Virtual Buzz Assistant

oDesk is a great outsourcing method to get work done.

I have recommended them for years.

I have had mostly bad results with people I have tried to outsource work to from craigslist and other places, but I have never had a bad experience with oDesk.

Do not get me wrong, I am careful about hiring.  I check references.  I do smaller projects and then expand on them.  I do not assume someone is good until I try it out.

But I have gotten great results with this marketplace of virtual assistants, programmers and graphic designers.

I have one person working for me via oDesk that has been with me almost two years.

I have worked with people in Russia, Philippines, India, Pakistan and Romania to get programming and virtual assistant stuff done and I have always gotten good, and sometimes great, results.

You should just try it.  Even if you are a virtual assistant – go try building a team there because you will be able to pass on more value to your clients.

Visit www.odesk.com and check out the great tools and members they have.

Here are just a few of the virtual assistant companies making the news today. 

Virtual assistants, no matter where you find them can really help your business grow.

I get a lot of comments on this blog.  Many are obvious spam.  Others are borderline spam.

If you are a virtual assistant and you are going to blogs and commenting, you are doing it for one of three reasons.

1. To participate in the blog and conversation.
2. Promote your services.
3. Promote your client.

Understand something here.  I have no problem with people promoting things via blog comments.  It is not always going to be the best use of your time, but it is a solid way to jump start awareness and start building a relationship with someone that might write about you later.

If you are doing #1, here is an important tip:  Say something that demonstrates you read the post. When I get a comment like, Nice Job, Man. – I assume it is spam because I have nothing to tell me otherwise.

But if you are doing #2 or #3 – promoting something via blog comments, then you really need to consider some basic rules.

1. Show you read the blog post by saying something meaningful.
2. Do not try to promote a competing product.  THIS IS HUGE – I always delete posts by virtual assistant agencies that come on this blog and say, “Nice Blog.  If you need a great virtual assistant for $2 an hour visit….”   WTF?  Didn’t they read anything on this site?  No, they did not.
3. Don’t think SEO.  Most blogs use NOFOLLOW tags, so comments do not provide any SEO benefit.  The biggest benefit you get is by commenting on a popular blog post that will generate traffic and interest to click through.  That means your post must be relevant and interesting.

You might think that you have to be kind and polite as well, but I have approved a variety of negative comments on this blog.  I am happy for honest feedback from real readers, even if they do not agree with me.  Although too many might just cause me to ban someone as a flamer.

I know this post will not lessen the number of bad comments I get.  They are not reading my blog anyway.  However, I hope that this Blog Commenting Strategy helps you become more effective in commenting and getting noticed.

The Virtual Buzz Assistant blog has been included in the Alltop Listing Under Virtual Assistant.

Alltop looks for the leading blogs in a particular category or industry and then they aggregate the feeds into one page so that you can see all the most important article titles in just a few seconds.

If you are a virtual assistant or a freelance marketing assistant you really need to visit the alltop virtual assistant page daily and keep an eye out for useful information.

For me it is very gratifying because this blog is fairly new and you would think that the topic would be saturated because there are so many virtual assistants out there that are doing things on the web, helping their clients blog, etc.  Yet we have been able to quickly become a leader in this area.

The number one reason, I believe, is that this blog has two audiences.  We write some articles for virtual assistants that want to provide Internet marketing services.  We also write some article for people that want to hire virtual assistants to achieve particular marketing results.

While it may seem bad initially to have this split focus on one blog, both parties end up benefiting from understanding both sides of the equation.  A business that understands the issues surrounding someone being a virtual assistant will be able to work with the virtual assistant better.  And if you are trying to sell your virtual assistant services but do not understand your clients needs, fears and doubts, you are not going to be very successful.

Thanks Alltop for the recognition.  I hope this blog serves your audience well.

Internet Fraud is common, and virtual assistants must be careful not to get caught up in the fraud.  I have personally seen several new attempts to set up ¨non-profits¨ where the people were asking virtual assistants to create buzz and donations for their new effort.

A virtual assistant is an easy target because these fraudulant psudo-organizations do not want to hire real employees and a virtual assistant can propogate the fraud without being aware of what they are doing.  They never see the office, never meet the owners in person, etc.

So what can you do to protect yourself from aiding a fraudulant business or non-profit?

• Always get at least partial payment in advance.  Without exception.
• Always have the client sign a contract and be sure your contract specifically mentions that the company cannot be engaging in illegal or deceptive activities.
• Check the better business bureau if you have doubts about a client
• Get references from suppliers concerning the client.
• Don´t give your client a social security number.  A Federal Business number is all they need if you are a registered business.
• Do not give your bank number for direct deposit.
• Immediately stop services if the client falls behind in payments.
• Use a collections agency when the client does not appear willing to pay their bill.
• Stick to ethical buzz marketing tactics.
• Do not believe things that seem too good to be true.  Do not work with the expectation that there will be a lot of money coming in the future.  If you want to do that, start your own business.
• Never cosign on loans or help in raising money that involves your credit or reputation.

I am sure I am leaving some things out.  The reality is, there are a lot of people that believe their own hype and will try to get you to buy it.  Virtual Assistants need to take every precausion to avoid aiding internet fraud and getting involved with clients that are not good for them and ultimately will result in lost income and opportunities.  It is easy to get excited about a new client, especially if they are promising big things, but have a system in place to check the validity of the client, get payment in advance and detect internet fraud if it is happening.

Remember, catching it up front will prevent a lot of headaches in the future.

Here is a free internet marketing plan intro that will help you craft your complete internet marketing strategy.  Let me be absolutely transparent.  I want you to craft a great internet marketing plan using all kinds of free and cheap internet marketing tools and techniques.  Then I want you to realize that it is very valuable to do it, but it is a lot of work, so you will submit your project to our Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant Network.

Internet Marketing Plan – Step One

The first thing you need to do is focus on the outcome you want from your internet marketing plan.  I do not mean vague things like more sales.  You have to think about your selling process and understand what internet marketing can do for you.

1. Can internet marketing create sales directly?  Is it likely people will buy from you online?  It depends on the product.
2. Can internet marketing generate leads for you?  Will people pick up the phone and call you?  Will they submit via a form?
3. Will your internet marketing effort generate stronger brand awareness?  Will it strengthen your ability to close sales when you are calling on people in person?
4. Can internet marketing be part of a drip marketing strategy where you help people get to know you and eventually call you?  Email auto responders are a good example of this.

That list is not a pick-one list.  Ideally you will have some things to sell, some ways to generate leads and some techniques for strengthening relationships.  But you have to be clear on the outcome before you can start.

Internet Marketing Plan – Step 2

Next you need to plan out your internet marketing strategy.  Think of the entire thing as a funnel.  And if you have three outcomes you want, then you have to build three funnels.  Some of the things high up in your funnel will probably give people options to drop down into different funnels depending on their interests.

You know where you want to get people, but how do you find them?  There are several different ways people will find you and begin exploring what you have to offer.

1. Press Releases
2. Search Engines
3. Word of Mouth
4. Affiliates
5. Paid Ads
6. Social Media
7. Online Advocacy

Before you invest huge money into ads, make sure you test the conversion and profitability of the page people are landing on.

Keep in mind that you will not get instant results from many of the online options.  Because the internet is so crowded and noisy, it is hard to stand out and get noticed.  It can take months or even years to build a credible site that has a real audience.

So for this step two, you should have your Internet Marketing Outcome defined and have your funnel strategies listed on how you are going to build traffic and awareness for the marketing outcome you want.

Example:  I want people that are thinking about becoming a Virtual Buzz Assistant to visit this site and join our network so that I can help them be better virtual marketing assistants and help businesses find virtual assistants that they can depend on to help them promote their business.

• I have the sign up page which is the end of the funnel.
• I have the site and blog, which is the middle of the funnel.
• I write articles to generate search engine traffic, such as this one about free internet marketing plans
• I use a variety of social media sites to create higher visibility for the site.

Without going into too much detail, you can see how this internet marketing funnel is built and works.

Internet Marketing Plan – Step 3

Now you have a plan in place.  The next step is doing it.  Marketing is never a set it up and forget it proposition.  You will have to try things, experiment, track your marketing results and ROI and keep making adjustments.  Also, even if you get great visibility one day, it is not easy to maintain that visibility for the long haul without considerable effort.

That is why we created the Virtual Buzz Assistant network.  If you create a good, detailed markting plan there are many people available that can help you execute it.  But do not think that because you have outsourced particular internet marketing tasks that you can forget about your internet marketing effort.  It is up to the owner or CMO to keep an eye on the reports and results to ensure great ROI.  And if the numbers are not where you want them, then experiment and adjust, don’t just stop doing it.

I have seen a lot of people give up. Blogging is an excellent example.  People get excited about blogs, they start a blog, then when they do not get a big audience or sales quickly, then simply stop blogging.  It is not a question of whether blogs work as part of your internet marketing strategy or not.  The question is, are you doing the right things with your blog.

Internet Marketing Plan – Step 4

At some point you reach a time where you have to assess your effort and make some decisions.  If something is working, you need to put more time and money into increasing that effort.  If something is not working, you have to ask yourself why and decide if the effort needs changed or is it simply not reaching the right people.  You do not want to give up on things too quickly, but you also do not want to keep throwing more money at failing strategies.  Move your resources to what works.

I hope this free internet marketing plan article is valuable to you.  People always make requests on this site to get more buzz, but they have not done their homework and written at least a simple internet marketing plan.  If you cannot clearly define the marketing tasks you want a virtual assistant to do, then you cannot expect them to get results for you.

Don’t have time to write your Internet Marketing Plan?  Then you can always pay someone to write your internet marketing plan for you.

What is a Virtual Assistant and how is that differnet from a Virtual Buzz Assistant?

Virtual Assistants are people that work Virtually and assist you with tasks.

I started this network because I saw so many virtual assistant sites advertising a laundry list of things they would do.  Website Development, Search Engine Optimization, Blog Writing….

The fact is, if you are hiring a traditional virtual assistant to do these kinds of marketing tasks, you are probably not getting a good value.  There are all different levels of skills with these kinds of internet marketing skills, and a virtual assistant that is willing to book your airline ticket, do data entry and order flowers for you is unlikely to be really good in internet marketing as well.  It just requires too much experience and constant learning to do those things well among other things.

So, if you would like to hire a virtual assistant that does general tasks, that is great and there are lots of places to do that.  If you are interested in hiring a Virtual Assistant that is Internet Marketing Savvy, you need to know what you are looking for and submit your project here.

A Virtual Buzz Assistant is very different.  They often do their own internet marketing and continually sharpen their skills by selling their own products or affiliate products.  They watch videos and read information on how to be a more effective blog writer, buzz marketing expert, etc.

A Virtual Buzz Assistant also will usually turn down those tasks that are more general.  They are focused on becoming the best Internet Marketing Professional that they can be.  That is why they will charge a higher hourly rate as well – because they provide more specialized skills.

Keep in mind that there are some similarities of a Virtual Assistant, an Executive Assistant and a Virtual Buzz Assistant.  You would not hire the Executive Assistant and ask them to be the CEO.  They assist the CEO.

You should not hire a virtual assistant and put them in charge of hiring.  However, you might hire one so sort through resumes and look for particular criteria.

And you should not hire a Virtual Buzz Assistant to write your buzz marketing plan.  They help you do the tasks to make your plan successful, but you have to have at least a simple plan with goals to begin with.

Virtual Assistants, whether doing internet marketing or other tasks, can be a very effective way to grow your organization.  But remember that you are in charge of strategy and you have to develop the working relationship, not just tell them to go create internet buzz for you.

How do you assess the value a virtual assistant network provides and how do you know if the VA network is worth paying for?

Here are some tips to help you think about whether to pay for membership in a Virtual Assistant Network.

1. First assess your own needs. What do you want out of the network?  For example, you would not want to join the Virtual Buzz Assistant Network if you are just looking for basic information on becoming a virtual executive assistant.
2. Assess value to needs - How much is a solution to your need worth?  In our case, is becoming an Internet Marketing Assistant worth $99 per month?  Depends on your goals.
3. Job Leads – A Virtual Assistant Network will probably not provide you with 100% of your work.  Instead, figure out how many new clients per year you would need to be happy with the network.  Networks are usually only going to provide leads, and your ability to offer a service and close the deal will be critical.  Some of our Virtual Assistants have reported making a profit within the first month, but some have never gotten a virtual assistant job.
4. Commitment – Is the Virtual Assistant Network trapping you into a long term commitment?  Do they require monthly payments that you cannot cancel?  We allow people to cancel any time and offer a $9 trial membership that is good for 7 days.
5. Virtual Assistant Network Cost – Money and Time – If you invest your money and time into the network will it help you grow your organization?  What are the key values they give you to grow your Virtual Assistant Business?

You might think I am all about talking you into joining a Virtual Assistant Network.  I am, if you are serious about growing your virtual assistant business.  But it is an investment and if you are just going to dabble, you should stick to the free virtual assistant message boards out there.

You  should join our Virtual Assistant Network only if you understand that long-term, you will be a better asset to your clients and worth more because of your Internet Marketing skills.  It does not happen overnight, and you have to learn by doing marketing for yourself as well.  But it is a great long-term investment in your Virtual Assistant Business.

What is better: A virtual assistant team or one great virtual assistant?

My Virtual Assistant Network may not like this article.  However, I exist in that vague in-between region of helping virtual assistants become better marketers and a higher value to their clients vs helping business people use virtual assistants to improve their business process and get the best return on the money they spend.

So let me recommend something to you – do not hire a virtual assistant.  Hire a team of virtual assistants.  Not a pre-built team.  Build your own.

Here is why.

• Not all your eggs in one basket.
• Focus on a few tasks for each VA
• Measure the effectiveness of each virtual assistant and expand or cancel based on individual performance.
• Get one experienced virtual assistant to manage the team of other virtual assistants
• If one person stops being a VA, you are not so dependent on one person.  You can more easily replace a limited skill set and focused tasks instead of one person that has been running your entire Internet marketing strategy.
• You can leverage better pricing by expanding your work with someone slowly.
• A business can see how a Virtual Assistant performs on a small number of tasks before entrusting them with more tasks.

Building a team of virtual assistants is cost effective and more stable for you in the long run.  It is also wise because you can hire the best VA for each task.  Blog writers are not necessarily good at online advocacy or link building.

Define how you would like to measure the success of each virtual assistant and hire a virtual assistant manager to coordinate and send you reports.  Of course, this only happens after you have a few VA’s that you have engaged and are working with.

This is even true if you are only hiring writers.  Hire 3 to do 2-3 articles or blog posts each.  Compare all the articles.  Which ones are most likely to get linked to?  Which ones are best for search engines?  Then hire all three if they are good.  Or hire the best one.  But remember, if you only hire one, he could later stop writing, become exclusive with another client or raise his pricing.  So having a team of writers is safer for you.

A virtual assistant can help you.  A virtual assistant team can transform your business and help you exceed your goals in less time.

You can create a lot of buzz with your employees via great customer service and great products.  But how do you create virtual buzz on the internet without distracting your employees?

Virtual Assistants can easily be trained to create virtual buzz on the web for you one a regular basis.  Not getting exactly what you want?  Great, move on and try another.  It is not like they are employees – and they know that.  Virtual Buzz Assistants want to keep you happy long term and perform better because of it.

Here are some Virtual Buzz Tasks that a Virtual Assistant can do for you.

1. Blog Writing
2. Blog Commenting
3. Blog Management
4. Website Updates
5. Affiliate Management and Recruiting
6. eBook Writing
7. White Paper Research and Writing
8. Contest Management and Promotion
9. Online Advocacy
10. Profile Management
11. Social Network Management
12. Press Release writing and submission
13. Article Marketing
14. SEO
15. eNewsletter writing and publishing
16. Link Building
17. Video development
18. Directory listings
19. Social Network Expansion
20. email followups
21. CRM Management
22. JV Development

There are more, but if you did all of these, wow, you would be well known on the web.  You can create all the virtual buzz you want with a virtual assistant.  Just don’t expect to have sales leads gushing in after only a few weeks.  These strategies take time.