Virtual Assistance Business Briefs » VA

NAWBO St. Louis Featured on All About Business St. Louis TV

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:39:04 +0000

I was part of a group of women business owners, and members of the St. Louis Chapter of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) who were invited to participate in a video about the organization which aired on St. Louis television this past Sunday. Sponsored by www.allaboutbusinesstv.com who did a fabulous job. Check it out!

NAWBO St. Louis Featured on All About Business St. Louis TV is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

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NAWBO St. Louis Sponsors Women’s Health Program

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:16:58 +0000

The National Association of Women Business Owners will host a cocktail party and program on the latest health issues impacting women’s lives. Dr. Susan Hoffstetter will discuss heart health, nutrition and sleep disorders, immunizations and health screenings, and pelvic and bladder health. Hoffstetter is a board certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and an Associate Professor at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health.

The event will take place Wednesday, Oct. 19, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., at Westborough Country Club, 631 S. Berry Rd. The cost to attend is $35 for NAWBO members and $45 for guests. A $10 late fee will be added after Oct. 16.

“Dr. Hoffstetter is one of our most popular speakers,” says NAWBO president Louise Wiedermann. “She consistently delivers timely information in an entertaining way that results in lively discussion. We invite the community to join us for this important program.”

For further information, contact NAWBO St. Louis at 314.954.8344. To register for this important event visit: http://www.NAWBOstl.org.

NAWBO St. Louis Sponsors Women’s Health Program is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: cocktail party, department of obsteterics, dr susan hoffstetter, gynecology, nawbo, nawbo st louis, nawbostl.org, westborough country club, womens health care, womens health program

Help Me Win a Scholarship to a Conference in Las Vegas!

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:44:32 +0000

VOTE for ME, #3

I am SO excited. I feel like I’m on American Idol! I submitted a scholarship request to attend an upcoming Virtual Assistance Conference in Las Vegas, NV! Accelerate LIVE! is being held in October and I am one of ten finalists to receive a scholarship to the event which includes all workshop and event sessions, as well as, a hotel room and some meals!

Find out more about the event at: http://www.accelerate-live.com

It would be a wonderful opportunity to re-energize my business and take it to the next level. And who could resist a couple days in Las Vegas? Can I count on your vote?

If you would be so kind as to ‘vote for me’ as many times as you can (you may vote once per day) from today through June 17th, just follow this link – http://www.accelerate-live.com/scholarship-contest-vote-now/ and scroll to the bottom and vote for #3, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much, I hope to let you know later this month that thanks to your kindness we were VICTORIOUS!

Help Me Win a Scholarship to a Conference in Las Vegas! is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: Accelerate Live, accurate business services, jeannine clontz, las vegas, scholarship to conference, VA converence, virtual assistance conference

Recent Interview for WE Magazine (Women in eCommerce)

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:34:27 +0000

I was recently interviewed for WE Magazine (Women in eCommerce) – take a peek!

Woman in Business Helps Solopreneurs

Meet Jeannine Clontz, President ~ Accurate Business Services

Tell us about your business. We provide marketing and social media support, training and consulting on an as needed basis as a Multi-VA
practice. Although we service clients in many industries our main expertise is in the support of solopreneurs, like REALTORS, coaches, speakers, and consultants.

Please tell us what being a business owner means to you and why you became an entrepreneur in the first place? I became an entrepreneur by accident. I had received a small inheritance when my Aunt passed away and was looking for a business opportunity for my husband since I was the main bread winner and had access to benefits, including healthcare. I ended up finding the virtual assistance industry and started the business myself for ‘fun money’ so my husband and I could travel. Five years later he was laid off and I needed to expand and grow my business to be the main bread winner again. I never imagined that I could be a business…

More here…http://bit.ly/l5nSv3

Recent Interview for WE Magazine (Women in eCommerce) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: accurate business services, business opportunity, business owner, Business Tips, jeannine clontz, WE Magazine, women in ecommerce

How to Get Your Podcast Sponsored

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:35:27 +0000

As a podcast creator, you already know that the costs to produce a high-quality podcast can add up, if not right away, certainly over time. To cut down or eliminate costs, you may consider sponsorships.

A common practice in traditional radio programming, getting sponsors is also for podcasts. Usually, in return for financing your podcasting efforts, sponsors will require you to endorse their products or services on your show or provide them with advertisement spots. Sometimes, broadcasting a simple sponsorship notice is enough – it all depends on the deal you make.

First Impressions Matter

Before seeking out sponsors for your podcast, it would be wise to make sure you are fully prepared. Take some time and create a list of tasks you should perform before expecting someone to shell out their hard-earned money to support your show. If your website needs updating or repairs to functionality, get them done. If you don’t have a webpage discussing your show, make one. Furthermore, update your archives and ensure past shows are available for downloading.

Once you feel everything is in good shape, it’s time to put together information about you and your podcast. The goal is to make it easy for your potential sponsors to find out whatever they need to know about you and your podcast in a single, concise resource.

Think of obtaining a sponsor as being very similar to making a sale. Your ultimate goal is essentially to sell your podcast. So, other than the obvious information like genre and topics covered, let the potential sponsor know important details such as how many listeners you have (with concrete, actual data), what demographic they fall into (age, gender, profession, etc), and whether or not you currently have any other advertisers or sponsors for the show.

Imagine yourself in the sponsor’s position. If you were going to sponsor a podcast, what kind of information would you want to know beforehand? Make a list of all the possible questions you might have and answer them to the best of your ability in this informational report.

Where to Look for Sponsors

There are a number of services that can connect podcast producers with potential advertisers and sponsors. Some of these services include Podtrac and Radiotail. However, often the best way to find sponsors is to simply research other business owners that target the same market as you do. They could be bloggers, service providers, or even local small businesses. Contacting these kinds of organizations can often yield more stable and lucrative sponsorship deals.

Obtaining sponsorships for your podcast may take some extra time and effort. However, you’ll find that the added recognition and financial stability is well worth it, not to mention making your program appear to be far more desirable for other advertisers.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan request her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvcs.com

How to Get Your Podcast Sponsored is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: finding a potcast sponsor, podcast sponsor, podcast sponsorship, podcast tips

3 Tactics for Responding to Social Media Criticism

Jeannine Clontz — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:16:25 +0000

As social media continues to evolve so do those who participate, and how they respond is changing, too. Responding to social media criticism is difficult at best – creating a short, punchy response can make you look too aggressive, while a reasoned response is often lost on someone out for blood. The process of analyzing feedback has become more important to major organizations, so much so that the U.S. Air Force has created a process for responding to bloggers, encouraging PR experts to only respond to comments in certain situations.

These three tactics can assist you with a social media criticism problem, particularly one that stands to damage your organization’s reputation. If you’ve spent the last day staring at an angry blog post, a snarky column, or a rude comment, apply these tactics and judge its negative value before you submit a reply.

1) Ignorance is bliss, at least in the eyes of Google.

As tempting as it may be to put a biased blogger in their place, doing so many cause more damage than good. Blog posts, like other dynamic pages, tend to gain Page Rank and search visibility through the work of their readers. Inbound links, comments, and activity can all contribute to high search placements, often for terms that you’d rather not see attached to your company’s name.

2) Some people just aren’t rational or ethical. Resist the temptation to use reason.

A reasoned response should be enough, right? Often it’s not, particularly on blogs that generate (and capitalize on) controversy. If you’re being picked on by a blogger or questionable online publisher, leave the event to die out on its own. A response, however reasoned and valuable, might just provide more fuel for the hungry critics.

3) Think in terms of value. Will a response help your business?

Some marketers think that more is always better. They’re wrong, especially when it comes to content that’s steeped in controversy. You should only respond to public criticism when it could change your business, especially for the worst. If the audience appears to have made up their minds without any input from your business, leave them be and focus on developing value elsewhere.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvcscom

3 Tactics for Responding to Social Media Criticism is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: managing social media criticism, social media criticism, social media marketing, social media marketing tips

Facebook Marketing Fun: Spreading the Word Without Annoying Users

Jeannine Clontz — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:18:03 +0000

When it comes to viral marketing, Twitter is very much the flavor of the month. This popular service has all the signs of a promotion-friendly medium – it’s public, easy to use, and boasts one of the largest userbases of any social media platform. A single tweet can easily swell into a thousand-strong meme, with users flooding the website and generating huge amounts of instant notoriety.

But is that really what your business wants and needs? A flood of traffic that, if not for a thin connection, most likely wouldn’t be interested in your product or service. Each of Twitter’s promotional strong points has one or more disadvantages too – public promotions can often hurt a brand, memes can occasionally lead to subsequent marketing disappearances, and messages can be misinterpreted as spam.

It’s for that reason – or anti-reason, if you prefer – that thousands of marketers are using Facebook in place of Twitter for their promotional efforts. The service is, in many ways, less than ideal, some profiles are private, others are inactive, and most belong to groups that are rarely, if ever, updated regularly.

But that’s not all bad. With privacy comes a greater level of information sharing, and an even more valuable level of participation. The website’s grouping system can help small businesses find exposure in the ‘like’ list of popular users. In short, Facebook’s rather private and network-based nature can make it a greater tool for viral growth than its ‘open’ rivals.

I’m not at all saying you should discontinue utilizing Twitter or LinkedIn for that matter, as a part of your overall social media presence, but instead, make a more focused use of Facebook, while still using the others as secondary marketing opportunities.

Finally, it’s Facebook’s relatively more private nature that makes it the perfect service for optimizing and promoting your brand, all without fear of being labeled a ‘spammer’. Twitter’s public nature has made it a haven for automation and link spam – an annoyance that’s hurt hundreds of real marketers in the process.

With privacy comes a level of trust that’s otherwise missing. Design a Facebook promotion and you could find your company’s message between updates from close friends. If that doesn’t sound more appealing than a mass produced tweet, then it may be worth trying out a different social marketing strategy altogether.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Facebook Marketing Fun: Spreading the Word Without Annoying Users is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: Facebook Tips, marketing with Facebook, twitter, twitter for business, Twitter tips

Two Ways to Optimize Social Media for Maximum Sales

Jeannine Clontz — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:48:56 +0000

There are hundreds of case studies highlighting social media’s strength as a traffic generating platform. There are hundreds more touting its ability to increase participation and inspire users to complete specific actions. What the industry is missing is a case study on one of the most important success metrics out there: its value for sales-driven businesses.

Sure, there are pieces of information out there, maybe even a rough outline or two. What’s missing isn’t the potential for sales to happen – any social media marketer knows how worthwhile the medium is as a sales tool – but a scientific look at the improvements that can help it increase the bottom line of small, independent, everyday businesses.

These two tips can help you do just that, whether for your own independent operation or as part of a larger organization. Don’t worry – none require technical wizardry or complex coding skills – just a basic understanding of social media and enough time to carry out some basic A/B testing.

1) Exclude more people from your community.

At its heart, social media is about community. Seth Godin highlighted the value of a leader-guided online community in Tribes, explaining that a dedicated and enthusiastic online group can create more than the sum of its parts with the right leadership. But that group can’t thrive without a goal that’s shared, and sometimes creating that common goal requires eliminating some members.

Don’t fence off your group after you’ve spent years building it – instead, set up some light rules for participation before you make it public. Excluding people based on their membership or customer status may not seem particularly social, but it can lead to a community experience that’s often lost on larger social networking groups and open forums.

2) Add sales-driven elements to all of your social media presences, and start testing.

For marketers, social media is about both community and commerce. There’s little value in web traffic that simply isn’t interested in buying. Adding sales-driven elements into your social media pages may scare away a collection of uninterested users, but it comes with a surge in the proportion of sales-friendly users.

By guiding your users through sales-driven actions, collecting data, and generating test sales, you can quickly and easily grow to understand the commercial makeup of your audience. Some users may be the buying type, interested in quick results, while others may show an interest in products, services, and offers that you previously never expected to discover.

Work on developing a sales-driven community and test the results to enjoy the maximum sales possible through your social media efforts.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Two Ways to Optimize Social Media for Maximum Sales is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: get sales from social media, social media community, social media marketing, social media marketing tips

Brand, Sales, and Balance: Are You Including Social Media with Other Online Marketing?

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:33:37 +0000

The 1980s are remembered for their developments in business and technology, particularly computing. The 1990s for their advances in technology, particularly the growth of the internet and online business opportunities. If the 2000s are to be remembered for anything (although it may still be too early to tell), it will be their developments in communications and online communities, particularly the incredible power of social media.

Social media gives major brands and companies as well as small business, some seriously big power, but it is rarely used as it should be. Commitments to quality are sometimes overlooked, and opportunities for branding, direct sales, or indirect marketing are often passed over. These missing opportunities do cost businesses.

Social Media for Branding:

A dollar unearned is a dollar lost. Businesses are often questioning the value of social media for their branding efforts, but few take action when they should. Billions of dollars are being left on the table, particularly as major brands move onto social media services, and the value of a social media-friendly brand still is not being recognized.

An experiment is always worth more than not even trying. Discussion on social media’s branding abilities will only take companies so far. With the low cost of social media efforts, an experiment with social media branding can generate huge returns, all with a relatively minimal level of risk. Develop a simple plan and test your ability to grow and expand your brand.

Social Media for SEO:

SEO consultancy (and in-house efforts) were once the domain of spammy content and low quality link generation efforts. Poorly planned information was setup on low-cost websites, and marketers shot out as many links as were possible. Despite being somewhat effective, the old world of SEO is packed with inefficient models and outright unethical business models.

However, social media has given SEO new life. The old "SEO is spam" cliche is no more thanks to the development of social media. Each new social media asset is another opportunity for high quality outbound and inbound linking, and every social media conversation is another opportunity to spread links that actually add value.

With Twitter tweets and Youtube videos now regularly appearing in Google’s standard search results, the divide between search and social media is likely to become even smaller. Marketers accustomed to spam-style SEO tactics are in for a new surprise, while businesses that embrace social media receive a well-deserved SEO boost.

Social Media for Sales:

Social media is not a good sales platform, but it is a good resource for generating future sales. Social media’s ability to generate prospects is one of the most important aspect to the sales process. Marketers that were once dependent on direct lead generation have a new platform available to them, particularly in open social media platforms like Twitter or Myspace.

The greatest news is that social media is still in its infancy. Businesses that are built on lead-based sales have good things to look forward to. As social media develops further, sales models will be refined, micro-networks offering great sales potential will grow greater, and marketers can look forward to a platform that is refined, sales-friendly, and willing to be marketed to.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Brand, Sales, and Balance: Are You Including Social Media with Other Online Marketing? is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: brand, branding, branding tips, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Tips, sales, sales tips, social media, social media marketin tips, social media marketing, social media tips

Five Reasons to Give Up On Your Goals

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:22:58 +0000

Giving up sounds so negative. But can you make room for the possibility that you can release your goals without being a failure? Yes, you can! Sometimes the goals themselves are unreachable, for reasons outside your control. There are times to let your goal go – or at least set it aside for a while. Here are five of those times:

Not motivated to achieve the goal.

Have you ever made plans to go to a movie with a friend or attend a party, but when it came time to get ready to go, you just couldn’t get moving? Maybe you decided you didn’t really want to see that show, or you’re having a grand old time just sitting on the couch in your sweats with your significant other. Whatever the reason, the motivation is just not there.

If you’ve tried all the suggestions in my previous posts, and you keep missing deadlines, or taking the next step, or simply not acting on your goal, it may be time to let that goal go, at least for now.

Sometimes it’s a disconnect you haven’t been able to pinpoint, or sometimes the timing’s just not right. It’s okay to just set the goal aside and move on to something more attractive. No one’s keeping score – I promise.

You don’t know what’s next.

If you are lost, unsure which direction to go in next, which path to take, or what you really want, it may be time to stop hitting that wall. Instead of feeling like you HAVE to have a goal, take some time to reflect and figure out what you’re really trying to achieve with your business or your life.

Though I’m all in favor of action, I think it’s much smarter to make sure you’re choosing the right goal and the right strategies to achieve them, rather than just acting for the sake of acting. You can’t get where you want to go until you know where it is you want to go! Simple enough.

You are exhausted.

Type-A, ultra-motivated goal-setters can burn themselves out pretty quickly. It’s hard to stay motivated if you don’t have any recovery time, instead bouncing from one huge project to the next. It won’t matter how successful you are if you don’t have the energy, or give yourself the time, to enjoy your achievements.

If you’re bordering on burnout, give yourself a break. Set all your goals aside for a while and just relax. It’ll pay off in the long run.

You don’t feel as positive about the goal any longer.

Contrary to popular belief, it is okay to change your mind. You may be halfway to a goal, or even closer, and decide it’s a bad idea or it’s just not a goal that you long for anymore. That’s okay. Really.

If you think you’ve changed your mind about a goal, take time to ask yourself “why.” Is it a higher-level objective issue? A strategy issue? Or are you just not sure? Figure out how you feel about your goal before you decide to let it go. If after you’ve explored your “why” and your feelings about your goal, you decide letting go of your goal is the right thing for you right now, release it and move on. No regrets – just lessons learned.

As a final thought on this topic, I can’t resist putting in this quote for obvious reasons:

“The only thing you live to regret are the risks you didn’t take.”

~Anonymous~

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Five Reasons to Give Up On Your Goals is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: achieve your goals, attainable goals, goal setting, goal setting tips, Goals