Sue L Canfield
Virtual Office Administrator
Grow Your Small Business with Virtual Support Services
Sue L Canfield, Awesome Assistant, has been an administrative assistant for over 25 years and has owned her own business as a Virtual Office Administrator since 2005. She saves time and money for busy solo professionals and service providers by providing administrative and marketing support, helping them create and implement strategies to promote their businesses.
Reading: Reading other people's blogs keeps you up-to-date on what others are interested in. Subscribe to blogs relevant to your industry. Search for relevant blogs at blogsearch.google.com. You can subscribe to and manage blogs at Google.com/reader.
Commenting: Commenting on other people's blogs builds relationships. You will get noticed by other bloggers and blog readers. Comments should increase the value of the article. Some things you can do in a comment are: share an example related to the article, add a point, add a useful link, disagree, or ask a question. When you post a comment, be sure to include your name and a link to your blog. You may just get the blogger to link back to your blog.
Writing: This is the part everyone worries about. What will I write about? How will I be able to keep up with it? Here are some basic writing tips:
* Keep it short. It doesn't have to be a long post. One to three short paragraphs is more than enough.
* Make it specific. Don't be vague. People will get bored quickly and move on unless it's interesting and valuable to them.
* Make it interesting. Use images or formatting (bold, italics, lists) to create eye appeal.
* Don't be too self-promotional. Sure, it's your business. But this is not the place for a sales pitch. This is a place where people can come to be educated. They know where to find you once they want to do business.
* Create interesting titles. They can be funny, enticing (a list of 10 tips), or keyword rich for search engine optimization.
* Write regularly, at least weekly. I suggest at two to three times a week. Personally, I post each business day.
So now you're asking, 'what do I write about?' It is not as difficult to come up with topics as you may think. Some suggestions:
* Lists of 5 ideas, trends or thoughts
* A list of relevant links with a short comment on why you found each valuable
* Share a recent experience you had
* Answer questions your clients or prospects often ask
* Comment on other blog articles you've read
* Turn a press release into a blog entry (again, tweak it so it's not too self-promotional)
How Do I Promote My Blog?
1. Email all your friends, family, colleagues and announce the launch of your blog. If you've already started blogging, send out an announcement at 6 months, 1 year, or at your 50th blog post.
2. Trade guest articles with a similar blogger.
3. Include a blog article in your newsletter and make sure to include a link back to your blog.
4. Use your online business networking sites, such as Digg, Facebook, and LinkedIn, to let everyone know of your blog.
5. At the end of your article, ask a question and ask for comments. Put it in bold.
Where Can I Create a Blog? There are several places you can go to create a blog for free.
Blogger.com
WordPress.org
MovableType.com
LiveJournal.com
Multiply.com
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Blogging For Your Home Based Business Advertising ***
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Generate Revenue Online With Top Blogging Websites ***
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Create A Blog To Make Cash Money On The Internet ***
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Viedo Blogging For SEO & Original Content ***
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Blogging Seo Techniques For Your Website & Blog ***
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The Virtual Assistant: Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee
By: Sue L Canfield | 24/09/2009 | EntrepreneurshipA rapidly growing industry is that of virtual assistants, also know as VAs. A virtual assistant is not an employee; he or she is self-employed. Being self-employed makes a VA an entrepreneur, a business owner.
Juggling Homeschooling and Growing A Home-Based Businesses
By: Sue L Canfield | 23/09/2009 | Home BusinessMany working moms find it challenging to come home from a long day at work and then still make dinner, check homework, bathe the kids, read a bedtime story, clean the house, and the list goes on. Now imagine trying to run your business from home AND homeschool your kindergartner. How can it be done?
Consistent, Educational Marketing
By: Sue L Canfield | 09/06/2009 | BusinessMost think of marketing as advertising and most advertising is about getting a customer to buy your product or services. Of course, that's the end goal of business. However, marketing needs to educate your clients and prospects to be truly effective.
Social Networking Can Work for Your Business
By: Sue L Canfield | 13/05/2009 | Social MarketingUse social networking to grow your business. Learn some easy, simple things to do to get you started in social networking.
Marketing Your Service Business Using a Virtual Assistant
By: Sue L Canfield | 21/08/2008 | Online PromotionMany service business owners, particularly solo professionals, want to market their business and see it grow. However, they find they spend so much time in the day-to-day running of their businesses that they just don't have time to market their business or are too tired at the end of the day to do any marketing. A growing number are turning to virtual assistants to handle their administrative tasks and help them market their business online.
Six Strategies to Stop Procrastinating so You Can Reach Your Goals
By: Sue L Canfield | 27/07/2008 | Small BusinessIf you're finding it difficult to reach your goals, perhaps you've been procrastinating, putting off tasks you know need to be done. Have you postponed until tomorrow a task that would have been better handled today? Here are six strategies you can use to help you stop procrastinating and reach your goals.
30 Projects That Can be Accomplished in One Hour by a Virtual Assistant
By: Sue L Canfield | 27/07/2008 | Small BusinessWhat may take you hours to complete because of all the distractions and necessary projects that have to be done, a virtual assistant can get done in an hour or so.