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Okay so you’ve taken the plunge and started a blog but are you getting the most out of this internet marketing platform? Your blog needs to be updated regularly to attract a constant stream of visitors. Perhaps you struggle with copywriting? Blog entries do not have to be long but a Virtual Assistant can certainly assist in formulating the copy if you need help in this area.
If you don’t have the time to update your blog it is very simple to email your blog copy to your VA so they can update it for you. You can even write your copy months ahead of time and have your VA schedule each post when you would like it to appear. Most Virtual Assistants are now familiar with the popular blogging software such as WordPress and Blogger so it will be a much easier for you to implement your internet marketing strategy with this task taken care of for you.
Your Virtual Assistant can also take care of adding your blog to the many social bookmarking sites. This has fantastic benefits for the Search Engine Optimisation of your blog and main website and it also helps to drive traffic to your blog.
Did you know that over 80% of callers will not ring back if they can’t speak to someone?
What is the first impression that potential clients receive when they call your business?
What would it mean for you and your business if you could guarantee that all of your calls would be answered by a professional receptionist while you are in meetings, busy completing income generating work or simply enjoying your family holiday?
The great news is that our Virtual Receptionist service is a cost effective solution which will offer your business greater professionalism and a better chance of securing more business from your callers.
We are so convinced that you will love our Virtual Receptionist service, we are offering you the first month’s fee and £10 worth of call handling COMPLETELY FREE – valued at £50.
Following on from last week’s tip about outsourcing your diary management to a Virtual Assistant, this week I am going to discuss one of the simplest and most useful tasks a VA can do for you if you have a lot of meetings. If you share your diary with your VA then it is simple to have them confirm appointments for you but you can also do this if your VA doesn’t access your diary - it will involve you emailing them a copy (usually a pdf) of your diary for the week ahead.
There is nothing more frustrating than having meetings cancelled at the last minute or even worse ‘no shows’! The week prior to your meetings, having your VA call or email your meeting contacts to confirm the meeting is a valuable way of ensuring that the meeting goes ahead as scheduled. Of course illness or transport delays can still occur on the day but meetings are much more likely to go ahead if they have been confirmed in the week prior. Having your personal assistant confirm your meetings also helps you create a professional impression on those people you are meeting.
Sharing a diary with your virtual assistant is a very simple and effective way of increasing your time management skills. If you currently use Outlook as your calendar you need to ensure that you choose a software package which will sync your appointments with the online diary your virtual assistant will access.
Two of the most popular online diaries are Google Calendar (which is free) and MyOffice.net. Both of these diaries enable syncing with Outlook as well as team diaries for accessing other staff members’ diaries.
Enabling your virtual assistant to access your diary has many benefits and it will enable your VA to keep on top of your commitments. You may decide to have your virtual assistant arrange appointments on your behalf and an online shared diary is essential for this task. If your virtual assistant has access to your diary they can also confirm your upcoming appointments – a real bonus if you are often faced with late cancellations or ‘no shows’.
- MyOffice.net diary
Another benefit of having your virtual assistant manage your diary is that will be truly aware of what is happening in your business life without you having to provide regular updates.
We have teamed up with MyOffice.net to offer a free trial so that you can experience the benefits first hand.
Virtual PA Northern England, Anne Johnson
Anne Johnson, an accomplished Personal Assistant, became a Licensee of Versatile Assistant on 1st May 2009 and will be operational as Executive Services Manager in the North of England. Highly qualified in Management, Business & Administration, Anne is a Chartered Manager and holds membership of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Having worked at Senior Executive level for a number of professional organisations, both in the public and private sector, Anne can offer a wealth of experience in her field.
Anne is committed to ensuring client satisfaction and works closely with each client to understand their goals.
Anne provides a comprehensive Virtual PA service and specialises in:
* Secretarial and Administration services
* Recruitment
* Event Organisation
* Project and Lifestyle Management
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Anne to the Versatile Assistant team and wish her every success in her career as a Virtual Assistant.
Sam Cannell
Director, Versatile Assistant Limited
Introducing our new weekly blog update – ‘Save Your Sanity!’
From next week I will be reviewing a task which can be outsourced to your Virtual Assistant; the systems and processes they may use and of course most importantly – the benefits to your business. If you have any particular tasks you would like reviewed please add your comments.
Next week we will be starting with diary management and how you can share your diary with your Virtual Assistant.
Sam Cannell
Director, Versatile Assistant Ltd
