Virtual Buzz Assistant

One of the first things many clients ask before working with a Virtual Buzz Assistant is the type of marketing work they have done in the past and the clients they have done work with.

That is why the Virtual Buzz Assistant Network has at least one buzz marketing internship available with a real company.  The network also has the opportunity to help promote the network itself.

With a few volunteer hours, Virtual Buzz Assistants can get valuable experience and add clients to their list of referrals.

Organizations that want to have a variety of work done by Virtual Buzz Assistants can request information by emailing admin@virtualbuzzassistant.com

Organizations may apply to be in our Internship program if they meet the following Criteria:

• Not for Profit or Pre-revenue Stage
• Good Website
• Buzzworthy Story that is easy to understand
• Clear conversion – Must have a simple goal.
• Must be willing to work directly with multiple Virtual Buzz Assistants

Preference will be given to organizations that express a desire to hire one or more Virtual Buzz Assistants after the internship ends.  Internships will last a maximum of 3 months. 

Any Virtual Buzz Assistant can participate in the Buzz Marketing Internship as long as they are willing to do a minimum number of hours of work on the project, as listed in the Internship profile.

While it is common practice for companies in the US to hire virtual assistants in India and the Philippines, what about international companies hiring people able to create a buzz in the US culture?

If your company is trying to get a foothold in the US economy, here are 6 reasons you should hire a virtual buzz assistant.

1. Most of our Virtual Buzz Assistants live in the US and know the culture.
2. Virtual Buzz Assistants often understand your target market because they are part of it.
3. Virtual Buzz Assistants are affordable options for promoting on a regular basis.
4. Many Virtual Buzz Assistants build networks in the US via the web to help them with their projects.
5. Virtual Buzz Assistants are promoting other websites, products and services in the US and know what works.
6. Virtual Buzz Assistants are certified in US ethics standards for creating buzz on the web.

In short, if you are selling your services from abroad, your Virtual Buzz Assistant is your inside person that can help you gain visibility in the US.

Pattie Simone wrote an interesting article about hiring a Virtual Assistant at Entrepreneur magazine.

The thing I find interesting in this article is the amount of effort it took her to hire someone that did data entry for 35 business cards.  I am quit sure I could have done this work faster myself than hire it out.  If it is just an experiement to see how they did, that is fine, but it was certainly not a good use of anyone’s time.

That is why we focus on Virtual Buzz Assistants establishing relationships that go from month to month.  Not to milk the project, but to become a valued member of the team and get to know the products, and over time provide ever increasing value to the client that is saving money over hiring and training people to help with the marketing plan.

This article is also a good example of responding quickly to opportunities.  Give it a read.

One of the most critical reasons we started this network is to create a shared Buzz Learning environment.

You can never learn everything there is to know about Buzz Marketing and Internet Marketing because it changes too fast.

By building this network, we pool our resources so we can all learn more.  Our writers are always buying online courses, attending seminars, webinars and reading book to assure you that you have the best techniques available.

We also experiment before endorsing something – the last thing you want to do is try a new technique out with a client, only to find that it is considered bad by search engines and ends up getting your client a worse ranking, instead of a better ranking they were hoping for.

Ultimately, we can all be more profitable and a better resource for clients if we put results first and always stay on the cutting edge of what is being done.

Lots of people put up good information and a directory that lists virtual assistants.

We have chosen a different route.  We work up front with clients to help them select the best Virtual Buzz Assistants for their needs and budget.  Then we send them up to three showcases that the Virtual Buzz Assistants provide for use.

We are intent on NOT having lots of little fees.  One price gets you all our training material.  One price gets you access to the three best virtual buzz assistants we have for your needs.  No eBooks to buy, no extra-charge courses.  No virtual assistant directory that just sits out there.

A savvy Virtual Assistant may ask, “What about inbound links and visibility for me?”

We will help you learn how to post things all over.  We will also let people do guest posts on this blog, which will be fully credited to you along with a link.

That can have even better SEO results than a directory.

So no, we do not have a virtual assistant directory you can skim through.  But we are committed to finding you the person you need.

Are you wondering why you should hire a Virtual Buzz Assistant instead of a cheaper, general Virtual Assistant?

All our Virtual Buzz Assistants must go through ethics training that is based on www.womma.com standards.

Look at this press release from WOMMA and think about the consequences of hiring just anyone for your Buzz efforts.

Several companies and virtual assistants have asked us about pricing.  This blog post is more detail about our pricing model -which is subject to change in the future, of course.

Why charge $199 to companies for placement with a Virtual Buzz Assistant?

On the one hand, you would think that finding as much work as possible for our members would be very important – and it is.  However, our network is not a normal Virtual Assistant Network.  It is a network of people that specialize in working virtually and helping with Internet Marketing and Buzz Marketing tasks. 

We are not trying to be cheap and compete with International VA Firms that employ generalists.  We want to provide high end virtual marketing assistance.

Consequently, we are looking for good, serious and substantial projects for our members.  $199 is just enough to keep away projects that were probably too small for our members anyway.

In addition to that, we do not take a cut of the projects unless a client wants us to manage them.  So $199 is all we make on the transaction and the client pays the Virtual Buzz Assistant directly after that.

Why do we charge a quarterly membership fee for members?

Members are funding the continued development of courses, resources and research that is done to help them be the best they can be at running their own Virtual Buzz Assistant business.  They should see a return on their investement quickly or they should not stay with us.  We know we need to provide client opportunities as well as great resources or we will not keep our membership strong.

Also, we only take 20 members at a time and develop that group into good Virtual Buzz Assistants.  We never plan to have more than 100 members total, unless excessive demand for the service forces us to.

This Virtual Assistant Pricing Model allows us to provide high value at reasonable prices to the people at both ends of the project.

• Hire a Vitual Buzz Assistant
• Become a Virtual Buzz Assistant

Even when you have a strong brand, people do not appreciate being treated like a number:  Seth Godin blog post about Forbes.

Remember when you are contacting people – the more they feel like they are the only person you are talking to that day, the more likely they are to respond in a positive manner. 

Sure, Virtual Buzz Assistants are short-cutting the relationship – but the point you need to remember is that companies that hire Virtual Buzz Assistants respect and care about online relationships – so much so that they have an assistant that helps them maintain them. 

Caring about the relationships and full disclosure is what makes the marketing service a Virtual Buzz Assistant offers unique. 

Being a Virtual Buzz Assistant is a great home-based business opportunity.  Imagine the possibilities of working from home in such a flexible manner.  Typically, you will need to check email each morning and afternoon to address any replies you get each day and forward them to your clients.  Other than that, the sky is the limit. 

Here are several Virtual Buzz Assistant “Average Days” for real people.

1. Part Time Virtual Buzz Assistant Mom makes $1,500 per month working 6:00 AM to 7:30 AM each weekday. 
    
   This person has two clients that pay for daily advocacy.  Each day she wakes up and does 1.5 hours of research and emailing.  She forwards interview opportunities, product sample requests and article requests that come back from her work to the clients.
    
2. Blog Writer – Virtual Buzz Assistant – This person works once per month for four hours and makes $300.  She writes blog posts for a particular blog.  She does this by going to the library each month and reading several of the industry magazines and writing articles for the client’s blog.  She then only has to spend a few minutes each week posting them to keep the content of the blog fresh.

Some of the Buzz Services can be done at once, and others have to be done weekly or daily, but most of these services can be done at any time around your schedule.

We will add more examples to this blog later – check back often.

Good question.  The real question is, “Is having your own business right for you?”

A Virtual Buzz Assistant business is a great business to have. 

• It has a low start up cost
• High demand for Marketing services
• Flexibility to do from anywhere
• Scaleable
• Strong customer loyalty to good Virtual Buzz Assistants

So if you are going to start a business at home or expand an existing business, such as web design, PR, etc. then this is a great opportunity.

The biggest issue is if you are ready to start a business.  Running a business takes patience, organization and a positive attitude.  It is very rare to grow as fast as you would like, and there is a lot of government requirements that must be taken care of.

Our network does have articles on some of these topics as well, but are you ready for keeping on top of those things?  Payroll?  Taxes?  Selling your services?  Invoicing?

When someone first starts, it is always with a lot of enthusiasm.  Then they find out there are some headaches and the money does not pour in right away and they give up too quickly.

This has nothing to do with being a Virtual Buzz Assistant.  This has everything to do with being realistic about starting your own business.

Here are some questions to ask yourself.

1. Are you willing to get out and sell your services?
2. Are you willing to promote your business every day?
3. Are you willing to make less money for some time?  (How Long?)
4. Will book keeping and paperwork get done on time?
5. What are you trying to achieve? 

You can definitely start a Virtual Buzz Assistant business on the side and keep your day job.  We would never want someone to think it is easy and fast to create wealth and financial freedom with a business.  It is work, but it is rewarding when you win.