kO′ch VA adj. 1. a highly specialized and niched virtual
assistant who is in tune with their coaching clients and customizes solutions based upon their individual needs and goals 2. differs from a general virtual assistant as they only partner with members of the coaching industry [syn: 
Archive for Web 2.0
Google Places and How It Can Help Your Business
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Google says that one out of five searches on Google are related to location. For that reason they created Google Local which has since been transformed into Google Places.
If you’re familiar with Google’s Local Business Center, then you’re also familiar with Google Places. Google changed the name of their local business center to offer better services to businesses and their users.
Like its predecessor, Google Places is designed to help people find businesses and to help business owners reach out to their prospects. Like the old fashioned Yellow Pages, Google Places offers business information organized by category. If you sell dog treats in Austin, Texas all your prospect has to do is look for Dog Treats in Austin, Texas and they’ll find you.
However, unlike the old fashioned Yellow Pages, Google Places is available on any computer and mobile device. This is important because many people use their mobile device as a resource for finding stores, services and businesses.
What Does Google Places Offer?
Google places offers the same tools and features that Google Local Business Center offered and they’ve added several new features including:
- Service areas: Designed to help internet marketers make their address private and help brick and mortar establishments cater to people in a geographic region.
- $25 Enhanced listings and tags to help users search.
- Business photo shoots. Businesses can upload their own photos or request a free photo shoot of the interior of their business which can supplement existing photos.
- Customized QR codes which can be placed on smart phones and business cards and scanned to help people find your establishment
- Business owners can post real-time updates to their Place Page. This makes promoting special events, offering coupons or incentives easy.
- Google Places also offers a personalized dashboard for business owners so they can track the data including how many times prospects have found your business on Google, what keywords they used and where they came from.
Getting Started On Google Places
Getting Started on Google Places is easy. If you have an account simply log into your account and create a listing. You can add coupons, description, location and you can use the QR code to market your business.
If you don’t have a Google account, then it’s easy and free to get one. Visit Google Places and sign up. You can immediately begin creating your listing.
Why Use Google Places?
Google Places is good for business even if you do not have a brick and mortar establishment. Many people prefer to do business with local businesses and they conduct searches for these businesses online or on their mobile device. You can reach a whole new audience by listing your business with Google Places.
Using Google Buzz for Business
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Goggle Buzz is one of the newer social networking sites today, and it’s rapidly becoming more popular all the time. One reason, of course, is the Google name that is attached to it. However, it’s not just popular because of this. There is plenty of substance to back it up.
How do you access it?
It’s entirely located within your Gmail account, and it’s free. All you need is a Gmail account.
Who would benefit from using it?
Anybody just looking to catch up with friends could use it. However, it’s especially effective for businesses.
It is inspired by Facebook, Twitter and other popular social sites, as it takes on aspects of each. For instance, it enables you to upload pictures and videos. And you can easily have a conversation with other users. All of this enables you to give your business personality.
So how can your business benefit from it? Here are five reasons you might want to start using it:
Post wherever you are
One of the strengths of Google Buzz is that it works great with mobile devices. This allows you to post wherever you want, quickly and easily.
It even has a feature that enables you to speak into the phone, and it will automatically convert your words into a post. In other words, you don’t even have to write. This only works with certain applications, but it can be very convenient.
And you can let others know where you are posting from, if you want. This could be useful if you want to give your posts more personality.
Convenient
It links with the more established social sites. Therefore, you can see other people’s activity on Facebook and Twitter without even having to leave Google Buzz. This means you can view other people’s tweets right from the Buzz platform.
Segment your posts
One of the unique features about Google Buzz is that you can choose who you are posting to. For instance, you can just post to a certain group of contacts, or the entire Buzz network. It all depends on who you want to see your post.
This is especially useful for businesses. For instance, if you have a list of proven customers, you can do a post only they can see. And you can then write a message for those who haven’t bought from you yet. Therefore, you can tailor your posts to your audience, much like segmenting an email list.
Blog compatible
You can link your Buzz account to your blog. Therefore, whenever you update your blog, it will update your Buzz account. If you have a lot of followers, this could translate into a lot of money provided you have good blog content.
Filter
If you are subscribing to others’ RSS feeds, the Buzz has a filter that eliminates posts that wouldn’t be of interest to you. You just tell it what to block. This saves you time, because you don’t have to sort through hundreds of posts you don’t care about.
The bottom line is, you would be smart to use the Google Buzz, because it gives your business personality. While it will require time and effort, the Buzz can be very profitable for you.
Are you ready to give Google Buzz a go? If so, Follow Me on Google Buzz
Attracting Younger Clients
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It’s no secret that getting younger customers is critical. It’s important, because you could potentially have a client for life if you handle the relationship correctly.
So how do you attract them? Here are few tips to make it happen:
Know where young consumers hang out
One of the obvious places they go to is social media sites. The biggest age group using the popular social networking sites is the eighteen to twenty-four bracket. YouTube, Twitter, and MySpace are all examples of social sites that offer a huge amount of profit opportunity.
Know who your customer is
Trying to target all young people is not going to work because it’s not specific enough. You will want to narrow it down to a certain age and gender to be more effective. This will enable you to speak exactly to your customer, instead of trying to design some generic advertising that appeals to everyone.
Get in a conversation
More and more, young people are doing business with companies they trust. Trust is one of the most important words today for business.
How do you build trust?
You have to show you care about their needs, and can help them. If you ram one advertising message after another down their throats, they will know you just want the money.
So you first have to identify their needs, and show that you have a solution for them. You want to engage your target market in a conversation and answer their questions.
This will establish you as an expert. So you first have to give them a lot of great free information. If your free information isn’t that good, they will assume that what you are selling isn’t that valuable either.
Ask them questions. This will show them you care about what they want. After you’ve done this, you can explain how your product would meet their needs.
Use video
As mentioned above, video social networking sites are really taking off. Video is one of the best ways to engage your customer. This is because people can comment on them, much like a blog.
From the comments, you will be able to see the needs that your customers have. Then you can design you product to better meet those needs.
Emphasize benefits
More than ever, young people don’t care about how long you’ve been in business. They are interested in what you can do for them. Your credentials aren’t as critical as the benefits you provide to them.
So don’t talk about yourself, talk about what you can do for your customer. It might be useful to mention you are an expert, but the main focus should be on the benefits.
Remember, you are in the business of helping people. That’s the only way to make money. So engaging your customers, finding out their needs, and meeting those needs is how to attract younger customers.
How to Set Up An RSS Feed
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RSS feeds are a useful tool for people who want to keep tabs on websites, blogs and membership sites without having to surf and visit the websites individually. RSS feeds essentially send information to the visitor.
As a business owner they’re almost an essential tool to provide to your visitors, because they help you stay in connection with them on a regular basis. In fact, many people have readers that aggregate all the feeds they subscribe to and organize them so they’re easy to read and access.
On that note, here’s how to set up effective RSS Feeds.
1. Determine what content you want to make available to your visitors. What content do you want them to be able to subscribe to? For example, if you have an information-based website, you may want them to be able to subscribe to categories or to all new articles or to give them the choice.
2. Create your feed. You can use an RSS channel editor to create your RSS feed; if you’re not comfortable coding then this is an easy step. There are a number of channel editors and you can do a quick search online to find one that meets your needs. My personal favorite is Feedburner. It’s a snap to set up and all the work is done for you.
You can also create your feed yourself. It’ll look something like this:
<?xml version=”1.0″ ?>
<rss version=”2.0″>
<channel>
<item>
<title>Your Article Title Here</title>
<description>Your article summary/description here.</description>
<link>http://linktoyourwebpagehere.com</link>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
3. If you choose to do it yourself, upload your RSS file. You’ll cut and paste the code into your website code. Or if you’re using FTP, you’ll upload the file into your server.
4. Validate the feed. There are a number of free validation programs available online. This is an important step because errors can be present if you’ve created the feed yourself or if you’ve tweaked it.
5. Your next step is to let people know they can subscribe to your feed. Advertise. Place a button on your web page(s) and promote it. Many internet users love RSS feeds and take full advantage of them.
Make sure you update your feed as needed and stay on top of RSS technology. It has changed over the years; there are actually three types of RSS feeds and you want to ensure you’re giving your visitors the best you have to offer.
How to “Yelp” Successfully
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When it comes to making your business known, there are a lot of ways to establish yourself online and off. Businesses are becoming successful using social networking and blogging, but Yelp is a somewhat less known, but powerful way to make yourself known online and expand your business.
Yelp is a newer website, but the concept behind it has been around as long as businesses have.
Yelp has several different webpages, all for different cities. It’s a listing of businesses, but it also includes the ability to rate and review the businesses.
When it comes down to it, word-of-mouth advertising is generally better than an everyday, average advertising campaign. The reason? Anyone can make a claim about their business. But no matter how good that claim is, there’s no real guarantee that it’s true because the business owner is making it themselves. With word-of-mouth advertising, someone else is telling the consumer that the claim is true.
Whether it’s someone they trust, or simply someone who doesn’t profit from what they’re saying (or even if they do), this is taken as a much more trustworthy source. This way, you’re not only getting your name out there, you’re also getting your reputation out there.
So how can you use Yelp to your advantage? First, make sure your business is in there. That way, even if there are no reviews, at least you’ve got your name out. You can then use your Yelp page to add details, pictures, and even updates, and special offers about your business.
That way, new customers know what to expect, and have some extra incentive to come in along with previous customers’ experiences that assure them they’re getting what you advertise.
Once you’re listed, make sure you’ve got quality reviews. While some people may get family and friends to plant positive reviews, these are often easy to spot to the trained eye. Why not just encourage customers to go online and write a review?
Yelp is not only good for finding new customers, you can also use it to communicate with current customers to keep them coming back. You can talk to them privately, or communicate with them publicly so other customers can not only get answers, but also see that you take care of your customers even after you’re done providing services.
Another advantage of Yelp is that it allows you to recommend other businesses and more importantly, allows them to recommend you. You can offer reciprocal links to local businesses, or provide them some other incentive for promoting you. The more successful the other businesses, the better the links you’ll get from them.
The best part about Yelp is that once you set up your listing, it’s fairly easy to maintain. You’ll need to update when you make business changes and keep up communication, but it only takes a few minutes and is well worth the benefit.
Getting Your Website Up and Promoting Your Business
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Starting a website or blog can be a minefield for many. At times, it can seem as though the World Wide Web is truly just that – a web to maneuver through and make sense out of. However, by using a few simple and effective strategies, you can come out at the other end all the wiser and more successful.
Here are a few things to bear in mind when building your first website or blog:
Forget the bells and whistles – keep it simple
Design on the internet needs to be easy on the eye, user friendly and make sense to the average user. Never assume your customers will be as web savvy as you – many may just be familiarizing themselves with online surfing while others may simply have come to expect traditional navigation on a website.
Simplicity always rules on the net. Let your website stand out by making it easy for the visitor to find what they’re looking for, and most importantly by providing great value and content within your site. Then simply follow a few basic good design rules and you’re set to go. Here are the most important rules to follow:
- Don’t use color for the background. Keep the background of your website or blog white. In some instance a light color will work but avoid dark colors. Black can be especially difficult on the eyes. When in doubt, go with a white background and black text.
- Don’t use too many graphics or flash images. Flash images can make a website slow to load and be downright annoying in some cases. Use images sparingly and make sure you use Alt tags in your images to make them search engine friendly. A few well-placed graphics can make a good impression and add to the actual content of the website – graphics should always enhance your text, not take away from it.
- Don’t use music or audio without controls. An audio welcome can be a great addition to your website but always give visitors the option to click to hear the audio if they choose to. Otherwise, you may startle or annoy your customers when they suddenly hear a message they weren’t expecting. Music in most cases is just not necessary and will distract from the message of your site. If you feel that music is a good addition, again, give your customers the option to click to listen to the music rather than taking that choice away from them.
- Don’t use too many text colors. As with the background and design of a site, text color should be kept simple. At most use three colors within your site, preferably two – one for the standard text and one for headlines. This will make reading easy on the eye and look more professional. Using two colors also means that your headlines will stand out to the reader and draw them into the text.
- Break it up. Text can be very difficult to read online. Make it easy on your visitors’ eyes by breaking up the text into small, manageable sentences. It also helps to add bullet points and sub-headlines throughout the text as many readers on the net skim pages rather than absorb them in full.
Don’t forget the content
Good design is important but great content can make all the difference to your internet success. The best approach is to gel good design with stellar content and you’ll have a sure winner on your hands.
Always give a little more than other websites and keep your content fresh and up-to-date. Add interesting stories, articles, downloads, videos and information that will help your visitors achieve their goals.
Don’t avoid feedback
Feedback – good or bad – is important to your business. Ask visitors to fill in a poll, reply to your newsletter or give them feedback in general. Use this feedback to improve your site further and to help your visitors achieve their goals. This will pay off nicely for you too in the long run.
Creating a Website That Works
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Unlike the traditional business model, an online business gives you 24-hour presence which anyone from around the world can access.
This is an exciting and fantastic opportunity for business owners who know how to make the most of this powerful sales engine.
Here are a few tips to help you create a website that really sells:
#1 – Keep it simple. A great website doesn’t have to include tons of graphics or flash images, in fact, this can work against you. A website with clean lines that’s easy to read and navigate will usually have a better conversion rate. Your visitors aren’t really interested in all the bells and whistles – what really matters most to them are the answers you have to their problems. You can achieve this by offering genuine great information.
Avoid music, flashing images and too many graphics. A few well thought out graphics can enhance the look of your website but anything else may be confusing and look too “busy” to your visitor. If in doubt keep it simple, and let your words shine.
#2 – Content is king. Great content solves problems and offers solutions. When people search on the internet they’re looking for information first and foremost. If your website offers solid information, people are more likely to visit you again and trust your product recommendations too. Quality content will also attract the search engines and you’ll stand a better chance at achieving that all-important top ten ranking for your keyword phrases.
Always concentrate on creating value through quality content, and you’ll build a business that will pay you back for years to come. You really can’t go wrong with providing good content.
#3 – Get their information. Even with a great website it’s likely that your visitors won’t buy from you the first time around. It takes time to build confidence and trust on the internet. This is why it’s important that you have a method of collecting their name and contact information when they first land on your site. You can then communicate with them through emails and start to build a relationship which will bring them back to your website.
To get the highest number of subscribers, place an opt-in box in a prominent position on the home page of your website. But don’t stop there; make sure the opt-in box is prevalent throughout the site so that visitors can access it from any page. Include a catchy headline to draw their attention to the area.
And don’t forget to give your visitors an incentive for signing up. People really don’t give their names and email addresses out as freely as they once did due to the high levels of spam on the internet. Give them an incentive to sign up by offering a free report or other great offer.
Building a great website is not difficult. Always think about your visitors first and help them by providing a website that’s clean and easy to navigate. Then add great content as a solution to their problems, and finally get their information so that you can keep helping them further in the future. Concentrate on these three basics and you’ll design a website that truly is a 24-hour sales engine.
You will want to check out our Blog Crazy Special going on right now!
The Importance of Website Maintenance
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Website maintenance isn’t something a lot of online entrepreneurs think about. In fact it can be quite a mundane task for most. However, it is important to keep your website ticking over smoothly.
Here are a few reasons why maintaining your website is important:
Attracting the search engines – Search engines are important to the livelihood of your online business, but they don’t like “dead” websites. Websites which have been left static without updates or fresh content are a no-no in the online world. Another thing search engines don’t like is broken links.
As you build your web pages it’s easy to miss broken links. A good strategy is to double check every link you add to your website. Inevitably you may miss some or some may become broken with time (as web addresses change and so on). Regular maintenance and “check-ups” for your website will help you spot these broken links and keep your customers and search engines happy in the process.
Updating information may increase your sales – Regularly looking over your website will also help you make changes and adjustments as necessary. For example, you may have started promoting what was a great product two years ago but now that product may be outdated and not so great anymore. By updating your website you may find products and promotions which are a better match for your visitors. This means more money in your pocket and more satisfied visitors.
Look through your old web pages to see if there are any promotions which can be updated or given a little extra “oomph.” Times change and on the internet time moves at a faster speed – keeping up with the times is important and you can do this by simply looking over your pages and tweaking as you go along.
Keeping track of your stats is important – Another part of your basic web maintenance is keeping on top of all your visitor statistics. It makes sense to regularly go through your website and check how many visitors you have on a monthly basis, where they’re coming from, how they’re finding you, what pages they’re accessing and so on.
A running log of these statistics will help you quickly identify any potential problems such as loss of traffic or reduced income from sources such as Google AdSense and so on.
Regular web maintenance for your website is important. It can help you keep up with changing times, help to attract more visitors and ultimately make you more sales. If you find this task difficult to squeeze in, try scheduling it in for a set time each month or every few weeks. It shouldn’t take long and the time investment may make all the difference to your business. And finally, if you don’t have time to do the web maintenance yourself you can always hire a virtual assistant to help you with this task.
Did Someone Say ‘Blog Crazy’?
Posted by: | CommentsYes, someone said ‘Blog Crazy’ but I actually said ‘Blog Crazy Special’ because that is what is going on… right now! What is this bloggy craziness, you ask? It is nothing. Do not worry about it. Forget I said a word. I am warning you, this could help your business strategies.
[Redirecting Your Attention]
Did you read the blog post that Yaro Starak wrote about creating change in your life. In order to change your life, you have to really examine yourself to… well you can read it.
Yaro is always interesting. However, I suppose that you want to know about this Blog Crazy Special.
Fine. But do not say that I did not warn you.
It is no secret that I am a fan of Open Source Programming. Well, this Blog Crazy Special was built on Open Source Programming and all the wondrous benefits of it. Some of the additional programs that you will get with this special are tools for Google. Soon you will be creating Google friendly site maps, using Google Analytics to track your stats, optimizing your blog for SEO, hiding pages (like thank you pages and client specials) and more.
Now, you will get much more than some applications made for Google. You will also get an events calendar, a social connection tool (for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and many more), one-click upgrades and many more apps pre-installed for you.
If that were not enough, you will get a real self-hosted WordPress installation on your own hosting account. On top of that deal, we will custom design your chosen blog theme’s header graphic.
All of this is one crazy deal to get your business moving. The Blog Crazy Special is $299.97 and includes one full year of hosting. Yes it’s a blog (and so much more). Yes it’s crazy (because of all the extras). But, you are the one who makes it special [Awww. I called you special. Oh wait, the good kind of special, like when your significant other says that you are special to them. That kind of special. Whew.]
So, if you are interested and ONLY if you are interested, you can read about the Blog Crazy Special and order it for yourself.
