch with them. Take the time to hone your pitch to be as short, yet descriptive as possible. Over time, you’ll find yourself refining your words and your answers will become well-crafted summaries that pique the interest of anyone who asks. Word of mouth is one of the easiest ways to build your business and your pitch is a great way to get others talking.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. Jill is a contributing author in The Business Mom Guide Book and I’ll Be Home For Christmas and co-author of the upcoming book, Home Based Blessings. Jill has articles published across the web on sites like DrLaura.com and ClubMom.com. Jill and her husband, Allen of CWAHD.com reside in Nebraska with their two children.

Starting down a new career path can be both exciting and terrifying. There are a lot of tools on the market that can help you determine what type of career field you should enter. But what if your chosen “career path” is being an entrepreneur and running a home-based business? Do the rules change? Below are five questions to ask yourself to help you determine what type of business might be right for you.

1. What is your passion?

Answer this question with the first thing that comes to mind: If money were no object and you could do anything, what would you do? You might have answered “be a writer”, “speak at conferences”, “bring my product idea to life” or any number of things. Whatever your answer, this most likely is your passion. I challenge you to take the time to ponder this and see if there is a way to bring your dream to fruition.

2. What types of things did you like to do as a child?

Many times the toys and games we loved as children give us a glimpse into who we have become as adults. If you loved climbing trees, you may now be an “outdoorsy” type of person. Think about how this might be incorporated into your business. For instance, you might enjoy setting up outdoor birthday parties for children or selling herbs from your backyard garden.

3. What type of products would you be interested in representing?

If you’re looking in the direction of direct sales, whether that be your own product or an established home-based business option, you need to think through what types of products you’d be comfortable presenting to your customers. Take the time to do some research and find a product that truly excites you. Your customers will see your sincerity and that can sell a product just as easily as a fancy presentation.

4. What skills and experience do you bring to the table?

If you’ve left the corporate world in favor of working at home, you’ve undoubtedly brought with you a set of skills. There may be a way to market those skills in a new way and turn them into a profitable business. For instance, if you were an executive assistant you may be able to type 80 words or more per minute. You could set up shop as a Virtual Assistant and help other business owners in processing orders, transcribing documents and much more.

5. Are you thinking outside of the box?

Most of us have a fear of the unknown. We many times assume that if we haven’t done something before, it is simply out of reach. This carries over to the business world as well. We take our products or services and market them in the same way that we see other business owners using. However, it can be much more effective to find new and innovative ways to market. One home-based business owner I know sells stuffable toy kits. Instead of using the usual home parties and birthday party events, she works almost exclusively with children’s hospitals doing fundraisers. She makes a great living and helps not only the hospitals, but the children as well. She is a great example of unique marketing and overcoming the mundane marketing methods that so many business owners resign themselves to.

Your home-based business should be unique to you. It should make you want to get up each morning excited about the possibilities of the day ahead. Take the time to thoroughly think through the questions above and you’ll be on your way to making a great, well thought out decision that has your name written all over it!

About the Author:
Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. Jill is a co-author of the upcoming book So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom (Beacon Hill, Sept. 2009). Jill welcomes work-at-home questions at http://AskJill.cwahm.com.

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My children are four and two years old and they are more challenging than most (not as in spoiled, but as in needing more time than the average kid). Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

My main advice would be to cut yourself some slack. Things will get easier and more manageable as your kids get older.

My practical advice is this:

1. Plan out menus each week.

I literally spend about two minutes on this. I have a small magnetic dry-erase board that I keep on my refrigerator. Each Sunday, I write out the days of the week and what we’ll have for supper that day. (Lunches almost always consist of sandwiches or something easy like that since it’s just me and the kids.)

This makes grocery shopping a breeze because I know just what ingredients I need. It also alleviates the nagging thoughts of “what are we going to eat tonight?” If possible, have one or both of your kids help you decide what to put. You’ll be surprised at how much they like having a say in what goes on that board!

2. Set a day for everything.

My days look something like this:

• Mondays – Housework and laundry (and business tasks as time allows)
• Tuesdays – Grocery shopping and business tasks (this used to be during naptime, but is now during preschool time)
• Wednesdays – Bible study and lunch with hubby (and business tasks as time allows)
• Thursdays – Business tasks as much as possible with playtime in between
• Friday – Take it Easy Day (and business tasks as time allows)
• Saturdays – Laundry
• Sunday – Church and a good, long nap

It seems a little boring on paper, but I can’t tell you how much this little schedule has saved my sanity. I know when I get up in the morning what I have ahead of me and it is broken into manageable segments. You’ll find that scheduling things amongst these “main” schedule items will get easier and easier as you get used to the schedule.

About the Author: Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. Jill is a co-author of the upcoming book So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom (Beacon Hill, Sept. 2009). Jill welcomes work-at-home questions at http://AskJill.cwahm.com.

Staying motivated can be a difficult task in starting and running your home-based business.  There are times that things happen and your self-confidence plummets.  You find yourself doubting your decision to start a business in the first place.

Here’s are some steps to keep your power:

First, don’t sit ideally by waiting for the phone to ring.  Keep busy creating new marketing ideas.  Plan B should already in full force and effect.

Be creative.  Energize yourself with the creation of a dynamite brochure.  Design a new mailing piece that conveys exactly the benefits you can offer your clients.  Re-read that marketing letter you just sent and fine-tune it.  Look over your website.  How can you approve upon it to better convey the benefits of your business?

Search for new places that you can promote your business.  Spending time online doing research is important for establishing your business.  Make new connections with other entrepreneurs and organizations.  Find places to exchange links and add your articles.  Don’t be shy.  You should be very confident in your abilities and eager to share that with others.

Read, read, read.  Learn anything and everything you can on starting a business.  Let others show you how they’ve done it.  Take full advantage of the Internet as well.  Find chats and message boards and talk with others.  Find out how they have achieved success.

Start fresh daily with a renewed determination that you are going to make this work.  Visualize yourself addressing that new client with your new leather briefcase in hand, portfolio neatly prepared, and the confidence that you can make a difference in their business. They need you and you’re going to show them exactly just how much.

Finally, you need to believe in yourself under all circumstances.  Write down why you know this business is going to work.  Write down again how you plan to make it happen.

With the right attitude, appropriate skills, extensive research, and sheer determination, you can and will succeed.  That phone will ring — and ring — and ring.  And with each ring, you’ll be grateful that you believed in yourself enough to make it happen.

**

Diana Ennen, Author; Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, and Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack (www.corel.com).  She’s the president of Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com, offering publicity and book marketing.  Article is free to be reprinted as long as author’s bio remains intact.  Stop by our site for free information on starting a business and a free sample section of VA the Series.

Virtual Assisting has become one of the most exciting and rewarding home-based businesses.  What a privilege it is to be a part of such an evolutionary industry that continually grows and offers new opportunities and rewards for those coming into the business and those veteran pros as well.  Marketing your Virtual Assistant business can be a rewarding adventure, providing you with permanent clientele and additional profits.

Here are some marketing ideas to help grow your virtual assistant business:

Tip #1 – Fill a need. Be aware of what your clients need even before they tell you.  What can you do that will make their business better? What skills do you possess that sets you apart that would meet the needs of your potential clients?

Tip #2 — Find a mentor or a coach. Find someone who already has gone before you and knows what works and what doesn’t.  Why make the same mistakes, when you can avoid them and learn the best ways to do things.

Tip #3 – Market to Your Existing Clients:  Your existing clients already know the caliber of work that you do so let them market for you.  Always do your absolute best for them and they will keep you around for a long time and they will tell others.

Continually tell them of new services or features.  Send out a newsletter or even a tip of the week to keep your name in front of them.  And when was the last time you called or emailed them ”Hey, how are you doing?  How’s business going?”  A personal, “What’s been happening” call can or email can make a very favorable impression.

Tip #4  - List Tips on Your Website: One of the ways to prove your expertise is to list on your website the things you know.  This shows your clients and potential clients that you know what you are talking about.

Tip #5 – Get involved on Social Networks:  Getting active on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others not only helps you connect with others, but puts you front and center to potential clients.  Provide useful information and post regularly.

Tip #6 — Add a P.S. to your Signature Line: We all know how important that signature line is for your business success. Here’s a simple way to make it even more profitable–Add a P.S. to your e-mail messages. You can offer your clients additional discounts or let them know about a new service.  Did you just get a new VA certificate?  Tell them! This can be a perfect opportunity to perhaps toot your horn a little.

Market your way to success in your business!  And lastly, enjoy your marketing.  When clients see that you enjoy what you’re doing, they want to do business with you.

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Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are the co-authors of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and accompanying Virtual Assistant the Series Workbook, and Virtual Assistant – The Series: Working Virtually, A Guide to Working Remotely as an Employee.  For complete information on starting your own VA business, stop by  http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com.  Article is free to be reprinted as long as the author’s bio remains intact.

We all realize how Virtual Assistants have revolutionized the way we work today.  Most businesses now count on their Virtual Assistant the same as they used to count on their secretaries, only so much more.  VAs are a prized and respected part of their client’s team, and unlike secretaries, who often were taken for granted, Virtual Assistants are praised for their professionalism and skills.  Most businesses today can’t imagine where they would be without their VA.  And as the potential for success in a virtual assistant business continues to explode, so does the need for good Virtual Assistants.

Today’s Virtual Assistants need to take pride in their business and also to learn as much as they can about their niche, which is the specialty they have chosen to specialize in. One niche that I highly recommend is to offer publicity and marketing services to clients.  This is an area that is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more authors, businesses, and other professionals realize the need to market their business to get good publicity.  A business can expand tremendously when hiring a Virtual Assistant to help them spread the word about their products or services.  Also, authors today aren’t aware that once they write a book, that’s when the real work begins.  They need to get the word out about their book in order for it to be successful.  That’s where a good Publicity Virtual Assistant comes in.

Publicity and marketing is thrilling to say the least.  There’s such a great rush when your client gets recognized in national magazines, or a TV station wants to do a segment on them and you helped them achieve this success.  Or better yet, when your efforts start resulting in substantial increased sales for them.  Clients will not only keep using your services, but also tell others about this new positive addition they have to their business. And best yet, you too get to feel that satisfaction as you are helping them achieve their goals.

One of my most successful tips is learning how to effectively use any publicity that a client receives.   When clients get national attention in a magazine, newspaper, or TV Segment, or even on a popular website, it’s important to make sure that everyone is aware of this. A press release should immediately go out to announce their accomplishment.  This release should be added to their website and also should go to all their local papers, radio stations, and TV networks.  Media loves to highlight a success story of their locals, so make sure you get this out there as soon as you can.  And you don’t have to wait for the publicity to happen.  If your client lands a major TV segment, you can start sending this press out beforehand in order to get more media for when the event happens. You just want to make sure that the client is fairly confident the segment will air.  Also, don’t worry if the segment gets bumped back, that often happens as breaking news takes priority.  This can almost be a blessing, as then you get to do more publicity before the airdate.

It’s also important to follow-up with the reporters and let them know how much you appreciate the acceptance of your quotes for an article.  When you go the extra step to show them your appreciation, they remember you when the next article comes up and they need help with more expert advice.  Many reporters work for multiple magazines so one good ally can lead to lots of media exposure.  Always keep your PR hat on.  Learn to take any situation and turn it into good press for your clients and your business as well. Stay on top of current events and see if you have anything to offer. Whenever a story hits the press that any of my clients would have a connection to, I’ll send it right away.  Having press releases already prepared for clients on their business is always a great help.  How do you know about these events?  Sign up for Google Alerts under the topics of interest and then whenever a story is written,  you can follow-up with your press release or article to the reporter.  It works!   I also use ProfNet from PRNewswire, which allows me to get daily leads from major news outlets.  You can also consider PRLeads.

It’s also important to learn how to write a good press release and article and also where to send those.  Make sure that your press releases and articles are newsworthy and also something that interests the readers.  When I write a release, I always think would I read this release?  Would it interest me?  If not, I doubt your target audience would be reading it either.  Plus, be careful to sound too promotional.  You can easily get your message across without sounding like an ad.

Publicity is a great niche for Virtual Assistants.  To learn more stop by my site at www.virtualwordpublishing.com or contact me for a free 10 minute call on PR tips or my free PR Informational Package.

**

Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are the co-authors of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and accompanying Virtual Assistant the Series Workbook, and Virtual Assistant – The Series: Working Virtually, A Guide to Working Remotely as an Employee. For complete information on starting your own VA business stop by http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.vatheseries.com.  Article is free to be reprinted as long as the author’s bio remains intact.

Want to have the best relationships with your clients? As your grow your virtual assistant business, it’s important to build solid business relationships with your clients.  Then these clients will not only keep coming back, but also refer others to you.

Here are ten fun tips to help you establish a great working relationship:

#1 – Come Again? It’s critical to establish right from the beginning how you will handle the communications with your clients. If e-mailing, what is the standard turnaround time that you respond back to emails.  If phoning, what are your hours?  Once a client knows when they will hear from you, then they can plan their day and work accordingly.

#2 – No Surprises – Nothing is worse for a client than to discover four hours before you leave that you are heading out on a week-long vacation.  That’s stretching it a bit and you probably wouldn’t do that, but think about other ways you might be surprising your client and not giving them the advance notice they need.   Keep in mind that they are probably under pressure too to get their work done.  Always give as much advance notice as you can when things will disrupt the business flow.

#3 – Where’d She Go? For building good client relationships, try not to disappear off the radar screen.  Check in with your clients often.  When a client writes and they don’t hear back from you for days (or weeks), they fear the worst.  Even if you are working on a large project and the deadline is weeks away, e-mail them and let them know “All is going well.”  That builds confidence and security.

#4 – OOPS, Where Did That Come From? We’ve all been there.  You get the email from the client saying they found a typo or typos.  Ouch.  We can’t be perfect, but try and be as close as you can.  Proof and reproof your work.  Also, if possible wait until the material is fresh and reread it again.  Determine the time when you are at your best, and use that time to do your proofing.

#5 – Super Size It Please - Always give your clients more than they ask for.  You will be rewarded with not only more work, but lots of word of mouth referrals too.  And there are so many ways to do it.  For example, 1) Set up an Autoresponder for them so they can sell more products; 2) Set up Google Alerts under their topic or target audience so you can find websites or blogs that will help them spread their message; 3) Help them produce a newsletter or blog; 4) Send them more clients or referrals; 5) Ask them directly what you can do to better the relationship; and 6) Most importantly, listen to what they say. It’s so easy to get busy and listen with half an ear, or try and talk too much about your business.  Being a good listener is a valuable asset.

#6 – Short and Sweet – Make sure that all e-mail correspondence is typed accurately and is short and to the point.   With everyone having busy schedules, this helps your clients save valuable time. One thing you’ll discover is if you write too long of an e-mail often your main points will be missed.  This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t strive to get the answers you need, but keep in mind that their time is valuable and to use it wisely.

#7 – You Need it WHEN? – Determine exactly when work is to be completed or when the order is to go out.  This will save a tremendous amount of problems down the road if everyone is in agreement.  It’s also good to have a written contract. Be specific.  Once everyone knows what is expected, things run so much more smoothly.

#8 – My Dog Ate It – One thing you want to do is always try and make your deadlines and avoid excuses.  We all know that things come up and that’s okay if it happens occasionally.  However, if you make it a habit of needing additional time or not finishing projects, that client will fear sending you more work.  Not a good thing.

#9 – Saved by the Bell – Make it a point to back-up your work on a regular basis.  And test those backups.  Can you imagine even losing a week’s worth of work?  Your clients are counting on you to protect their work so you want to make sure it is.

#10 – Howdy Partner – Remember that you are establishing a partnership relationship with your clients.  You want to help their business grow because as you do, your business grows too.  Let them know you value them as a client and are glad that they have entrusted you with their work.  In other words, you appreciate them.  Also, let them know that you appreciate referrals so that they can help in your success.  It can be a two-way street with this partnership.

And finally, enjoy.  Start a friendship with your clients and let them know that you care about them.  Most of my clients today are good friends.  This isn’t to say that I’m not professional and don’t conduct myself professionally, as I do. However, I let them know that I’m also interested in them personally and how they are doing.  I take time to know their birthdays, their kid’s names, etc.  Think how you feel when something lets you know they care about you.

Hope you enjoyed these ‘fun” tips.  As our Industry continues to thrive, it’s important to earn the respect and trust of our clients and also fellow Virtual Assistants.  When you set up your business with the goal of doing a fabulous job, you’ll end up with fabulous clients, and fabulous friends.  It’s a win/win for all.

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Diana Ennen is the President of Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com and the author of numerous books on starting a virtual assistant business including Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook and also Corel WordPerfect’s Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution pack.  E-mail her at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com to receive your free Business Informational Package.  Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains intact.

It’s pretty obvious that the marketing of today has changed.  You have newspapers going virtual/web only, Twitter and Facebook replacing postcards and phone calls, and potential clients now being the main target of your press releases as opposed to editors.  It’s all changing and to do PR today, you need to change with it.  The good news is that it’s never been easier. The bad news, you need to learn a new way to do things. Fortunately, there are tips that can make it easier and I’m here to show you a few.

First, no one can deny the power of social networking.  And those that do are just plain wrong. I’ve been in business since 1985 and I liken this to way back when emails became a way of life.  Many still contended they wanted to do it the old fashioned way and nothing would beat a letter. (I know it’s hard to even imagine this today.) It wasn’t long until they realized their error, but by then their competition was way ahead of them. Don’t make the same mistake now.  You absolutely need to get with it and get on board. I can practically guarantee you within weeks you’ll be hooked and wondering why you ever hesitated. It’s so easy, and the potential so great, you need to start today.

Let’s break it down.  Twitter first.  Forget all the “I don’t care what they ate for lunch excuses,” that’s where your competition and peers are and you do need to be there too. Sure you do have a few tweeters who will update you on the latest hot dog they ate, but that’s rare.  What you do have is more and more businesses networking and connecting with each other in ways never thought possible.  It’s also more than just networking back and forth, you can have chats, host events, get more publicity for your articles and press releases & even announce your seminars and radio shows.  And that’s not even the half of it.  There are entire books written on this, so my first recommendation is to get them.  Why struggle and find your way around when you can easily read the tips from those who know exactly what you need to succeed.

Also, while you are getting your feet wet, don’t jump in and start posting and selling and ranting and raving.  Take it slow.  Sign up, take a sit, remain quiet for a short time and read what others are posting.  Follow the leaders in your industry and take advantage of their knowledge.  It can almost feel like walking around with them all day and looking over their shoulders for their secrets.  What’s cool is they give their tips freely, why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that? As an example, if someone were looking for information on starting a virtual assistant business or getting publicity for their business, they could follow me at Twitter.com/dianaennen

Now the key many forget is that not only do you need to follow them, you need to listen earnestly to what they are saying.  Go to the sites they recommend.  Actually do the things they suggest.  And most importantly, if you have the opportunity to contribute and honestly have something of importance to say, do!  Even if they aren’t following you, once you list their twitter name @name, it will go to them.  Best yet, you might get a retreat or even better a RT and follow back.  As many say, those are the ultimate compliments.

Now it’s important to learn the social media  lingo – Hashtags, Retweets, Fans, Follow Friday, this is just a few of the many names you need to know to do business better.  It can be overwhelming.  No, in fact it is overwhelming.  However, if you keep it simple and take it a step at a time, you can do it.  When you see a term you don’t know, look it up right then.  Write down your interpretation and do the investigating to find out more about it.  Here are just a few to help you on your journey.

What’s a retweet?   That’s when you find somone’s information useful and you want to pass it onto your followers.  So basically RT (retweet) is good content that you pass on.  Many RT just to RT.  Don’t be one of them.  You know your followers and what they want and need, that’s what you should be RT’ing.  We highly recommend signing up for TweetDeck for ease in doing this.  A click of a button and you are there.

Next you need to know about Follow Friday.  This is definitely one of my favorites. Think of Follow Friday as your day networking at a business get-together, only better. You get to stay in the comfort of your own home, and you get to immediately make the connections, not when you get home with a handful of business cards.  Try and plan your week so you can participate.  Remember this can be even more effective than a Chamber meeting or an expensive business seminar.  So plan a lighter load on Friday whenever possible.  You want people to mention you so mention them.  Also, don’t just list 20 screens of twitter names that you want people to follow.  Tell your followers why they should follow them.  What do they offer that your followers would be interested in?  Remember to put #followfriday in your posting.  (By the way, see that # in followfriday.  That’s what is called a hashtag.  Cool huh!)  And finally, you want people to retweet your followfriday postings, so keep your count to 120 instead of 140 so they can easily do this.  In fact, do this for all tips or postings you wanted retweeted.

Finally, try and post on Friday mornings.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ll often go down my postings to find those I want to list.  I know I want to list them before hand so it’s not that I’m just going down my friends column, but often times I don’t have their information readily available.  By posting on Friday you are giving it to them.

Finally, sign up for Trilalerts for your keywords.  Start following those of interest.  For example, I’m a virtual assistant, so I’ve signed up for virtual assistant updates.  Now I can follow other virtual assistants easily.  I do the same for Publicity, etc. Who do you want to connect with?  That’s who you sign up for. Follow the media.  Sign up for Facebook and Twitter for the newspapers and TV stations in your area.  Look for business reporters who tweak and follow them.  Learn their style and what they are looking for in their articles.

Also, follow some of the owners of the many article and press release directories who tweet.  Some of the best are on there and giving away secrets to success left and right.

Facebook is pretty self explanatory.  The key here is to spend some time to expand your network.  Fortunately you get notices when someone responds to your posts, so try and go and follow-up as soon as you can.  However, be careful that you don’t get sidetracked doing this too often. Build relationships.  You can have thousands of friends and fans, but can you honestly connect to all of them.  I know I sure can’t. Twitter also now allows your tweets to be sent to your Facebook page too.  This is definitely a plus.  Just make sure that you don’t do this to all of your postings, only the ones you feel would interest your friends on Facebook.

Article Submissions, Press Release Submissions -  I also say you need to send out articles and press releases religiously.  Many question how some succeed with this and others don’t.  What’s the difference? The main thing is that they know what to do. They realize the difference that page ranking can make and don’t waste their time on sites that don’t get results.  They sign up for Google Alerts under their keywords and then check out the sites that frequently get spidered.  Then they send to those places and add those sites to their database.  We do have a fabulous  PR informational package that is free to anyone who emails us.

Marketing a business and social networking doesn’t have to be expensive if you just remember to network and use all the tools available to you.  In fact, it can be fun as you get to meet new people and develop new ways to sell you and your business.  Also, keep in mind if you don’t want to do it yourself, there are excellent qualified pros and virtual assistants available to assist.  You don’t need to do it all.  You just need to do it!

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Diana Ennen, specializes in publicity and marketing and is the President of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com.  Ready to jumpstart your PR campaign, then email her at Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.  Free PR Informational Package available. Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/dianaennen . Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.