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You Are What You Communicate
By Janice D. Byer, CCVA, MVA, Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services

Marketing is an integral part to any business. How you get the word out about your product or service can have a tremendous impact on the success of your business. Just throwing together a business card or brochure to hand out, or a quick website is not enough. You need a marketing strategy.

Your marketing strategy is all about communication. How you communicate your message will have an effect on how you are perceived in the minds of your customers. Having a clear idea of what drives your customer to buy can help you to communicate to them why they should buy your product or service.

So how do you go about making sure that you are saying the right thing and that your potential customer will keep you in mind?

1. Determine the objective of your marketing material. What do you want to accomplish with this piece of advertising? Do you want your client to call you for further information, do you want them to cash in a coupon or to bookmark your website for future reference?

2. Decide who will be your target market. Are you trying to sell to a large corporation or to the mother of small children? 'Who' is going to buy from you is 'who' you need to focus your message on.

3. Compose a positioning statement. In a single sentence convey exactly how you want your customer to perceive you, something that will stick in their mind. (i.e. "We specialize in word processing.....")

4. Now, add a primary benefit to that sentence. (i.e. "...so you can get experienced help when you are short staffed or overloaded...")

5. And then, throw in a supporting benefit. (i.e. "...saving you time and money on your staffing needs.")

6. Now, work with this sentence to get your main message across. If you only had space for one message, what would it be?

7. Add any other supporting messages that will convey the benefits of having your product or service. (i.e. "No need to provide equipment. We do everything in our office.")

8. Give your customer an opportunity to provide a desired response. How do you want them to react to your communication? (i.e. "Wow, this is a great product that will save me money" or "I could really use this service to get a handle on things.")

9. Make sure to project the right tone in your communication. Use a number of adjectives to describe your product or service, expressing how you want to be regarded. (i.e. professional, innovative, exciting, friendly, newsworthy, etc.)

10. Last, but not least, consider how you are going to execute your message. Does it fit best on a 3-fold brochure and what kind of paper do you want to use? Do you need a tear-off coupon on it? Does your message fit best on one page of a website or several pages? How are you going to turn your marketing strategy into hard copy or virtual copy?

All in all, you are designing and executing your marketing strategy to attract potential clients. Always have them in mind when putting ideas down on paper or on the web. What you think is appealing may not be appealing to your customer. Ensure that your message will catch their eye and impress upon them that your product or service can make their lives so much easier in more ways than one.... and better than your competitor!

Janice Byer, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services, provides professional, creative and affordable virtual office assistance and small business website design. She is a Certified Canadian Virtual Assistant (CCVA) and Master Virtual Assistant (MVA). She is also the author of Surfin' The Net - Docu-Type's Virtual Collection of Links, which is filled with the secrets of her success. Visit her website for more information and to get your copy.

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"And the Moral is..." Don't Learn This Lesson the Hard Way
By Clara Fyffe

Okay, all you Virtual Assistants out there, listen up. This is probably my most important column for you, so pay close attention and learn from my huge mistake! I've been writing a variety of articles on business and computer issues for many years and been a VA myself since July of 1995. None have been more important than this. You need to hear my tales of woe before you make your decision.

Before I opened my own company, All-Write Virtual Office, I went back to college at age 44, graduating in '92 with a Bachelors degree in Communications, Journalism, and Creative Writing. Writing has always been my first love - and all that goes with it. I think I'm smart, don't you? Well, let's just see.

Of course, everything I wrote, whether for college or for personal use, was stored in my computer. Occasionally, when I thought of it, I'd put some of my writings on floppies (no CDs at that time) "just in case," but keeping the originals in the computer.

For the next three years, I worked as a feature writer for a newspaper, wrote features and edited articles for a print magazine, and even had my own monthly column called "Mom's Musings" where I related stories of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of being the mom of a son in college. Still think I'm smart? Read on!

It wasn't long until my hard drive began to fill up, not only with my own writings, but with those of other writers. I kept their originals as well as my edited versions of their stories and articles.

I even had in my computer the original typed full-length books of pre-published new authors who asked for my opinions on their writings, as well as wanting help with editing, writing query letters, and preparing sample chapters for submission to major publishers. Two of these "hopefuls" are now successful authors, both with multiple books in print, and are published by two major publishers. Talk about success! I feel privileged to have been a small part of their success.

With all of these writings cramming my hard drive, I upgraded again to a brand-new model with a much larger drive, carefully transferring all of that data into the new, fancy computer. I even put individual files onto more floppies to keep them "safe," but still kept the originals in the new computer, since there was now so much extra space. But, oh, those floppies were multiplying fast!

Now, remember, this is all even before I opened my business.

After my accident, when my body began to rebel against me, I found it too difficult to physically chase stories, and then the print magazine folded. I learned of a woman who had a "Home Secretary" business she wanted to sell, and I bought it, client list and all. All-Write Virtual Office was now in business. I expanded my areas of interest and dropped some of hers.

I turned my business slightly to work not only with new authors (who normally have little money) to include typing and editing papers for undergrad college students. The pay is great, the students were always thankful, the business was brisk and constant (word-of-mouth spreading fast), and I loved the calls from students raving about their "As."

In addition, I began working for businesses, both small and large, whose owners were not skilled in proper written business communication. Proofing, editing, and even re-writing were all included in this area of my business.

Due to the busy-ness of my business, I allowed more and more time to pass between "saving-to-disk" my files. It just took too much time, and my disk collection became overwhelming, both to organize and to store.

After moving here to Ellettsville, I wrote a business plan, submitted it to a contest, of sorts, with the local SBDC and Voc Rehab and won a $25,000 brand-new office, including two top-of-the-line computers, both with huge hard drives. I transferred all my files to the new computers, "assuring" myself that my files were all there and that "soon" I would finish making backup CDs. I dreaded it, though, because I had accumulated hundreds of files and just couldn't find the spare time to do it.

Then came the tornado. Fortunately, my hard drive - and all my files - survived, but all of my backup disks were destroyed. Nearly a year passed before insurance settled and my equipment was replaced.

My files were transferred to the huge 500 GB hard drive on one of the new computers, to be used mostly as storage for Word files, graphics, pics, etc. The other was to act as a secondary "workhorse" computer. I had intended to put all my files on both computers, but never did.

As you all know, my health hasn't been the best these past few years and business fell off dramatically. This entire year of 2007 has been completely useless business-wise, with me only being able to take on a couple small projects. I have one client who has stayed with me for all these years of illness, and his documents and invoices were all on my computer. He, like many clients, needs to occasionally refer to projects from the past, and I, of course, need the invoices for taxes and other purposes.

Recently, I was curious as to how many actual files I had in that computer because 500 GB is a LOT of files! I have this neat little program that will make an instant Word document of the name and directory of every single individual file on your computer. I typed in "My Documents," and 403 single-spaced 10-pt pages of file names printed out! That's four hundred and three pages of files!

Here is where my lesson to you comes in, and I so hope you'll heed my warning. After looking over those 403 pages of file names, I finally decided I needed a real and sure backup system, one that would be easily accessible, should anything happen to this computer. You think I'd have learned from the tornado, right? Still think I'm smart???

Remember, this was more than 20 years of data, including not only mine and others' creative writings, all my college work, my articles as a writer, other Word documents, etc., but also my complete website, pictures and videos of my sons and grandsons over the years, genealogy documents and irreplaceable photos taken as long as 100 years ago (breaks my heart), as well as all my clients, their projects, and their invoices from 1995 to the present.

Frankly, I didn't know much about on-line backups and wasn't sure about how they worked or if they were secure. I researched and looked around at desktop backup units. I got a 500 GB Maxtor backup system - just big enough for all my years of files. I was down to one computer now, since I lent one to my son and therefore couldn't copy my files to it. But, that was okay because Maxtor (purchased by Seagate) itself assured me that their system was all I needed.

Since my new computer was glitching quite a bit and I feared losing data, I decided to re-format the drive after I was absolutely positive that all my files were saved and accessible on the Maxtor and that a complete copy could also be re-installed after the computer was fixed. I just hated searching through all those diskettes and CDs looking for a particular file!

I called Maxtor, just to be certain I was backing up correctly, and they walked me through it step-by-step. After all my files were transferred to the Maxtor (with a copy still on my hard drive), they had me check to make sure the Maxtor was being recognized by the computer. They had me disconnect their unit and go ahead with the re-format which, of course, wiped out all the files on my computer's "C" drive. I had no worries since the Maxtor was holding those 403 pages of files.

I called Maxtor back so they could guide me in replacing my files. They had me plug the Maxtor backup into my computer, and, yes, it and all my files showed up on the screen. I was thrilled - for less than 10 seconds!

Suddenly, the screen went blank. No Maxtor; no files! They had me unplug it, then try again. This time, the computer would not even recognize the Maxtor backup drive at all - and no files were there, either.

I panicked! The Maxtor man asked me to send the unit to them, and they would check it out. I told him there were over 20 years of data on that unit and that I needed those files back, no matter what!

"No problem," he said, so I sent it off.

Now, remember, this was my very first use of their product. A few days later, I received a call from their Data Recovery division telling me that the unit was defective and they would be happy to send me another just like it.

I said, "Absolutely not! I need all my files!"

He replied that they could take the little disk out and do a "clean room recovery" to try to get my files off, but that it would cost me $800 for each 14 gigabytes of data! That's well over $30,000-$60,000! (It would be done in India, too, and I wasn't about to send all my files across the seas!) I threw a royal fit with them, but they refused to budge. I demanded my entire unit back, which they did return to me, files still stuck inside.

I've asked around to many local and distant IT specialists, and the vast majority recommended a company in California called "Data Recovery Services." I spoke to them a few times, telling them what happened and the extortion-like amount that Maxtor wanted to charge. This fellow was livid and said that he would be willing to do a complete "clean room recovery" for only $1,620 total and that if he could not pull them off, he would charge nothing.

Of course, I don't have $1620, so I sit here every day, looking at that broken Maxtor, knowing that my entire life's work is imprisoned inside. It literally makes me sick and terribly, terribly sad.

I whined about my situation to my "best VA" friend, and she was very sympathetic and supportive, as she always is. That afternoon, I received an e-mail from Carbonite On-Line Backup Service, informing me that this good friend had purchased a 1-year subscription for me so that, from this point on, I would never lose another file! How blessed I am to have such an amazing friend!

So far, Carbonite is working great and was very easy to set up. It runs in the background and does automatic backups each night, unless you tell it otherwise. It does not automatically back up pictures, videos, and music, but will if you select for it to. They told me there is no limit as to how much you can save to your encrypted backup, too, which is rare. And, I can access my files from anywhere and from any computer. I am so happy with this!

As did my friend to me, I highly recommend Carbonite to all of you who, like me, are foolish in not having suitable, functional, dependable backups in place.

The sad moral to this lengthy story is, no, I sure was NOT smart! I basically lost my life history, and I want it back. (If any of you know of a way to raise the money to buy back my nearly 500 gigabytes of lost files, just let me know.) 9

Don't be naïve, thinking nothing will happen. It will. I guarantee it. And, so, my dear VA friends, my final statement for you to seriously consider - starting tonight - is just this: "BACK UP, BACK UP, BACK UP!!!"

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Outlook Productivity Tips: Sharing Outlook Items
by Andrea Kalli

Ok, picture this…you like to keep track of correspondence, projects, issues, etc. regarding your contacts. You want an easy and simple way to document these things. You don't want to buy new software, and you certainly don't want to have to stop and take the time to learn it. After all, it's not rocket science.

Enter, Outlook Journaling.

For the sake of simplicity, Outlook Contacts and Outlook Journaling provides a VERY easy and flexible way to document whatever you want. It's a great way to utilize what you've already got on your desktop.

It really doesn't get any easier than this.
To see how this can be done, check out the video.

My video tutorials, "Outlook 2007 What's New" are ready for purchase at Premiumcast.com. $17.95 US for 22 videos and approximately 2 hours of full tutorials.

Provided by Andrea Kalli Virtual Trainer and Assistant, LLC. Productivity training, support, and customization for Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint users. Come visit our website at www.virtualassist.net and feel free to contact me at akalli@virtualassist.net. Get your SharePoint user training two ways: Our video training via www.digbizbooks.com Live online workshops via www.uofvas.com View my business blog at http://virtualassist.typepad.com View and subscribe to my training calendar at http://www.trumba.com/calendars/akva Thank you and have a great day! Andrea Kalli

Click here to view Andrea's helpful videos from these tips!
Andrea Kali is a virtual Trainer and virtual Assistant. Visit her website at virtualassist.net

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Resolve Disputes to Get What You Want
by Kathy Ritchie

Not long ago I ordered a set of camera lenses, adapters, and filters for my new camera. I searched around for the best deal, and found it on eBay. I was so excited when the lenses came that I immediately went out to snap some photos. To my dissappointment, the new lenses worked horribly! I was shocked! (My first bad deal on eBay.) The pictures were distorted, and just awful.

I went back to the ad and re-read it carefully. I discovered that the lenses I received were not as described in the eBay ad, nor were they fully compatible with my camera as stated. I contacted the seller, and after showing her a couple shots, she agreed that the quality was poor.

We discussed options for a little while, then finally, agreed to have her ship out the correct lenses, and I would return the filters, the adapter and incorrect lenses. I would only pay for my shipping of the lenses back to her.

My bottom line is: Don't settle! If you're not satisfied, and you know it should be different, speak up. Then you'll get the clarity you deserve.

See the photos in my blog!

Thanks! Kathy Ritchie

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A Simple Step-by-Step Plan To Save You Valuable Time and Energy
By: Al Mendoza

The secret to boosting your productivity sounds almost too simple - start working from checklists!

The best kind are those that you create yourself. By all means use someone else's checklist as an idea-starter - but remember that we all work in different ways and we all learn at different rates.

You might find that you suddenly get stuck when using someone else's checklist because they seem to have left out a vital step. It's more likely that as far as they're concerned, they haven't left out anything - they probably automatically do whatever it is, so it didn't even occur to them to write anything down.

When you run any kind of business, you tend to repeat certain tasks over and over. However, when these tasks are new to you, they can take a long time.

You make mistakes. You get stuck. You spend hours working out how to do a relatively simple task.

Then, next time you have to perform the same task, you get stuck again. You can't believe that you didn't scribble down a few instructions as you went. Now you have to search for the same information again. Aaarrgghh!

Get organized now and you'll never again have to waste time repeating a search for essential information. Here's how you do it.

1. Create a new folder on your desktop. (Right-click on the desktop and choose new then folder.) Call it "How-to".

2. Open Notepad. If you haven't used it before, you'll find it here: Start/All Programs/Accessories/Notepad. To put it on the desktop, right click Notepad and choose "Send To Desktop". In future, make it a habit to open Notepad before you any new task, ready to jot down notes.

3. Type the name of the task you're about to start on. (For example: Uploading Web Pages.) Save your document -using the same name - to your new How-to folder.

4. Minimize Notepad. You can do this by clicking the 'minus' sign in the top right hand corner of the window. The icon for Notepad will be placed in the task bar on the bottom of your computer screen. Whenever you need to make another note, just click on this icon and it will bring the document up on the screen again.

5. Begin working on your task. At the completion of every successful step, bring up Notepad from the task bar and type what you did. Save your document every time you do this (just in case your computer shuts down unexpectedly).

6. If you have to send off a query to a help desk, or put in a support ticket, or stop to do some research, make a note that this is what you did. Copy and paste the URL of any website you go to for help. This could be invaluable to you later.

7. When you have successfully completed your task, go through your step-by-step notes. Tidy them up, and if necessary clarify a step here and there. Make sure that this is a reliable, useful checklist that you can follow the next time you need to do the same thing.

Follow the same process every time you perform a new task. As time goes on, you will have an invaluable set of personalized checklists that will help you run your Internet business smoothly. You also have the basis of a useful 'how to' product or e-book that will help others who are just starting out.

About the Author:
AL MENDOZA has been doing Internet Marketing since 1998 and earns his living 100% online. Mr. Mendoza has authored several publications and ecourses. He is the CEO of MarketingThinkbox.com

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