Virtual Buzz Assistant

This advice is not just for virtual buzz assistants. Whenever you are writing a proposal or a cover letter for a resume even, you have to think of what the goal is and pay close attention to the details.

I am a bit hypocritical, as I have made these mistakes myself at times, but maybe my experience can help you get another client instead of lose an opportunity. Here are some tips for your cover letter or project cover page

What do you want to accomplish?

Do not use a template. Instead, ask yourself what you want to accomplish and write towards that goal. For example, if I want to talk with a prospect to find out more details about a project, I would say something like this: “I will call you at [phone number] on Tuesday, [Date] at 1:00PM. If that time is not best for you, please contact me right away to schedule a better time. I am looking forward to finding out more about you and how I can help you with your project….”

That is just an example, but I would go for a firm call if that is the intention – but without being too pushy.

Attention to detail

Just this week I had a client tell me one of our assistants spelled his name wrong in the proposal. If you are writing a proposal or cover letter, you need to give the clear impression (hopefully because it is true) that the person you are addressing is very important to you. Even a small error in something that is personally about them is going to stick out like a sore thumb and kill any chance of further working together.

For those of us doing Virtual Buzz Assistant work, that is especially important. You will be representing these people – you need to represent them accurately and well.

Make them want to talk to you.

Your writing and other items that are delivered to the client also need to leave them wanting more. This can be done with testimonials or stories that may mirror what the client would like to accomplish. I once had a client tell me that we were the best marketing money he ever spent. Why? More results on a much lower budget.

Tell people enough to pique their interest without boring them. Make them want more and close on the follow up call.

Make a clear proposal

If you need to, have someone else read your proposal and ask them if they clearly understand what you are offering. The more clear the package (Benefits, outcome and estimated pricing) the easier it is to move forward.

These are just some of the important things that will help you get more clients in your Virtual Buzz Assistant practice. I work hard to generate leads for the group, and I hate to see opportunities pass buy because of a typo or a poorly worded introduction. These relationships can pay you thousands of dollars for years to come. Make your first impression count.

Many people want to be in the top 10 listing of Google for particular keywords.  No doubt about it, your sales and visibility go up if that happens.

But what happens if I search on your personal name?  What happens if I search on your company name?

You might say, “No problem, I am #1″

But when it comes to your business brand or even your personal brand, just being #1 in Google is not enough.

You can capture all 10 of those top ten spots and control your destiny and image.  That is the kind of thing that Virtual Buzz Assistants are trained to help with.

Why is it important?  Look at the search on u-haul.  In May 2008, three of the top 10 are about why not to use u-haul.  Very negetive sites including one called u-haul sucks.

The good news is that if your name is fairly unique or at least uncommon, it is probably not too late to start locking up those spots.

Here are just some of the tools you can use.  By naming the accounts and titles of resources in these tools with the keyword (name) you want to protect, and linking to them from other sites, there is  a good chance you can capture the top rankings eventually.

• Squidoo, Squidwho
• HubPages
• Gather
• LinkedIn

This is just a starting point.  Locking up the whole top 10 is a lot of work, which is why we suggest having a Virtual Buzz Assistant help you.

If you have a small business, you are probably the sales person, the marketing person and many other things as well.

I have watched many business owners try to do Internet Marketing themselves, with varying degrees of success.

The truth is, you can do Internet Marketing yourself. It is entirely learnable.  You do not have to be technical.  You do not need to know HTML or PHP.  You do not have to be a designer.

What you do need is the time to continuously keep at it.  You need someone to make the regular tasks a priority.

I created the Virtual Buzz Assistant network because most people understand what needs done, more or less, but they never have the time to keep at it.  It keeps getting pushed to the side as lower priority, and then you hear business owners saying things like, “I never make money from my website…”

You probably do not need high-priced marketing firms or SEO firms.  Even if you do need them, it just may not be realistic for your budget.

The next best option is to have your plan and your goals documented, and then build a marketing team dedicated to achieving your marketing plan.

Do you have time to blog every day?

Do you have time to participate in social networks?

Do you have time to write articles and publish them?

Do you have time to find industry experts and pitch story ideas to them?

These are just some of the things that your virtual marketing team can do for you while you focus on growing your business.

The single biggest challenge in our business is the word buzz.  Businesses hear buzz and they want it.

Virtual Buzz Assistants can help you create a buzz, but here are some very important things to keep in mind when hiring any contractor or virtual assistant.

1. Have a clear outcome in mind.  I want BUZZ is not clear to anyone.  Do you want to grow your email list?  Increase website traffic?  Aquire more RSS subscribers for your blog?  Have higher visibility in social networks?
2. Have a plan to measure success.  It might be number of contacts, traffic, or sales, but have a way to measure what success looks like and communicate that upfront.  No one likes to find out the rules of the game after they have been playing for a while.
3. Virtual Assistants – Buzz or otherwise -  Any time you hire a Virtual Assistant, including our network of Virtual Buzz Assistants, you have to boil your desires and goals down into tasks that your Virtual Assistant can achieve for you.  You are in charge of your marketing success.  You need to have good products, a good brand, and an interesting story.  Your Virtual Assistant helps you get the word out about those things.
4. Set regular review periods and be willing to modify your plan – Try various email templates, web pages and contact profiles to find what works best.  If you are not realizing your goal, it could be because the message or audience is wrong.  Decide in the beginning the outcome and the date you will review results.  Then modify the plan if necessary.
5. Make your Virtual Buzz Assistant part of your team – Commit to long term and significant budget.  As they get to know you better, they become more effective and efficient.  If you have a significant monthly budget, they will try their hardest to keep that in place. 
6. Multiple tasks?  Multiple Virtual Assistants.  – If you have multiple tasks, do not assume that one person should do them all.  One Virtual Buzz Assistant may be best at writing for your blog while another may be best at researching the web and finding interviews for you.  Hire people based on strengths.
7. Keep interacting – Do not set it up and forget it.  Stay involved with your Virtual Buzz Assistant.  Get comfortable with how they can help you and what you can depend on from them, and keep working actively with them.
8. Don’t give up – If one person does not work out, it does not mean that Virtual Assistants do not work.  You have to find the right person for you.  Try working with someone on a short term basis to assess if you are a good fit and then exapnd the opportunity if it is comfortable for you.

A good assistant, virtual or as an employee, takes time to find and develop.  Once you have a great assistant helping you, the increased productivity and marketing benefits are big.

Virtual Buzz Assistants could also be called Social Media Administrators.

Here are some of the tasks they help you manage:

• Your brand image online
• Grow your networks
• Publish more articles
• Get more interviews
• Achieve better search engine ranking
• Generate more newsletter subscribers

While this is a short list, it is important if your organization is going to really connect with people through the tools that are popular today.  You could do this yourself, but an assistant is going to help you reach more people, connect better with people and make a great impression.