The Ridiculously Good Virtual Assistant Show

Today we are going to talk about marketing - in particular, inbound marketing - and how to do it well to get clients.

Last episode we talked about outbound marketing (or reaching out to clients), so this week we will cover the other half of the essentials of marketing.

First a quick recap: What is marketing? The act of putting your VA business in front of people Instead of thinking of it as advertising and publicity, think more of it as visibility and sales/getting clients Focus on increasing your visibility so your clients can decide on their own to buy

Why do we need to do marketing? Learning how to market is the best thing you can do to guarantee the longevity of your VA business because it brings in revenue and that keeps you in business

The more marketing tasks you do right, or well, the less you actually have to do.

What are the essentials?

What is your offer? What do you want people to buy?

How much will it cost them?

Who is going to buy it?

Where are they - where will they see you, or where can you see them?

What will you say to them? before, during and after

ONLY when you know the answers to these questions, you can doing some marketing to connect with your clients.

Inbound Marketing Content that helps people see you and connect with you or reach out to you (attracting them IN to you)

Outbound Marketing Actions and content that help you reach out to others to connect with them (reaching OUT to them)

Today we are going to talk about inbound marketing.

Inbound: freebies, list building, emailing, posting to social media, videos, blogging and your website (all good).

These things are probably the things you think of when we say marketing. It's about all of the things that we put out there so that people can learn about our business.

VAs don't necessarily need a huge email list, but having people find YOU makes sales conversations easier to get. We don't own social media - so attracting people to our website, blog and email list though - so that it is ours. And no matter which type of marketing you are doing, you need leads - everything you do should lead to sales conversations so you can get clients.

Social Media: Social media posting is great – with the right plan. VAs often do it wrong. Be really clear on what you should be putting out there. Don't talk about being a VA and how great it is. It's all about your clients. Create content that are relevant to what they want to learn about - not just sales posts about your services. For instance, if you offer course creator support, write about that kind of thing - what platforms that you use, updates to platforms or trends, and how you help your clients with them. Show that you are the expert. Become their information source. You don't need to be on social media all day long to do your marketing. Focus on the things that are interesting to your clients, that will help you get better quality content out there.

Messaging is Important: When your messaging is on point, you can do less and have it work harder for you. Get really clear on what you help your clients with - use the concise marketing message. I help (who) with (what) so that they can (what), because I (why). It's not an elevator pitch but this information helps you get really clear on what kind of content you should be putting out there. Anything you put out there should work hard for you, it's never one and done. Set up a system for your digital marketing tasks that plays one off the other to get the best results.

Search Engine Optimization: SEO also is key for any online content The words you use are important to help the search engines put your content in front of the right people. Hashtags, keywords Make your content work harder for you. You don't have to be an SEO specialist, but use words that help people find you when they are looking (what do they type into a search engine) My story - I never ranked in search engines because I didn't use the right words in my titles or articles. I thought I was talking to my audience, but I needed to be speaking to the search engines.

Blogging: Writing blogs is great because you own your website and the content You can guide people to where you want on your own site You can repurpose it easily into more content Creating regular content is good for search engines too - website updates are good! Endeavour to write 400 to 600 words and you will get more content that is still really valuable. Your goal is to have people know, like and trust you: more of the same content does that

Your content: Write for your clients, not for you. Stand out by posting different content than most VAs post. What do they want to know about? Always base content on the services you offer For example, a bookkeeper writes about tax and expense tips & resources, organization tips, industry info – and references the things she does for clients. (not about being a VA) What works for you? Anything related to the services that you offer.

Creating Content: When you write your concise marketing message, you can then begin to create content around that message. Decide on 4 main topics to write about Rotate them weekly. Repeat each month. Repurpose from a large piece of content This creates consistency and cohesiveness, which showcases your expertise

Get Inspired: When you have 4 main content topics, it's easier to collect great info to support them Swipe file is a place to collect stuff to use in your content - bookmark, Google Drive file, digital file. Stats, quotes Curated content Makes creation process faster to collect this all month long

Get Going! Focus on 2 or 3 main things to do in terms of posting content Don't try to be everywhere Work smart!

What will you do to market your VA business? whatever works for you - whatever is comfortable for you - whatever produces results for you.

That's all I've got for you this week.

If you need some help with nailing down your marketing essentials, or creating great content, or doing your inbound marketing better, reach out to me at [email protected]

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

The Essentials of Outbound Marketing: Reaching Out

Today we are going to talk about marketing - in particular, outbound marketing - and how to do it well to get clients.

What is marketing? The act of putting your VA business in front of people Instead of thinking of it as advertising and publicity, think more of it as visibility and sales/getting clients Focus on increasing your visibility so your clients can decide on their own to buy

Why do we need to do marketing? Learning how to market is the best thing you can do to guarantee the longevity of your VA business because it brings in revenue and that keeps you in business the second thing to do is get good at conversations - which is just an extension of the marketing

The more you do right, or well, the less you actually have to do

If you have 10 sales conversations and you get one client, that means your conversion rate is 10%. We want to strive for better than that. So we don't make 20 conversations to get 2 clients - instead we improve our conversion rate, or the sales conversations that go right (and we sign the client).

We look for 7 sales from 10 conversations by doing better at them.

Market your business in 20 minutes a day - but you first have to have the essentials in place first

What are the essentials?

What is your offer? What do you want people to buy?

How much will it cost them?

Who is going to buy it?

Where are they - where will they see you, or where can you see them?

What will you say to them? before, during and after

ONLY when you know the answers to these questions, you can doing some marketing to connect with your clients.

Inbound Marketing Content that helps people see you and connect with you or reach out to you (attracting them IN to you)

Outbound Marketing Actions and content that help you reach out to others to connect with them (reaching OUT to them)

Today we are going to talk about outbound marketing.

Outbound: Networking, cold calling - just conversations with people. Let's park the sales talk and just talk about conversations.

Conversations - talk to someone, ask them questions, see if they need your services, if not - move along, if yes, keep talking.

That's why it's essential that you know the services you are going to offer.

Your BEST services Do what you know best Don't do things you don't do well, or don't like doing - that's not a service I offer

You can charge more, you can confidently talk about it You can enjoy your work - and be the client's expert

They will work with you, trust you, and refer you

Ask questions wait for answers Listen to them What does the client need? What do they want to get help with? What is their budget? When do they want to start?

Really easy to sell a client when you can do what they need.

Other Outbound ways to get clients:

Sponsorships at events - vendor table or sponsor (you often get to speak or get extra mentions in front of the whole event crowd) Sponsorship in publications - could be helpful Business groups BNI Chamber - weekly commitment/referrals but often a great way to get clients - you will be the only VA Attending events - ask questions at the mic and never forget to introduce yourself, your company, and tell people who you help and with what Email marketing - mailing out to your list Guesting on a seminar - showcase your expertise Teaching a lunch n learn - usually the whole group will need your services (if you speak at the right places) Social media ads - can be pricey but are very targeted

Anything where the service provider initiates the conversation is outbound marketing

What will you do to market your VA business? whatever works for you - whatever is comfortable for you - whatever produces results for you.

That's all I've got for you this week.

If you need some help with nailing down your marketing essentials, or having conversations with clients, or doing outbound marketing better, reach out to me at [email protected]

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about marketing and making a simple plan that works for you. And why that's probably not what you think it is.

First things first, what is marketing?

Marketing is about creating digital communication that helps VA clients get to know you and move towards working with you, with a few steps in between.

Why is marketing so hard? Because we were never taught how to do it. And because there are SO many options out there to use as marketing tools, we can get confused and overwhelmed very quickly, trying to be everywhere and do everything.

Just like we tell our VA clients to outsource what they aren't good at, or don't know how to do, we have to do the same thing with our marketing. To a point. Basic marketing knowledge is important as a business owner, so if you don't know what you need to do and why, you need to learn that.

And there are some things you can learn to do for yourself - and some that you may consider outsourcing as well. The thing is, don't try to become a marketing expert if that's not the service you offer your clients. The key is to get the marketing done - and to understand why you are doing it, and to be able to measure it.

That's called planning.

A simple marketing plan can help a ridiculously good VA like you clarify what you are intending to do, how to do it, and whether it is working for you.

The flow goes something like this: marketing goal - strategy - plan - action - analytics - sales conversation - clients.

Marketing doesn't just mean posting a few social media posts and then getting clients.

There are a lot of components to marketing (if you weren't sure of this, try googling marketing and seeing ALL the things that make up marketing - enjoy getting confused and overwhelmed!

So we start by setting a marketing goal - but what is our goal?

It depends on what you already have set up.

Here are some examples of marketing goals:

Build awareness - this is where you let people know about you and your business. Awareness is often called brand awareness, but you can also just call it awareness of you and the services you offer your clients.

Generating leads - building your audience is an important marketing goal. That doesn't always mean list building or creating a freebie right off the bat, but it does mean getting more eyes on your services and your content.

Showcasing expertise - showing your people how great you are to work with is a key to success in marketing. Of course you have to have an audience to show it to, so you see how things fit together. But being able to showcase how you support your clients is essential too.

Increasing engagement - Especially on social media, we don't want to just be pumping content out - we are looking for engagement with what we put out there - and engagement with US too. When people know about you , the goal is to get them to a sales conversation, and sometimes that can take a while.

Generate revenue - of course the ultimate goal is to get clients, and to make sales - so this is clearly a common goal - but marketing doesn't start with this.

As you can probably see, all of these goals sort of nest inside one another- so if you don't have the first ones in place, that's where you should start.

In order to get clients, they need to know about you, you need to be building your audience, they need to see and understand how you can help them, they need to reach out to you, or react to you, and then you need to invite them to sales conversations and sign them.

Easy huh? LOL

So let's work with the first goal - to build awareness .. start getting the word out about your business.

First you need to choose your best service. The more focused you can be the better. That means that your content and conversations will be more focused too. You'll be talking about how you help clients with a specific service, and that is cohesive. And in your networking too (you can be found in searches for your key services in FB groups).

Next you need to choose your best client. When you know your best services, you can figure out who needs them the most. Choosing a target can feel limiting sometimes but it really is a smarter way to find lots of clients who need the same thing. It makes your work easier.

Obviously you also have to know your rates, and how much it will cost your clients to work with you. You should know your services and rates inside and out as you start to market your business.

Only then can you start to plan your content. Planning your content is a very good idea as well - choose 3 or 4 solid topics to create content about, that are directly related to your service offerings. If you have seen my content matrix, you'll know that I suggest choosing 4 topics, and then also choosing 4 angles to write about too. The matrix gives you 16 topics you can easily write about., which is 4 months of weekly blog posts.

Here is the link to the exercise: www.YourVAMentor.com/content-matrix-4x4

Remember always to maximize your efforts too but using great seo, researching keywords, using hashtags as necessary, and making the content you are creating work harder for you. And always include a call to action so your audience knows what you want them to do next. I'll talk more shortly about what to do with a blog post to get more traffic out of it.

The next steps are to promote your content on social media channels, make daily connections and to be active with your networking.

See how many things are involved just in setting a building awareness goal? That's why marketing is so big - and why we often do it wrong.

It's simple, but we need all the blocks to fit together to work properly, which is why it's not easy.

The last piece as with any goal is to track your results so you can make changes to your plan and your actions if they aren't working properly for you. These are called KPIs, or key performance indicators.

So what are good KPIs for a goal of building awareness?

Traffic - actual numbers of who is seeing what - that can be google analytics, insights on facebook or other social media platforms. Referrals - these can include direct referrals, but also tags and mentions, and shares on social. Connections - how many people are joining your communities, or connecting with you? Follow up conversations - tracking every actual conversation that starts can help you remember to 'go back' and check in on people periodically to build relationships (do this in a google sheet, don't rely on messenger or FB groups to find this info) Comments and interactions - similar to referrals, and follow up - you want to keep an eye on these as well, and always respond Search results - when you are coming up higher in google, or when you are coming up in group searches, that's because you are putting out quality stuff

Even though this sounds like a lot, it's not really - and it's a little system that you can put into place easily for your business. So that when you start to move to the next step, you already have this stuff in place.

It's a regular, repeatable, simple process that helps you achieve your goal to get your business in front of your potential clients.

Automate what you can - systematize what you can't. And then you don't have to spend much time at all each week implementing this.

So here's what it could look like:

so ... weekly short blog post (use the content matrix for blog topic ideas) ... repurposing blog content into smaller pieces, using the same topic and content ... templates for images - use Canva so making images doesn't take any time at all - suggest 4 templates as well ... small buckets of time for connections - this you can't really automate or schedule, so you need to find time to do it, but not a lot of time - 20 minutes a day is more than enough most of the time ... tracking sheet for interactions - I can't overstate this, to keep track of who you are connecting with and interacting with in a google sheet. It makes follow up much easier to keep track of.

Make things as simple as you can and hold yourself accountable to do those small daily action every day - only 20 minutes means you can always fit it in.

And it helps you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant (and hint, hint, you can help your clients to the same process!)

Don't try to do everything at once.

By breaking things down and focusing on one goal at a time, you will work more focused and you'll get better results. The daily actions I will keep talking about because it works. Tracking your results is essential so you know what's working, so you can do more of that. And you can change course as necessary if things are not working.

This will work for you - I promise!

And then the next things you need to do is to build your audience. This is about creating a facebook group of your own, or finding other networking connections. It's about getting in front of as many of your target clients as you can, now that you have great content that you know they will love! Lead magnets, building a mailing list - all part of your goal of building your audience.

That's for another episode though!

If you need some help figuring out which marketing goal you need to start working on now, reach out to me at [email protected]

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about creating content that stands out - from your daily actions and interactions.

Quote: Social media is here. It's not going away; not a passing fad. Be where your customers are: social media. - Lori Ruff

So everything is content. What do I mean by that?

Well, a lot of VAs tell me that they don't know what to post about, so it mostly comes from that. And the fact that I see VAs posting about being a VA and how great it is. That's my reason for talking about this topic as much as I do.

Your content is for your clients. Period. It's not about you. If you are struggling to get clients from your content, it is either that you aren't posting enough content (or any at all), or you aren't posting the right content.

So let's dig in to that.

Think about what makes you stop the scroll. What are you interested in?

I know what makes me stop.

I like food, travelling, health and wellness stuff. That's my personal stuff. I also like social media, how to stuff, inspirational stuff, and things that will make my business run more smoothly and make more money.

That's a pretty short list, but off the top of my head, I know that I stop at those posts on every social media channel.

That's what you need to figure out about your target clients.

What THEY want to stop at.

And I can tell you, it's not about being a VA. Why do I know this? Because my clients will stop at how to be a VA. I'm a VA coach. But when I was a VA, the people who paid me - my clients - 6 and 7 figure business coaches, couldn't care less about how to become a VA. Or what it's like to be one.

And yet that's what I was posting about. Yep, I did it too!

But your clients don't care. You need to create content that is of interest to THEM. They are the ones you are marketing to.

So figure that out.

And luckily I'm here to give you some tips today on how to do that - much easier than you might doing it now. Are you unsure what to post? Well,...

Everything is content. This is truly great advice- and so true.

When you struggle to create content, you have to look at things differently. And when you do, you need to find the business lessons or the common thread to advice that you can use as a comparison to your business.

People can relate to daily activities and interactions - and while I don't suggest you write all your content this way, it can be a great boost to adding your personality and some much needed relatability to your content.

Here's what I mean.

I told a story recently of how I went to Costco and had a crappy customer service experience. Long story short, they told me the debit machines were down as I entered the store, but said they took cash and credit. So I went ahead in, did my shopping, and tried to pay with my Visa or Amex. Nope. They actually only take Mastercard, which the girl at the front didn't tell me. So I had to find a bank machine and get cash to pay for my stuff. This is relatable, and you can link it directly to how you would have handled the customer service, if that's a service you offer (even if it's not - I always give my customers the right information).

When you go to the bank, they spin their monitor around and show you all your stuff and they tell you about the options they have for you - and they recommend what they feel is the best one for you. That's how you can help your clients decide the best option to with you.

Laundry - we sort it to wash it, and we adjust the water temperature and spin force for different clothing. I also sort it to fold it. This shows people how you organize yourself - how your mind works, and how you use processes.

Client stories are great things to use in content. Tell people what the client was experiencing before they started working with you and how you helped them. The more clients you have, the more you can use this kind of content. You can even inject your humour into these, as a show of how you build relationships and get along with your clients.

Conversations you have with business owners - whether they are potential clients or not. Like the people at Costco or the bank, or a networking event. I tell the story often of a woman who was at a networking event, introduced herself to a fellow and proceeded to talk for 20 minutes about her product - bras for women who have undergone mastectomy. Great product, but he had zero interest in what she was talking to him about - and everyone knew it. She needed to know her audience - which incidentally, there were at least a dozen women in the room that she could have had conversation with, but she couldn't see that she was talking to a wall.

Something you have learned - talk about it step by step. If you went to a webinar this week, tell people about it! Tell them what made it interesting, and how you will use what you learned. Especially if it's how you will use it to help your clients. But even still, when we are looking for relatability, if your clients also learn for their business, you will cover that.

Can you see what I mean? There is so much you can do with content from your everyday interactions and actions.

Do you have a morning routine? Talk about it. Did you learn a lesson? Talk about it. Did you notice a new trend? Talk about it. Did your clients ask you questions this week? Talk about it. Did you see other VAs posting things that you know the answers to ? Talk about it.

When you step out of the marketing mindset, and just share what you are doing and how that relates to your clients and their businesses, you will be creating much more interesting content for your clients to consume.

And when you add your personality, you will stand out.

You don't have to do endless Tiktok videos, but when you start to just be YOU, people notice. When you are marketing, you want to get noticed. What is your point of view on something? Your perspective? This showcases your opinion and your expertise - but in a relatable way, so it's not business all the time, or selling.

We spend a lot of time separating business from life and sometimes those are the best places for us to share our expertise.

How do you start your day? How do you end your day? How do you stay on track for deadlines and time management? How do you stay organized? What do your clients say about working with you?

Write your own content, and curate stuff from others that you follow or trust.

And while we're on it, figure out how to repurpose content. You can write one weekly blog post and the repurpose that into 10 or 20 pieces of other content. How do you do that?

Simple. Decide on four main topics that your audience is interested in. Rotate the topics every week so you always have something different. Look for content as you surf or in your daily activities that relate to the topic of next week's blog post. It makes it easier to write, to create. And then break it up into 10 or 20 pieces after you write it. Images, tips, captions, photos .. it's easy to do especially once you get started.

And once you start it, it gets easier. Especially as you start to get interactions on it, but really when it becomes easier to create. You don't have to post 10 Instagram stories a day. 1 blog post a week, 3 to 5 other social media posts in one channel - make them good. And keep at it.

Change the way you look at everything all day long. You will see the content when you look for it (within reason). Keep a notepad or use your phone to keep some point form notes if you are out and about. Become inspired by what is going on around you and who is around you. And figure out how you can help people with it. That's what they will stop scrolling to look at, and that's what will help them know, like and trust you faster so that they will take action to work with you.

Visibility is everything but you have to be interesting - and to be interesting, you have to be interestED in what they are interested in - there's the key!

If you need some help figuring out how to create better content, reach out to me at [email protected]

I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about how to take time off in your business.

Time off. Time to recharge your batteries, get some rest, get some personal time in, get some personal stuff done.

For the purposes of this episode, I'm not talking about time off for kid's school or extracurricular activities, or for looking after aging parents appointments. I'm talking about YOU.

In order for you to be a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant, you must look after yourself.

You are the service, the product, the talent of your business. If you don't make sure to take time away from your business, you will soon start to regret it.

When we work for someone else, we automatically get nights and weekends off, don't we? For the most part anyway.

Some entrepreneurs don't do that. We work on our own business in the 'down' times, and sometimes that means we work all the time.

Or at least that's what it looks like.

And that's not healthy. It's why I always talk to you about being really focused on what it is you want to get done - have a plan, do it in the shortest time bucket possible, and move along.

But time off is not just nights and weekends, though those are important, it's any time you are away from your clients for an extended period of time. And that's what I want to talk about today.

What does it take to take time off from your business? Just a little preparation.

We need to be more strategic than when we are taking holidays from a job, but it doesn't mean that we can't do it.

And when done right, you will make the most of your vacation time - and hopefully you'll do it more often!

What does vacation mean to you? For me it honestly just means a couple of days away. My husband is a chef and in the hospitality industry, especially these days, time off comes at a premium. So we do short jaunts here and there, no big long 3 week cruises in the Pacific in our house!

The longer you plan to be away, the more prep you need to do. So let's talk about what you need to do:

1. Create procedures for the things you do. Step by step is not needed necessarily, but you do need to document the things you do, if someone is taking over for you, or if your client needs to do something on their own. A little extra attention and hand holding before you go makes your clients feel supported and confident. Screenshare videos are the best!

2. Give your clients plenty of notice that you'll be away. Last minute is usually the issue, and we always want to manage our client's expectations well. Be sure to let them know what will happen in your absence, and how to reach whoever is in charge.

3. Find someone to look after your work while you are gone if necessary. A colleague who can check on things really helps you relax more when you are not there yourself. Obviously provide them with your daily schedule, logins and procedures.

4. Check in yourself once a day. This is what I have done on longer holidays - once in the morning, 30 minutes max, to make sure everything is going according to plan. Then the rest of the time I can relax knowing that I myself saw what was happening. Don't do any work though - delegate it!

5. Do as much ahead as you can - if your clients are on retainer, you don't want to just disappear for a week that they have paid for. Figure out how you can get ahead on some regular ongoing work so they still get their deliverables.

6. Don't be shy about taking time off. Everyone does it. If you are working with your ideal clients, they will value you and your time, and they will want you to enjoy yourself and come back refreshed. If you have a client who gets upset, then you may want to think about replacing that client when you get back! I read a statistic that said 43% of freelancers have felt the need to hide their vacation from their clients! (podia.com) nope!

How to relax on your vacay:

1. Turn notifications off. 2. Unplug. 3. Rest. 4. Just do it. 5. Enjoy!

And if you can't get away on vacation, or you can't afford it, time off is still a very real thing you need to schedule in.

Afternoons off, Fridays off, nights off, weekends off, time off between Christmas and New Year's - whatever it is, make sure to incorporate it and still use all the same tips that I gave you in today's episode.

A couple of tips on how to incorporate vacation into your business: - pick a date and stick to it (buy an airline ticket!) - plan ahead so you have time to complete things or get the right people in place - cushion a business trip with a few days of vacation on either side - try long weekends first if you have never taken a vacation - trust that all will go well because you prepared everyone (trust who you leave in charge - they will get better the more you let them be autonomous) - once you get away and all goes well, you'll be booking that next one!

On that note, I'm actually on my own vacation at the moment - in a log cabin in beautiful Alberta with my husband for a few days. I'll be back later this week. And yes, I recorded this episode of my podcast early so I could get away and still provide it to you. Of course. I'll see you next week!

What to do next:

If you need some help figuring out how to set your business up so that you will not burn out, and so that you can take time off when you need it or want it, reach out to me at [email protected]

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant!

Today we are going to talk about self promotion and how it confuses and frustrates new VAs.

What is self promotion?

Basically it's showcasing yourself and your business to an audience of people in a group somewhere.

When that forum or group is owned by someone else, self promotion is often a rule not to be broken, without facing consequences.

That's why it's so frowned upon when you show up and start telling everyone about what you do.

All we tell you in marketing is tell people what you do - it's confusing, I'm sure.

I remember it being really confusing. I broke the rule in lots of groups. I truly didn't mean to but I did.

When you realize how to do it better, that's when it becomes clear what you were doing wrong before. Let's see if I can shed some light on a few things for you today.

So the rules are there for everyone in the group. If everyone posted about their business every day, the group owner would see people leaving in droves.

Many communities are built to be just that - communities. So just like everywhere else you network, you have to wander around and meet people. And talk to them.

Treat every networking or business group that you are in like a room of people. And every time you walk into that room, there are different people. Some are the same, some are new, some are not.

You have to build relationships with people, and the way to do that is not to hit them over the head with Hi I'm a VA and I have some one spot open next week for a new client. Hi I'm a VA and I wrote this blog post about staying organized, go read it. Hi I'm a VA and hiring a VA for your business is so smart because you'll save time and money.

These are things we say everyday in our marketing - but to jump into a group whether you are new to it or not and lead off with that is a turn off for everyone in the group. Mostly.

And it annoys the group host because they own the group. They have built the group - their audience - and so everyone that comes into the space, they want to help their audience - not sell to them. And of course building a group - a good one especially, takes considerable effort, time and expense.

Don't ever forget that. Just because it's a free group doesn't mean it's a free for all. And you don't have the right to get mad if someone tells you that you are breaking their self promotion rules. You just don't.

Groups (even local networking ones) belong to someone - there is an owner, and they are using it for a specific purpose. They get to make whatever rules they want. You agree to them when you join the group, and they decide what happens when someone breaks them.

So what can we do to promote ourselves in those groups?

First of all, if you are going to spend time in any group make sure that YOUR audience is there. Don't just join a big group thinking that your people must be in there. Anything you spend time at needs to be a good use of your time.

Second, provide value every single time you post or comment. I'll give you some examples in a minute. Think about helping people, not selling to them. TRUST me, the sale will come if you can master the helping part first.

Don't post calls to action - no need to take people away from the group for any reason. In fact, the longer you can keep the conversation going in the group in front of the rest of the group, the better it works for you. You are then showcasing yourself to the potential thousands of people that are there - not just the one (who seriously could just be looking for free help).

Post informational stuff - things you have learned in your own surfing. Has anyone notice this new FB feature? Where is the best place you have found to get advice around xyz (dont' step on the group owners' toes here)

Ask questions - Do you have a favourite CRM? I have been using Dubsado for about a year and it has some great features for coaches. I have a question about how Jane app - a client is using it and we are wondering if it can do xyz. You are looking to invite interaction and conversation about things that you are knowledgeable about or that will help people understand how you help your clients.

Look to connect - I'm headed out west next week - anyone in this group from there? What should I make sure to see? Or my client is travelling - where should I make their dinner reservation?

If you have good news, announce it but tell people how you achieved it. I got invited to speak at this symposium, I'm so excited. The woman in charge said she got my name from an event I spoke at a long time ago when they couldn't do the event, and she hung onto it all this time and said that she knew that this year she was definitely calling me since it's their first time in 3 years (that happened to me). Bragging is not the same as self promotion.

Get noticed, be present, actually have conversations with people. Cheer them on. Comment on their posts and the hosts' too. Participate in the group. This is why we tell you to focus on just one group at a time. It's more genuine.

Don't just post a link to your newest blog post every week - again what if everyone did that? If it's not your group, don't do that.

Don't cross post. When you are in certain groups with your target market, there are often other groups that people also belong too. When you post the same thing in all of your groups, people are very aware that you are not looking to build relationships, you are just using the groups for yourself.

Take advantage of promo schedules - if there is an opportunity to post something about your biz, do it thoughtfully - tell a client story or post a testimonial (collect those, btw).

Get comfortable talking about how good you are at what you do. People need to hear it to notice you, to hire you, to work with you.

Talk about who you helped this week.

Talk about a resource you came upon.

Share things that are actually valuable to the other members of the community..

I belong to a local group with over 24,000 women , and do you know that there are only 3 VAs who get recommended in that group all the time? And they get TONS of tags when someone is looking for a VA. Why? Because they have taken their time to get to know people in there. They help them. They work with them. They do great work. They get referrals. It's awesome. I love it!

And none of them ever have to post I'm a VA and I have an opening for a client this month. Though if they did they would be very well received and everyone would jump in and say 'work with her, you won't regret it' lol.

That's what we should be striving for.

Give more than you take. Oh there it is! The quote for today.

When you stop trying to get the client or make the sale, you will get clients and make sales.

Show up first to help - and do it daily. People will see you and start to trust you. Others will recommend you. They will hire you. Give, give, give.

That's what people see.

So, choose a FB group of business owners that contains your target clients (don't ask me which groups to join you need to find them on your own). Introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself if it's been a while since you joined it.

Tell people that you are a VA, but don't tell them to hire you. Tell them why you started your business and how much you love helping 'target group' with 'service'. Tell them how you are excited to be in this group of professionals and looking forward to getting to know them in this beautiful space.

When someone posts a question, just answer it. Dont' put in a link to your blog or tell them some longwinded story, or tell them to PM you to discuss. Just answer their question. Then move on to the next question that is relevant to your services. Answer that. and so on.

It's so easy to tell people about how you help your clients without self promoting. It takes some practice but it really does become clear when you start getting interaction on your comments from people who can see the difference, and who really want to get to know you.

I'll leave you with this today:

There's a blog post from Becca at Uncaged life that I always comes across when I do research for this particular topic and I decided I just want to share a bit of it with you.

It's called How Not to Be a Dick in Facebook Groups and it's awesome. Love the tips in it.

But I wanted to read you this part of the post because it's so perfect:

Scenario 2: You're in the room with your friends and the attractive people. Let's say one of these attractive people asks something like "Do you know where the best pizza in town is?" and you reply "I do! Also, did you know that I'm single? Would you like my number? Here it is!" As you grab their phone and enter your number into their contacts. And they reply "Oh, um. Cool. So anyway, what's the name of the pizza place?" And you're all like "Call me and I'll tell you!" This is pretty much the equivalent to commenting on people's Facebook questions with a link to your website. #desperate

And now you're going to say "Yeah Becca, but these people – they need what I have!" Sure, they might need it, but the ways in which you are giving it to them make you look like a desperate drunk girl at the end of the night at the bar. NO ONE is taking that shit home.

So in conclusion, be a human. Have integrity. Please don't ever do these things, in real life or online.

Thanks Becca, I couldn't have said it better myself.

If you need some help figuring out what to say in your networking or marketing, reach out to me at [email protected]

I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

There are many things that our clients deal with in their businesses, and many of them are the main reason that they hire us as VAs to work with them.

Today I want to talk about these things as struggles that they face - because that's really what they are.

What moves a client into making the decision to invest in a VA? Sometimes they are excited to move into a new direction, and we'll talk about that later in this episode, but more often than not, they are looking for help with something that is not working well in their business. They are not happy about it - it is taking too much of their time, or it simply isn't working the way it should be for them even though they know how to do it.

Let's go!

Organization:

One of the most simple services a VA can offer a client is to get them organized. Many of our clients don't excel in this area. Just like we were never taught sales in our admin roles in our corporate jobs, they were not taught admin skills in their roles either.

It does not come easily to a lot of business owners, and as you know I always say it's the main service offering that they need from VAs.

How does disorganization show up in their business? They can missed appointments, or do the appointments but then be terrible at follow up and miss out on sales They can start projects and never finish them Or they can half ass their marketing initiatives and launches. All of these add up to their business suffering.

How can we help? We can help them clean out their inboxes and keep their email organized so they get back to people in good time and always know where to find the things they need. Or keep their clients better informed and taken care of. We can help them automate their scheduling, or organize it better - so that . their day shapes up more efficiently. Booking more appointments for them can get them new clients too. We can help them get back to people who inquire, or follow up with people they have connected with, so that they can nurture relationships with them and again, potentially get new clients. We can help them complete their open projects and prioritize new ones. We can help them check off all the tasks needed for the marketing tasks or launches that they know are important to grow their business.

So it's more than I can manage your email - you want to be able to articulate to them WHY it's important - and often that starts with telling them what is happening by them NOT doing this well right now.

Time Management:

For a VA, time is money. We are a service business and so we trade our time for dollars no matter how you do your billing.

How does terrible time management show up in your client's business? They can take way too long to do some things - or everything. They can simply not do things that they don't have time for, even if they know they are important. They can spend their time doing many things that are not actually bringing revenue into their business. Busy work. Without revenue a business can not survive.

How can we help? We can help them by setting up procedures for things that need to be done - or teach them how to use automation. We can of course also take things off of their desk so they don't do them anymore - and use those procedures and automation to get them done as efficiently as possible. We can ensure that the tasks that they say are priorities for them get done each week or month. This is especially important with things like customer service and marketing tasks. We can help them spend their time more wisely doing things that will actually bring revenue into their business. Networking, working with clients, creating new ways to serve their clients. Really that's it! And we can help them make the most of their time.

Tech Issues:

You don't have to be a tech goddess to provide tech support for your clients. We know how much of a struggle it can be to have to learn something new, especially if we are not good at it or don't understand it.

How do tech issues show up in our client's business? System crashes or data loss - usually these are urgent issues and website hosts or servers are sought out, but not always Security issues - viruses or hackers, access for social media platforms Online platform issues - access, logins, passwords, recordings, meetings and events Online file storage and management - where their stuff is

How can we help? We can help them get safeguards and backup systems in place before any bad happens. We can make sure they have a system in place, a plan and security for when things do go wrong. We can learn the basics and explain and document what they need to do - and ensure secondary people are in place for social media accounts. We can make sure there is a system in place to manage passwords and logins and access. We can manage event recordings and moderate meetings and events..

Creativity:

Good looking marketing collateral definitely helps clients grow their audience and their business. Amateur looking stuff or stuffy looking stuff can really derail anyone's efforts. Luckily this is a very strong service for VAs.

How do creativity issues show up in a client's business?

Plain presentations - not standing out or looking good may look unprofessional to clients Crappy workbooks or no workbooks - clients may not implement their teachings fully or easily Unbranded colours, fonts and graphics - just plain bad graphic design Copyright issues from Googled images - so many clients pull images from Google searches that could be copyrighted, and don't think anything of it. This could cause legal issues (not to mention redo issues) when they are caught.

How can we help?

We can help them by creating eye catching presentations and handouts to uplevel their stuff We can use systems like Canva to create templates so all of their stuff is cohesive and professional and polished. We can help them look more polished in everything they post We can help elevate their brand We can save them a ton of time if it's something they don't do well

There are a lot of things that our clients struggle with but these 4 are pretty common ones, and things that they often seek help for.

What I hope you got from today's episode is how to describe the struggle to the client. They may not realize what is going wrong in their business, or what is the most important thing to get help with.

When you can reframe it for them and describe the struggle - and the relief they will see by getting help, you can help move them into action to say YES and work with you.

Now I also said I'd talk briefly about how you can help a client when things ARENT so bad. When they are just looking for growth in their business and they know they need help to get it.

Maybe they need your organization skills to pull of a huge event or launch, or a new podcast. Maybe they need to have you do things for them because they are super busy and they don't have time to manage all of the details they shouldn't be managing anyway. Maybe they want you to help them with their tech and creativity so that you help them stand out.

Yes, many business owners already KNOW why they need our help. And we still talk to them in the same way. Actually it' can be a great exercise to ask them why they need help and what they think they will get from it (or if you are already working with them, what they ARE getting from it) - and then use that with your other clients.

Think of these three questions every time: What do you do that you can help a client with? How does it show up in their business? How can you help them?

If you want my help to figure out how to start talking to your clients in language that they understand, and BUY, reach out to me at [email protected]. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about how to use LinkedIn smarter, so you can market yourself properly and yes, get clients.

Where are you looking for clients?

A lot of VAs tell me that they are looking for clients on social media.

If that's you, how's it working for you?

When we are trying to grow our business, we have to go to the right places, talk to the right people, and say the right things.

That probably sounds challenging, but once you figure it out, it really is quite simple.

And you will spend less time doing it too, because you are working smarter.

There are 810 million users on LinkedIn. 310 active monthly.

How many clients do you need? Your clients are there.

Linked In is all business - people are on there for professional reasons. And although there is community there, it's not the same as most other social media platforms because it's not really just social.

And the people that are active there (which you can easily see) are the ones you can work with. So it's time to start making good business connections.

What better place to start having really good business conversations with business people than in a business social setting.

What you need to do is to make sure that what you are putting out there is going to work for you.

It's not your online resume anymore. There are so many features that you can use to showcase your services.

And you also need to find the people that bring you business. That can be potential clients, or potential referral sources. Connections!

Here's what to do:

Optimize your profile

• make sure that you are using keywords - search terms that people will look for, or that LinkedIn will choose to show them
• there are all kinds of neat new things on your profile page that can showcase your services
• by optimizing what you are putting out there, you show people what you want them to see

Make your profile work for you

• make your about section read like your website
• fill up the featured section
• your photo headline travel with you everywhere
• detail the services you offer and then

Use search bar - to find your ideal clients

• search their occupation, location, services they use
• look at vas or other strategic partners who serve the same clients as you

Search their job title and then choose 2nd connections to make new connections.

But also don't forget to look at your 1st connections. are there relationships you haven't leveraged there yet?

Don't forget about strategic partners - search them also and see what they are doing - whose stuff they are sharing. Building a partner relationship can be even easier!

Search events to see if there are any that you might attend.

After you find the people you are looking for, start a tracking sheet to keep track of who you are reaching out to. Check to see if they are active, and if so, what is their activity? Look at all of their activity, not just what they are posting (though typically that's what you want to like, share and comment on), but also what they are liking, sharing and commenting on.

See who else they are connected to - would they be good connections for you also? Look for quality over quantity

Remember you don't need 100 clients or 310 million. You are just looking for ONE at at time.

By finding the people that are ideal for you, you need far fewer solid connections than you think.

Start to like comment and share their posts

Then by the time you do an introduction or a connection request, you are familiar to them

This takes time, don't like 2 of their posts and then send an email unless there is a really compelling reason to do so

And next, of course you have to post relevant content of your own.

What are your services?

Post about what you do for your clients and how that helps them in their business.

Your profile and your actual activity are most important - you can post 3x a week but it should be good. You don't have to post 10x a day. Quality of quantity for content too.

LinkedIn will show your posts to more people when you get interaction on them so make sure you are thoughtfully posting.

And LinkedIn counts your interactions as activity too, as you can see from other people's activity level - so by stepping that up yourself, you are becoming more visible in everyone's feed as well. It's definitely as good as posting yourself, without having to create 20 pieces of content every week.

Post before day starts, lunch hour and after work

And then show up at those times. Don't just schedule posts and never go there. When your post is published, people will see it and they may comment on it right away. You don't want to miss that activity.

Just like on Tiktok, the posters post live and then are there to create conversation with the people who are commenting on their video - all social media is the same. It's how you engage your followers.

It's about the numbers, but it's really more about the commitment. Book in 15 minutes at 8 am, 15 at lunch and 15 at the end of your day, 3 days a week - and you'll find that you are developing a great Linked In habit.

If you want my help to figure out how to maximize your LinkedIn strategy, or your messaging, or choose your ideal client, definitely reach out to me at [email protected]. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.

Are you an introvert? So many Virtual Assistants tell me they are. It's not a deficiency of any sort ha ha but it can make some things we do in business feel more challenging.

Quote: l would admit I'm an introvert. I don't know why introverts have to apologize. Bill Gross

There is nothing wrong with being an introvert!

I think that introverts kind of get a bad rap, but you know what? I think we criticize ourselves far more than anyone else does. Yes, I am an introvert, which many people probably find hard to believe, but I LOVE my alone time and my quiet time, and as much as I enjoy company, it's nice when it's over too.

As an introvert, there are things in business that can be more difficult.

Of course, the main one that comes to mind is sales. And getting clients.

I hear many VAs tell me I'm an introvert, I don't like selling myself.

But here's the thing. You don't have to sell anything. You're not trying to cold call people, or convince them that they need your services.

All you need to do is to actually find people that DO need your help, and then decide if they are a good fit for you to work with. That's it!

It really is that simple. But we can talk ourselves out of so many things with the excuse that it feels uncomfortable. All that means is that we are in the wrong place, or talking to the wrong person. The key is to find the right person in the right place.

Let's first talk about our strengths as introverts.

Introverts are often - more creative - better listeners - more observant - go deeper on many projects - stand out because they aren't always talking - very good at taking social cues and reading rooms - thoughtful and choose words wisely - very focused and detail oriented - self sufficient - good problem solvers

Stay true to you.

Use these strengths to your advantage, in your marketing, when you tell clients what you bring to the table. Be proud of them, they are very valuable qualities.

Do things are your own pace, but do make sure you do them. You don't have to race, but there are things that have to be done for you to stay in business.

Don't feel pressured to go to networking events or do cold calls. Email still works and I think it's better for everyone's schedule than phone or instant messaging.

You have to value yourself, and then others will value you as well.

Who you are is who you are. And you are GREAT!

Focus on your strengths - what are you good at? What do you love to do or do exceptionally well? What you do best is what you should be charging the most for.

First you have to make sure you see your own value and that you can show it to people.

Make sure that you have a very strong presence online - make it work for you so you don't have to be making connections, that the online stuff will help do that for you.

Website, blog, social media, portfolio, whatever makes sense for you. Do it well. Do a really good job of showcasing what you can do for your clients online.

Don't try to be someone else, or even be like someone else. Be yourself. Get comfortable with you and the fact that there are people that will greatly benefit from your help. Do you really believe you can help people? You can!

What do you love about your audience? Write these things down - is it what they do, who they work with, the change they make in the world, the tasks they need done?

Now figure out where they are. And how many clients you actually need. That will determine where you can find clients.

Get really clear on what you do best and who you can help most - then connect with those people, talk about them, write about them.

Social media is actually great for introverts because you do it on your own time and you have complete control about what you put out there.

Use one single marketing strategy and do it well. That should be easy when you aren't networking all day long!

Where to find clients?

Job boards will be good for you, also fiverr and upwork - people are looking for help in these places and there is less sales that you have to do.

Tell people you know what you do and ask them if they know anyone who might benefit from your help. It helps to have business connections but family and friends help too - as long as you articulate what you do accurately and they really get who you help.

Focus on repeat business - don't do project work. Seek out ongoing work with clients so you aren't constantly looking for clients.

Ask existing or past clients for referrals. Be sure (again) that they really understand what it is you do for people (especially if it differs from what you do/did for them), so they send you good referrals.

Find a few strategic partners who work with your target market, but provide different services to them - so you can refer business back and forth to each other.

Collect testimonials and reviews and recommendations on LI

Get really good something specific, be in demand so people call you, and you don't have to call them.

Put your contact info everywhere. On every web page, blog post, social media profile, and so on. Make it easy for people to reach out to you so you don't always have to reach out to them

Put your pricing online - describe your services well. Let your website do some of the 'selling' work for you. Make sure the pricing is clear and talks about budget.

Join a team and subcontract to get your confidence up (don't do this forever, find your own ideal clients and do the work you are best at)

Get some support to learn a few techniques if you still feel anxious about anything.

Find a tribe or a partner to connect with on a regular basis. A support network is essential for all VAs. And be sure to share your struggles and your successes, and ask for specific advice.

And never forget that you need to do what's right for you - it's the only thing that will work for you!

If you want my help to figure out how to get clients as an introvert, definitely reach out to me at [email protected]. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.