Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Holidays are Coming, is Your Business Ready? How to Know If You're Inefficient Or Not


How will you get everything done, increase your efficiency and streamline productivity?

It seems like everywhere we look we are seeing a drive for efficiency. Waste is to be avoided and expenses have to be cut if the small business is going to survive, let alone prosper. Today it's more important then ever to get maximum value out of the money spent on resources, whether it is the direct costs of running a business or the substantial costs associated with employing personnel. There's no room for uncertainty when it comes to handling these costs and every reason for the small-business owner to put in place systems to analyze where and why the money is being spent.

There are so many different reasons for employing a virtual assistant.  Each one of these reasons has in one way or another a lot to do with efficiency, so it is somewhat ironic when one of the reasons put forward by a typical small-business owner – faced with the question about hiring a virtual assistant – is one related to efficiency.

"I simply don't know how many hours work it should take to complete, so how can I employ a virtual assistant on an "as needed" basis?"

Before any progress can be made moving forward it is important to get a feeling for exactly what work needs to be outsourced. This will require careful consideration for the executive, who will almost certainly be surprised as the list grows longer and longer. These are all the tasks that should be delegated and many of them may be tasks that can be handled on an "as needed" outsourced basis.

Just think how inefficient it really is to employ an assistant or administrator on a salaried or weekly basis. This person is being employed for 40 hours whether there is sufficient work to fill those 40 hours or not. Invariably this leads to massive inefficiency as a salaried employee may simply "expand" the time that it should take to complete a variety of tasks in order to justify his or her salary. Some people might look at this as cheating, while other people would say it is also human nature to a certain extent. After all, this is the traditional way of handling administration and is it really the fault of the individual employee if there is not an "exact" amount of work to fill an exact number of hours?

In a drive toward efficiency this kind of operation of course needs to stop. Once that long list of outsource-ready tasks is complete a top notch assistant can be engaged to advise. The VA will know how long it should take to conduct and complete each and every task and can then agree with the small business owner to take on this raft of tasks efficiently. A price will be quoted for each job through completion and there will be no need for the business owner to worry about an employee "expanding" to simply fill up their weekly timesheet.   The best Virtual Assistants are experienced small business owners themselves. Their business is streamlining productivity for others and over time as they work with you, they can offer expertise in other areas of your business.  The more efficient the small business owner can be in this way the more likely they are to succeed and go on to prosper in the aggressive real world out there.

Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time
Diahana



Saturday, November 3, 2012

A Few Tips on How To Create a Tailored Marketing Plan


There are numerous aspects involved in developing a marketing plan. From budget to end goal, marketing online can be a long-term process.

Tip #1 Define Your Goal

It can be a detailed process, which is the reason many small business owners hire a marketing specialist to help them plan.  To start, it helps to think about the major goal of the marketing campaign. Do you want to increase customer loyalty, boost brand awareness or sell products?  A well executed online marketing strategy can take a small business to new levels if all steps are geared toward reaching that final goal.

Tip #2 Outline Your Budget

Of course, your campaign will be limited somewhat by your marketing budget. But the good news is there are some low cost options.  Many small business owners start with a small amount of money, gradually increasing the budget to the highest, yet still comfortable level.

An online marketing budget can be unlimited, and you may never reach your entire customer base. Be sure to stick with what you can afford, and work within your budget's confines. Learn about the direct competitors in your niche by searching for your website's keywords.

Tip # 3 Understand the Competition

You will realize that some businesses are more competitive than others. And potential customers who are searching for services or products offered by your company will usually choose highly ranked websites.  Therefore, any site listed above your site is a competitor. Thoroughly research their services and products, and learn their strengths and weaknesses.

Make any necessary improvements to your website. Remember, a site is similar to a storefront. The more enticing the website's design, the more traffic and sales the business will garner.  Your services and products should not be carbon copies of your competitors, even if you must increase the quality of your items or include extras in your service packages.

Finally, identify the customer base you want to target, and advertise in places where they frequent. There are even some sites, particularly social networks, that will place business advertisements in front of certain audiences to which the ads are targeted.

Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time,
Diahana

Friday, October 19, 2012

Social Media Marketing for Small Business


Utilizing Social Media to market your business is becoming a popular type of marketing for many small businesses and many are benefiting greatly by developing and following a social media marketing strategy.  By using Social media you can really give your marketing efforts a big boost and it can help you achieve the success you want not only quicker but more efficiently.

So what exactly is the skinny on Social media, and why should you use it as a marketing tool for your small business?  

Social media  networks are communities online, think of it as a “place” online where people gather to communicate  and learn about things that they have in common. It gives them the capability to interact with each other. This can be through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn forums and any number of online means of communication. Because of the way these networks develop, it often presents some great networking opportunities.  I love this infographic from Social Metrics on "10 Creative Secrets for Social Media Marketing" showing that over 93% of businesses currently leverage social media to gain more customers!



If you are wondering how and why you should use social networking sites to promote your small business, you are not alone. A fairly large numbers of small business owners aren't even sure what or which social media sites to use or how they work.  One benefit to small businesses is the ability to utilize Social media sites to share photo’s and video’s or run an online contest, all which will aid in gaining publicity and if you are on a budget, using social media networking sites is a cost-effective way in obtaining the publicity you are seeking for your products and services from your business website.


It can also be extremely valuable and worth the time and effort to join online forums like those on LinkedIn.  Within these online forums, you can answer and ask questions, learn from others, and use what you learn to develop relevant blog articles.  You can also post comments, promote events, and offer tips or advice.  Surveys and polls are also very popular in gaining the attention of not only your current customers but also potential customers.


The best part of using Social media is that it is a very cost effective means of communicating and interacting with your target market. Most networks are free and it only takes a little bit of time to keep interacting with the members of the network once you have gotten established. From there the growth is somewhat natural. As communities grow, so does the amount of exposure you get. The more exposure you get the more success you will have.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts.

Until Next Time
Diahana





Friday, October 12, 2012

Small Business Tip - What About Using a Virtual Assistant?


One of the most advantageous aspects of using a virtual assistant is the ability to employ industry experts for the completion of certain tasks. This becomes beneficial in situations where a small business is faced with a complex problem which is beyond the expertise of the in-house employees. Using a virtual assistant gives the small business the opportunity to outsource the task of solving the problem to a highly qualified candidate. Plus, many small business owners find that the virtual assistant’s service fee ends up being significantly less than what it would have cost them to solve the problem with their in-house staff. The amount of time it would have taken coupled with the potential for costly mistakes makes it clear using a virtual assistant is the right decision in this scenario.

Another scenario where tasks may be outsourced to an industry expert is when the small business is faced with the task of performing more work than they are capable of handling in-house. During aggressive deadlines or unexpected delays, using a virtual assistant can be used to complete projects according to unyielding deadlines.

Flexibility in Scheduling

Many small businesses balance the workload they take on based on the number of employees they have on staff capable of assisting in each individual task. However, using a virtual assistant gives small businesses the ability to consider accepting more work than their in-house employees are capable of completing. An example of when this is beneficial is when consultants are awarded more projects than they had anticipated and are suddenly in a situation where they are not able to meet their deadlines due to larger than anticipated workloads.

Another advantage to using a virtual assistant is the ability to take on larger projects than usual. One of the most elementary factors often considered when awarding projects to consultants is the number of staff members who are available to work on the project. Clients evaluate this number with their project needs and schedule to determine whether or not they think the consultant is capable of completing the project on time. Consultants who outsource portions of their projects are effectively able to increase the amount of employees they can afford to have working on a particular project.

Reduced Operating Costs

Finally, using a virtual assistant can help companies to produce higher quality work by enabling them to reduce their operating costs. Using a virtual assistant can save companies a great deal of money because they often do not have to pay benefits such as social security, workers’ compensation and Medicare to those who perform work on a contract basis. Additionally, those who perform the outsourced work typically do the work from their own office meaning the company does not have to provide resources for the individual. Although these costs may seem trivial, they can really add up especially if using a virtual assistant is used on a regular basis.

Combined with the reduced operating costs, many companies find that productivity is increased through using a virtual assistant. By using a virtual assistant the in-house employees are freed of additional responsibilities and can focus exclusively on the tasks they were hired to perform. This is significant because without using a virtual assistant these same employees might be tasked with attempting to perform complicated tasks for which they are not properly trained or qualified. When this happens there is a significant decline in productivity as the employees take longer than necessary to complete the more complicated tasks and do not have time to complete the simpler tasks.

Do you have experience using a virtual assistant?  Please feel free to share any thoughts or comments.

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...

Diahana



Friday, October 5, 2012

Small Business Idea - How to Increase Your Efficiency


Everywhere we look we are seeing a drive for efficiency. Waste is to be avoided and expenses have to be cut if the small business is going to survive, let alone prosper. Today it's more important then ever to get maximum value out of the money spent on resources, whether it is the direct costs of running a business or the substantial costs associated with employing personnel. There's no room for uncertainty when it comes to handling these costs and every reason for the small business owner to put in place systems to analyze where and why the money is being spent.

There are so many different reasons for employing a virtual assistant, for example. Each one of these reasons has in one way or another a lot to do with efficiency, so it is somewhat ironic when one of the reasons put forward by a typical small-business owner – faced with the question about hiring a virtual assistant – is one related to efficiency.

"I simply don't know how many hours work it should take to complete, so how can I employ a virtual assistant on an "as needed" basis, accordingly?"

Before any progress can be made moving forward it is important to get a feeling for exactly what work needs to be outsourced. This will require careful consideration for the executive, who will almost certainly be surprised as the list grows longer and longer. These are all the tasks that should be delegated and many of them may be tasks that can be handled on an "as needed" outsourced basis.  Just think how inefficient it really is to employ an assistant or administrator on a salaried or weekly basis.


This person is being employed for 40 hours whether there is sufficient work to fill those 40 hours or not. 

Invariably this leads to massive inefficiency as a salaried employee may simply "expand" the time that it should take to complete a variety of tasks in order to justify his or her salary. Some people might look at this as cheating, while other people would say it is also human nature to a certain extent. After all, this is the traditional way of handling administration and is it really the fault of the individual employee if there is not an "exact" amount of work to fill an exact number of hours?

In a drive toward efficiency this kind of operation of course needs to stop. Once that long list of outsource-ready tasks is complete a top notch personal assistant can be engaged to advise. The VA will know how long it should take to conduct and complete each and every task and can then agree with the small-business owner to take on this raft of tasks efficiently. A price will be quoted for each job through completion and there will be no need for the business owner to worry about an employee "expanding" to simply fill up their weekly timesheet. The more efficient the small business owner can be in this way the more likely they are to succeed and go on to prosper in the aggressive real world out there.

Thanks for reading!  Feel free to share your thoughts.

Until Next Time,
Diahana




Friday, September 28, 2012

“I’m not a Salesperson” but I need more sales! 5 Questions to ask that will increase your sales.


We all want more sales, and one of the best tried and true (and easiest) ways to increase your income and expand your business is to start with your current clients.  Happy clients are great sources of additional sales and referrals and it can take up to twice as much time and energy getting a new client.  Growing and expanding your relationship with your clients will increase your sales.  Plus repeat clients will spend 33% more than new customers.  So what do you say to expand your repertoire with your clients?  Here are 5 questions you can ask that will increase your sales with your clients:

1. “What are some of your Priorities today?”
Feel free to expand on this in a specific way targeted to your area of expertise.  For example if you are now offering web services or want to increase your sales by offering social media marketing you could say, “What are some of your priorities around your Website?” or “What are some your priorities around Social Media today?”

This will get them talking.  Ideally they will respond with something to the effect of, “oh, I’ve been really meaning to get into that, but don’t have the time….” BINGO you have an in to introduce your service and expand your sales.  In the event that they do not need Social Media, follow up by asking, “Great!  Who do you know that might be in need of help?”  they may respond with, “hmmm, I don’t know”.  Feel free to give them some examples of clients you have to spark their memory (Real Estate agents, Law Firms, Coaches, Speakers, etc).


2. “What challenges might you have around...”
Understanding your client’s challenges and what they are facing in their business will begin to differentiate you and your services.  Clients will begin to look at you as more than just a VA that sometimes provides administrative services, you will become an extension of their strategy team, if your are not already, and upscale their perception of you and your services in their eyes.

3. “What would you ideally like to ….” 
Everyone had an ideal of what they want their business to be.  Ask your clients this question and see what they say, it might just surprise you how honest and direct they are and how much the open up to you.  Typical answers can include quick responses such as, “I’d ideally like to make a million dollars, or have a day off”  Either way, you’re in.  Ask more questions, be genuinely interested and find a service you offer that will help them achieve that idea.
 
4. “Tell me about the impact it would have on your business if you could….”
I love impact questions.  Impact to me means money, or ROI.  Helping your clients calculate the ROI or talk money with you is a great thing.  Articulating what impact means to them will not only help you understand more about them and their business, it will help you position the value of your services even more.  This is especially true when the service you want to offer is more expensive than what they’ve typically paid in the past.

Remember, you may have to help them put the numbers together in this area.  For example if you ask about the impact it would have on their business if they could delegate their Social Media to someone else and they respond that it would give them an extra 10 hours a week follow up with a question about what they would do with that time.
Then ask what the value of that time means to them. If you can get a monetary number from them; that would be even better.  Feel free to share examples of other clients you have and their experiences with you and how much money they saved, or made, by using your new Social Media service.
 
5. Finally, last but not least, ask additional follow up questions.
This will give you more credibility and expand your knowledge of what is important to them.  Just asking one question is great, asking several questions and taking notes, is even better. It shows you’re listening and care about their business. Sample follow up questions would be: “Tell me more about that?”  “What are your ideas on?”  “Define for me ______” “Give me some examples of_______”

So the next time you give your client a call to “check in”, be sure to ask them one or even two or three of these questions.  By asking them to elaborate you are interacting with them on a whole new level and will greatly increase your sales effectiveness, even though of course, you are not a sales person…right?

Oh and by the way, this is a great way to build new clients too.  When you’re interacting with potential clients whether on twitter, facebook, or email, asking questions is great way to begin to build a relationship with them and learn more about their business.

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...
Diahana




This article was originally published in the July 2012 issue of the Paperless Entrepreneur you can read it in context HERE

Friday, September 21, 2012

Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business

Recently a client asked me to put together a few strategic marketing ideas for their restaurant business that was aligned to their growth goals.  So this week I thought it might be interesting to share with you some of the ideas we discussed.  Now in this particular situation the client owns a restaurant and I've decided to include that detail since I think it provides a good example, but it could easily be adapted to your own small business goals.

Whenever I start a new project, I always begin with the goal.  In this case, the goal was to create a plan for a attracting new customers (25-40 year old set) who are more cutting edge and using social media.  A lot of this stuff can easily be automated in a cloud-based virtual solution so don't get overwhelmed.  It also should be pointed out that the customer already has a website, Facebook Page and Twitter account, all key components in my mind for an effective and well rounded strategy.  Here are a the ideas we discussed:


Create a Newsletter or Blog

In this case they had a pretty big email list, but no newsletter.  Even if you don't have a list yet, it's easy to build one and a great way to stay in touch with your customers and keep them coming back.  Ideally a newsletter or blog should be done once a week. The 25-40 year old set likes communication to be more personal these days (that’s why they are all “hanging out” on Facebook) so include a recipe “secret”, quote from a happy customer, birthday information, and what's happening in and around town.  All the content you create for your website and newsletter can then be repurposed and used on Facebook and Twitter.

Maximize the use of Facebook

Post any videos you have to your Facebook fan page and ask for comments.  Ask customers that come in to “like” your page.  When people "Like" your Facebook page, they are alerted to your updates via their news feeds.  You can also explore expanding your fan base using Facebook ads.  I would also recommend creating a “hidden” secret in the commercial or video for them to watch for (e.g. "what color is our signature drink”) when they come in the restaurant with the answer their name goes in for a drawing, winners can be posted via twitter, Facebook, on the blog or newsletter, etc.

Create automated updates across all your accounts.  Connect to your Facebook page from your newsletter, you newsletter to your website, from Facebook to twitter.  You get the idea.  All should be tightly integrated so as you update one with the daily specials, birthdays, etc. it can automatically post to all the others.

Maximize the use of Twitter:

Tweet your nightly/weekly specials (if you aren’t already).  Tweet interesting things happening in in and around town, such as  new movies, concerts, interesting happenings.  Become the center of information for the community.  Check and make sure your Twitter handle is on your website, Facebook page, newsletter, displayed in the restaurant menu, put it on the televisions in the bar, etc.

There are some good rules of thumb to use for Twitter that build value, a relationship and a good following.  Here are a few that you can incorporate in addition to sharing your own information about daily specials, birthdays, your blog or newsletter and other relevant information.  Remember many can be streamlined using technology and other resources, you do not have to do all this yourself and it could easily be outsourced to a virtual assistant team.

  • Reply to someone else’s tweet
  • Re-Tweet good information
  • Post inspiration or quote
  • Post an “a-ha” resource
  • Share a link to another great resource, blog post or website

Develop Email Campaigns

Developing email campaigns is easy and can also be automated, you probably already have the content developed for advertising elsewhere, it just needs to be adapted for email.  Any advertising you are doing in local magazines, tv, radio can be repurposed and sent via email along with a newsletter, blog, recipe of the week, birthday days, specials…you get the idea.

That's it!  I hope you got some good ideas for putting together your own strategic marketing plan, as always we are here to help.  Feel free to share your comments, and I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Until next time,
Diahana








Friday, September 14, 2012

Ten GREAT Ideas On How To Use Evernote For Your Small Business



1. Paperless. Going Green has never been easier!  If you use this solution creatively you may never use a paper and pen again. Type away into Evernote instead of taking notes, or if you do fall off the wagon and find yourself taking some handwritten notes, scan them into the software, where the words can be recognized for indexing purposes.

2. Storage. Evernote provides you with a unique e-mail address, so when you receive document attachments that you need to reference from time to time, or when travelling on business, forward them to the e-mail address.

3. Watchdog. If you designate a specific folder on your computer as your "work in progress" for example, Evernote can keep an eye on that folder. Whenever any recognized file formats are inserted therein, they will be automatically uploaded to your account. This means that they will be available on various devices and off-line if needed.

4. Planning. When you're starting to work on a potentially challenging and multifaceted project you simply have to be organized right from the start. If you create a stack of notebooks within Evernote, you can categorize different tasks and responsibilities into the various notebooks. Tag keywords carefully and methodically and you should never experience project "brain freeze" ever again.

5. Doodle. If you want to commit an idea that just popped into your head to virtual memory then you can use the facility within Evernote known as the "ink" note. You can sketch onto the tablet using a variety of different colours and formats. The next multimillion dollar idea doesn't need to be on the back of a napkin, even if that makes a good story.

6. Brainstorm. Collaborate with your cloud-based virtual solutions team to come up with ideas for new ventures, projects, client relationship management and so on. When you find resources online you shouldn't bookmark them to your browser or local machine but do create an instant link or screen grab here. Keep all this in your research section.

7. Snap. Because a picture tells a thousand words get used to the idea of snapping away with your iPhone or iPad whenever you see something relevant or inspirational. The app that enables you to upload these pictures directly to your Evernote account with ease.

8. Tweet. There is integration between Twitter and Evernote, enabling you to capture tweets that are important, memorable and enabling you to create your own archive.

9. List. Evernote has a checkbox feature. Therefore, you can create any number of lists including daily "to do" lists. As you complete you are able to check them off and move on to the next pressing issue.  A must have for any small business!

10. A-ha. You never know when your next inspirational brainwave is going to hit. The chances are that you will have access to a mobile device of some kind when it does. Commit it to virtual memory right away, safe in the cloud for anytime access, as this is sure to be the brainwave that pays for your upcoming retirement, is it not?

Until next time,
Diahana
LearnEASE


Friday, September 7, 2012

What is A Virtual Assistant? Probably More Than You Think


There's definitely more to a Virtual Assistant than you might think.  Have you ever found the process of recruiting somebody to help you in your business a daunting or difficult task?  Even in a hiring environment that is so densely populated with people who find themselves to be newly unemployed, the task of finding somebody "good" is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

If you are a really focused individual, one who knows exactly what he or she wants in life, is dynamic, proactive and driven, you represent gold to the business owner. It is truly quite amazing that the majority of people who are applying for these jobs just do not fall into this category.

When you are in business, whether it is an online business or and offline small business, you probably tend to surround yourself with people who are driven in this way. They may not share your entire vision in exactly the same way as you do, but they should nevertheless “buy into” what your company represents and must be able to contribute to its long-term viability and growth. It's a business owner’s dream to be surrounded by people who are motivated, self-starters and who instinctively know exactly what to do in any given moment of crisis.

While finding staff at the executive level to help head various departments or roll out new ventures may be one thing, we should never underestimate the importance of finding staff that can help us with the day-to-day tasks within our business. While there may be less at stake here, these individuals nevertheless contribute to the greater good of the company. Without their focused and well delivered effort, the small business is likely to flounder.

It’s unfortunately true that many would-be employees still view their employment as a means to an end. They may be in fact relatively good at what they do, but they're not inspired and not likely to seize an initiative should it be needed. For example, if there were a better way of doing a particular task, a really good and forward thinking employee might suggest it and know how to implement it. Unfortunately, this kind of employee seems to be few and far between.

This is a good reason why business owners should consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant.  Many of these positions can easily be handled by virtual assistants. You see, a virtual assistant is invariably a small business owner him or herself and knows full well what it takes to drive the business forward proactively. The virtual assistant can become not only someone who takes on, very cost-effectively and efficiently, many of those outsourced tasks, but could also become a valuable partner, advisor and someone who contributes in many more ways than one to the business growth.

Next time you complain about the lack of star quality among potential new recruits, consider outsourcing that particular position to a contributory virtual assistant. You will find that not only will the associated task be completed carefully, correctly, on time and within budget, but you may well be able to draw on the experience of the Virtual Assistant to help you further consolidate.

As always, we are here to help.

Until next time,
Diahana

LearnEASE














Feel free to look up our Virtual Assistant Services on Thumbtack

Friday, August 31, 2012

4 Ways to Make More Money by Using an Assistant


I strongly believe that every small business needs an assistant:  Someone who can handle the everyday stuff while you concentrate on the big
 money generating tasks 

like talking to potential customers and servicing customers.

If your business isn’t big enough to hire a full time person, consider using a Virtual Solutions Team of experts (like those at LearnEASE...yes this is a little bit of a shameless plug).  With our people and our technology, we are here to help in a cost-effective way.  There are many ways to use a Virtual Solutions expert and the good ones will have a wide range of ways to help you automate and streamline your business.  Here are a few that our clients use the most:

1. Social Media & WebSite Assistance:
Developing and maintaining a strong social media presence can seem like an overwhelming task for the small business. But don’t worry!  There are solutions out there designed to help make the most of your business’ social presence and increase your visibility.  We can set these up for you, automate, monitor and provide you with regular updates.  You have the benefit of keeping your finger on the pulse of your business without having to handle the groundwork.

2. Time Management Assistance:
If your business bills hourly, it is extremely important to know where you are allocating your time.  Even if you do not, ideally you should know how much time you’re spending on money generating tasks versus everyday paperwork, IT troubleshooting, and other tasks that take up time but don’t make you money.  A good virtual solutions team can ease your time constraints in a cost effective way that allows you to focus on your business.

3. Email Marketing & Newsletter Assistance:
Email marketing campaigns and newsletters can seem like a daunting task.  Making sure your emails stand out and your newsletters are noteworthy takes time and thought in order to add value for your business and your customers.  We can make your email campaigns and newsletters pain-free and we'll take the work out of designing and delivering, incorporate social media and web components, to help you reach more customers.

4. Analytics and ROI Assistance:
Measuring the results of your efforts is essential to building a successful small business and getting the most out of the hours you spend.  A good virtual solutions team will have an easy and cost-effective solution that can help you understand the data, give you integrated analytics and dashboards, specifically designed to streamline and track your success.

Every small business is unique and you have your own individual needs.  But you can't do it all, and by handing off the tedious tasks to someone else you'll free up your time to focus on what you do best -
Your Business and Making More Money!

As always, we are here to help.

Until next time,
Diahana



Thursday, August 23, 2012

"I'm Not a Sales Person" But I Need More Sales

Read our article, "I'm Not a Sales Person" on page 16 published in The Paperless Entrepreneur Magazine:


Open publication - Free publishing

What do you think of the article?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment box.

Until Next Time...
Diahana



Friday, August 17, 2012

Email Marketing Tips for Small Business

LearnEASE, LLC
Being a Small Business owner is fun, challenging and sometimes down right hard.  More often than not, you have to be not just the owner, but the sales person, IT expert, Customer Service Manager, plus do all the marketing, advertising, etc.  The popular saying that time is money is very true, and even more so for today's small business owner.

This is also true for our busy customers and prospects, and more often than not emails get deleted even before they are opened because people simply do not have the time to spare with what they perceive to be a waste of theirs.  So what is a Small Business owner to do?  Here are a few tips on how to make your email marketing get you results:


Tip #1 - Design & Presentation


One thing that often causes an email to be disregarded typically lies in the actual design and presentation of the email.  There is only a small fraction of time to grab the individual’s attention.  If this is not done almost immediately, then the opportunity is definitely lost and the email is discarded.

One way to grab attention is to use pictures to make the email visually appealing, and  to also make sure the email content is relevant.  Take a few minutes to look at the content of the email from the recipients point of view.

Is the material not only relevant but informative without seeming too technical or boring?  

Is it designed to be short and to the point?  Without being too pushy in the sales pitch the product must be featured and all positive points made within the shortest possible amount of words. Including some eye catching visual effects.

Tip #2 - Show Some Personality


There can be a fine line between being too formal and being too casual, so consider taking some time to think through the intention of the email, the product being promoted and the person receiving it.  People like to buy from people, so the more you can personalize your emails and help them understand you, your companies philosophy, the better the ongoing relationship will build over time.

Using a personal touch as a measurable bench mark, try to design the email as closely as possible to the experience the individual would have if they were receiving it as a presentation in person.  This will give the email a more exciting and approachable tone. It will also help the recipient to connect to you, your products and/or services.  If it is designed in an interactive way, the personality of the sender will be felt and the email will develop a sense of comfort and trust.  Establishing a slightly more personal touch can build throughout the email campaign starting with the initial email and continue throughout any future exchanges.

Tip #3 - Don't forget to Tease & Link

Remember the attention grabbing window is small, therefore it is important to optimize the email.  Using tools like teasers and links, when well designed, will help increase the chances of getting and retaining the attention of your email audience.

Ideally teasers should be designed to attract the recipient curiosity. Curiosity creates interest and can make an individual thoughtful.  Consider posing a question that can create an initial exchange of ideas. Once this exchange is established it can be a great step in the right direction and should be capitalized.  Another beneficial element to include in the email is the use of links. The links should further enhance the content matter as it will assist in introducing other related sites to the recipient. These links if featured from a reputable website can increase the chances of being picked up by search engines which in turn makes the contents seem more relevant and popular. This popularity angle will further perk the interest of the recipient.

There are many email tips and tools available to help small business owners with their email campaigns.  Here is a link to a few of my favorite free articles from AWeber:




Thanks again for reading! If you have any questions or need any assistance please feel free to contact me at any time using the contact information below.  I am happy to help.

Until Next Time,
Diahana














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Friday, August 3, 2012

De-Stress Now! An Easy and Inexpensive Solution for Your Small Business Social Media

LearnEASE - Your Business Made Easy

Social media, as a business tool, is a relatively new phenomenon. Several years ago when Facebook first started to enter our lives few small business people really looked at it as an opportunity to spread the word about their products or services. However, when social media is used thoughtfully and carefully by the small business entrepreneur it can make a considerable difference to the way that people perceive the organization.

Still, most small business owners do not understand how to approach the subject. They don't know how to use the potential, or to figure out whether they should choose one particular outlet over another.  When this type of confusion is evident, the result is predictable.  Nothing is done and an opportunity goes to waste.

This is the perfect opportunity for a small business to consider using a Virtual Solutions Expert. Outsourcing your social media online is one of the most astute things you can do and a core component of any relationship that you have with your Virtual Solutions Expert.  Let's look at a few ways you can begin to De-Stress Now by leaning on a Virtual Solutions Expert:

Social Bookmarking

Let's start off by looking at social bookmarking. Essentially we are using the power of crowd sourcing here. When more people talk about a particular subject more focus is given to that subject. In other words, the topic is given credibility. On the web, a great way of spreading the word is by "bookmarking." This is when other people essentially vote for the topic in question within a variety of extensive networks, such as Digg. The Virtual Solutions Expert will write a compact description of a particular product, solution, service or whatever storyline you would like to publicize. This compact story will then be distributed through various networks by a variety of people and this will serve to provide links and awareness.

Facebook

Facebook is at the center of anything to do with social media. It has swiftly become an essential part of many people's lives. It's a place that a lot of people visit not only every day but several times each day. A business can – and should – have a dedicated Facebook page. Your Virtual Solutions Expert can create one using some very sophisticated tools and technology these days. It can be branded so that it appears very similar to your actual website. Here, however, you will be able to interact with friends, new prospects and can gain exponential exposure by proactively working to establish your organization as the expert in your field.

Twitter


If Facebook is the king of social media, Twitter is the crown prince. This is essentially a micro-blogging platform. Here again the Virtual Solutions Expert will brand a business page carefully so that it has the appearance of your website and other marketing collateral. Your Virtual Solutions Expert will work to engage with people who are by definition also interested in the area within which you operate. By constantly keeping in touch with pertinent news, information, updates and advice, an organization that uses Twitter can be at the forefront of the social media scene.
These three solutions represent just the beginning of the story when it comes to social media and business opportunities.


Thanks again for reading! If you have any questions or need any assistance please feel free to contact me at any time using the contact information below.  I am happy to help.

Until Next Time,
Diahana




Friday, July 27, 2012

My Top 5 Reasons for Using To Use Evernote For Business Productivity


LearnEASEYour Business Made Easy
Evernote is fast becoming one of the leading tools for any small business owner; it provides a way to organize your thoughts, collate and manage information and ideas like never before. Let's look at five ways that the small business executive can use Evernote in order to be more productive.

REASON #1

Every small business should have a ubiquitous blog. Whether you have a standalone blog or you make a concerted effort to interact with your customers and followers through something like Facebook, you must have something inspirational, educational or informative to say every time. It's unfortunate that the vast majority of small business owners start a blog but fail to keep up with it and in the business sense just don't make the most of this invaluable resource. Probably the main reason for this failure is a lack of preparation in terms of brainstorming or looking for inspirational ideas. Now, whenever you come across such inspiration, whether you are surfing the web or receiving a mental "flash" while taking a shower, commit it to an Evernote note.

REASON #2

While talking about blogging, as it is so important for the small-business owner, use Evernote as a organizing vehicle and an archive, apart from the place to collate your inspiration. In other words, have several different notebooks within your overall "master" notebook inside Evernote. You can archive all your published posts here and refer back to them for reference material, or make sure that you're not covering the same ground twice. You can keep a notebook with running ideas and you could have a separate notebook for posts that you are working on. In this way you can keep adding to, or augmenting blog posts that are in the process of compilation wherever you are and don't have to try and summon up your full "inspirational mode" only when you're sitting at your computer ready to type.


REASON #3

Typically in a small business we have many different projects in various stages of completion at any one time. You need to be able to communicate status updates to other members of your outsourced team or to clients from time to time. You can use Evernote to keep track of everything that's going on and this is the place to keep pertinent information and notes in one place. When you get into the habit of opening this notebook and committing all of these developments it will be much easier to keep on top of project progress.

REASON #4


Have you noticed how you periodically come across the need to do specific calculations, refer to certain ratios or convert one currency to another? You may make a subconscious note then that you shouldn't need to be looking for this information again. Therefore now is the time to put these calculations, ratios and conversions in a specific Evernote notebook.


REASON #5


In business we invariably find that we conduct some kind of research each and every day. More often than not we commit the results of that research to memory. While our brains are wonderful things for retaining and remembering information, we shouldn't risk such memory loss. Besides, when we put the results of the research into Evernote we are able to share it with other members of our team as well.


Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or need any assistance please feel free to contact me at any time using the contact information below.  I am happy to help.

Until Next Time,
Diahana





Saturday, July 7, 2012

5 Tips on Why Outsourcing Your Website Development is a Good Idea

When was the last time that you, as a small-business owner, updated your website? For many of us the answer is quite a long time ago. We seem to be so engrossed in trying to make the business "tick" on a daily basis as we deal with clients, order fulfillment, marketing initiatives, and a whole host of other distractions that are more important to making a business successful. A website is not simply something that sits there and hopefully garners some interest and possibly some leads. It must be a dynamic property that is a joy to visit and is often updated.  A well designed and executed website will drive leads and customers to your business.  A great website is a first impression for your business.

Tip #1.
Build a Website  – you know you need one, but you don’t have the time
It is said that 50% of businesses do not have a website at all. This is a remarkable statistic and it's probably as much to do with the fact that small-business owners just don't know where to start. A virtual assistant can get a website up and running for a business in a remarkably short amount of time given the correct initial guidance and direction.

Tip #2.
Website Re-design – you have a website, but it needs updating
When people visit a website today they expect to see something that is exciting, enticing and vibrant, otherwise these people click away. It's almost certainly time for you to redesign your old static website, but you are not the expert in these matters – a good business consulting firm that offers Virtual Solutions can help. So much can change on a weekly or monthly basis in the world of website design but your outsourced Virtual IT team will be able to keep on top of these changes and integrate the latest and best.

Tip #3.
Website Content Creation – you have ideas…but what do you do with them?
Your website is only as good as the content within. People are looking for information and you must tell them that you have the correct information, together with the products and services that can help them deal with their problem. The material on your website must be regularly updated, very pertinent and directly related to the problems faced by your business prospects.

Tip #4.
Website Management – Management?  Isn’t creating the site and the content enough, now I have to manage it too?
There are many regular "household chores" associated with owning and operating a website. For example, dedicated organizations host the site and will require payment on a regular basis and will sometimes raise questions according to bandwidth allocations. Your valuable domain names will expire from time to time and will need to be renewed. As a small business owner if you overlook or ignore some of these chores it can lead to disaster. This is why outsourcing to a Virtual expert with cloud experience is essential .  They are always available and low cost allowing you time to focus on your other business needs.

Tip #5.
Website / Blog Search Engine Submission.
If you don't promote the existence of your website nothing will happen. In the Internet world the majority of people look for information by interacting with search engines. Many small-business owners don't realize that you have to go through a concerted procedure to notify the search engines not only of your existence, but what your site is all about. The biggest engine of all – Google – has webmaster solutions and a specific dashboard, and the recipe for success changes. The right virtual solutions company can make sure that everything is updated correctly and consistently in order to ensure that your website is at the very least seen.

Website creation and administration are two of the core fundamental tasks outsourced to LearnEASE by small-business owners.  Our Team + Your Team = Your Business Made Easy

If you need assistance with your Website strategy we'd love to talk to you about it.  Please email us at: info@learnease.com.

Thanks for reading,
Chris